The Art History B.A. Program | B.A. Academic Requirements | Minor in Art History | The Art History M.A. Program | M.A. Academic Requirements | Undergraduate Courses | Graduate Courses | Faculty

The Art History Program: Undergraduate Courses

Lower level (freshman): ARH 1000–1999
Lower level (sophomore): ARH 2000–2999
Upper level (junior): ARH 3000–3999
Upper level (senior): ARH 4000–4999

ARH 1000–1999:

History of Art Survey I (Ancient through Medieval)
ARH 1010 / 3 credits / Fall
The art and architecture of Egypt, Greece, Rome, and medieval Europe, presented in terms of their visual and cultural significance.

History of Art Survey II (Renaissance through 21st Century)
ARH 1020 / 3 credits / Spring
A survey of the history of Western art, including the works of Masaccio, Van Eyck, Donatello, Bosch, Michelangelo, and Leonardo; followed by the rise of national styles in the 17th and 18th centuries in France and England. Nineteenth-century neoclassicism, romanticism, realism, impressionism, and postimpressionism, as well as modernism and developments in 20th-century art, are also covered. A 2-credit discussion section is required, in addition to the 3-credit lecture.

ARH 2000–2999:

Introduction to Modern Art
ARH 2050 / 4 credits / Fall
The work of Courbet, Manet, and the circle of the Impressionists sets the stage for the revolutionary modern movements of the 20th century (e.g., Cubism, Expressionism, Dada, Surrealism). The course concludes with those artists who came to prominence in America at the time of World War II.

Art Since 1945
ARH 2060 / 3 credits / Spring
Introduces the diversity of practices that have dominated the history of art since World War II. Movements include: Abstract Expressionism, postwar European painting, happenings, Fluxus, Pop Art, minimalism, conceptual art, performance art, and postmodernism. While European and North American art are emphasized, Asian and Latin American art are also addressed, particularly in the context of increasing globalization.
Prerequisite: ARH 1020 or 2050

Early Italian Renaissance Art
ARH 2230 / 4 credits / Alternate years
An examination of painting, sculpture, and architecture produced in Italy from the late 13th century to the late 15th century, including Giotto, Masaccio, Donatello, Brunelleschi, Piero della Francesca, and Botticelli.

Art and Architecture in Italy: Hellenic to Baroque
ARH 2231 / 4 credits / Summer (offered in Italy)
A survey of the visual arts in Italy from c. 600 B.C. to the 18th century, with six field trips and three days in Rome. Emphasis is placed on the monuments of Magna Graecia (Velia and Paestum) and the Roman era (Pompeii and Herculaneum). The medieval art of Amalfi, Ravello, and Salerno and the monuments of Naples and Rome are also considered.

Italian High Renaissance and Mannerism
ARH 2240 / 4 credits / Alternate years
An examination of painting, sculpture, and architecture in Italy during the 16th century. The course begins with an in-depth study of the works of Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Bramante, Giorgione, and Titian, and then traces the evolution of the anticlassical style known as mannerism.

Baroque Art and Architecture
ARH 2250 / 4 credits / Alternate years
Surveys art and architecture from the 1580s to 1700 throughout Europe. Special attention is given to the social, political, and religious conditions that helped to shape the art of the early modern period.

Byzantine Art and Architecture
ARH 2255 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
The Byzantine Empire, at its height, reached from Italy to the Middle East and lasted for more than 1,000 years. Byzantine engineers advanced Roman dome architecture in such buildings as the Hagia Sophia. Particular attention is paid to the Empire’s Mediterranean context between the kingdoms of the West and the Islamic caliphates.

Greek Art and Architecture
ARH 2265 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
Developments in Greek sculpture, vase painting, and architecture are traced from the destruction of the Mycenaean palaces (c. 1200 B.C.E.) to the rise of the Roman Empire (1st and 2nd centuries B.C.E.). Topics include the impact of Near Eastern civilizations on early Greek culture, the “classical” style’s florescence in 5th-century Athens, and the creation of the Hellenistic world by Alexander the Great.

Roman Art and Architecture
ARH 2267 / 4 credits / Alternate years
A survey of Roman culture and history through material remains. Sculpture, painting, architecture, and the “minor” arts are examined with respect to aesthetic considerations, stylistic developments, and social significance. Topics include the influence of Greek visual culture on Rome, the “Romanization” of the Empire’s far-flung provinces, and the Roman foundations of Christian art and architecture.

Making Art in Early Modern Europe
ARH 2340 / 4 credits / Alternate years
Several major areas that shaped the production of artworks from 1575 to 1700 are examined, including training, studio practice, technical innovation, markets and patrons, and criticism and exhibition.

Design Issues: Early Modern Europe
ARH 2350 / 4 credits / Alternate years
An introduction to the innovations of 17th- and 18th-century design. Topics include urban planning, gardens, the disposition and management of spaces for everyday life, and new furniture forms and ornamentation.

Creating Commentary: Jewish Arts
ARH 2530 Refer to JST 2530 in Jewish Studies Courses for description.

Art of the Ancient Near East
ARH 2780 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
A study of the ancient Near East, particularly Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) between 7000 B.C.E. and 700 C.E. This region witnessed the development of the world’s earliest political and religious institutions, which in turn sponsored sophisticated architecture and forms of visual communication. The Metropolitan Museum of Art collections are used in the classroom and on class field trips.

Introduction to East Asian Art
ARH 2795 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
Surveys the arts of China and Japan, as well as the cultural, philosophical, political, and religious traditions that they represent. Material is covered chronologically and thematically.

Art of Spain and the New World
ARH 2805 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
A survey of the art, architecture, and culture of Spain and the new world from antiquity to the modern era. Artists discussed include Berruguete, El Greco, Velázquez, Goya, Sorolla, and Lorca.

Early Medieval Art and Architecture
ARH 2860 / 4 credits / Fall
Explores the development of architecture, sculpture, and painting from the fall of Rome to c. 1140. Not appropriate as a first art history course.

Gothic Art and Architecture
ARH 2870 / 4 credits / Spring
Explores the development of architecture, sculpture, and painting from the time of Abbot Suger (c. 1140) to the eve of the Renaissance (c. 1400). Not appropriate as a first art history course.

Women Artists and Feminist Criticism
ARH 2885 / 4 credits / Alternate years
An introduction to women artists from the Renaissance era through the Enlightenment, including Anguissola, Gentileschi, Vigée-Lebrun, and Kauffmann. Topics include access to professions, constructions of sexuality and gender, and attitudes toward the body in representation. Also offered as GND 2885.

ARH 3000–3999:

The Avant-Gardes
ARH 3010 / 4 credits / Alternate years
Since the 1800s, the avant-gardes have tried to resist the delimited role of fine art in Western culture. In this course, students examine the strategies that avant-garde artists have used to reconnect their art practice with the more contentious areas of social and political life.
Prerequisite: One art history course at the 2000 level or above

The Sixties Revisited
ARH 3020 / 4 credits / Alternate years
Students revisit the plurality of movements and styles that flourished throughout the 1960s and examine the contexts from which these provocative innovations emerged.

The Caravaggio Effect
ARH 3125 / 4 credits / Alternate years
The paintings of Michelangelo Mersisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610) had a revolutionary impact on the art world of his era, and the fascination with his extraordinary re-evaluation of pictorial effects continues to this day. This course examines Caravaggio’s art and career and considers responses to his work by other artists, including film directors, up to the present.

Dada and the Readymade
ARH 3135 / 4 credits / Alternate years
This seminar focuses on the inception of the “readymade” and the abandonment of traditional forms of painting in the work of Marcel Duchamp, as well as the later development of readymade practices in the context of New York and Paris Dada. The history of the readymade as an artistic strategy is traced.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor

Collections Research/Neuberger Museum
ARH 3145 / 3 credits / Fall
Based on objects in the Neuberger Museum of Art. Students undertake independent research projects on works in the Museum’s collection, investigating issues of documentation and interpretation. Limited to art history majors.
Prerequisite: Permission of coordinator

The Body in Modern Art
ARH 3156 / 4 credits / Alternate years
While ostensibly a theme steeped in naturalism and verisimilitude, the body in art throughout the modern era was actually a topic greatly influenced by contexts, hierarchies, and systems. This course investigates the way “natural” bodies were represented from Goya through World War I.

American Art to 1913
ARH 3160 / 4 credits / Spring
Surveys American painting, sculpture, decorative arts, and architecture until the opening of the Armory Show in 1913. The course explores the distinctiveness of the American art tradition.
Prerequisite: One art history or history course (preferably ARH 1020), or permission of instructor

20th-Century Photography
ARH 3193 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
A seminar examining the history of photography within both the historical and the neo-avant-gardes. Special attention is given to photographic activities of the Weimar Republic, the Soviet avant-garde, surrealism, and American pictorialism, modernism, and FSA documentary work, as well as the postwar formations of the New York School, conceptual art, and photographic postmodernism.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor

Albrecht Dürer and the German Renaissance
ARH 3225 / 4 credits / Alternate years
A study of the German painter, printmaker, and draftsman Albrecht Dürer. The artist’s interests in science, politics, religious conflicts, sexuality, and the non-Western world are emphasized.
Prerequisite: One art history or history course, or permission of instructor

Northern Renaissance Art
ARH 3230 / 4 credits / Alternate years
Examines the history of painting and sculpture in Northern Europe from the 14th century to c. 1570. Flemish, Dutch, French, German, and Czech works are considered, with emphasis on artists like the Limbourg Brothers, Van Eyck, Bosch, Dürer, and Bruegel.
Prerequisite: One art history or history course, or permission of instructor

Dutch Art
ARH 3240 / 4 credits / Alternate years
Investigates the themes, diverse genres, and major figures in 17th-century Dutch painting. Current problems of interpretation are examined, including the idea that there may have been a specifically northern form of visual thinking.

German Art: 1900–Present
ARH 3245 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
When modernism is discussed in art history, it is generally dealt with in terms of the formal, stylistic advances of French art. In the case of 20th- and 21st-century German art, form follows feeling. This course surveys significant movements of German art from Die Brücke and Der Blaue Reiter to the present.

Venetian Art and Architecture
ARH 3260 / 4 credits / Alternate years
An examination of the visual arts in Venice and its hinterland from the early Middle Ages to the end of the Venetian Republic in 1797. In addition to in-depth treatment of artists like Bellini, Carpaccio, Giorgione, Titian, and Tiepolo, the social context of the arts and the unique urban development of Venice are studied in detail.
Prerequisite: One art history or history course, or permission of instructor

Aegean Art and Architecture
ARH 3261 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
A survey of major sites, monuments, and objects of the Greek Bronze Age (c. 3200–1100 B.C.E.). Topics include: the emergence of the first complex civilizations in Europe; the development of regional artistic styles and iconography; interactions with Egypt and the Near East; and the historical reality of later Greek myths.

The Gentileschi Files
ARH 3265 / 4 credits / Alternate years
An investigation of the social and creative contexts surrounding the production of works by women artists from the early modern era to the early 20th century. This course examines feminist theories and criticism in relation to these works, and focus on the career of Artemisia Gentileschi as exemplifying the continuing debates about gender, creativity, and reception. Also offered as GND 3265.
Prerequisite: One course in art history or gender studies

Art in the Age of Exploration
ARH 3270 / 4 credits / Alternate years
A study of the representation of Asians, Africans, and Americans (and their native lands) in European and American art from the end of the Middle Ages to the French Revolution. Some consideration is also given to the impact of non-Western arts on the European tradition.
Prerequisite: One Western art history or history course, or permission of instructor

Light and Truth: Film, Photography, and Reality
ARH 3275 Refer to PHI 3275 in Philosophy Courses for description.

Word and Image in the 19th Century
ARH 3323 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
Examines the productive interaction between canonical works of literature (both prose and poetry) and the visual arts during the period commonly called the Romantic Age. Works by Blake, Wordsworth, Shelley, Scott, Byron, Constable, Gericault, Delacroix, and Turner, among others, are discussed. Topics include nature and landscape, social commentary and political critique, and mythic iconologies. Also offered as LIT 3323.

Origins of Modernity
ARH 3345 / 4 credits / Alternate years
Explores elements of modernity in art, architecture, and visual culture, with particular emphasis on new methodologies. Topics include the public/private sphere issues, high and low culture, notions of self and identity, and sexual difference and gender.

Modern Architecture
ARH 3400 / 4 credits / Spring
Explores the interplay between technological innovations and stylistic trends in European and American architecture (1800–1980s). Special emphasis is placed on the contributions of major architects like Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
Prerequisite: One art history or history course, or permission of instructor

Design History and Theory: 1750–Today
ARH 3405 / 4 credits / Alternate years
Examines the history of design as it parallels the history of technology and industrialization. Covering a variety of design disciplines, including architecture and urban planning, graphic design, fashion, and industrial design, this course focuses less on aesthetics than on the cultural programs that have shaped buildings, objects, and communication systems for more than two centuries.

Gothic
ARH 3497 / 4 credits / Alternate years
In this advanced lecture, the first wave of Gothic novels from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century are examined in relation to visual representations of issues that dominate Gothic discourse. Topics include horror, imprisonment, madness, gender, ghosts, and vampires. Authors and artists studied include Austen, the Brontë sisters, Radcliffe, Collins, Blake, Fuseli, and Turner. Also offered as LIT 3497.

Art History, Psychology, and Psychoanalysis
ARH 3500 / 4 credits / Spring
Focuses on the importance of the psychological dimension in art. Topics include gesture, emotional expression, and creativity; the character and conduct of artists; and Freudian and post-Freudian interpretation of art and artists.
Prerequisite: One course in art history, history, or psychology

19th-Century Art
ARH 3510 / 4 credits / Fall
European art from the French Revolution to 1900, with movements in France, Germany, and England receiving particular attention. Major artists studied include David, Gericault, Delacroix, Ingres, Frederich, Constable, Turner, the pre-Raphaelites, Daumier, Manet, Degas, Monet, and Gauguin.
Prerequisite: One art history course or permission of instructor

Art and/as Performance
ARH 3526 / 4 credits / Alternate years
An examination of visual artists who have used performance as an integral component of their practice, with emphasis on post-1950 object-oriented work (rather than theatre or dance). Both primary texts and critical interpretations are studied.
Prerequisite: ARH 2050 or 2060, or permission of instructor

Abstract Expressionism
ARH 3600 / 4 credits / Alternate years
Focuses on the leading American avant-garde painters who emerged in the 1940s, including Willem de Kooning, Philip Guston, Franz Kline, Barnett Newman, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Clyfford Still. The course relates their art to cultural, intellectual, social, and political developments of the period, with special attention to recent revisionist approaches to Abstract Expressionism.

Madness and Modernism
ARH 3605 / 4 credits / Alternate years
A variety of intersections between extreme mental conditions and the production of works of art during the modern period are investigated. Topics include connections between creativity and mental instability, artists with a history of mental disorder, and theories about stylistic or formal affinities between madness and art.
Prerequisite: One art history course

Abstraction in Modern Art
ARH 3610 / 4 credits / Alternate years
An intensive investigation of the stages involved in the pursuit of abstraction and the nonrepresentational in modern art, with special attention given to the careers of Kandinsky and Mondrian.
Prerequisite: One art history or history course, or permission of instructor

English Art 1500–1850
ARH 3620 / 4 credits / Alternate years
An introduction to the work of English artists, beginning with Nicholas Hilliard and painters at the court of Elizabeth I and concluding with the projects of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Special attention is given to the relationship of artists and architects to theatrical contexts and literary emotions.

French Art From LaTour to David
ARH 3630 / 4 credits / Alternate years
Focuses on the work of French artists from the early modern era to the French Revolution, with special attention to the Gallic obsession with realism, alongside the more abstract aspects of representation.

Surrealism
ARH 3640 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
Presents a historical approach to the development of the Surrealist movement, from its inauguration in Paris in the 1920s to its later transformations. The course examines the multiple media in which the Surrealists worked, the contradictory approaches of such figures as André Breton and Georges Bataille, and influence of Surrealism on postwar artistic practices.

Pop Art and Mass Culture
ARH 3755 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
In this historical approach to Pop Art, the evolving relationship between mass culture and the visual arts is surveyed, from the development of “modern life” painting in France in the late 19th century to the development of Pop in Britain and the U.S. in the mid-20th century. The legacy of Pop is examined in politically oriented practices of the 1970s and in post-Pop tendencies in contemporary art.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor

Chinese Calligraphy: History and Practice
ARH 3760 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly, summer, in China)
Chinese calligraphy is one of the most important parts of Chinese culture. In the lecture component of this course, students study the history and theories of this significant art form. Emphasis is placed on viewing representative examples, including access to an extensive collection in the Shanghai Museum. In the studio component, students practice the art of calligraphy, learning how to use brush and ink to make various strokes effectively and how to integrate them into well-formed Chinese characters.

Islamic Spain and Sicily in the Middle Ages
ARH 3770 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
The Islamic conquests of Spain and Sicily brought Muslim culture to European shores for the first time. These conquests resulted in a dynamic artistic exchange among Muslim, Christian, and Jewish medieval traditions in the region. Critical issues for consideration include the impact of trade and diplomacy on this exchange and the lasting influence of Islamic art on the West.

Art and Architecture in Medieval Spain
ARH 3793 / 4 credits / Summer (offered in Spain)
Examines the rich visual culture that developed under the impulses of Christian and Islamic culture in Spain from the 5th to the 15th centuries. Topics include the metalwork, ecclesiastical architecture, and sculptural decor produced under the patronage of Visigoth kings; the sophisticated repertoire of art and architecture of early Islamic Spain; pre-Romanesque visual culture; and the Spanish Romanesque, Islamic, and Gothic traditions.

Junior Seminar in Art History
ARH 3880 / 4 credits / Fall
Provides art history majors with an opportunity to examine the nature of the discipline by analyzing and comparing the writings of several art historians. The seminar concentrates on the work of a single artist in light of various art historical approaches. This writing-intensive course requires a variety of short essays and concludes with a research paper and class presentation. Limited to art history majors.

Feminist Approaches to Art and Theory
ARH 3885 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
An overview of the intersection between art history and feminist art practice, theory, and history. Although the artists covered are primarily women, their production is discussed within a larger artistic and cultural context when appropriate. While the theory may be challenging for college sophomores, tangible examples (i.e., the examination of works or essay/exhibitions) can lend clarity to abstract thought. Also offered as GND 3885.

Neuberger Museum of Art Education Internship
ARH 3981 / 3 credits / Fall
Internships are available to a limited number of students each fall to work in the Neuberger Museum of Art’s Office of Educational Services. Students are trained within the Museum Docent Program to develop and conduct tours of the permanent collection and changing exhibitions. In addition, each student must complete one independent project related to the overall program. Time requirement: one and one-half days per week minimum. Graded on a pass/no credit basis.
Prerequisite: At least two art history courses and permission of faculty sponsor and Museum staff, obtained the preceding spring

ARH 4000–4999:

The African Presence in Western Art
ARH 4100 / 4 credits / Alternate years
This seminar explores the representation of Africans in Western painting and sculpture from the Greco-Roman era through the 19th century. The depiction of Africans as saints, sovereigns, and slaves is considered, along with the visual consequences of modern racism and antiracism.
Prerequisite: Two courses in art history and/or history

Aesthetics and Politics
ARH 4105 / 4 credits / Alternate years
The relationship between artistic practice and the social realm is addressed, with emphasis on the development of the avant-garde in the 19th and 20th centuries, the role of artists in contemporary political discourse, and the theoretical discourse that constitutes the larger debate on these issues.
Prerequisite: One art history course

The Invisible Seventies
ARH 4120 / 4 credits / Alternate years
The 1970s are often thought about in frivolous terms, as the decade of disco and bell-bottoms. In art, this period is often overshadowed by the radical avant-gardes of the 1960s and new developments in art during the 1980s. This seminar reconsiders the art and culture of the ’70s in the context of social and political currents of the period.
Prerequisite: ARH 2050 or 2060

Paranoid Modernism
ARH 4160 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
Examines the relationship between madness and modernism, focusing on the psychological extremes associated with paranoia and overinterpretation as they impinged upon the avant-garde art movements of the 20th century.

Design Criticism
ARH 4170 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
An investigation of design, from automotive bodies to print advertising and Internet design, as a subject open to the traditional and nontraditional methods used in critical thinking and writing. Approaches toward analyzing and thinking about design include semiotic, gender, and postcolonial studies, as well as formal and psychoanalytic analysis.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor

Introduction to Museum Studies
ARH 4200 / 4 credits / Alternate years
Topics range from the history of art museums to current theories and methodologies of display and museum administration. In addition to class discussion, students meet with staff members at the Neuberger Museum of Art and other institutions to learn the basics of museum operations, including curatorial work, exhibition design, registration, educational and public programming, marketing and public relations, and finance. On- and off-campus museum visits required.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor

Retro: Revivals in Art and Design
ARH 4230 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
A survey of revivals that have influenced visual culture from the mid-19th century until today, emphasizing larger cultural, historical, and theoretical developments. Movements and themes include the Gothic Revival, Arts and Crafts, historicist elements within Art Nouveau and Art Deco, the postwar rediscovery of Art Nouveau, and the engagement of postmodern design with earlier forms.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor

The Russian Avant-Garde
ARH 4250 / 4 credits / Alternate years
Despite a growing interest in the work of the Russian avant-garde, there is still relatively little known about the artists of the late Russian Empire and the early Soviet Union. This course addresses the broad scope and multidisciplinary practice of Russian modernism, from the shocking primitivism of The Rite of Spring to the cold pragmatism of constructivism.

Studies in Italian Renaissance Art
ARH 4275 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
The study of a particular theme (e.g., politics, gender, warfare) in the art of Renaissance Italy (1300–1600). Students work individually on some aspect of this theme, making class presentations and completing a research paper.
Prerequisite: Two art history courses or permission of instructor

Theorizing Design
ARH 4300 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
Why design? Why consume? What is desire? Are you what you make? Are you what you consume? How does design communicate? Design is a complex activity that touches on fields as diverse as psychoanalysis and anthropology. This course provides a theoretical understanding of design practice, production, and use (consumption). Topics include graphic and digital design, furniture, architecture, and industrial design.

American Art and Architecture in the Age of the Machine
ARH 4340 / 4 credits / Alternate years
Focuses on objects and movements influenced by industrialization and mechanization in the U.S. between 1900 and 1940. Topics include the rise of the skyscraper in American architecture and its effect on painters and printmakers, the advent of the automobile and the assembly line’s replacement of the factory worker, and Dada’s expression of the havoc wreaked during World War I by new machine-age technology.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor

Toward a New Definition of Sculpture
ARH 4390 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
The term “sculpture” has become so elastic that it can encompass found objects, language art, video projections, and body art. Beginning with Auguste Rodin, the class explores the changes in concepts, methods, and materials that have brought about dramatic shifts in the critical approach to sculpture.
Prerequisite: Two courses in art history or permission of instructor

Seminar: Rauschenberg
ARH 4445 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
The work of Robert Rauschenberg is examined in the context of postwar neo-avant-garde activities in the U.S. and in relation to the work of contemporaries like Jasper Johns and John Cage. Students also review recent theoretical debates about the meaning and significance of the artist’s work. Some background in the study of modern or contemporary art is useful.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor

Field Trips to New York Museums and Galleries
ARH 4460 / 3 credits / Spring
A practical course in art criticism, which meets regularly in New York. Contemporary works of art form the basis for lectures, discussions, and written essays. Limited to art history majors.

New Media and Contemporary Art
ARH 4530 / 4 credits / Alternate years
An examination of contemporary art outside of the traditional media of painting, sculpture, and architecture. Looking at painting-based performances of the 1950s, feminist body art, guerrilla television, and current political interventions based in digital media, students identify the strategies artists used to create new forms, and assess their success in modifying our understanding of the world.
Prerequisite: One art history course

Exoticism in Modern Art
ARH 4710 / 4 credits / Alternate years
Explores reciprocal influences of Western and non-Western art in the modern period. Topics include diverse artistic movements like “Orientalism,” “Japonisme,” and “Primitivism.” The class also examines the impact of non-Western art on specific artists, including Delacroix, Manet, Whistler, Picasso, and Pollock.

Writing About Art
ARH 4720 / 4 credits / Alternate years
An examination of various types of writing about art, from visual analysis essays to art journalism, exhibition reviews, and research papers. Students study the critical characteristics of these different writing formats and learn to write their own reviews, essays, and papers.
Prerequisite: One upper-level art history course and permission of instructor

Pop Art
ARH 4750 / 4 credits / Alternate years
Pop Art, initially regarded with suspicion and considered frivolous, has proved to be a significant and influential movement. Today, it is perceived as an art form that expresses serious social and political concerns. This course focuses on the emergence of Pop Art in England, the influence of American Pop Art on European artists, and the way in which Pop Art energizes conceptual art today. Artists covered include Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, Gerhard Richter, Jeff Koons, and Damien Hirst.

Food and Feasting in the Visual Arts
ARH 4820 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
The visual record of the production and consumption of food and drink are examined in this seminar. Topics include food in the still life, the representation of gluttony, and the prominent position of sacred feasts and food miracles in religious art. The primary focus is on Western art, but examples from other traditions are considered.
Prerequisite: An art history course

Senior Project in Art History
ARH 4990 / 4 credits (per semester) / Every semeser
Students use the methodology of art history in an extended project (e.g., a research thesis, an exhibition at the Neuberger Museum of Art, a critical study, or a project based on monuments found within the New York area). Two semesters required (8 credits total).

Updated April 30, 2008