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Art & Art History Curriculum

Major

Art History option: 12 courses including 101, 102, 108; one course in studio (any level); one course in Ancient Art, either 202 or either ARCH 120, 130 or approved course from a Dickinson study abroad program or partner program; one course in Renaissance Art, either 300 or approved course from a Dickinson study abroad program or partner program; one course above the 100-level in Asian art; 313 or 314; 407; and three electives in art history. ARCH 210, 221, 222, or 223 will fulfill elective requirements. Art history majors are also encouraged to consider internships or independent studies, as well as student/faculty collaborative research, directed towards future interests within the discipline; and to take German, French, Italian, Chinese or Japanese, if they are considering graduate work in Art History.

Studio Art option: 12 courses including 122; either 230 or 321; one 100-level and any two additional art history courses; 410 and 411; and five additional studio art electives, including at least one other course at the advanced level and at least one course focused on three-dimensional art. Seniors concentrating in studio art are required to make a public presentation on their thesis work in their final semester. Students electing this option are encouraged to take more studio art and art history courses than required. 

Minor

101 and 102 plus four additional courses in the appropriate discipline (art history or studio), subject to the minor advisor's approval, that suit the particular interests of the student.

Suggested curricular flow through the major

Rather than specify courses in a specific order semester by semester, the following are general guidelines regarding the trajectory of the major. First and second year students should focus on introductory (100-level) and intermediate (200-level) courses that provide a foundation for advanced study during the junior and senior years. Upon declaring the major students should meet with advisors to map a path through the major that aligns with specific goals and interests while providing a range of knowledge. Please be aware when you plan your courses through the four years that some requirements are offered in specific semesters, for example, Art History 101 is only offered during the fall semester.

Senior Seminars

The Art History Senior Seminar, 407, is taken during the fall semester of senior year. The Senior Studio Art Seminar consists of two courses, 410 in the fall and 411 in the spring. Both courses must be taken sequentially during senior year in order to complete the major in studio art. 

The senior seminars in art history and studio provide intensive capstones to the major. They involve an integrated, professional-level experience wherein students in art history curate a formal exhibition in The Trout Gallery accompanied by a published, scholarly catalogue containing original research and essays. Studio majors undertake an analogous exhibition in The Trout Gallery that showcases a body of work produced over the course of senior year and is accompanied by a catalogue with images and artist statements. For further information, see the A&AH web site.

Independent study and independent research

Independent study courses are undertaken through consultation with an Art and Art History department advisor and potential instructor of the course. A proposal of the topic and program of work must be submitted to the instructor for approval.

Honors

Department of Art & Art History majors may seek Honors, the highest academic award a department can bestow.

For the art history concentration, honors may be pursued by the invitation of department faculty following self-nomination the spring of their junior year to undertake a year-long independent study with an advisor. A Departmental GPA of a minimum 3.3 at the time of application. During the Summer after the Junior Year, each applicant submits a 2-page proposal that outlines an independent research project significantly above the level of required courses, and which asks the Department for permission to enroll in Independent Research during both the Fall and Spring semesters of the Senior year. These courses will count toward graduation and will receive grades, regardless of the outcome of the Honors project. If the student's proposal is accepted by the Department, the student is identified as a Candidate for Honors. Each Candidate will work with a Departmental advisor (and other Department faculty, as appropriate) throughout the Senior year, and will produce a research paper. At a designated time during the Spring of the Senior year, each candidate will submit a final paper, at least 30 pages in length, which is bound and kept on file in the Art & Art History Department and the College Archives. The student will also make an appropriate formal public presentation of the research (that is, a lecture on the topic). Normally, all members of the Art & Art History Faculty attend each such presentation. The candidate must be prepared to defend all aspects of the work at this presentation.

Honors in the studio art concentration is awarded to students having produced a body of thesis work exemplifying formal and conceptual excellence. In order for studio art students to qualify as candidates for honors, they must have a 3.7 GPA, in the major, at the end of the first semester of senior year. Students meeting this criteria will be considered official candidates for honors. Upon the completion of senior gallery talks in support of The Trout Gallery thesis exhibition, studio art faculty will determine if the quality of a candidates thesis work merits the distinction of honors. Honors in studio art is assessed by considering the depth and rigor of the investigation that takes place during senior year. The ability to successfully connect conceptual and formal elements in the body of work, in addition to positioning the work within the context of historical and contemporary approaches is critical. Evolution, the willingness to take risks in an attempt to push beyond convention, and the ability to produce a cohesive body of resolved work will guide faculty members final decision.

Internships

The Department of Art & Art History can organize internships for advanced students through The Trout Gallery and other regional museums, galleries, art associations, commercial galleries, and architectural firms. In the past, art history majors have undertaken museum internships at The Metropolitan Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Walters Art Gallery, The State Museum of Harrisburg, and the Springfield (MA) Museum of Fine Arts, among others. Studio and art history majors have also interned at commercial galleries in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and New York City and some these internships have included conservation and restoration work.

Opportunities for off-campus study

The Art & Art History major was designed to allow students to spend a year or semester studying abroad during their junior year. Students planning on going abroad should meet with their advisor as early as possible, so that they can map out a path through the major. This is especially important for any student that is attempting to double major in addition to going abroad. The advising guide specifies courses that should be completed before leaving campus.

To study abroad in art history for a full year, the department suggests that students have completed at least four art history courses consisting of two at the intro level and two courses at the upper level (one must be a 300-level course); one intro and three courses at the upper level are also acceptable. For a semester abroad, a minimum of three classes is recommended, including one intro and two at the upper level. To study abroad in studio art for a full year, three studio courses and one art history are suggested; for a semester, two studio courses and one art history.

The Department of Art & Art History has two official partner programs that are highly recommended for majors looking to study abroad. For art history, the Syracuse University program in Florence, Italy is recommended and for studio art, the Temple University program in Rome, Italy. Both programs are considered top abroad programs in their areas of focus and offer a diverse range of courses. For students going on other Dickinson programs and partner programs it might be possible to find an art history or studio course, but certain programs have limitations in the study of art and this is not always possible. Thorough research and consultation with your academic advisor, and director of the specific abroad program, is required to determine what possibilities might exist.

For information regarding the suggested guidelines, please feel free to contact an Art & Art History faculty member. Students not following these guidelines may still be able to study abroad and complete the major, but will likely face a highly demanding senior year.

Courses

The following course is offered in Bologna:

132 The Arts of Italy
Offered in Bologna, Italy. An introduction to the major visual traditions of the Italian peninsula from antiquity to the end of the 18th century, combined with the basic art historical methodologies necessary to their understanding. Focus will be on the relationship of visual materials to their intellectual, social, and religious underpinnings, with special emphasis on the artistic traditions and monuments of Bologna. Lectures, discussion, and site visits provide the opportunity to understand artistic production in its larger cultural context. In addition to regular class meetings for lecture and discussion, required group excursions in and around Bologna will be scheduled occasionally on Fridays or Saturdays.
Attributes: Arts

The following courses are offered in Toulouse Summer Session:

261 Architecture and the Figure
France Summer Session. Drawing from the architecture of southwestern France with an emphasis on the figure and its role in establishing scale, movement and narrative.
Prerequisite: 122 or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

262 Painting 'en plein air'
France Summer Session. A second-level painting course concentrating on the concepts and practice of painting in the landscape. We will deal with the use of color, space, light and interpretive problems of working on site.
Prerequisite: 122 and 227 or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

Art History Courses

101 An Introduction to the History of Art
This course is a critical survey of western art beginning with the Ancient Near East (approximately 4000 B.C.) through the Gothic period in Europe (early 1300s). Emphasis will be placed on the analysis of style, subject-matter, and function within an historical context, and especially on the student's ability to develop skills in visual analysis. Developing appropriate vocabularies with which to discuss and analyze works of art and imagery will also be stressed, along with learning to evaluate scholarly interpretations of them.
Attributes: Appropriate for First-Year, Arts, MEMS Elective

102 An Introduction to the History of Art
This course surveys art of the European renaissance through the contemporary period. Art will be examined within the historical context in which it was produced, with attention to contemporary social, political, religious, and intellectual movements. Students will examine the meaning and function of art within the different historical periods. In addition, students will learn to analyze and identify different artistic styles.
Attributes: Appropriate for First-Year, Arts, MEMS Elective

108 Arts of East Asia
This course introduces students to a selection of objects and sites that elicit new modes of cultural perception and insight into the artistic cultures of China, Korea, and Japan. Loosely arranged in a chronological order, each week is devoted to in-depth examination of a different type of object, medium, and format. The diverse mediums (sculpture, ceramics, metalwork, lacquer, prints, painting, calligraphy, photography, performance, and architecture) and the long historical span covered in class will chart how culture traveled within East Asia, and later, globally, as well as each culture’s distinctive methods of adaptation over time. Major themes include the relationship between artistic production and sociopolitical and socioeconomic development, cultural exchange, aesthetics, impact of religion, power and authority, gender, and issues of modernity. Lectures are supplemented by viewing sessions in the Trout Gallery.
This course is cross-listed as EASN 108.
Attributes: Appropriate for First-Year, Arts, East Asian Humanities Elective, Global Diversity, Humanities

202 Reality, Idealism, Beauty, and Power: Topics in the Art & Architecture of Ancient Greece and Rome
How can we understand the representation of reality, idealism, beauty, and power in the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome through studying their art and architecture? How can these issues in ancient art illuminate our understanding of the visual and structural expression of human experience? In this course, we will examine major monuments in painting, sculpture, and architecture in both cultures from a variety of interpretive perspectives through which they have been addressed in primary sources and scholarly literature. Students will study and analyze textual, art-historical, and archaeological “readings” of these monuments and compare the strengths and weaknesses of the authors' arguments in terms of methodological approach and evidence. In addition, the authors' cultural assumptions, interpretive premises, and ideological goals (if any) will also be addressed in attempting to understand how these works of art have acquired a particular meaning over time and what constitutes that meaning. Students will also acquire competency in recognizing and analyzing diverse stylistic initiatives and their aesthetic significance.
This course is cross-listed as ARCH 202.Offered every year.
Attributes: ARCH Area A Elective, ARTH Ancient Art, Arts

204 American Art: Power, Place, Identity
This course begins with the earliest depictions of indigenous people by European explorers and expands to consider how artists responded to the colonization and domestication of North American land. It considers how tensions around slavery in nineteenth-century American imagery played out differently across audience, medium and context and how slaves resisted narratives of white dominance and oppression. It also examines the impact of urbanization, immigration and the rise of consumer culture on the content and circulation of art, concluding with the social dislocation of the 1930s Depression and the onset of WW2. Students can expect to leave the course with a more complex understanding of American identity and cultural politics, while also developing crucial skills in critical reading, writing and visual analysis across a range of artifacts and media.<
Attributes: AMST Representation Elective, Arts, Sustainability Connections, US Diversity

205 Topics in Art History
An intermediate-level study of selected topics in the history of art and architecture.
Prerequisites: prerequisites as appropriate to topic.
Attributes: Arts

206 Museum Studies
Introduces students to the history, theory, practice, and politics of American museums. The course examines museums’ historical relationships with colonization and considers issues of nationalism, audience accessibility, curatorial activism, and social justice initiatives in the US. Case studies consider controversies and changes in museums, including: the creation of national museums, artists as activists, censorship and the culture wars, and art and identity politics, specifically how gender, race, class, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, feminism, and disability might determine inclusion in or access to exhibitions. This course is open to all students and is especially relevant to those studying the arts, history, archaeology, American Studies, and public policy.
Offered every year. This course is cross-listed as ARCH 206.
Attributes: Arts

209 The Japanese Woodblock Print
This course provides a thorough introduction to the woodblock print –Japan’s most celebrated artistic medium—from its emergence in the mid-17th century to the modern era. Technical developments, major genres, and master designers are explored within the context of the print’s relationship to the urban culture of early modern and modern Japan. Topics including censorship, theatricality, the representation of war, nationalism, and Japonisme. Special emphasis is placed on an examination of habits of pictorial representation and protocols of viewing unique to the Japanese print medium. Lectures are supplemented by viewing sessions in the Trout Gallery.
This course is cross-listed as EASN 209.
Attributes: Arts, East Asian Humanities Elective, Global Diversity

210 Buddhist Art in East Asia
How are narratives transformed from texts into images? How are images brought to life, becoming more than mute blocks of stone or colors on paper? How can we best reconstruct and understand these past visual experiences? Through classroom discussion and close examination of key East Asian Buddhist artworks, this course introduces students to the unexpected conceptual interest within the cultural context of East Asia. Each week is devoted to the discussion of a particular keyword, beginning with the basics such as “Buddha” and “bodhisattva” and proceeding towards more specialized terms including “pure land” and “mandala.” In conjunction with the investigation of keywords in Buddhist art, we will also address theories of iconography, space, spectatorship, ritual, etc. The class will also view Buddhist artworks in the Trout Gallery.
This course is cross-listed as EASN 210.
Attributes: Arts, Chinese Humanities Elective, East Asian Humanities Elective, Global Diversity, Humanities, Japanese Humanities Elective

212 Michelangelo-Man & Myth
In this course, we will explore the figure and art of Michelangelo from a historiographic and critical perspective. Understanding his role as an artist and the effect of his art on his contemporaries and subsequent generations of artists, critics, and scholars through our own era will be a primary goal. Readings will be drawn from a variety of primary and secondary sources, and will include writings by Michelangelo himself, critical and theoretical commentaries, historical narratives, and art-historical interpretations. Conflicts within the scholarly community about how we might understand and reconstruct his life will also be addressed, as well as how the idea of the creative process was constructed and enacted during the Renaissance in Italy.
Prerequisite: 101 or 102, or permission of instructor.
Attributes: Italian St Visual Art & Repres, MEMS Elective

213 Gothic Pilgrimage
This course considers the visual arts of the late Gothic era in the major European cities, courts, and religious centers as seen through the eyes of a pilgrim c. 1400 en route from Hereford to Rome (along the via Francigena), Rome to Jerusalem, and back to Hereford (along the banking trade routes via Cologne). The sites selected trace well-known routes that pilgrims followed to the Holy Land and the objects and monuments they encountered: e.g. the city itself, principal sacred and civic structures, altarpieces, reliquaries, and tombs of saints and rulers. Readings and discussions will examine medieval notions of pilgrimage and its role in late medieval society, with a focus on the rituals and objects associated with death, burial, afterlife, and commemoration. Each object will be considered within the broader fabric of its surroundings, paying particular attention to the rituals and physical context associated with the object and how it would have been experienced by a pilgrim.
Attributes: Arts, MEMS Elective, Writing in the Discipline

215 Peasants, Prostitutes, and Panoramas: Seventeenth-Century Dutch and Flemish Art
This course examines Seventeenth-Century Dutch and Flemish art with particular emphasis on paintings, drawings, and prints. Artists including, Rubens, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Haals, Cuyp, and van Goyen, among others will be studied within the cultural, intellectual, and political contexts in which they worked and within which their art was understood. Particular issues pertaining to religious conflict, environmental transformations, and economic conditions (e.g., patronage and the rise of a capitalist market) will also be studied as integral to the making and viewing of art during this period. Readings will be drawn from diverse scholarly interpretations in the art-historical literature as well as relevant primary sources. A trip to the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. where students will deliver presentations on specific works of art in the permanent collection, is also an important part of the course.
Attributes: Arts

216 Goddesses, Prostitutes, Wives, Saints, and Rulers: Women and European Art 1200-1680
How has the representation of women been constructed, idealized, vilified, manipulated, sexualized, and gendered during what could be broadly called the “Renaissance” in Europe? How have female artists, such as Sofanisba Anguissola (1532-1625) or Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653), among others, represented themselves, men, and other familiar subjects differently from their male counterparts? How have female rulers, like Queen Elizabeth I of England, controlled their own political and cultural self-fashioning through portraiture? What role do the lives and writings of female mystics, like Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) or Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) play in depictions of their physical and spiritual identity? How was beauty and sexuality conceived through the imagery of mythological women, like Venus, or culturally ambivalent women, like courtesans and prostitutes? What kind of art did wealthy, aristocratic women or nuns pay for and use? Through studying primary texts, scholarly literature, and relevant theoretical sources, we will address these and other issues in art produced in Italy, France, Spain, Northern Europe, and England from 1200-1680. The course will be grounded in an understanding of historical and cultural contexts, and students will develop paper topics based on their own interests in consultation with the professor. A screening of the documentary film, “A Woman Like That” (2009), on the life of Artemisia Gentileschi and a trip to the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. will take place during the second half of the semester.
Offered every year.
Attributes: Arts, MEMS Elective, WGSS Hist/Theories/Represent

217 Modern and Contemporary Architecture
This course examines the character and development of Modern and Contemporary architecture, with emphasis on the following stylistic periods: Art Nouveau, Arts and Crafts, International Style, Post-Modernism, and Deconstruction. Major architects to be studied include Wright, Gropius, Le Corbusier, Mies, Johnson, Venturi, Gehry, Koolhaas, Gang, and Hadid. Students will also examine 20th and 21st-century urban planning. Through discussions, lectures, and extensive readings primary and secondary sources, students will become familiar with notable architectural styles of the 20th and early 21st centuries; understand the contemporary issues shaping the development of such styles, including politics, social movements, religion, philosophy, and developments in technology; gain the ability to discuss and write about architecture; and establish a critical framework and approach for analyzing architectural history. A field trip to Fallingwater in Western PA will also enhance their understanding of architectural design, construction, and legacy.
Attributes: Arts

219 Gender and Sexuality in Modern American Art
Gender roles and sexual identity are central to the transformations that define what it means to be “modern” in America between the late nineteenth- and mid-twentieth centuries. Artists across a range of media, including painting, sculpture, photography and printmaking, have engaged the ever-changing boundaries of male and female, straight and gay. They have taken up these boundaries in profound and ordinary ways, both in conscious and unintentional ways. Drawing upon recent scholarship in American art, this course analyzes the shifts in the work of artists from the lesser-known nineteenth-century gender-bending printmaker Ellen Day Hale to the visual culture surrounding the notorious Oscar Wilde and, in the twentieth century, the sexual politics of such famous artist couples as Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz, Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollock, Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg.
Prerequisites: 102 or WGSS 100 or AMST 201 or permission of instructor.
Attributes: AMST Representation Elective, Arts, US Diversity, WGSS Hist/Theories/Represent

252 Philosophy of Art
The discipline of aesthetics is primarily concerned with philosophical questions about art and beauty. This course will examine classic and contemporary Western discussions of such questions as, What is art? How can we determine what a work of art means? Are beauty and other aesthetic qualities subjective or objective? How should the quality of a work of art be assessed? Is there a general way to describe the creative process? What are the driving forces in the unfolding of art history? We will encounter such giants of the Western intellectual tradition as Plato, Aristotle, Hume, Kant, and Hegel, and also such contemporary figures as Arthur Danto, Richard Wollheim, and Kendall Walton.
Prerequisites: one previous course in art history or philosophy, or permission of the instructor. This course is cross-listed as PHIL 252.
Attributes: Appropriate for First-Year, Arts, Humanities, NRSC Non-Div 3 Elective

300 Artists, Audience, Patrons: Art & Architecture of the Italian Renaissance
This course examines painting, sculpture, and architecture in Italy from 1250 to 1570. The work of Giotto, Lorenzetti, Donatello, Masaccio, Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, Botticelli, Leonardo, Raphael, Titian, and Michelangelo, among others will be addressed. Students will study the significance of style, subject-matter, function, patronage, and artistic practice within historical and cultural contexts, and will also address Renaissance interpretations and responses to works of art. Discussion of art-historical theory and criticism as well as Renaissance theory and criticism based in primary texts will be an intrinsic part of the course. Students will acquire the ability to analyze and interpret works of art from the period within the framework outlined above, and will gain a working knowledge of the most significant works and the meaning(s) they have acquired over time. Analysis of primary and secondary sources will be a central focus of the research project, and students will be expected to construct a clear and well-supported interpretive argument over the course of the semester. The course includes a field trip to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., which has the largest collection of Italian Renaissance painting outside of Europe.
Prerequisite: 101 or 102 or permission of the instructor. Offered every year.
Attributes: Italian St Visual Art & Repres, MEMS Elective, Writing in the Discipline

305 Topics on Modern Design in East Asia
Traditional Chinese and Japanese art and design served as an important source of inspiration for European modernism. But what happened to art and design within China and Japan during the modern period? Despite China’s traditional stronghold in modular design and Japan’s current prestige in design culture, the two countries faced incredible challenges during the late 19th and early 20th century as they struggled with their own cultures’ pasts and the modern concept of art and design. This class offers a multidisciplinary approach to the study of modern East Asian art and examines how the concept of design emerged and developed in Japan and China in relation to both fine arts and industry in a broad cross-cultural nexus. While design connected modern China and Japan in ways unprecedented, the two cultures also adopted different design strategies defined by their respective cultural and historical conditions. The class is discussion based and is supplemented by a fieldtrip to Washington D.C.
Prerequisite: ARTH 108 or ARTH 209 or two art history or two non-language EASN courses.
Attributes: East Asian Humanities Elective, Global Diversity, Writing in the Discipline

313 Modern Art
This course surveys key artistic movements and styles in a period of roughly one hundred years, beginning with Realism in the 1840s France and ending with Abstract Express-ionism in 1950s America. Much of the course focuses on painting, though discussions of architecture, design, sculpture and photography also play an important role. We begin with the question of what modernism is: When did it begin? What makes a work of art "modern"? How is modernism different from what preceded it? Students learn to recognize, understand and discuss the defining features of modernism in its major manifestations, while also developing an understanding of themes such as the role of African art in modernism, the changing dynamics between the fine arts and popular culture, the role of technology as an influence on art, and the place of particular critics, galleries, and museums in shaping the discourses of modernism. Individual research projects give students the chance to explore a specific artist, style or theme in depth, while a field trip to National Gallery of Art and the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington D.C. provide an opportunity to see significant works of modern art firsthand. Assigned reading incorporate both secondary sources as well as artist's manifestos and aesthetic philosophies as primary source text.
Prerequisite: 102 or permission of the instructor.
Attributes: AMST Representation Elective, INST European Course, Writing in the Discipline

314 Contemporary Art
This course addresses a period of artistic production from the late 1960s to the present. It showcases key artists and artistic movements within a broad historical framework, highlighting major issues and important debates. Some of the themes discussed in the course include the changing nature of artistic practice in recent decades; the intersection of the body in contemporary art with issues of gender, sexuality, ethnicity and race; the role of art in public spaces; the rise of new media; the place of art within galleries, museums and other art-world institutions; the global nature of contemporary art; and art as an agent of protest and social change. Assigned readings include a variety of art historical analyses, artist interviews and writings, essays by art critics and other writers with backgrounds in such areas as philosophy, gender studies and critical race theory.
Prerequisite: 102 or permission of the instructor.
Attributes: AMST Representation Elective, Arts, US Diversity, Writing in the Discipline

375 Beauty
Perhaps no term is as variously interpreted or as hard to define as "beauty." At one time, beauty was treated as among the ultimate values, along with goodness, truth, and justice. But in the last century or so it has been devalued, equated with prettiness or meaningless ornamentation. It has been quite out of fashion in art since the late nineteenth century. But one cannot understand much of the art of the Western tradition without understanding it as the attempt to make beautiful things, and without understanding what that goal meant in the cultures in which it had currency. And of course even now most people would not want to be without dimensions of beauty in their lives. We will look both at classic and contemporary attempts to answer such questions, and try to heighten our own appreciation for the beauty in the arts and in the world.
Prerequisites: one previous course in art history or philosophy, or permission of the instructor. This course is cross-listed as PHIL 275.
Attributes: Arts, Humanities, NRSC Non-Div 3 Elective

391 Studies in Art History
Studies in selected topics of the history of art and architecture. The content of each course will be altered periodically.
Prerequisite: 101 and 102 or permission of the instructor.
Attributes: ARCH Area A Elective

407 Art History Senior Seminar
An intensive seminar wherein students conduct original research on selected works of art as part of curating a formal, public exhibition in The Trout Gallery. Research is directed towards interpretive essays that go through multiple writing revisions, resulting in a publishedexhibition catalogue edited by the seminar faculty member and Trout Gallery Staff, and designed by Dickinson College Design Services Staff. Students work collaboratively as curators and contributors to the catalogue, and undertake a professional-level experience, most often reserved for graduate study or museum professionals. All of the senior majors' art historical knowledge and critical skills will be put to use in the Senior Seminar with the goal of further refining their ability to conduct advanced research and formal, polished writing.
Prerequisite: Senior Art History majors only.

Studio Art Courses

122 Fundamentals of Composition and Drawing
Working from observation and using a variety of media, this basic studio drawing course will explore issues common to both representational and non-representational art. This course serves as the foundation to upper-level two-dimensional offerings.
Attributes: Appropriate for First-Year, Arts

123 Fundamentals of Sculpture
A studio course covering basic elements of three-dimensional composition and sculpture. Students will construct sculptures examining a range of media and fabrication techniques.
Attributes: Appropriate for First-Year, Arts

130 Art and Sustainability
This course promotes themes of sustainability and social engagement as the catalyst for artmaking. Primarily investigated through the design and construction of sculptures, installation art or other creative acts, students will explore creative practices exemplified by land art, social practice art, collaborative art, and social sculpture, among others.
Attributes: Arts, ENST Humanities/Arts (ESHA), Sustainability Connections

160 Special Topics in Studio
Selected techniques and concepts in studio, taught at the introductory level. The content of each course will be altered periodically.
Attributes: Arts

221 Introduction to Photography
An entry-level course in black-and-white photography emphasizing theory, history, and practice. Students learn how to create images, use cameras, develop film and make prints using conventional darkroom processes. Students will also be introduced to Photoshop as well as the basics of scanning and digital printing.
Attributes: Appropriate for First-Year, Arts

222 Drawing
A studio course to explore further, those issues covered in 122, but focusing on the creation of light and space. Landscape, architecture, still-life and the model will serve as subject matter. A large variety of media will be used, including pastel, monotype, ink, acrylic paint and charcoal.
Prerequisite: 122 or permission of the instructor.
Attributes: Arts

223 Digital Studio 1: Image Manipulation and Experimental Processes
This course will focus on 2-dimensional studio processes in the digital environment. It will also explore how digital processes can be used in conjunction with traditional processes like drawing, painting, and printmaking. The initial goal of this class will be to gain a thorough understanding of Adobe Photoshop for image manipulation. As the semester progresses, the class will explore uses of digital technology in contemporary art practice, including experimental processes.
*Please note: this is not a photography course, some photo related processes will be part of the class, but those students looking for a more traditional approach to photography should consider the 221 Intro to Photography class. Prerequisite: 122, 221, or permission of the instructor.
Attributes: Arts

224 Wheelwork Ceramics
A studio course exploring expressive possibilities offered by the potters wheel. Students will examine both utilitarian and sculptural aspects of the medium. A variety of clays, glazes and firing approaches will be examined.
Attributes: Appropriate for First-Year, Arts

226 Ceramic Sculpture
This introductory course examines the principal attributes of sculpture with a focus on clay as the primary fabrication material. Students will examine a range of firing, glazing, and construction techniques.
Satisfies 3D requirement for the studio art major.
Attributes: Appropriate for First-Year, Arts, Sustainability Connections

227 Fundamentals of Painting
A basic studio course exploring the techniques, practices and history of painting and theories of color. Working from observation, subject matter will range from still-life and landscape to architecture and the figure.
Prerequisite: 122 or permission of the instructor.

228 Printmaking Survey
A studio course in which students will gain a working knowledge in each of the three major areas of printmaking: intaglio, lithography, and relief-printing.
Prerequisite: 122 or permission of the instructor.

230 Life Drawing
The course will be devoted to working from the human form during which the students will be expected to develop a sense of two-dimensional line and three-dimensional illusionistic form through the use of such graphic media as pen and ink, pencil, charcoal, Conté crayon, etc.
Prerequisite: 122 or permission of the instructor.
Attributes: Arts

235 Post Studio Projects
The course provides an introduction to a variety of art making processes and philosophies outside a traditional studio context. Projects focus on individual and collaborative experiences that are not media specific; students create site-specific interventions, text-based installations, and performances, among other explorations, to consider critical and conceptual approaches to art.
Prerequisite: One studio course or permission of instructor.

260 Special Topics in Studio Art
Selected techniques and concepts in studio, taught at the introductory to intermediate level. The content of each course will be altered periodically.
Prerequisites: depending on topic or permission of the instructor.
Attributes: Arts

320 Advanced Photography & Imaging
An advanced course enabling students to explore advanced photo-based techniques, experimental problems, and aspects of contemporary and historical practice in photographic-based image making.
Prerequisite: 221, or permission of the instructor.

321 Advanced Drawing
A studio course to explore further, those issues covered in 122, but focusing on the creation of light and space. Landscape, architecture, still-life and the model will serve as subject matter. A large variety of media will be used, including pastel, monotype, ink, acrylic paint and charcoal.
Prerequisite: 122 or permission of the instructor.

322 Digital Studio 2: Time-Based Process
This course will allow students to explore time-based approaches to making art with a focus on the moving image and sound. Topics will include short film, animation, experimental film, and installation art. This course will be beneficial to students working at an advanced level and are interested in the possibilities time-based mediums can bring to their process. The work of artists and media specific art trends, from the 20th century to the present, will provide a working model for the course. Process and making will be the main focus, and students will be encouraged to consider the relationship between digital processes and traditional mediums such as drawing and sculpture. Students will gain a thorough understanding of editing in Apple’s Final Cut Pro.
Prerequisites: ARTH 122 and one studio course at the 200-level or higher, or permission of instructor.

323 Advanced Sculpture
Various sculpture media and studio processes will be explored including welding, casting, mold making, installation art, and expanded media as appropriate. An emphasis will be placed on technical and conceptual development to realize individual creative expressions.
Prerequisite: 123.

325 Advanced Ceramics
This advanced level ceramics course focuses on individual project development with processes utilizing the wheel and hand-building. Substantial glaze testing will build class color palettes in a range of firing temperatures and atmospheres. This course will allow for focused discussion and critiques on using clay as an expressive medium. This course will include discussion on topics such as: the use of ceramics in contemporary and historical artworks, participatory art, ephemeral art, and installation art.
Prerequisite: ARTH 224, 226 or permission of instructor.

326 Intaglio Printmaking
An in-depth exploration of etching, engraving, aquatint and other techniques of drawing on, and printing from metal plates. Photo-etching and working in color will also be covered.
Prerequisite: 122 or permission of the instructor.

327 Advanced Painting
A second-level studio painting course concentrating on the figure, and covering advanced techniques, alternative materials, and aspects of contemporary and historical practice.
Prerequisite: 227.

330 Advanced Life Drawing
Advanced problems and issues in drawing the human form.
Prerequisite: 230 or permission of the instructor.
Attributes: Arts

335 Lithography
A studio course exploring the art, techniques, and history of drawing and printing from the stone. Metal plate, color, and photo-lithography will also be explored.
Prerequisite: 122 or permission of the instructor.

360 Special Advanced Topics in Studio Art
Selected advanced studio techniques and concepts. The content of each course will be altered periodically.
Prerequisites: two studio art courses at the 100- or 200-level, or permission of the instructor.
Attributes: Arts

410 Senior Studio Seminar, Part 1
The first in a two-course sequence required for senior studio art majors. Critiques of students' work will include examination of timely topics in the visual arts and the relationship of the artist to society. Critiques, selected critical readings, museum visits and visiting artists will provide the basis for discussion.
Prerequisite: Majors only or permission of instructor. Co-requisite: One studio course.

411 Senior Studio, Part 2
Second half of the required, yearlong capstone for senior studio art majors. This course will continue with the critique-based model of independent studio practice as established in the first semester. The main focus of this course will be completing a fully developed body of thesis work for exhibition in the Trout Gallery, and the production of a supporting catalog.
Prerequisite: 410