Rev. 11-6-08
Undergraduate University Curriculum Committee
Course Proposal Form for Courses Numbered 0001 – 4999
(Faculty Senate Resolution #8-16, March 2008)
Guidelines for submission may be accessed via the web at: www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/fsonline/cu/curriculum.cfm
.
Note: Before completing this form, please carefully read the accompanying instructions.
1.
2. Date:
Course Prefix and Number:
3. Requested Action (check only one box) :
ART 2920
02/06/09
New Course x
Revision of Active Course
Unbanking of a Banked Course
Renumbering of Existing Course from: # to #
4. Justification for new course, revision, unbanking, or renumbering:
Currently, ART 2920: Art of the Middle Ages (3) P: ART 1906,
1907; or consent of instructor; covers Early Christian,
Byzantine, Carolingian, Ottonian, Romanesque, and Gothic art. This means that in one semester students learn about the developments of art in Europe, North Africa and the Middle
East for a period longer than a millennium (ca. 300-1500).
Because of the vast chronological and geographic horizons, I propose to revise the content ART 2920: Art of the Middle
Ages so that this course focuses on Western Medieval Art –
Early Medieval, Romanesque and Gothic. The content of the course related to Eastern Medieval Art, i.e. Byzantine art and architecture will be a separate course ART 2925. Byzantine Art and Architecture, which I also propose to develop.
5. Course description exactly as it should appear in the next catalog:
ART 2920: Art of the Middle Ages (3) (WI) P: ART 1906,
1907; or consent of instructor. Early Medieval, Romanesque, and Gothic art.
6. If this is a course revision, briefly describe the requested change:

The change of course content, so that the previous content of
ART 2920 is split into two separate courses
– one covering medieval art in the Western (ART 2920) and the other art in the Eastern (ART 2925) half of the artistic realms.
All the assignments and course requirements will remain the same as in previous ART 2920.
7.
8.
Page Number from current undergraduate catalog: 319
The Writing Across the Curriculum Committee must approve Writing
Intensive (WI) Credit for all courses prior to their consideration by the
334 html
UCC. If WI credit is requested, has this course been approved for Writing Intensive
(WI) credit (yes/no)? Yes
If Yes, will all sections be Writing Intensive (yes/no)? yes
9. The Academic Standards Committee must approve Foundations Curriculum Credit for all courses prior to their consideration by the UCC. If FC credit has been approved by the ASC, then check the appropriate box (check at most one):
10. Course Credit:
English (EN)
Humanities (HU)
Fine Arts (FA)
Health (HL)
Science (SC)
Social Science (SO)
Mathematics (MA)
Exercise (EX)
Lecture Hours 3 Weekly or Per Term Credit Hours 3 s.h.
Lab
Studio
Weekly or Per Term Credit Hours s.h.
Weekly or Per Term Credit Hours s.h.
Practicum
Internship
Weekly or Per Term Credit Hours s.h.
Weekly or Per Term Credit Hours s.h.
Other (e.g., independent study):
Total Credit Hours 3 s.h.
11. Anticipated yearly student enrollment:
12. Affected Degrees or Academic Programs:
Degree(s)/Course(s) Catalog Page
15-25
Change in Degree Hours
School of Art and
Design
207
222 html
none
13. Overlapping or Duplication with Affected Units or Programs: x Not Applicable

Applicable (Notification and/or Response from Units Attached)
14. Approval by the Council for Teacher Education (required for courses affecting teacher education programs): x Not Applicable
Applicable (CTE has given their approval)
15. Instructional Format: please identify the appropriate instructional format(s): x Lecture Internship
Lab
Student Teaching
Correspondence
Seminar
Studio
Clinical
Honors
Colloquia
Practica Other
16. Statements of Support: x
Current staff is adequate
Additional Staff is needed (describe needs in the box below) : x Current facilities are adequate
Additional Facilities are needed (describe needs in the box below) : x Initial library resources are adequate
Initial resources are needed (in the box below, give a brief explanation and estimate for cost of acquisition of required resources) : x Unit computer resources are adequate
Additional unit computer resources are needed (in the box below, give a brief explanation and an estimate for the cost of acquisition) x ITCS Resources are not needed
:
Following ITCS resources are needed (put a check beside each need) :
Mainframe computer system
Statistical services
Network connections
Computer lab for students

Describe any computer or networking requirements of this program that are not currently fully supported for existing programs (Includes use of classroom, laboratory, or other facilities that are not currently used in the capacity being requested) .
Approval from the Director of ITCS attached
17. Syllabus – please insert course syllabus below. Do not submit course syllabus as a separate file. You must include (a) the name of the textbook chosen for the course, (b) the course objectives, (c) the course content outline, and (d) the course assignments and grading plan.
Art of the Middle Ages
Course Overview
Why should we study the art of the Middle Ages today? What can we learn from the arts of this bygone period? How can we use knowledge of the arts of the
Middle Ages in our society?
In this course we will study Early Medieval (Visigothic, Ostrogothic, Lombard,
Insular, Anglo-Saxon, Merovingian, Carolingian, Ottonian, and Scandinavian),
Romanesque, and Gothic art. Because of the vast chronological and geographic horizons, we will consider only selected monuments of art and architecture that marked the legacy of Western Christendom for more than a millennium (ca. 4 th -
14 th centuries). In order to understand the role of medieval arts in the formation of Western civilization, we will also briefly mention key monuments of medieval
Islamic arts in the territories from the Arabian Peninsula to modern Spain.
The course will introduce us to various topics of Christian iconography, the relationship between text and image, and the role of ritual and the sacred in medieval arts. We will study architecture, sculpture, monumental decorative programs (mural painting, mosaic, stained glass, architectural sculpture), and the socalled “minor arts” such as ivories, jewelry, book illumination, textiles, and metalwork, among others. Though heavily charged with theological content, medieval artistic accomplishments also tell us about real life, enabling us simultaneously to examine some prevailing stereotypes on the so-called imperial arts, religious arts, and their inclusiveness or exclusiveness. We will focus on historical, functional, and religious aspects that lead to the creation of selected objects and monuments in order to underline the conceptual character of medieval art. The exchange of ideas, technical achievements, and building and artistic practices before the Renaissance, and their reflections in architecture and monumental arts will be also studied.
(a) Textbooks
* Henry Luttikhuizen and Dorothy Verkerk, Snyder’s Medieval Art , 2/E (Prentice
Hall, 2006)
ISBN-10: 0131929704 | ISBN-13: 9780131929708

(b) Course Objectives
Upon completing the course students will be able to:
- Characterize key features of Medieval Art and Architecture;
- Recognize and identify major art works of Medieval Europe as well as to relate them to their proper cultural and historical setting;
- Understand the role and significance of social, political, philosophical, religious and ideological concepts for the shaping of Medieval art and architecture;
- Learn about major concepts in Medieval art and architecture and their influence on artistic developments in Europe and the Mediterranean basin;
- Learn major concepts in Medieval art and architecture important for the developments in Western civilization;
- Understand issues of gender, economic, religious, social and cultural diversity by examining art objects and artistic concepts;
- Gain interpretative skills to critically approach, discuss, and analyze art and architecture in general, and to understand the methods of art historical inquiry.
(c) Course content:
Week 1
- Introduction: What is Medieval Art?
- Religious Diversity in the 3 rd and 4 th centuries: Dura Europos
Weeks 2-5 Early Christian Art in and outside Rome
- Funerary Art and Religious Diversity: Catacombs and Sarcophagi
- From the Pagan to the Christian Basilica
- New patrons of Christian Arts: Emperor Constantine I, Aristocracy and Clerics
- Holy Land
– Jerusalem and Bethlehem
- Ravenna
- Western Europe under Germanic tribes: Arts of Ostrogothic Italy, Visigothic
Spain, and Frankish Gaul
- Irish Art
- Anglo-Saxon Art and Scandinavian Art
Week 6 Imperial Arts under Germanic Holy Roman Emperors
- Carolingian Renovatio: Revival of Imperial Tradition
- Ottonian Empire and Art of the Year 1000
Weeks 7-8 West Meets East
- Early Islamic Art
- Multicultural Spain
- Crusader Art and Architecture
- Pilgrimage Arts
Week 9 The Monastery
- Monastic Arts

- Art of the Gregorian Reform
Week 10 Romanesque Art and Architecture
- Romanesque Art in Italy
- Romanesque Art in Normandy and Western France
Weeks 11-14 Gothic Art
- From Romanesque to Gothic: The
“Year 1200” Style
- Chartres Cathedral
- Beyond Chartres: The Arts of French Gothic Cathedrals
- Gothic Cathedrals in England and Germany
- Gothic Cathedrals in Central and South Europe
- Gothic Secular Art
Week 15 Late Medieval Art
- Art and Mysticism in Late Medieval Germany
- Late Medieval Italy and “Rebirth” of Art
Final Week: Review Session and Final Exam
(d) Course Assignments
Two lectures with discussions on previously defined topics per week are planned.
Reading assignments from the selected textbooks and scholarly articles – all readings are in English. Two writing assignments
– one on the visual analysis of the object (4-6 pages) and the second on an art-historical interpretation of the same object (15-20 pages). The topics for each paper will be jointly chosen by the student and instructor. Timetable and map(s) with selected art objects we study in class. Mid-term and final exam.
Criteria for Course Grade
Midterm exam
Final exam
Two papers
Timetable
20%
30%
30% (15% each)
5%
Map(s) 5%
Class attendance and participation 10% of the course grade*
*Students have to fulfill all assignments in order to get a grade for this course
1. Exams will be given numerical grades:
90-100 =A
80-89 =B
70-79 =C
60-69 =D below 60=F

2. Criteria for grading exams, including those for grading participation and attendance:
A Outstanding; meets the highest standards for the assignment or course; thorough understanding and excellent command of the material presented in lectures and readings, original and independent critical analysis of the material
B Very good; meets high standards for the assignment or course; minor misunderstandings, occasional mechanical problems in writing and some difficulty in expressing ideas and observations, regular participation in classes; regular participation in classes
C Acceptable; meets basic standards for the assignment or course; substantial misunderstandings, difficulty interpreting the material, numerous mechanical problems, irregular participation in classes
D Minimally acceptable; lowest passing grade; cursory treatment of the material and lack of participation in the course, reasonable attempts to complete the assignments, but virtually no success, overall lack of effort and care; irregular participation in classes
F Failing; very poor performance; failure to adhere to the spirit and requirements of the assignments; irregular participation in classes