This course introduces major periods and styles of art across time and diverse cultures. Painting, sculpture, and architecture from prehistoric times to Post-Modernism will be explored with particular emphasis on the art object as a form of cultural and social expression. Works of art will be considered through the study of theory, concepts and terminology, themes, design principles, media, and techniques.

Part 1: This course introduces students to visual art and architecture from prehistory to the medieval era with a focus on art from Europe, North Africa, and the near East. The course will further consider global interactions involving these regions. Part 2: Discussions of artistic style, techniques of production, major periods and figures in art history, and the relationship between art and society will be covered, with particular emphasis placed on the art object as a form of cultural and social expression.

Part 1: This course provides an overview of art and architecture from the Renaissance to the contemporary period with a focus on art from Europe. The course will further consider global interactions involving this region. Part 2: The course includes consideration of the development of styles, techniques of producing art, major figures in art history, and the relationship of art and society, with a particular emphasis on the art object as a form of cultural and social expression.

This course surveys the major artistic and architectural developments of Ancient Greece, Rome, and the Near East. The comparative analysis of social, religious, political, and economic messages sent by the objects and monuments under consideration will elucidate patterns of interaction and adaptation through time and space. It will also allow examination of collaboration and/or competition at artistic as well as at social and political levels.

This course is a survey of the history of photography from 1839 to present. Emphasis will be placed on the 20th and 21st centuries in order to explore the historical, technological, and cultural contexts of photography. We will trace how photography profoundly influenced culture and a sense of ourselves.

This course surveys developments in architectural traditions from their beginnings to the contemporary moment. Areas under study include the earliest structural forms of prehistory as well as ancient global traditions from Asia, Mesopotamia, Africa, and the Americas. Also considered are Ancient Greek and Roman contributions, the architecture of Monotheism (including Early Christian, Islamic, Byzantine, Medieval, and Gothic styles), and Renaissance, Baroque, and Revival traditions (like Neoclassicism, Neo-Gothic). The course culminates with an exploration of Modernism and Post-Modernism in global context. Topics under consideration focus on critical analysis of the factors impacting the development and use of architectural styles and forms as well as the relationship between architecture and geographic, ecological, and environmental; technological; religious; and/or socio-economic factors. Emphasis will be placed on spatial analysis and identifying and analyzing form and function (and the relationship between the two) in context.

This course introduces students to major art historical theories and methods, including Connoisseurship, Formalism, Psychoanalysis, Feminism, Marxism, Post-Modernism, etc. Emphasis is placed on excerpts of texts associated with, and case studies applying, each approach. Students test their understanding of each approach by applying it to given works of art and architecture from diverse time periods and makers.

This course is a survey of the painting, sculpture, and architecture produced throughout Europe between the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries as a form of historical, cultural, and social expression.

This course is a study of the history of American painting, sculpture, architecture, and decorative arts from colonial times to the present.

This course is a study of painting, sculpture, architecture, and allied arts of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. The major movements of Europe and the U.S. will be discussed.

This course is a survey of the visual arts produced by women from ancient times to the present. Emphasis will be on exposure and appreciation as well as stylistic analysis of the works.

This course provides a select overview of aesthetic developments such as sculpture, architecture, painting, and crafts in India, Southeast Asia, China, Korea, and Japan, from pre-history to modern times, including consideration of the influence of Islamic culture. Emphasis will be placed on historical, cultural and philosophical context.

This course surveys the visual culture of Mesoamerica and South America from pre-history to the Spanish conquest. The comparative analysis of social, religious, political, and economic messages sent by these objects and monuments will elucidate patterns of interaction, continuity, disjunction, and adaptation through time and space. Discipline specific approaches and vocabulary will be introduced and individual works will be analyzed in relation to their political, social, religious, economic, cosmological, and philosophical contexts. Cultural awareness and visual, stylistic, and cultural literacy will be emphasized, both within and across geographic regions and times.

This course is a survey of mainstream modern and contemporary developments in painting, sculpture, crafts and architecture of selected Latin American countries, including both modernist and postmodernist forms, with particular emphasis on a Latin American identity through works of art as a form of cultural, and social expression.

This course focuses on the history of art and architecture in Mexico from the Olmecs to the Muralists and beyond. Emphasis will be placed on an in-depth consideration of particular artworks and monuments and their connection to historical, social, political, economic, and religious contexts as well as their role in the formation of cultural and/or national identity. Interdisciplinary perspectives will be explored and each culture/period will be considered both by itself and as it relates to earlier and later manifestations.

This course begins with an introduction to the theory surrounding art museum and gallery design and ends with practical, hands-on work experience in the college gallery setting. All major aspects of management and operation will be covered, alongside discussion of museum and gallery design. The role of museums and galleries in society will also be considered and students will employ multidisciplinary approaches to explore how museums and galleries are reacting to modern social, political, historical, and economic issues. Museum and gallery approaches through time will also be evaluated as exclusionary and/or inclusionary spaces. The two college art galleries will serve as laboratories where students will work with the instructor to critically evaluate, select, curate, and hang artwork. Students will also be asked to critique current exhibitions on display in area institutions.