Common Course Outline
ARTD 105
History of Art I
3 Semester Hours
The Community College of Baltimore County
Description
ARTD 105 - 3 Credits - History of Art I introduces the development of world art and visual
culture including architecture, monument, painting, sculpture and related arts from Prehistoric
times to c. 1400 CE. Works of art are analyzed and considered in depth through comparative
cultural study, with close attention to social, historical, and religious contexts.
3 credits; 3 lecture hours per week
Prerequisites: ENGL 052 or ESOL 052 and RDNG 052 or ESOL 054
Overall Course Objectives
Upon completion of the course students will be able to:
1. define and use correct terminology, including media, visual elements, processes, periods,
styles, and architectural terms;
2. identify some of the theoretic issues and positions reforming art history as a discipline,
including contextualism, formalism, post-colonialism, multiculturalism and feminism;
3. analyze key works through knowledge and understanding of the style, artist, date, and
cultural context of the work;
4. identify the time periods, geographical centers, and stylistic characteristics of major art
movements and cultures;
5. analyze the iconography of specific works of art as well as each work’s relationship to
the historical and cultural iconography of the period;
6. recognize and discuss chronologically the developments of styles and ideas studied,
including a global understanding of the progression of periods and the relationships
between them from Prehistory to c. 1400 CE;
7. identify significant philosophical movements, religious concepts, and historic figures,
events, and places and discuss their relationship to works of art;
8. distinguish cross-cultural philosophical attitudes and ideas revealed by differences in
style and content of works;
9. discuss the work of major artists, their artistic intentions, concerns, stylistic
characteristics, their media and their principle influences;
10. evaluate sources for historic and prehistoric information;
11. examine methods used to arrive at ideas;
12. evaluate positions from which changing value judgments are made, giving special
attention to the basic premises and principles of different cultures;
13. attribute unfamiliar works of art to an artist, a country and/or style, and a period; giving
reasons for the attributions;
14. analyze the evolution of art from culture to culture across time, paying special attention
to the multicultural influences that help to form any one period or style;
15. analyze how works of art and cultures from prehistory to c 1400 CE influence and relate
to the art and cultures of today; and
16. explain the importance of art to the evolution of humanity, to the enrichment and quality
of life, to the development of self-awareness, and to the understanding of our shared and
diverse world.
Major Topics
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VIII.
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XVI.
XVII.
Prehistoric art
Art of the Ancient Near East
Art of Ancient Egypt
Aegean art
Ancient Greek art
Etruscan and Roman art
Early Christian, Jewish, and Byzantine art
Islamic art
Art of South and Southeast Asia before 1400
Chinese and Korean art before 1400
Japanese art before 1400
Art of the Americas before 1400
Art of Ancient Africa
Early Medieval art in Europe
Romanesque art
Gothic art
Early Renaissance art
Course Requirements
Grading/exams: Grading procedures will be determined by the individual faculty member but
will include the following:
At least three tests or quizzes given intermittently throughout the term that include
material from text and class lecture
One 3-5 page researched thesis essay with at least 3 academic sources incorporating
college level writing skills including the qualitative development of ideas, good structural
organization, correct grammar, demonstration of critical thinking skills, unity, and ability
to relate works of art to their cultural and historical context
One oral presentation
Other Course Information
This course is an Arts and Humanities general education course. It also satisfies the Diversity
requirement.