Art History (ARTH)

ARTH 190. Special Topics in Art History. 0.5 or 1 Units.

These lecture/discussion courses are designed to extend the range of the curriculum and give students an opportunity to explore special topics. Their topics are contingent upon the expertise of current departmental faculty. Any prerequisites will be indicated in the course schedule. Students may take more than one ARTH 190, ARTH 290, ARTH 390, or ARTH 490 course during their career with different titles and content.

ARTH 210A. American Art. 1 Unit.

A survey of art in America from colonial times to the present. Emphasis is on the history of painting, with reference to its place in historical and cultural contexts. Also offered as AMST 210H.

ARTH 211A. Approaches to the Arts. 1 Unit.

Examines a range of works in different forms of creative expression, focusing on basic methods of analysis for studying art forms and their social and cultural contexts. Writing enhanced course.

ARTH 212A. Topics in Global Art History. 1 Unit.

The course focuses on globally dispersed and culturally diverse artistic traditions of Asia, Africa, Oceania, Islam, the pre-Columbian (pre-Conquest) Americas, and Latin America. The course offers a global perspective, through which students learn to understand and appreciate the richness of artistic expression of different cultures.

ARTH 241A. Art History Survey I: From Prehistory to 14th Century. 1 Unit.

This course introduces the students to the history of art in the Western World from prehistory to the fourteenth century. Can be used as an H course. Offered in the fall semester.

ARTH 242A. Art History Survey II: From Renaissance to Modernism. 1 Unit.

This course introduces the students to the history of art in the Western World from the fifteen century to the first half of the twentieth century. Can be used as an H course. Offered in the spring semester.

ARTH 243V. Global Survey of 20th Century Art. 1 Unit.

The course introduces the students to the history of art in the 20th century. The course provides a significant coverage of art made outside of Europe and the United States, establishing a more inclusive understanding of modern and contemporary art.

ARTH 251A. Introduction to Comics Studies. 1 Unit.

This course introduces students to the discipline of comics studies by examining the formal characteristics and the historical development of comic strips, comic books, graphic novels and other related visual/verbal forms in a variety of national/cultural contexts.

ARTH 285. Independent Study. 0.5 or 1 Units.

ARTH 290. Special Topics in Art History. 1 Unit.

These lecture/discussion courses are designed to extend the range of the curriculum and give students an opportunity to explore special topics. Their topics are contingent upon the expertise of current departmental faculty. Any prerequisites will be indicated in the course schedule. Students may take more than one ARTH 190, ARTH 290, ARTH 390, or ARTH 490 course during their career with different titles and content.

ARTH 290A. Special Topics. 1 Unit.

ARTH 310. Topics in American Art. 1 Unit.

A specialized study of selected areas in the history of American art. The course may be repeated with different content (e.g., Nineteenth Century American Landscape, Modernism in American Art). Also offered as AMST 310.

ARTH 312. Curation: Practicum. 0.5 Units.

This practice-based course focuses on practical aspects of a curatorial project, culminating in an individual or collaborative exhibition. This course may be taken for credit up to 2 times.

ARTH 314A. The Art and Theory of Modernism. 1 Unit.

A study of major artistic movements of the first half of the twentieth century and of the relationship between works of art and contemporary art theory and criticism. Can be used as an H course. Offered every other year in the fall semester.

ARTH 315A. Period Study in Art History. 1 to 1.25 Unit.

This course will concentrate on the art of a particular period. The course may be repeated with different content (e.g., Italian Renaissance Art, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, Medieval Art). Can be used as an H course.

ARTH 316. Issues in Contemporary Art. 1 Unit.

This course will explore some of the chief issues and ideas which have engaged the art world in the last half of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first. Offered every other year in the fall semester.

ARTH 321V. Art Trials:Ethics,Aesth,Justic. 1 Unit.

This course focuses on Ethical or Spiritual Inquiry Value. Focusing on the relationship between law, ethics, and aesthetics, the course considers the issues of censorship and freedom of expression, cultural heritage and movement of antiquities, and artist's rights (moral rights, resale rights, and copyright) and their impact on the society at large. Junior Seminar.

ARTH 322V. Transgressive Art. 1 Unit.

This course focuses on Stetson's Ethical and Spiritual Inquiry Value. Contemporary art has often caused controversy for its violation of conventional moral beliefs. This course focuses on controversial contemporary artworks that remain shocking, disturbing, and problematic, subjecting them to ethical and aesthetic exploration. Junior Seminar.

ARTH 325S. Art Market and Institutions. 1 Unit.

This course focuses on the relations between artistic production and its market conditions. It will expose students to the commercial aspect of art and its institutions, enabling them to understand their structure, mechanisms, and function.

ARTH 326. Exhibition Concept Development and Design. 1 Unit.

This course focuses on various elements of exhibition management and introduces students to the process of planning and implementing exhibitions. This includes exhibition concept development, exhibition design concepts, financial planning, and audience engagement.

ARTH 334V. Curating Visual Culture. 1 Unit.

This course focuses on Stetson's Ethical and Spiritual Inquiry Value. Focusing on a variety of curatorial practices in relation to representations of visual culture, the course is designed to combine theory of curating with hands-on experience in curating a project under the professor’s guidance. The students will be introduced to critical vocabulary and theoretical framework enabling them to understand the ways in which visual culture is mapped through exhibition practices. The students will learn first-hand how to curate an exhibition, from articulating its concept to more practical issues, such as selecting the works, writings wall texts, installation, and promotion. Junior Seminar.

ARTH 341V. Comics of Disaster. 1 Unit.

This course focuses on Stetson's Ethical and Spiritual Inquiry Value. This course will examine the representation of war, personal injury and natural disaster and their physical, psychological, and political consequences in a variety of graphic narratives, focusing on the ways that artistic choices are themselves political, ideological, and ethical actions. Junior Seminar.

ARTH 344V. Art and Gender. 1 Unit.

This course focuses on Stetson's Human Diversity Value. The course focuses on influences upon the ways Western cultures have defined art and artists in gendered terms. It investigates the relevance of gender and its intersection with other categories of social identities in the creation and appreciation of art, past and present and address issues concerning art’s relation to socio-political movements and art as a form of social activism. Junior Seminar.

ARTH 365. Collection Management. 1 Unit.

An overview of the principles of collections management and their role within the broader field of museum studies. Topics include the ethics of collecting and acquiring material, conservation, registration administration, development of policy and procedure. Material will be presented through lectures, hands-on practice, guest lectures and field trips. Offered every other year in the spring semester.

ARTH 366. Museum Theory and Practice. 1 Unit.

Museology, or museum studies, is the study of museums, museum curation, and how museums developed into their institutional role in education through social and political forces. This course provides a broad introduction to the history of museums and to debates of the philosophical nature of museums. The course identifies the various types of museums (art, history, natural history, science, etc.) and definitions. It traces the history of museums, discusses contemporary practice and examines current issues in the profession. We will also investigate the various jobs and responsibilities that people have within museums as they work on exhibitions, education, research, collection management, and conservation. Students will gain an understanding of the museum as institution, and an understanding of the challenges and responsibilities that museums and their staff members encounter.

ARTH 372V. Arts and Revolution: Visual Arts. 1 Unit.

This course focuses on Stetson's Social Justice Value. Can art change the world? This course traces how artists attempted to change society through visual arts over the threshold of the 1917 Russian Revolution, when political convulsions opened new possibilities for art and artists. We explore the possibilities of art as tool for social justice both in text and practice, focusing on Russia and Eastern Europe. Junior Seminar.

ARTH 380. Studies Art History Topics. 1 Unit.

ARTH 385. Independent Study. 0.5 or 1 Units.

Study on a specialized project under the guidance of a professor.

ARTH 390. Special Topics in Art History. 1 Unit.

These lecture/discussion courses are designed to extend the range of the curriculum and give students an opportunity to explore special topics. Their topics are contingent upon the expertise of current departmental faculty. Any prerequisites will be indicated in the course schedule. Students may take more than one ARTH 190, ARTH 290, ARTH 390, or ARTH 490 course during their career with different titles and content.

ARTH 395. Teaching Apprenticeship. 0.5 Units.

Pass/Fail only. Students assist a faculty member with the teaching and management responsibilities related to one of the program’s existing courses. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. May be repeated once.

ARTH 415. Seminar in Art History. 1 Unit.

This course will concentrate on a special problem in art history and is designed to help students develop research skills and explore different methodologies in art history. The course may be repeated with different content (e.g., Women and Art, Approaches to French Impressionism).

ARTH 485. Independent Study. 0.5 or 1 Units.

Study on a specialist project under the guidance of a professor. With permission of a faculty member.

ARTH 490. Special Topics in Art History. 1 Unit.

These lecture/discussion courses are designed to extend the range of the curriculum and give students an opportunity to explore special topics. Their topics are contingent upon the expertise of current departmental faculty. Any prerequisites will be indicated in the course schedule. Students may take more than one ARTH 190, ARTH 290, ARTH 390, or ARTH 490 course during their career with different titles and content.

ARTH 499. Senior Project. 1 Unit.