Minor in Art History Course Descriptions
Course offerings listed below may vary from year to year based on course availability. For the most up-to-date courses, course requirements and descriptions, always refer
to the current University Catalog. View the current Catalog here.
ART 140 - Introduction to Painting
3 Credits
Introduction to Painting is a focused exploration of a variety of painting materials such as watercolor, acrylic and encaustic (wax-based pigment) as vehicles for expression and the development of a personal aesthetic. Emphasis will be on painting from nature, the emulation of forms in space, and the refinement of the gestural brushstroke. Fee.
ART 150 - History of Western Art I
3 Credits
A survey of Western art from prehistory through 16th century Mannerism. Emphasis is on the formal development of art and its connection to society through the examination of the visual arts as cultural artifacts.
ART 151 - History of Western Art II
3 Credits
A survey of Western art from the 17th century Baroque to the present day. Emphasis is on the formal and technological development of art, both traditional and postmodern forms, in relation to society.
ART 220 - Introduction to Book Arts
3 Credits
This course is an introduction to the creation of books from non-Western forms such as the scroll and side-stitch to the traditional hard-cover codex. Students will learn about the traditional book binder’s canon of materials and then explore how contemporary book artists have expanded this canon. Fee.
ART 270 - The History of Women in Art
3 Credits
This course looks at the vital role women have played as artists in Western society from the beginning of recorded history to the present day. Emphasis will be placed on the analysis of the artist as a distinct product of her specific historical time and an exploration of the wide-ranging media she used, from clay and plant matter to embroidery, ceramics, oil paint, and digital media.
ART 279A - CORE: Art & the Global Community
3 Credits
This course introduces students to the concept of art as an agent for social change through case studies of community/communal art “movements” through history from around the globe as well as the United States and our local community.
Prerequisite: CORE 179 or appropriate transfer status. Pre- or Co-requisite: ENG 102 or ENG 111.
ART/HST/POL 279C - CORE: American Political Thought: Nature & the Common Good
3 Credits
A study of the concept of nature as used in Anglo-American thought and how these usages influence an understanding of the natural, social, and political environments of the United States. Special emphasis given to American political theory, its illustration through the 19th century American landscape movement, and the inability of U.S. thinkers to appreciate the common good.
Not open to students with credit in POL/HST/ART 335 or POL 348F.
ART 320 - Materials Exploration
3 Credits
This course draws on a basic art foundation and delves into how specific media are used for targeted effects and expressive/analytic content. Students will explore historic methods such as (but not limited to) manuscript illumination, fresco, and printmaking as well as develop an individual body of work based on a preferred material/media. Primary site visits and critique are a major part of this class. Fee.
ART 325 - Contemporary Art
3 Credits
What are the questions of our time and how are artists addressing these concerns? This course will examine current and contemporary artists, new media art (including the recent trend towards digital video), the interrelation of fine art and design, as well as conceptual frameworks that reflect current social issues. We will explore these topics through lecture, discussion, readings, writings, interpretations, and local gallery and exhibition visits.
ART/POL 348H - Modernism in its Time
3 Credits
An interdisciplinary study of the social, political and intellectual culture of Modernism through the lens of the visual arts. Selected examples of visual art of the Western World will be studied in the context of their specific artistic movements as well as in conjunction with contemporaneous events in Western society such as the Great War, the American Depression, WWII, the Holocaust and the dropping of the Atomic Bomb.
Prerequisites: ENG 101–102 or 110–111.
ART/POL 379E - Justice, Art, Politics
3 Credits
An interdisciplinary study of the influences politics has on art and the question of how art and politics inform the human search for truth through an investigation of artistic masterworks from the Middle Ages through the twentieth century. Selected images of masterworks will be discussed and annotated.
3 Credits
Introduction to Painting is a focused exploration of a variety of painting materials such as watercolor, acrylic and encaustic (wax-based pigment) as vehicles for expression and the development of a personal aesthetic. Emphasis will be on painting from nature, the emulation of forms in space, and the refinement of the gestural brushstroke. Fee.
ART 150 - History of Western Art I
3 Credits
A survey of Western art from prehistory through 16th century Mannerism. Emphasis is on the formal development of art and its connection to society through the examination of the visual arts as cultural artifacts.
ART 151 - History of Western Art II
3 Credits
A survey of Western art from the 17th century Baroque to the present day. Emphasis is on the formal and technological development of art, both traditional and postmodern forms, in relation to society.
ART 220 - Introduction to Book Arts
3 Credits
This course is an introduction to the creation of books from non-Western forms such as the scroll and side-stitch to the traditional hard-cover codex. Students will learn about the traditional book binder’s canon of materials and then explore how contemporary book artists have expanded this canon. Fee.
ART 270 - The History of Women in Art
3 Credits
This course looks at the vital role women have played as artists in Western society from the beginning of recorded history to the present day. Emphasis will be placed on the analysis of the artist as a distinct product of her specific historical time and an exploration of the wide-ranging media she used, from clay and plant matter to embroidery, ceramics, oil paint, and digital media.
ART 279A - CORE: Art & the Global Community
3 Credits
This course introduces students to the concept of art as an agent for social change through case studies of community/communal art “movements” through history from around the globe as well as the United States and our local community.
Prerequisite: CORE 179 or appropriate transfer status. Pre- or Co-requisite: ENG 102 or ENG 111.
ART/HST/POL 279C - CORE: American Political Thought: Nature & the Common Good
3 Credits
A study of the concept of nature as used in Anglo-American thought and how these usages influence an understanding of the natural, social, and political environments of the United States. Special emphasis given to American political theory, its illustration through the 19th century American landscape movement, and the inability of U.S. thinkers to appreciate the common good.
Not open to students with credit in POL/HST/ART 335 or POL 348F.
ART 320 - Materials Exploration
3 Credits
This course draws on a basic art foundation and delves into how specific media are used for targeted effects and expressive/analytic content. Students will explore historic methods such as (but not limited to) manuscript illumination, fresco, and printmaking as well as develop an individual body of work based on a preferred material/media. Primary site visits and critique are a major part of this class. Fee.
ART 325 - Contemporary Art
3 Credits
What are the questions of our time and how are artists addressing these concerns? This course will examine current and contemporary artists, new media art (including the recent trend towards digital video), the interrelation of fine art and design, as well as conceptual frameworks that reflect current social issues. We will explore these topics through lecture, discussion, readings, writings, interpretations, and local gallery and exhibition visits.
ART/POL 348H - Modernism in its Time
3 Credits
An interdisciplinary study of the social, political and intellectual culture of Modernism through the lens of the visual arts. Selected examples of visual art of the Western World will be studied in the context of their specific artistic movements as well as in conjunction with contemporaneous events in Western society such as the Great War, the American Depression, WWII, the Holocaust and the dropping of the Atomic Bomb.
Prerequisites: ENG 101–102 or 110–111.
ART/POL 379E - Justice, Art, Politics
3 Credits
An interdisciplinary study of the influences politics has on art and the question of how art and politics inform the human search for truth through an investigation of artistic masterworks from the Middle Ages through the twentieth century. Selected images of masterworks will be discussed and annotated.
Prerequisites: ENG 101–102 or 110–111; or consent of instructor.
PHL 320 - Philosophy of Art
3 Credits
An examination of the nature of art and beauty. Includes a study of major works from
Plato to the present.
Prerequisites: ENG 102 or ENG 111 and CORE 179 or transfer equivalent. Not open to
students with credit in PHL 348C.