Advanced Topics in the History of Art
A selection of one time course offerings listed as
ARTH 285 or ARTH 335
The Medieval Monastery
Spring 2011, Spring 2013
Instructor: Caitlin Bass
This seminar addresses the ideals and practices of European Christian monasticism, both
historically and through the art, architecture and material culture of monasteries. Beginning with
the roots of monastic life in the deserts of fourth-century Egypt, Syria and Judea, the class will
trace the development of various monastic movements throughout the Middle Ages. The
specific identity and ideals of different monastic Orders will be discussed, as well as the ways in
which these identities take shape in the art, architecture, and visual culture of each
Order. Within this investigation, attention will be paid to aspects of social status, economic
status, and gender differences, as these relate to the ideals and characters of the Orders. The role
of monasteries in the overall cultural trends in medieval Europe, particularly as preservers and
developers of academic learning, technology, and systems of land management, will also be
addressed. While this class will focus on the development of monasticism in western Europe,
student projects addressing monastic history and culture within other traditions, from the
brotherhoods of Sufi dervishes to the monasteries of Buddhist monks, will also be strongly
encouraged. Basic knowledge of art historical and archaeological approaches is recommended,
but not strictly necessary.
Islamic Art and Architecture
Spring 2011, Spring 2013
Instructor: Caitlin Bass
This course investigates the art and architecture of Islamic cultures, from the development of
Islam in the seventh and eight centuries CE into the present era. The class will examine the
relationship between religion and art in the Islamic context, as well as the ways in which social,
political, regional and temporal factors influence artistic expression. Basic knowledge of art
historical and archaeological approaches is recommended, but not strictly necessary.
Sacred & Profane Sites in Asia
Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2014
Joy Beckman
Much of art before the modern era was not painted on canvases or produced by great artists, but
can be seen today in architectural ruins and empty palaces. In these sites, art was not
contemplated as an aesthetic object but rather it was performed. This course will examine a
selection of important architectural sites in Asia: the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Hall of the
Great Buddha in Japan, and the Great Buddhist mandala Borubadur in Java, and the great caves
of Ajanta in India. These sites will studied as spatial frame separating the sacred from the
profane.
Visual Art and Religious Experience in the 20th Century
Spring 2011
Instructor: Karen Gonzalez Rice
This seminar is designed for students interested in exploring Western artists’ representations of
religious experience in the 20th century. The course will examine works of art in a variety of
media—from architecture, painting, and sculpture to video, body, and conceptual art—by artists
holding serious theological and visual investments in various religious traditions. We will study
individual artists and art movements, as well as collaborations and conflicts between the
contemporary art world and institutions of religion, in the geographical regions of Europe and
the Americas. We will emphasize artists interested in evangelical, fundamentalist, and
ecumenical Christian denominations and explore the influence of Christian mysticism as well as
non-Western religions, including Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, and others.
Students will examine theories of religious experience; explore expressions of religion in
modernist art movements including Symbolism and early abstraction; and develop art historical
knowledge of contemporary artworks and artists working with religious themes. The course will
analyze successful collaborations between artists and religious institutions as well as contested
works of art in terms of their social, political, economic, and theological contexts. We will
consider artists’ engagements with religion in terms of gender and sexuality, race, liberation
theology, and other social and cultural issues. No prior knowledge of art history is necessary for
this course, though an understanding of the history of modern and contemporary art is helpful.
Houses of God? Investigating the Gothic Cathedral
Fall 2011
Instructor: Caitlin Bass
Gothic cathedrals have inspired viewers for centuries, from their initial construction to the
present. What prompted the construction of these massive edifices from the twelfth through the
fourteenth centuries? The glory of God, the exhilaration of testing the limits of technology, the
ambition of their patrons? In this course we will investigate the style, construction and history of
Gothic cathedrals from many angles, addressing, among others, the political, economic,
structural and liturgical concerns that influenced their appearance. We will examine the myths
and the realities to arrive at a richer contextual understanding of what cathedrals meant to those
who built and used them.
Text & Image: Writing in the Visual Arts
Fall 2011
Instructor: Jo Ortel
More so than at any time in history, we inhabit a world in which communication occurs through
visual signs and symbols set in circulation with text. Some theorists contend that digital
technology is radically changing our understanding of the world and our relationship to word and
image. How is social media impacting the way we think about image and text? What role are the
two in tandem playing in the current political protests sweeping the Middle East -- or, closer to
home, in the labor protests in Wisconsin? How is the meaning of imagery manipulated through
(con-)text? Through close study of examples drawn from a diverse range of situations and
disciplines, this course will consider how we consume and produce word-and-image in the
twenty-first century, and how both consume and produce us. Possibilities for the publication,
exhibition, and/or distribution of student work will be actively pursued.
Illuminated Manuscripts (Medieval Studies)
Spring 2012
Instructor: Caitlin Bass
Glowing with rich colors and often sparkling with gold, medieval illuminated manuscripts were
designed to catch the eye and fascinate the viewer. This course addresses the history of
European manuscript painting from the fifth century to the sixteenth, with attention to the
stylistic development of manuscript illumination, as well as to the social, personal, religious,
economic and political contexts of book production and use.
Eve was Framed! Women and Gender in Art
Spring 2012
Instructor: Jo Ortel
This course will consider the multiple ways in which women have engaged with visual culture at
different moments in time and place. We will analyze key images of women in art and popular
culture, as well as images and representations by women artists. To what extent are constructions
of gender shaped or transformed by visual representations, and more specifically, by works of
art? Although we will focus on Western art and history from the 19th century to the present, we
will also consider a few non-Western examples.
At Home in Ancient and Medieval Europe: Investigating Domestic
Architecture (Medieval Studies)
Spring 2012
Instructor: Caitlin Bass
In the study of architectural history, the humble abode generally takes a back seat. In this
seminar we will investigate the domestic architecture of Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, and
Medieval Europe, addressing developments in style, form, decoration, and use of space. We will
also place these houses within their social, political and economic contexts, and examine the
larger physical contexts of gardens, villages, towns and cities. Through contextual analysis of
the houses of each period, we will arrive at a richer understanding of the historical meanings of
“home.”
Holy Wars and Troubadours: Cultural Interaction in the Medieval
Mediterranean
Fall 2012
Instructor: Caitlin Bass
From the fall of the Roman Empire in the fifth century to the rise of the Age of Discovery in the
fifteenth, the Mediterranean region was the scene of a kaleidoscope of rich and varied cultural
interactions. In a constantly changing dialogue of Christians, Jews and Muslims, princes,
peasants, poets and priests, scientists and soldiers, monks and musicians, the peoples of the
Mediterranean developed vibrant material cultures. This course will examine those material
cultures with a particular focus on cultural interactions. Much of the material we examine will
fall under the category of "art," but I take this word in a relatively broad sense, and we will also
address the scientific, musical, and literary developments of the period, and place all of these
within their social, political, and religious contexts. Basic knowledge of art historical approaches
is recommended but not required.
Renaissance Reconsidered
Fall 2013
Instructor: David Boffa
This course is a critical examination of the Renaissance, both as a historical period and a modern
construct. The primary focus will be the developments in Italy during the fourteenth, fifteenth,
and sixteenth centuries, although these phenomena will also be related to the broader European
and global context. In addition to studying some of the era’s key monuments and figures—from
Giotto to Donatello to Michelangelo—we will reevaluate some longstanding beliefs about the
Renaissance. Topics will include: medieval precedents for Renaissance developments, the
persistence of earlier traditions, the shifting status of the artist, and the international artistic and
intellectual climate.
Contemporary Art in an Age of Global Warming: Aesthetic, Ethical,
Ecological Consciousness
Fall 2013
Instructor: Jo Ortel
What role, if any, can art play in solving our current environmental challenges? Is it ethical for
artists to make more objects in a world already littered with too many? What would an art based
on a true integration of ecological, aesthetic and ethical consciousness look like?
This course explores artist-based perspectives on building a more sustainable future: new and
exciting territory where the very purpose and practice of art is being redefined.
We will examine many facets of contemporary art and environmental issues. Through historic
and contemporary readings, field trips and hands-on labs and fieldwork, we will consider artists’
initiatives within the context and history of environmental thought, and from the perspective of
environmental politics. Four biology and chemistry field- and lab units will allow us to test the
scientific viability and ethics of key environmental artworks, and the Science Center itself will
serve as a case study of green architecture; discussions with a political scientist will ensure “realworld” practicability. A strong interest art, art history and/or environmental studies is required.
North Renaissance Art
Spring 2014
Instructor: David Boffa
This course is a study of visual culture during the Renaissance in Northern Europe. The primary
focus will be on works produced in the Netherlands, Germany, and France during the fourteenth,
fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries. We will look at the period’s defining personalities—such as
Robert Campin, Jan Van Eyck, and Pieter Brueghel—as well as its anonymous masters. Topics
will include devotional works, private and public commissions, book arts, the printing press, and
the Reformation. In addition, we will examine the broader cultural world of Early Modern
Europe, and the ways Northern developments relate to contemporary events on the Italian
peninsula.
Video Games & Art
Spring 2014
Instructor: David Boffa
With the recent addition of several video games to MoMA’s collection the question of whether
these works can be considered art appears to have been settled (although no doubt many would
challenge that claim). Yet the inclusion of video games in the art world raises questions both
theoretical and practical. On the one hand, we must now reconsider the ways we define art and
the relationship between an object, its maker, and its audience; beyond that, curators and
collectors must develop ways of preserving and displaying video games and consoles. This
course will examine these and related issues, looking at video games both old and new.
Furthermore, we will address whether studying the history of an emerging art form can help us
better understand the history of more traditional arts. To expand the scope of our inquiry, other
forms of outsider art—such as tattoos or street art—might also be brought in for discussion.
Contemporary Art in a Global Context
Spring 2014
Instructor: Jo Ortel
This seminar examines art made in diverse regions of the world, c. 1990 to the present. Through
a series of case studies, we explore the aesthetic and conceptual choices of select contemporary
artists and we investigate some central preoccupations of artists working today. At the same
time, we consider whether the recent proliferation of large-scale global exhibits and widespread
interest in non-Western artists truly indicate a radical shift in the art world -- or are simply
another form of cultural imperialism. Through readings by postcolonial and cultural theorists
(e.g., Gerardo Mosquera, Olu Oguibe), we interrogate what "the global turn" means in (and to)
the visual arts, and conversely, how art and visual culture are mobilized to reinforce
asymmetrical power relations within a "globalized" economy.