Major Requirements
The major requires eleven units, approved by the major adviser. A usual sequence of courses would include at least one 100-level "critical approaches" seminar, four 200-level lecture courses, four 300-level seminars, and two semesters of senior conference. Beginning with the class of 2008, majors will be required to take junior seminar in the fall semester of the junior year and senior conference in the spring semester of senior year. In the course of their departmental studies, students are strongly encouraged to take courses across media and areas, and in at least three of the following fields of study: Ancient and Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque, Modern and Contemporary, Film, and non-Western.
With the approval of the major adviser, courses in fine arts or with significant curricular investment in visual studies may be counted toward the fulfillment of the distribution requirements. Similarly, courses in art history taken abroad or at another institution in the United States may be counted. Generally, no more than two such courses may be counted toward the major requirements.
A senior paper, based on independent research and using scholarly methods of historical and/or critical interpretation must be submitted at the end of the spring semester. Generally 25-40 pages in length, the senior paper represents the culmination of the departmental experience.
Honors
Seniors whose major average at the beginning of the spring semester
is 3.7 or higher will be invited to write an honors thesis instead
of the senior paper.
Minor Requirements
A minor in history of art requires six units: one or two 100-level
courses and four or five others selected in consultation with the
major adviser.
Below is a comprehensive list of courses that have been offered in recent years. Please refer to the course listing links at the top of the page for current offerings.
100-Level Courses
100 - The Stuff of Art
(Burgmayer, Division III; cross-listed as Chemistry 100) Not offered in 2007-08.
(104-108) Critical Approaches to Visual Representation
These small seminars (limited enrollment of 20 students per class)
introduce the fundamental skills and critical vocabulary of art
history in the context of thematic categories of artistic expression.
All seminars follow the same schedule of writing assignments and
examinations, and are geared to students with no or minimal background
in history of art.
103 - Critical Approaches: Icons & Idols
What is an icon? What is an idol? How do they differ or are they the same? And what is the relation between icons, idols, and images? This course treats potent image-objects across cultures and across time, including religious icons (Madonnas), pop icons (Madonna), and comparable image-objects of other traditions, such as African minkisi and Native American totems. Readings range from Plato and the Old Testament to contemporary criticism.
(Kinney, Division III)
104 - The Classical Tradition
An investigation of the historical and philosophical ideas of the
classical, with particular attention to the Italian Renaissance
and the continuance of its formulations throughout the Westernized
world. (Cast, Division III)
105 - Poetry and Politics in Landscape
Art
An introduction to the representation and perception of nature in
different visual media, with attention to such issues as nature
and utopia; nature and violence; natural freedom; and the femininity
of nature. (Hertel, Division III) Not offered in 2007-08.
107 - Critical Approaches to Visual Representation: Self and Other in the Arts of France, 1500-2000
A study of artists’ self-representations in the context of
the philosophy and psychology of their time, with particular attention
to issues of political patronage, gender and class, power and desire.
(Levine, Division III)
108 - Women, Feminism and History of
Art
An investigation of the history of art since the Renaissance organized
around the practice of women artists, the representation of women
in art and the visual economy of the gaze. (Saltzman, Division III; counts toward Gender and Sexuality
studies concentration)
110 - Identification in the Cinema
An introduction to the analysis of film through particular attention
to the role of the spectator. (King, Division III; counts towards Film Studies minor)
115 - Classical Art
(Donohue, Division III; cross-listed as History of Art 115)
190 - The Form of the City
(Hein, Division I or III; cross-listed as Anthropology 190 and Growth
and Structure of Cities 190)
200-Level Courses
204 - Greek Sculpture
(Webb, Division III; cross-listed as Classical and Near Eastern
Archaeology 205) Not offered in 2007-08.
205 - Introduction to Film
(Staff, Division III; cross-listed as English 205, counts towards Film Studies minor)
206 - Hellenistic and Roman Sculpture
(Donohue, Division III; cross-listed as Classical and Near Eastern
Archaeology 206) Not offered in 2007-08.
210 - Medieval
Art
An overview of artistic production in Europe antiquity to the 14th
century. Special attention will be paid to problems of interpretation
and recent developments in art-historical scholarship. (Easton,
Division III)
212 - Medieval Architecture
A survey of medieval building types, including churches, mosques,
synagogues, palaces, castles and government structures, from the
fourth through the 14th centuries in Europe, the British Isles and
the Near East. Special attention to regional differences and interrelations,
the relation of design to use, the respective roles of builders
and patrons. (Kinney, Division III; cross-listed as Growth and Structure
of Cities 212) Not offered in 2007-08.
223 - Topics in German Cultural Series: Global Masculinity: Male Body in Contemporary Cinema
(staff, Division I or III; cross-listed as COML B223 and GERM B223)
227 - Topics in Modern Planning
(Hein, Division I; cross-listed as Growth and Structure of Cities
227) Not offered in 2007-08.
230 - Renaissance Art
A survey of painting in Florence and Rome in the 15th and 16th centuries (Botticelli, Giotto, Leonardo, Masaccio, Michelangelo, Raphael), with particular attention to contemporary intellectual, social and religious developments. (Cast, Division III) Not offered in 2007-08.
237 - Northern Renaissance
An introduction to painting, graphic arts and sculpture in Germany
in the first half of the 16th century, with emphasis on the influence
of the Protestant Reformation on the visual arts. Artists studied
include Altdorfer, Cranach, Dürer, Grünewald, Holbein
and Riemenschneider. (Hertel, Division III) Not offered in 2007-08.
238 - Silent Film: International Film
to 1930
(Staff, Division III; cross-listed as English 238) Not offered in 2007-08.
239 - Women and Cinema
(Staff, Division III; cross-listed as English 239; counts towards Film Studies minor)
241 - Art of the Spanish-Speaking World
A study of painting and sculpture in Spain from 1492 to the early 19th century, with emphasis on such artists as El Greco, Velązquez, Zurbarąn, and the polychrome sculptors. As relevant, commentary is made on Latin America and the Spanish world's complex heritage, with its contacts with Islam, Northern Europe and pre-Columbian cultures. Continuities and disjunctions within these diverse traditions as they evolve both in Spain and the Americas are noted, and issues of canon formation and national identity are raised. (McKim-Smith, Division III) Not offered in 2007-08.
245 - Dutch Art of the 17th Century
A survey of painting in the Northern Netherlands with emphasis on such issues as Calvinism, civic organization, colonialism, the scientific revolution, popular culture and nationalism. Attention is given to various approaches to the study of Dutch painting; to its inherited classification into portrait, still life, history, scenes of social life, landscape and architectural paintings; and to the oeuvres of some individual artists, notably Vermeer and Rembrandt. (Hertel, Division III) Not offered in 2007-08.
246 - Interdisciplinary Approaches
to German Literature and Culture
(Meyer, Seyhan, Division III; cross-listed with German and German
Studies 245) Not offered in 2007-08.
250 - Nineteenth-Century Painting in France
Close attention is selectively given to the work of David, Ingres,
Géricault, Delacroix, Courbet, Manet, Monet, Degas and Cézanne.
Extensive readings in art criticism are required. (Levine, Division
III) Not offered in 2007-08.
253 - Survey of Western Architecture
(Cast, Hein, Division III; cross-listed as Anthropology 254, Growth
and Structure of Cities 253 and History 253) Not offered in 2007-08.
254 - History of Modern Architecture
(Hein, Division III; cross-listed as Growth and Structure of Cities
254)
255 - Survey of American Architecture
(Cohen, Division III; cross-listed as Growth and Structure of Cities
255) Not offered in 2007-08.
259 - Counter-Cinema: Radical, Revolutionary
and Underground Film
(Staff, Division III; cross-listed as English 255) Not offered in 2007-08.
260 - Modern Art and Abstraction
(Saltzman, Division III)
266 - Contemporary Art and Theory
America, Europe and beyond, from the 1950s to the present, in visual
media and visual theory. (Saltzman, Division III) Not offered in 2007-08.
268 - Greek & Roman Architecture - NEW!
America, Europe and beyond, from the 1950s to the present, in visual media and visual theory. (Webb, Division III; cross-listed as Growth and Structure of Cities and Archaeology B268)
269 - Japanese Art
A study of visual culture of Japan from prehistory to the
present, through the lens of Japanese history, literature and
religion. Topics will include: the interaction of Buddhism and
Japanese art and architecture; the illustration of the "Tale of Genji"
and Heian court culture; scrolls, screens and the mechanics of
painting format; nature as literary and symbolic motif; class, gender
and ukiyo-e; and trends in contemporary Japanese art. Discusses the
idea of cultural interaction and appropriation between Japan, China
and the West. (Easton, Division III)
270 - Japanese Architecture and Planning
(Hein, Division III; cross-listed as East Asian Studies and Growth
and Structure of Cities 270) Not offered in 2007-08.
276 - Video Art
If the "origins" of video art date to 1965, when Sony
introduced its Portapac to the United States and Nam Jun Paik shot his
first piece in New York; its theorization dates to 1976, when Rosalind
Krauss published her field defining essay. This course functions as
both an introduction and an immersion in the history and theory of
video art. (Saltzman, Division III) Not offered in 2007-08.
278 - The Short Film
(Staff, Division III; counts towards Film Studies minor)
291 - Documentary Film and Media
(Staff, Division III; cross-listed as English 291) Not offered in 2007-08.
298 - Cultural Diversity and Its Representations
(Seyhan, Division III; cross-listed as Comparative Literature 299
and German and German Studies 299) Not offered in 2007-08.
299 - History of Narrative Cinema
(King, Division III; cross-listed as English 299; counts towards Film Studies minor)
300-Level Courses
Note: 300-level courses are seminars offering discussion of theoretical
or historical texts and/or the opportunity for original research.
301 - Greek Architecture
(Webb, Division III; cross-listed as Classical and Near Eastern
Archaeology 302 and Growth and Structure of Cities 302) Not offered in 2007-08.
303 - Art and Technology
A consideration of the technological examination of paintings. While
studying the appropriate aspects of technology — such as the
infrared vidicon, the radiograph and autoradiograph, analysis of
pigment samples and pigment cross-sections — students are
also encouraged to approach the laboratory in a spirit of creative
scrutiny. Raw data neither ask nor answer questions, and it remains
the province of the students to shape meaningful questions and answers.
Students become acquainted with the technology involved in examining
paintings and are encouraged to find fresh applications for available
technology in answering art historical questions. (McKim-Smith,
Division III) Not offered in 2007-08.
305 - Classical Bodies
(Donohue, Division III; cross-listed as Classical and Near Eastern
Archaeology 303) Not offered in 2007-08.
306 - Film Theory
(Staff, Division III; cross-listed as Comparative Literature 306
and English 306; counts towards Film Studies minor)
311 - Topics in Medieval Art:
Book of Hours, Art of Devotion (Fall 2007)
Gender Issues in the Art of the Later Middle Ages (Spring 2008)
A seminar on the art, architecture, urban development and ideology
of the city of Rome between 300 and 1400. Students will gain an
overview of the city’s development, familiarity with surviving
structures and artworks, and an introduction to the latest research.
(Easton)
312 - The Cult of Saints and Medieval
Art
This course will examine the interaction between the cult of saints
and medieval art, beginning in the fourth century with the legalization
of Christianity and ending in the early 16th century. Topics to
be discussed include pilgrimage; relics and reliquaries; gender
and martyrdom; saintly miracles; illustrated saints’ lives;
as well as the devotion to individual figures such as Ste. Foy of
Conques, Thomas Becket, St. Francis and Joan of Arc. We will also
think about the way the cult of the saints extended into the modern
age. (Easton) Not offered in 2007-08.
317 - Exhibition and Inhibition: Movies, Pleasure and Social
Control
(Staff, Division III; cross-listed as English 317) Not offered in 2007-08.
321 - Late-Gothic Painting in Northern
Europe
A study of late medieval illuminated manuscripts and Early Netherlandish
painting. (Easton) Not offered in 2007-08.
323 - Topics in Renaissance Art: Fresco as Public Art
A study of late medieval illuminated manuscripts and Early Netherlandish painting. (Cast; cross-listed with Growth and Structure of Cities 323)
324 - Roman Architecture
(Scott, Division III; cross-listed as Classical and Near Eastern
Archaeology 324, Greek, Latin and Classical Studies 324 and Growth
and Structure of Cities 324) Not offered in 2007-08.
327 - Feminist Film Theory and Practice
An intensive introduction to feminist film theory and films by feminist
directors. (King, Division III; cross-listed as English 327) Not offered in 2007-08.
329 - Screen Melodrama
Explores the broad range of sentimental and
sensationalist techniques used melodrama on screen. Our focus will be
on the affective and spectacular strategies of film and television
drama, and narratives in which ethical or moral judgment result in
redemption, salvation or punishment. Topics to include: Hollywood's"woman's weepies"; Bollywood spectacle; race films; the culture of
kitsch; the family romance; rescue fantasies; music and melodrama.
Critical approaches to melodrama drawn from classical literary theory,
psychoanalytic and classical film theory, and feminist theory.
(Staff, Division III) Not offered in 2007-08.
331 - Palladio and Palladianism
A seminar on the diffusion of Palladian architecture from the 16th
century to the present. (Cast; cross-listed as Growth and Structure
of Cities 331) Not offered in 2007-08.
334 - Topics in Film Studies: Orientalism & Cinema
Explores cinematic representations of East Asia from the 1920s to the present. Examines how Hollywood films have replicated stereotypes that depict East Asia not only as other and primitive, but also as enigmatic, duplicitous and untranslatable in Western knowledge and representation systems. Looks at films from Europe and Asia that complicate the stereotype. Students will gain tools for understanding Orientalism and for thinking broadly about cross-cultural exchange and the relation between the self and other. Prerequisite: HART/ENGL 205, HART/ENGL 299 or equivalent. (King, Division III)
340 - Topics in Baroque Art
(McKim-Smith, Division III; cross-listed as Comparative Literature
340 and Spanish 340; counts toward Gender and Sexuality
studies concentration)
348 - Topics in German Art
(Meyer, Division III; cross-listed as German and German Studies
348)
349
- Theories of Authorship in the Cinema
The study of the author-director remains one of the primary categories
through which film is to be understood; various directors and critical
approaches to this topic will be studied. (King, Division III; cross-listed
as English 349)
350 - Topics in Modern Art: Art and Psychoanalysis: From Freud to Lacan
(Levine, Division III) Not offered in 2007-08.
354 - Topics in Art Criticism
Individual topics in art-historical methodology, such as art and
psychoanalysis, feminism, post-structuralism or semiotics are treated.
(Levine, Division III; crosslisted as Comparative Literature 354) Not offered in 2007-08.
355 -
History of London Since the 18th Century
(Cast, Division III) Not offered in 2007-08.
359 - Topics in Urban Culture and Society
(Hein, Division I or III; cross-listed as Anthropology 359, German
and German Studies 321, and Growth and Structure of Cities 360) Not offered in 2007-08.
377 - Topics in Modern Architecture
(Cohen, Division III; cross-listed as Growth and Structure of Cities
377) Not offered in 2007-08.
380 - Topics in Contemporary Art: Visual
Culture and the Holocaust
Poems and novels, films and photographs, paintings and performances,
monuments and memorials, even comics have been the cultural forms
that engage us with the catastrophic and traumatic history of the
Holocaust. Through these cultural forms we have come to know events
considered by some to defy the very possibility of historical, let
alone aesthetic, representation. (Saltzman, Division III; cross-listed
as German and German Studies 380 and Hebrew and Judaic Studies 380) Not offered in 2007-08.
381 - Topics in Japanese Art
A study of the visual culture of Japan from prehistory to the present,
seen through the lens of history, literature and religion. Trends
in contemporary Japanese art in the late 20th and early 21st centuries
will also be considered, as will the cultural interaction of Japan,
China and the West. (Easton, Division III; cross-listed as East
Asian Studies 381) Not offered in 2007-08.
397 Junior Seminar
Required of junior History of Art majors, this
seminar introduces canonical texts in the field and formalizes
understanding of art history as a discipline. Beginning with
foundational figures like Plato and Pliny and ending with leading
art historical practitioners of the poststructural and the
performative, students read across the history of art history.
Open to History of Art junior majors and minors.
(Saltzman, Division III)
398 - Senior Conference
A critical review of the discipline of art history in preparation
for the senior paper. Required of all majors. (Cast, McKim-Smith) Not offered in 2007-08.
399 - Senior Conference
A seminar for the discussion of senior research papers and such
theoretical and historical concerns as may be appropriate to them.
Interim oral reports. Required of all majors; culminates in the
senior paper. (Hertel)
403 - Supervised Work
Advanced students may do independent research under the supervision
of a faculty member whose special competence coincides with the
area of the proposed research. Consent of the supervising faculty
member and of the major adviser is required. (staff)
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