Undergraduate Department of Art History
College of Fine Arts
Website: https://arthistory.fsu.edu/
Chair: Lorenzo Pericolo; Assistant Chair: Jean Hudson; Professors: Leitch, Neuman; Associate Professors: Bearor, Beauchamp-Byrd, Bick, Carrasco, Dowell, Jolles, Jones, Niell; Assistant Professors: Killian, Loic; Professors Emeriti: Draper, Freiberg, Gerson, Nasgaard, Weingarden; Courtesy Professors: Ali, Boda, de Grummond, Emmerson, Lee, Pfaff, Pullen
The Department of Art History offers programs leading to the Bachelor of Arts (BA) in the history and criticism of art, the Master of Arts (MA) in the history and criticism of art, the Master of Arts (MA) in museum and cultural heritage studies, and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in the history and criticism of art. At the introductory undergraduate level, students learn about art, creative practices, and visual and material culture in a wide variety of geographic, cultural, and historical contexts. Each student will be able to analyze works of art and visual and material culture by examining the basic formal and contextual elements of the works studied and by developing a visual memory. At the intermediate undergraduate level, students are introduced to theoretical and critical concerns in disciplinary sub-fields and the broader field. At the advanced undergraduate level, students explore different historical periods, cultural contexts, and media in depth and conduct sustained research on these topics. By providing students with the core competencies in the discipline, including critical aptitude for professionally informed, advanced research and writing in art history, the program objective is to prepare the student for a professional career in academic art history or related fields, including work in museums, archives, galleries, and publishing.
The faculty includes specialists in a wide range of fields that support and intersect with three major areas of program study: the Post-Ancient and Medieval World, Modernities and Modernisms, and Visual Cultures of the Americas. Areas of faculty expertise include: Islamic art, pre-Columbian art, the arts of Byzantium, Romanesque and Gothic art, and global medieval art; Italian and Northern European Renaissance art, Spanish colonial art, Baroque and 18th-century art, modern architecture, 19th- and 20th-century art and criticism, global modern and contemporary art, contemporary arts of Africa and its diasporas, and contemporary global Indigenous art; Caribbean art, North American and United States art, 20th century American cinema, Indigenous American art and film, and African American and Afro-Caribbean art. Other areas or expertise include histories of media (including history of the book, prints and photography, comics studies, word-image studies, and architectural history), and fields intersecting with art history (including cultural landscape studies, and museum and curatorial studies). Members of the Classics faculty trained in archaeology and art history offer courses in Aegean, Greek, Etruscan, Roman, and Egyptian art.
The Department of Art History is supported by an array of resources, including classrooms, seminar rooms, a teaching lab that is fully equipped for multimedia presentations, and a media center under the direction of a full-time curator. The media center houses a comprehensive collection of digital resources, including a database of more than 45,000 images. Additionally, the School of Art and Design Library includes over 6,500 art-related books. The University library holdings are extensive and include a rare book and facsimile collection. The library supports many electronic resources and an excellent interlibrary loan division. The resources of the Ringling Museum Library as well as those held by other state universities in Florida are also available.
The University Museum of Fine Arts houses several permanent collections and is used for temporary exhibitions, student research, and course visits. The University administers the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, with its internationally known collection of European and Asian art. Internships are available at each of the Florida State University's museums.
Students have the opportunity to pursue independent research at the Florida State University Study Centers in Florence, London, Panamá, Paris, and Valencia. The Florence program is used extensively by students of the history of art for the study of the Italian language and arts, and for archival work and offers annual teaching and assistantships for art history doctoral students. The London Study Center offers opportunities for internships at major London museums. The Paris program hosts a specialized program in art history taught by the Department of Art History faculty. Archaeological experience is available at the Etruscan and Roman sites of Cetamura del Chianti and Poggio delle Civitelle at San Venanzo, the University's field school excavations in Italy.
The department sponsors an annual Art History Graduate Symposium for graduate students attending universities nationwide. Students are chosen to present papers during a two-day series of meetings, and these papers may be submitted for publication in Athanor, a journal for graduate students in art history sponsored by the Art History Department and the College of Fine Arts. Each year, a distinguished art historian is invited to participate in the symposium and to deliver the keynote address.
Digital Literacy Requirement
Students must complete at least one course designated as meeting the Digital Literacy Requirement with a grade of “C–” or higher. Courses fulfilling the Digital Literacy Requirement must accomplish at least three of the following outcomes:
- Evaluate and interpret the accuracy, credibility, and relevance of digital information
- Evaluate and interpret digital data and their implications
- Discuss the ways in which society and/or culture interact with digital technology
- Discuss digital technology trends and their professional implications
- Demonstrate the ability to use digital technology effectively
- Demonstrate the knowledge to use digital technology safely and ethically
Each academic major has determined the courses that fulfill the Digital Literacy requirement for that major. Students should contact their major department(s) to determine which courses will fulfill their Digital Literacy requirement.
In art history, undergraduate majors must satisfy this requirement by earning a grade of “C” or higher in ARH 2814 Cultural Heritage in the Digital Age.
Oral Communication Competency
All undergraduates at Florida State University must demonstrate the ability to transmit ideas and information clearly and orally in a way that is appropriate to the topic, purpose, and audience. Undergraduates must also demonstrate the ability to discuss ideas clearly with others, to listen and respond to questions, and to assess critical responses appropriately. The need for specific oral communication skills, such as formal lectures/presentations, interviewing skills, or group dynamics varies from discipline to discipline. In art history, undergraduate majors must satisfy this requirement by earning a grade of “C” or higher on verbal presentations in seminars about works of art and art historical topics of research.
State of Florida Common Program Prerequisites for Art History
The Florida Virtual Campus (FLVC) houses the statewide, internet-based catalog of distance learning courses, degree programs, and resources offered by Florida's public colleges and universities, and they have developed operational procedures and technical guidelines for the catalog that all institutions must follow. The statute governing this policy can be reviewed by visiting https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2021/1006.73.
FLVC has identified common program prerequisites for the degree program in Art History. To obtain the most up-to-date, state-approved prerequisites for this degree, visit: https://cpm.flvc.org/programs/150/229.
Specific prerequisites are required for admission into the upper-division program and must be completed by the student at either a community college or a state university prior to being admitted to this program. Students may be admitted into the University without completing the prerequisites but may not be admitted into the program.
Major in Art History
The Bachelor of Arts (BA) program in the history and criticism of art requires a total of forty-five semester hours, of which thirty-nine will be in art history and six in studio art. The foundation courses (ARH 2050 and ARH 2051) provide a broad view of major artists, cultural groups, and monuments from Western and World Art history and are to be taken as early as possible. ARH 3XXX courses, conceived as intermediate-level introductions to subfields and theoretical concerns within the discipline, should also be taken early to build in-depth disciplinary knowledge, skills, and other critical competencies in advance of 4000-level upper-division coursework. Majors are required to take an additional ten upper-level courses, two of which must be in World Arts. Two of the ten courses must be seminars in art history (ARH 4800), prior to which twelve credit hours in art history must be completed. Only a grade of “C” or better is acceptable for courses in Art History to be credited toward the major. Students must also satisfy the University language requirement for the BA degree. Art History majors satisfy the University Digital Literacy Competency with ARH 2814.
Art History Research Concentration (ARC)
Beginning Fall 2024, all art history majors will identify an “ARC,” or Art history Research Concentration, under the mentorship of the Academic Program Specialist and the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Students should identify an ARC by the end of the junior year, or when they've earned 60–90 credit hours. An ARC is satisfied by three 3000- or 4000-level ARH courses offered by the Department of Art History. Concentrations might include historical periods, cultural areas, history of specific media (e.g. books and prints, photography, architecture), or methodological approaches to art history. Students may develop their own ARC after consultation and approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Honors in the Major
The Department of Art History offers honors in the major to those who wish to pursue an extended independent research project. For requirements and other information, see the “University Honors Office and Honor Societies” chapter of this General Bulletin.
Minor in Art History
A minor in art history requires fifteen semester hours of coursework in the department. Students must complete ARH 2050 and 2051, one course at the 3000 level, one course at the 4000 level, and one seminar in Art History to satisfy the minor. ARH 2000 is not eligible for the minor, beginning with students entering the minor in the 2023–24 academic year.
Minor in Medieval Studies
The undergraduate minor in medieval studies provides students with focused, interdisciplinary training in the culture of the pre-modern era in the lands of Europe, both West and East, as well as the cultures of the Middle East. The minor will consist of fifteen semester hours beyond the CoreFSU Curriculum and major requirements. The selection of a pair of courses in one of the following fields of concentration provides a focus for the minor: medieval art history (two ARH courses from an approved list); medieval history (two EUH courses from an approved list); and medieval texts and cultures (one ENL and one modern languages course from an approved list). Having established a concentration in one medieval field, the student then chooses three more courses from an approved list. These courses are to be distributed over two or three departments other than that of his/her concentration. Additional courses are certified on a semester-by-semester basis. Qualified students also may enroll in certified graduate-level courses for minor credit, with permission of the instructor.
Minor in Museum Studies
A minor in museum studies requires fifteen semester hours. Of these, six semester hours are in museum studies courses, three hours are in a related elective, three hours are taken in a supervised internship, and the remaining three hours can be taken either as a second approved elective course or as additional internship hours. Students with a minor in museum studies may not apply any internship hours towards the major in Art History. ARH 2000 is not eligible for the minor, beginning with students entering the minor in the 2023–24 academic year.
Definition of Prefix
ARH—Art History
IDH— Interdisciplinary Honors
IDS—Interdisciplinary Studies
SPC—Speech Communication
Undergraduate Courses
ARH 2000. Art, Architecture, and Artistic Vision (3). This course focuses on a thematic approach to the understanding and appreciation of works of art.
ARH 2030. Writing and Reading Art History (3). Prerequisites: ARH 2050 or ARH 2051. This course is a foundation-level, practicum-style class focusing on reading and writing art history as a discipline of study. It is intended for undergraduate students who are interested in pursuing art history as a major, minor, or track within the Humanities major.
ARH 2050. History and Criticism of Art I (3). This course is an introductory survey from prehistoric through late-Medieval art history.
ARH 2051. History and Criticism of Art II (3). This course is an introductory survey from early Renaissance through modern art history including developments in American art.
ARH 2581. Survey of “Tribal Arts” Past and Present (3). This course studies the non-Western arts as tools for interacting with other people, or with environmental or universal forces.
ARH 2814. Cultural Heritage in the Digital Age (3). This course fulfills the university digital literacy requirement, with a focus on global cultural heritage.
ARH 3130. Survey of Greek Art and Archaeology (3). This course reviews the major accomplishments in Greek art from early times through the Hellenistic period through a survey of principal monuments, works, and archaeological evidence.
ARH 3150. Art and Archaeology of Ancient Italy (3). This course is a survey of Italian art and archaeology including early Italy, the Etruscans, and Rome with reference to the major monuments, works, and archaeological evidence.
ARH 3391. The Renaissance Apprentice: Artistic Practice in Fifteenth Century Florence (3). This course combines an art historical and artistic approach to studying Renaissance art. Students study traditional techniques using the same master-apprentice system used in the Renaissance. Students begin with basic drawing exercises then advance to sculpting and painting using the city of Florence as their classroom.
ARH 3405. Contemporary Art in Public Spaces (3). Prerequisites: ART 1000, ART 1201C, ART 1203, ART 1300C, ART 1602C, and ART 2204C. This undergraduate survey course addresses key conceptual issues regarding the functions and siting of contemporary public art, providing students with a working knowledge of the relevant critical literature. Students also learn the basic components of writing a public art project proposal.
ARH 3473. Introduction to Modern and Contemporary Art (3). This course introduces modern and contemporary art as subjects of art historical study. It covers major and anti-canonical topics, debates, and movements in the historically Eurocentric and now revisionist, decolonial discourse on modern and contemporary art in international, transnational, and global contexts.
ARH 3515. History of African Art (3). This course surveys the history of African art, covering numerous regions of the vast continent. Students examine artistic expressions and visual traditions in the Sahara; along the Nile, Congo, and Niger rivers; in the Central and Western Sudan; the Atlantic Forests; the Cameroon grasslands; and eastern and southern Africa, among others. The course covers a range of visual and material expressions, including painting, sculpture, architecture, costuming, ritual implements, cultural landscapes, and ephemera.
ARH 3530. The Arts of Asia (3). This course is a general introduction to the visual arts of Asia, covering primarily India, central Asia, China, and Japan. The course is organized along thematic lines, with topics such as the ancient world, Buddhism, Chinese aesthetic theory and painting, and native and foreign currents in Japanese art.
ARH 3572. History of Islamic Art (3). This course surveys the history of Islamic Art, covering numerous cultures on several continents. Students examine the development of artistic expressions and visual traditions in Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Spain.
ARH 3612. Visual Cultures of the Americas (3). This course in an introductory survey of the visual and material culture of the Americas from the archaic period to the present.
ARH 3794. Museum Basics: History and Theory (3). This course introduces students to the history and theory of museums and museum practices, museum administration, exhibition planning, museum education, and museum careers.
ARH 3854. The Museum Object (3). Prerequisite: ARH 3794. The course covers the philosophy and practice of acquiring, processing, preserving, displaying, and interpreting museum objects. Material culture and the museum objects are addressed from the perspective of various disciplines, such as art history, archaeology, anthropology, history, and the natural sciences. Hands-on experience is gained in designing and executing an exhibition of the students' conception.
ARH 3930r. Special Topics (3). May be repeated to a maximum of six semester hours.
ARH 4067. History of Modern Architecture (3). This course traces the major shifts in architectural thinking and design from the 19th to 21st centuries. While focused on European and American debates and movements, the course makes links to the architectural implications of Western territorial ambitions in the colonies such as the Indian subcontinent, the Muslim heartland, and North Africa.
ARH 4110. Art and Archaeology of the Bronze Age in the Aegean (3). This course studies the major archaeological evidence related to the Bronze Age in Crete and Greece; the major sites, monuments, and artistic works.
ARH 4118. Archaeology of Ancient Egypt (3). This course surveys the archaeology and art of ancient Egypt from the Pre-dynastic to the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. An emphasis is placed on the art, architecture, and culture of the Old and New Kingdoms.
ARH 4120. Etruscan Art and Archaeology (3). This course is a study of Etruscan culture, art, and archaeology.
ARH 4131. Greek Art and Archaeology of the Fifth and Fourth Centuries B.C. (3). This course surveys the accomplishments of classical Greek art through an examination of the monuments, works, and archaeological evidence.
ARH 4151. Art and Archaeology of the Early Roman Empire (3). This course examines Roman art and archaeology from Augustus through the Antonines with a survey of the major artistic accomplishments and the archaeological remains.
ARH 4154. Archaeology of the Late Roman Empire (3). This course comprises a study of Roman art and archaeology from the second to sixth century CE with emphasis on important sites and monuments.
ARH 4173r. Studies in Classical Archaeology and Art (3–9). This course studies specific aspects of the archaeology and art of Greece and Italy. May be repeated to a maximum of nine semester hours.
ARH 4210. Early Christian and Byzantine Art (3). This course explores Byzantine art and architecture from the rise of Christianity in the second and third centuries to the end of the sixth century. Emphasis is placed on how imperial rulers used art to further their political and religious agendas.
ARH 4211. Early Medieval Art (3). Prerequisite: ARH 2050 or instructor permission. This course explores the development of the uses of art in the European Middle Ages, from Barbarian metal work to the acceptance of the classical tradition, to the first mature pan-European art of Romanesque architecture and sculpture. Topics of special interest include pilgrimage, imperial imagery, manuscripts, and monasteries.
ARH 4212. Late Antique and Early Christian Art (3). This course focuses on the art and architecture produced in Late Antiquity, a time of transition from the Roman and Medieval periods. Emphasis is on the processes of transmission, adoption, and adaptation of established iconographies and architectural forms from Jewish and pagan arts to serve the needs of the newly established Christian religion.
ARH 4230. Later Medieval Art (3). Prerequisite: ARH 2050 or instructor permission. This course covers what is generally called Gothic art, including the cathedrals and their sculpture built by bishops and towns, as well as the castles, sumptuous arts, and manuscripts commissioned by princes and lords. Topics of special interest include the Black Death, devotional art, civic expression, and the arts of the courts.
ARH 4301. Cosmopolitan Renaissance (3). Prerequisite: ARH 2050 or ARH 2051. This course examines artistic exchange in painting, sculpture, and printmaking in continental Europe during the Renaissance.
ARH 4304. History of Renaissance Architecture (3). Prerequisite: ARH 2051 or instructor permission. This course is a survey of 15th- and 16th-century architecture in Italy with emphasis on works by Brunelleschi, Alberti, Bramante, Michelangelo, and Palladio. Discussion centers on how the major architectural types developed and why, including: churches, city palaces, public piazzas, and country villas. Particular attention is paid to the impact of antiquity and the emergence of urban planning.
ARH 4310. Early Italian Renaissance Art: 15th Century (3). Prerequisite: ARH 2051 or instructor permission. This course examines how social and historical issues influenced the arts during the first great cultural flowering of the Renaissance in Florence, Rome, and Venice. Discussion centers on how the requirements of the patron, the vitality of local traditions, and the interaction among the arts all contributed to the creation of the new Renaissance vocabulary.
ARH 4312. Later Italian Renaissance Art: 16th Century (3). Prerequisite: ARH 2051 or instructor permission. This course examines works by the great masters of the Renaissance, including Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Titian, against the backdrop of the social and political realities of the day. Discussion includes the rise of the artist-hero, the sources and meaning of Mannerism, and the impact of the religious controversies of the age.
ARH 4331. Northern European Renaissance Art (3). Prerequisite: ARH 2051 or instructor permission. This course focuses on developments in northern European 15th- and 16th-century art with emphasis on painting and printmaking: Flemish, French, German, and Dutch artists.
ARH 4352. Southern Baroque Art (3). Prerequisite: ARH 2051 or instructor permission. This course investigates painting, sculpture, and architecture in Italy and Spain during the 17th century, stressing the theatrical, ecstatic, and virtuoso character of works produced for royalty, the Church, and the rising middle class by such masters as Caravaggio, Bernini, and Velázquez.
ARH 4353. Northern Baroque Art (3). Prerequisite: ARH 2051 or instructor permission. This course examines the Golden Age of painting, sculpture, and architecture in France, England, and the Netherlands, showing how such figures as Rembrandt and Vermeer encoded meaning in works of detailed realism and contributed to the rise of new subjects in art, including still life, landscape, and portraiture.
ARH 4355. 18th-Century Art (3). Prerequisite: ARH 2051 or instructor permission. This course studies painting, sculpture, and architecture produced in Western Europe during the Enlightenment, with emphasis on the luxurious, sensual art of the Rococo, the rational classicism of the Palladian Revival, the new moral and philosophical image of women, and the rise of the decorative arts.
ARH 4372. Spanish Colonial Art: The Hapsburg Period, 1492/1506–1700 (3). Prerequisite: ARH 2051 or instructor permission. This course surveys the art, architecture, and visual culture of Spain's overseas colonies during the period of early exploration and Austrian Hapsburg rule in Spain (1506–1700). It examines a wide array of visual expressions, including painting, sculpture, architecture, urban space, prints, ephemera, ceramics, furniture, and clothing. In the course of this survey, the relationship between art and such issues as colonialism, race, gender, and social hierarchy are considered.
ARH 4413. Spanish Colonial Art: The Bourbon Period, 1700–1821/1898 (3). Prerequisite: ARH 2051 or instructor permission. This course surveys the art, architecture, and visual culture of Spain's overseas colonies during the period of Bourbon imperial rule (1700–1821/1898). It examines a wide array of visual expressions, including painting, sculpture, architecture, urban space, prints, ephemera, ceramics, furniture, and clothing. In the course of this survey, the relationship between art and issues such as colonialism, race, gender, and social hierarchy are considered.
ARH 4414. Modern European Art: Neoclassicism through Impressionism (3). Prerequisite: ARH 2051 or instructor permission. This course treats European art from 1780–1880, concentrating on the evolving dialogue between academic and anti-academic practices through an investigation of the relationship between theory, criticism, and techniques of representation. Topics of inquiry include: David and Neo-classicism; British landscape painting; Delacroix and French Romanticism; Courbet's Realism and Manet's Naturalism; and French Impressionism.
ARH 4450. Modern European Art: Post-Impressionism through Surrealism (3). Prerequisite: ARH 2051 or instructor permission. This course covers the development of art from 1880 to 1940. Topics of discussion include abstraction, Symbolism, Surrealism, as well as the relationship between the techniques and forms of abstract representation and contemporary philosophical, social, scientific, and political events. The writing of artists and critics provides the basis for this inquiry.
ARH 4554. Arts of Japan (3). This course introduces the visual arts of Japan, covering the ancient to the modern period. The framework for the course is both chronological and thematic, with particular focus on the relationship between culture and the visual arts. Among the topics covered are ancient Japan, Japanese aesthetics, Buddhist art, the rise of the samurai, garden architecture and tea ceremony, castle decoration, and the world of ukiyo-e.
ARH 4620. U.S. Art: Centennial through Late Modernism (3). Prerequisites: ARH 2051 or instructor permission. This course surveys painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, and material culture from 1876 to the 1950s, reflecting regional and multicultural responses to questions of subjectivity and modernity such as “What is ‘American' about our country and its art?” The course also explores how developing a national identity in this culture was a central concern during this period.
ARH 4642. Art after 1940 (3). Prerequisite: ARH 2051 or instructor permission. This course covers American and European art from Abstract Expressionism to the present. The course examines the reactions against Abstract Expressionism and investigates late-modernist practices (e.g., Pop Art, Minimalism, Conceptualism, Earth Art, Performance Art). Topics discussed include contemporary artistic practices and the relationship between “modernism” and “postmodernism”.
ARH 4653. Great Traditions in Mesoamerican Art and Culture (3). This course introduces the art and architecture of Mesoamerica from the rise of the Olmec (1500 BC) to the Spanish conquest of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. Focus is placed on how changes in visual culture reflect larger religious and political transformations.
ARH 4675. The Art and Culture of the Maya (3). This course examines the art and culture of the Maya from approximately 350 BC to the present, focusing primarily on the Classic period (AD 250–900). This course highlights the role of art in Maya religion, politics, and ritual, addressing both the Maya conception of time and their hieroglyphic script. The class examines a range of media in which the Maya worked, including architecture, sculpture, ceramic painting, calligraphic monuments, and primary texts in translation, such as the Popol Vuh.
ARH 4710. History of Photography (3). This course surveys the history of photography from its invention in the 1830s up to the present. It addresses the historical development of the medium both topically and chronologically, focusing on photography's global reach and its diverse array of social functions. Topics include historical debates about photography's status as art; commercial and scientific applications; advertising and fashion photography; photojournalism and propaganda; the rise of amateur photography; and contemporary trends and practices. Prior experience in photography is not required.
ARH 4720. History of Graphics (3). Prerequisite: ARH 2051 or instructor permission. This course surveys artists and processes in Western printmaking from the 15th century through the 20th century.
ARH 4772. Japanese Animation (3). This course follows the history of Japanese animation from the early 20th century to the present time, with special focus on the contemporary period. The course investigates not only the richness of what is commonly referred to as anime, but also anime's various origins in Japan and abroad.
ARH 4793. Cultural Heritage (3). This seminar introduces key issues, concepts, and practices in the field of cultural heritage studies, including such topics as tangible and intangible cultural heritage, authenticity and identity, the impact of development and conflict, and the role of policy, public opinion, ethics, and tourism in the protection and interpretation of cultural heritage.
ARH 4800r. Methods of Art History and Criticism (3). Prerequisites: ARH 2051, ARH 3056, ARH 3057, and twelve prior credit hours in upper-level art history. This course is an undergraduate seminar in art history with changing topics. May be repeated to a maximum of twelve semester hours.
ARH 4810. Art History Methods and Media (3). Prerequisites: ARH 2050 and ARH 2051, twelve prior credit hours in upper-level art history, and instructor permission. This seminar is designed for undergraduate art-history majors who plan to continue at the graduate level. The seminar introduces art media and research methods.
ARH 4815r. Honors in the Major Research (1–6). In this course, students accepted into the Honors in the Major program complete an original research or creative project in their major area of study. This course must be repeated at least twice to complete a minimum of six (6) credit hours total but may be repeated up to a maximum of twelve (12) credit hours in total.
ARH 4876. Global Women's Art (3). This course covers global women's art in the 20th and 21st centuries, with investigations into women's painting, sculpture, installation, performance, photography, film, and multimedia, often challenging conventional perceptions of gendered roles to reshape possibilities for themselves and their communities. The course also includes coverage of immigrant and exiled women's contributions to the arts in the United States.
ARH 4882. Visual Cultures of the African Diaspora (3). Prerequisite: ARH 2051 or instructor permission. This course engages the visual cultures of the African Diaspora with geographic attention to the contemporary nations of Cuba, Haiti, Brazil, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and Jamaica. After background on the visual cultures of West Africa, particularly those of Yoruba origin, we discuss the transformative impact of Atlantic World slavery and colonial institutions on African traditions. We consider the material and visual landscapes of new African ethnic formations in the Americas in relation to slavery, religious institutions, such as confraternities, ritual life, and the formation of symbolic economies. We then investigate how various religious traditions and their attendant visual cultures were remade in the post-slavery era.
ARH 4884. Walt Disney and the American Century (3). This course considers Disney and his company in relation to art, society, and politics during the twentieth century. Special attention is paid to Disney's contributions in the realms of film, architecture, and theme park. Through assigned readings and visual material such as cartoons, slides, and documentaries, the course assesses the relationship between high art and popular art and evaluates Disney's impact on the production and consumption of leisure.
ARH 4905r. Directed Individual Study (3).
ARH 4932r. Tutorial in Classical Archeology (1-3). Prerequisites: ARH 3130, ARH 3150, and instructor permission. This course uses readings and discussions within a small group of advanced undergraduates and discusses specific topics or research problems in classical archaeology. May be repeated to a maximum of six semester hours.
ARH 4933r. Special Topics in Art History (3). This course is an undergraduate, upper-level lecture course in art history with changing topics. May be repeated to a maximum of twelve semester hours.
ARH 4941r. Internship in Museum Studies (3–12). This course is an internship in a collaborative museum to provide students with firsthand knowledge of, and practical experience in, museums. May be repeated to a maximum of twelve semester hours, only three of which may be applied toward the major in art history. May be repeated within the same semester.
IDS 3168. Walt Disney's America (3). This course posits the questions “Who was Walt Disney, and how did he create an empire that continues to affect us profoundly today?” To answer these questions, students critically examine the two principal media in which Disney pioneered: the animated film and the theme park.
IDS 3678. Apocalypse: The End of the World in the Arts (3). This course studies how the end of the world represented in the arts from the Early Christian and medieval periods to the present. Students analyze book and manuscript illustrations, films, paintings, plays, religious texts, and visionary poems to determine why and how people think the world will end and how they express these expectations in powerful works of art.
SPC 2067. Communication for Arts and Design (3). This course provides majors in the College of Fine Arts with a course designed to fulfill the university's oral communication requirement using examples drawn from a diverse range of artistic contexts.
For listings relating to graduate coursework, consult the Graduate Bulletin.