An introduction to processes dependent on the lens as an imaging device, including wet-lab photography, digital photography. The course incorporates the fundamental theoretical, technical and aesthetic principles of working with photography as an expressive medium.Assignments include darkroom laboratory work, studio projects, discussions, written analyses, and class presentations.
An introduction to sculptural media involving spatial dimensions, including sculpture, installation, computer-aided design, and Computer Numerical Control (CNC) fabrication. The course incorporates the fundamental theoretical, technical and aesthetic principles of composition in form and space. Assignments involve design of the production of objects; computer modeling; traditional and non-traditional sculpture techniques.
Though its content will vary from semester to semester, this class always focuses on an intermediate-level topic in Digital Arts, Drawing, Painting, Photography, Sculpture or Video, not fully covered in existing courses. Examples might include courses on artistic movements, disciplines or traditions, a genre, or a theme. This course may be repeated for credit when the topic differs.
Using found and self-generated imagery, this course explores collage and assemblage as means for developing artistic concepts. Through the understanding and juxtaposition of materials such as magazine clippings, wallpaper, texts, objects, photographs, and drawings, students establish a heightened sensitivity to the meaning of specific materials, explore various methods of combining them, and critically address how collage and assemblage have been used and created in both past and present. Through studio assignments, writing exercises, readings, discussions, and critiques, students explore forms of both historical and contemporary collage processes.
This course introduces students to thematic approaches in photography using film-based methods, digital printing, and multi-media. Class projects and discussions center around the cultural and socio-political impact of the medium, as well the deeply personal and expressive aspects of photographic art.
This seminar course involves the production of video, sound, and the moving image. Students pursue a combination of advanced assignments and self-directed projects aimed towards furthering the study of these art forms through a focused set of methods and technologies. This course can be repeated twice for credit.
In this seminar, students engage in a combination of advanced assignments and self-directed projects aimed towards furthering the study of drawing, painting and mixed media in both traditional and non-traditional materials. Content will vary from semester to semester. This course may be repeated twice for credit.
Participants will have already developed advanced skills in at least one of the five media offered (drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, video production). This seminar further enhances studio skills by referencing individual, self-defined project work to readings that explore the theory and practice of the visual arts, the societal role of the artist, contemporary issues and interdisciplinary approaches.
Art History
A continuation of ARTH 103, beginning with the art of the Italian Renaissance and concluding with the major artistic developments of the 20th century.
A survey of the visual arts of China from prehistory to the present, including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Major monuments and artworks including architecture, sculpture, and painting are discussed. Objects and sites are examined in light of style, iconography, and historical context.
This course introduces religious artworks of Japan from the sixth century to the present day. Following a chronological sequence, examines artwork from Buddhist, Shinto, and Christian belief systems. Investigates two-dimensional works, sculpture, and architecture. Explores topics such as the relationship between ritual practice and the visual arts, images of heaven and hell, hidden icons, relics, and interactions of sacred and secular in the visual realm. Readings taken from primary sources and scholarly articles in the field.
Providing students with a survey of museology and the museum field, this course covers the history of museums, contemporary museum practice, and theories of representation. It explores the role of museums in society through readings, lectures, site visits, and class projects, and introduces the fundamentals of collections, exhibitions, the curatorial process, museum education, and administration.
A survey of French painting, sculpture, and architecture from the early seventeenth century to the end of the eighteenth century. Emphasis is placed on the founding of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, the artistic program of Louis XIV, the development of the rococo style, and the emergence of sensibilité and a new moralizing art in the years leading to the French Revolution.
This course examines artistic production in Germany within the social and political context of the Weimar Republic between 1919 and 1933. The course investigates Expressionism, the "anti-art" theories espoused by Dada artists, and the formal characteristics of New Objectivity painting under the influence of photography. The art and politics of the Bauhaus are explored in detail, including the practices of painting, architecture, and industrial design. The course concludes with consideration of the rapid change in leadership and direction at the Bauhaus and its closing at the hands of the Nazis.
This course situates art crime within a historical context by defining and analyzing the diverse illegal practices that shape this phenomenon. By examining changing definitions of forgery, theft, and looting over time, this course begins with early modern forgeries of classical objects to recent events of theft from museums and cultural institutions. Students will engage with case studies on fakes, forgeries, and theft from the strange to the spectacular. The second half of the class turns to the challenges of cultural repatriation and restitution, while also exploring legal, ethical, and technological strategies aimed at preventing art-related crime in the future.
Asian Studies
A survey of the visual arts of China from prehistory to the present, including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Major monuments and artworks including architecture, sculpture, and painting are discussed. Objects and sites are examined in light of style, iconography, and historical context.
This course introduces religious artworks of Japan from the sixth century to the present day. Following a chronological sequence, examines artwork from Buddhist, Shinto, and Christian belief systems. Investigates two-dimensional works, sculpture, and architecture. Explores topics such as the relationship between ritual practice and the visual arts, images of heaven and hell, hidden icons, relics, and interactions of sacred and secular in the visual realm. Readings taken from primary sources and scholarly articles in the field.
This course examines Chinese literary and cultural practices related to gender and sexuality from the turn of the twentieth century to the present. Using primary texts in translation, theoretical works, films, and visual materials, students explore the personal and collective politics involved in constructions of gender, sexuality, desire, and identity. Taught in English.
This course introduces students to the fantastic, a fundamental analytic category across the humanities, including Religious Studies. In Asia, the fantastic takes on new dimensions through an extraordinary plurality of religious traditions, narratives, beliefs, and artistic practices. Focusing especially on figures such as gods, ghosts, and gurus, students consider how religious practitioners articulate ideas about these entities through various media. These inquiries encourage students to critically engage with a central question: How can the study of fantastical figures affirm and expand conventional notions of religion?
Biology
A study of ecology, evolution and biological diversity, with an emphasis on scientific investigations in the natural areas in and around the university. The course, which is scheduled for one afternoon each week, meets the general education requirement for a natural science course but does not fulfill the requirement for a laboratory science course.