Art History (ARHS)

This course is a survey of the history of art and architecture of the ancient Mediterranean world from the Paleolithic period to the fourth century CE. The class will encompass artworks produced in Prehistoric Europe, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Etruria, and Rome. The material will be presented primarily chronologically, focusing on selected artworks in order to provide an overview of the art and culture of each period. Art and architecture will be used as a lens to study societies and cultures and to explore how and why these societies and their visual expressions changed over time. The course includes a cross-cultural perspective to orient particular regions in a larger, transnational context. University Core Fulfilled: EXP: Historical Analysis and Perspectives.

This course surveys the history of the visual arts in Western Europe and areas contiguous to the Mediterranean from the fourth century through the early nineteenth century. Art and architecture is used to examine human groups and individuals of the past and to explore how those people change over time, the causes of that change, and its consequences; visual culture is analyzed as a reflection of particular social concerns, ambitions, and anxiety. The course has four major sections: The Rise of Christianity: Expressions of Piety and Power; The Renaissance: Beauty, Humanism, and Spirit; Reformation and Response: Religious Challenges and New Discoveries; The Enlightenment: Faith, Reason, and the Individual's Role in Society. University Core Fulfilled: EXP: Historical Analysis and Perspectives.

ARHS 2004 surveys the historical development of global modernism and modernity from the nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. In particular, the class connects the spread of European modernism to religious, political, philosophical, and colonial movements. University Core Fulfilled: Explorations: Historical Analysis and Perspectives.

A critical and historical exploration of the role of visual communications in design activism. Design is examined as a medium for understanding, and visualizing the social, political, economic, and ecological forces shaping the human experience. Emphasis is on the role of the designer as an agent for social change. Visual search, research, fieldwork, discussion, and project-based presentations. Prerequisite: ART 160 or ART 260, or ART 1002 or ART 1660. University Core fulfilled: Flag: Engaged Learning.

A critical and historical examination of multimedia arts through research, discussions, and presentations.

Individual independent studies may fulfill the non-Western Art History requirement. Consent of instructor required.

A survey of the art and architecture of ancient Egypt from the Pre-dynastic through the Greco-Roman period.

This course will examine the material culture of the ancient Greek world, beginning in the third millennium BCE and ending the first century BCE. Utilizing a broad contextual approach, the class will place the art of Greece within the larger framework of the ancient world, examining artworks produced in the Italic peninsula, mainland Greece, Anatolia, Egypt, and the Near East. It will consider thematic issues such as the use of art in Greek identity formation, the interaction between art and myth, representations of gender and sexuality in Greek art, the creation and use of sacred art and architecture, and questions of Hellenization and cultural imperialism. University Core fulfilled: EXP: Historical Analysis and Perspectives.

This course will examine the art and culture of ancient Rome, beginning in the seventh century BCE with the Romans' predecessors in Italy, the Etruscans and the Greeks of Magna Graecia, and ending in the fourth century CE with the reign of Constantine. It will encompass artworks produced in Europe, north Africa, and the Near East. Students will explore thematic issues including the urban development of the city of Rome, how the Romans leveraged artworks in their imperialist ideology, and the use of artworks in the formation of Roman identity. University Core Fulfilled: EXP: Historical Analysis and Perspectives.

This class will examine how societies define and portray heroes in both the ancient Greek world and modern worlds. Through an interdisciplinary exploration of the common trope of the hero, the class will ask students why societies need heroes, and discuss whether there are common traits shared by heroes in different periods and places. Focusing on Greek art and literature as well as modern comics and graphic novels, students will examine how heroes are portrayed in visual and written sources, and how their iconography conveys their heroic traits. The class will be organized in a seminar format, with an emphasis on discussion, critical analysis of readings, and writing. University Core Fulfilled: INT: Interdisciplinary Connections. (See CLAR 4360.)

This course will survey the major developments in the arts from the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire in the second and third centuries until the end of the Gothic period in the fourteenth century. Structured chronologically, the course will deal with a set of broad thematic subjects, such as the diversity of medieval cultures and religions; the relationship between art and power; the interaction of the sacred and the secular; the role of medievalism; and the weaponization of the Middle Ages. University Core fulfilled: Integrations: Faith and Reason.

A survey of Pre-Columbian art and architecture from c. 1200 BCE to the fifteenth century CE.

A survey of the art, architecture, and visual culture of Latin America from the colonial period through the present.

A survey of the arts of Africa from 1000 BCE through the twenty-first century.

A survey of the art and architecture of Islam from Arabia through Spain, from the birth of Islam in the seventh century to the present.

This course serves as a foundational survey to the arts of the Asian region and introduces students to the art and architecture of East, South and Southeast Asia from prehistoric to contemporary times. Themes such as belief in the afterlife and empire building as well as the adoption of Buddhism serves as major threads that connect the diverse historical, cultural and artistic traditions of the region. University Core fulfilled: Integrations: Interdisciplinary Connections.

This course will explore photography's role in both the continuum of art history and modern visual culture but will also consider a wide range of other disciplines that have used photography as a tool of influence or research. Students will approach various bodies of photographic work from both an art historical and social science perspective. Recommended: ARHS 2004. University Core fulfilled: Integrations: Interdisciplinary Connections.

An analysis of design history from the Industrial Revolution to the present, with emphasis on creative innovation and progress as rooted in artistic, cultural, and political contexts. Prerequisite: ART 160 or ART 1660.

Individual independent studies may fulfill the non-Western Art History requirement. Permission of instructor required.

Selected topics in Ancient art history. Individual sections may have a University Core affiliation.

This course will explore the great social, economic, religious and intellectual changes that transformed the visual culture of Italy from the late thirteenth through the mid-sixteenth century. The rising popularity of the mendicant orders, the economic prosperity of urban centers, the political leverage of powerful families, and the renewed interest in the classical past helped to shape the painting, sculpture, and architecture of the period. The course will examine a variety of primary and secondary sources to examine a range of subjects including cross-cultural communication and trade, gender roles, urban planning, changes in religious practice, and the alteration of works over time. University Core fulfilled: Explorations: Historical Analysis and Perspectives.

This course explores the ways that art and architecture reflect the political, cultural, economic, and religious forces that shaped society in northern Europe from c. 1380 through the late sixteenth century. Arranged chronologically, the course will focus on topics such as the impact of urban growth, the role of private devotion, the new religious environment characteristic of the Reformation, and the changing art market. Through such themes, the course will further consider how race, religion, and gender influenced the manner in which Northern Renaissance art was produced, viewed, and understood. University Core fulfilled: Integrations: Interdisciplinary Connections.

An exploration of selected topics in the art and architecture of seventeenth-century Italy, France, Flanders, Holland, and Spain. University Core fulfilled: Integrations: Faith and Reason.

Selected topics in Early Christian, Medieval, Renaissance, or Baroque art history. Individual sections may have a University Core affiliation.

This course will introduce students to some of the most significant monuments, works of art and art movements from the Indian subcontinent, dating from the Indus Valley to the contemporary times. Students will also examine the development and evolution of Indic religions and their associative arts, as well as the impact of Islam and arts produced in the Islamic Delhi-Sultanate and Mughal courts. The second half of the course examines the long-term impact of British colonialism on Indian art production, and the depiction of Indian culture at the World's Fairs, museums and in film.

This course will introduce students to some of the most significant monuments, works of art and art movements from China, dating from prehistory to contemporary times. Specifically, the course will examine China's rich painting, porcelain and garden traditions while also introducing students to important religious and social movements in Chinese history.

This course serves as a foundational survey to the arts of the Southeast Asia region, focusing on the arts and architecture of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam representing the mainland, and Indonesia and the Philippines representing the islands. Themes such as belief in the afterlife, empire building, the adoption of Buddhism and Islam, and colonialism of the region serves as major threads that connect the diverse historical, cultural and artistic traditions of the region. University Core fulfilled: Integrations: Interdisciplinary Connections.

This course will introduce students to some of the most significant monuments, works of art and art movements from Japan, dating from the Jomon period to the early twentieth century. Specifically, the course focuses on the development and evolution of Japanese art through the centuries by critically examining how interactions with neighboring countries such as China and Korea influenced art making in the early periods, and how later interactions with Europe and America impacted the art of modern Japan.

This course examines the art and architecture of East, South and Southeast Asia produced since 1945, focusing on local, regional and global visual and political developments that impacted art making. The course will introduce students to both established and emerging artists from Asia, in addition to examining the rising commercial and global profile of contemporary Asian art and artists.

Selected topics in non-Western art history. Individual sections may have a University Core affiliation.

ARHS 4614 surveys American art from the Colonial Period through the twentieth century through a consideration of how immigrant communities have contributed to the formation of national identities. Specific groups addressed include Native Americans, early-Colonials, African-Americans, and women artists, to name a few of the communities discussed during the semester. University Core Fulfilled: Foundations: Studies in American Diversity.

An exploration of the development of European art and architecture of the long nineteenth century.

An exploration of post-World War II art, with an emphasis on the development of postmodernism from 1945 to the early twenty-first century. Recommended: ARHS 2004. University Core fulfilled: Integrations: Interdisciplinary Connections.

An exploration of the art criticism and theory of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Recommended: ARHS 2004.

This course examines Assemblage as an artistic, literary, and critical way of making, working, and thinking about our everyday environments. The class examines the shifting meanings of Assemblage as understood in art practice, creative writing, and philosophical inquiry in relation to broad historical contexts as well as Los Angeles' rich cultural history. Like the assemblages that first brought Los Angeles cultural attention in the mid-twentieth century, LA itself is similarly complex, diverse, and fractal in its composition. Recommended ARHS 2004. University Core Fulfilled: Integrations: Interdisciplinary Connections.

Selected topics in modern and contemporary art history. Individual sections may have a University Core affiliation.

A directed internship in museum or gallery education, curatorial work, registration, public relations, or installation design. Individual placements are made on the basis of the student's academic background and professional goals. Juniors and seniors only. Majors only. Research paper required. Permission of instructor required.

An exploration of Los Angeles' modern and contemporary art history through lectures, field trips, and class visits by practicing artists, critics, curators, and arts professionals. Recommended: ARHS 2204 or ARHS 4630. University Core fulfilled: Flag: Engaged Learning. Permission of instructor required.

Site-specific art history course that is taught through Study Abroad. Topics vary dependent on location. Individual sections may have a University Core affiliation.

Site-specific art history course that is taught through Study Abroad and fulfills the non-Western requirement. Topics vary dependent on location. Individual sections may have a University Core affiliation.

Study of Italian Renaissance art and architecture in Florence and Tuscany.

Combining the disciplinary approaches of theology, history, and art history, this course examines the religious and visual traditions of Late Antique and medieval Rome. The course, taught on-site in Rome during an accelerated summer course, provides a direct engagement with culture, art, society, and faith. University Core fulfilled: Integrations: Faith and Reason; Flag: Engaged Learning.

The course will introduce the town layout and its architecture as a constantly changing microcosm shaped by social, political, economic, and cultural as well as functional, technical, and aesthetic factors. The introduction of the main architectural styles will accentuate the symbolic and representational interaction and reception of a building, including aspects like the relationship between demography and lifestyle in historical and contemporary architecture. The impact of factors such as industrialization, traffic, population increase, pollution, and globalization will be discussed as well as similarities and differences between European and American cities. Taught through the Bonn Study Abroad Semester Program. University Core fulfilled: Integrations: Interdisciplinary Connections; Flag: Engaged Learning.

This course examines the history of the museum from its beginnings in the ancient world as a space where ideas could be exchanged to its present incarnation as an institution that exhibits and or collects objects. This course provides students the opportunity to explore the rich museum culture in Los Angeles by visiting, and critically engaging with the collections of the Getty Villa, the Natural History Museum, LACMA, the California Museum of African American Art and the Museum of Jurassic Technology. Museum visits subject to change.

An examination of the historiography and methodology of the discipline of art history, with a special emphasis on student research and writing. Permission of instructor required.

Selected topics in art history. Individual sections may have a University Core affiliation.

Individual independent studies may fulfill the non-Western Art History requirement. Seniors only. Permission of instructor required.