College of Arts & Sciences
Art History
Concentration in Art History (1003)Minor Concentration in Art History (1004, 1005, 1006)
London and Paris Internship Programs in the Arts
Courses
Chair Fred Kleiner
Associate Chair Michael Zell
Director of Undergraduate Studies Deborah Kahn
Director of Museum Studies Melanie Hall
Professors Coggins, Hills, Kleiner, Morgan, Redford, Wates, Wiseman
Associate Professors Bai, Cranston, Hall, Kahn, Ribner, Sichel, Zell
Assistant Professors Becker, Fetvaci, Scrivano, Sewell, Tseng, Westervelt, Williams
Adjunct Professor Stebbins
Professors Emeriti Binion, Kirk, Licht, Miller, ten Grotenhuis, Wohl
Art historians are concerned with the many faceted historical implications (personal, social, political, and aesthetic) of imagery and objects (buildings, paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings, photographs, films, and decorative arts). They study the makers, critics, patrons, and users of these objects and images. These investigations reveal changing views of humanity and the world and, by extension, develop the student’s own critical perspective. The art history faculty offer diverse approaches to the arts of the Western world, Africa, Asia, and the ancient Americas. Courses are also taught by curators and other professionals from the Museum of Fine Arts and other art institutions in the area. Boston’s excellent museum and gallery collections and its range of more than 300 years of architecture bring students into intimate and productive association with major examples of visual culture throughout history. The undergraduate Art History Association sponsors trips to museums and galleries, and organizes film and lecture series. The undergraduate Architecture Society sponsors walking tours and visits to architectural offices. Both organizations enrich the department’s social and intellectual life.
The art history concentration provides excellent interdisciplinary preparation for graduate work in the humanities or social sciences and complements studies in the natural sciences. Graduates may work in museums, galleries, municipal and state cultural programs, educational institutions, publishing, and architectural and planning firms. Many go on to graduate studies in a variety of fields.
Concentration in Art History (1003)
The concentration in Art History requires the student to take eleven Art History courses, including one seminar plus at least four courses at the 300 level or above. All Art History concentrators are encouraged to select additional courses in related fields in consultation with their advisor.
Principal Courses The eleven courses in Art History must include CAS AH 111 and 112 (Survey of Western Art), plus two surveys of other artistic traditions, to be chosen from AH 215 (Arts of Africa); AH 220 (Islamic Art and Architecture); AH 222 (Art and Architecture in Ancient America); and AH 225 (Arts of Asia). Of the remaining seven courses, at least four courses must be taken at the 300 level or higher, including at least one seminar at the 400 or 500 level. Courses taken beyond the four introductory surveys must include one course each from the following four groups: A) Ancient, Medieval, and Ancient American, B) Asian, African, and Islamic, C) Renaissance, and Baroque and eighteenth century, D) nineteenth and twentieth century, including American.
Students receiving a score of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement test in Art History must take eleven courses at Boston University as listed above, but are exempt from the requirement to take CAS AH 111 and AH 112.
Seminar One seminar at the 400 or 500 level, preferably taken in the second half of the junior year or the first half of the senior year, is required. A second seminar is recommended.
Related Courses The department encourages all Art History concentrators to select additional courses in related fields in consultation with their advisor.
Language The department also strongly recommends that Art History concentrators planning to pursue graduate study acquire reading knowledge of a second foreign language in addition to the one language required for graduation by the College.
Grades A grade of C is the minimum acceptable grade for a concentrator in a department course.
For information about the concentration, see the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Minor Concentration in Art History (1004, 1005, 1006)
All students choosing a minor concentration in Art History are encouraged to take courses in both Western and non-Western Art, and in architecture as well as painting and sculpture, but the options listed below allow students to concentrate in one of three major areas as follows:
Option 1 (Western Art, 1004): One course chosen from CAS AH 111, 112, 210; plus four other Art History courses, including at least two Western Art classes and at least two courses at the 300 level or higher.
Option 2 (Non-Western Art, 1005): One course chosen from CAS AH 215, 220, 222, 225; plus four other Art History courses, including at least two non-Western Art classes and at least two courses at the 300 level or higher.
Option 3 (Architectural History, 1006): CAS AH 205; plus four other Art History courses, including at least two architectural history classes and at least two courses at the 300 level or higher.
Students receiving a score of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement test in Art History may select any of these options, and to complete the five-course requirement must take three courses in Western Art (1004), non-Western Art (1005), or Architectural History (1006), plus any two other Art History courses. At least two of the five courses must be at the 300 level or higher.
Students must earn a minimum grade of C in all courses taken toward the minor concentration. For information about minor concentrations, see the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
London and Paris Internship Programs in the Arts
Art history concentrators, minor concentrators, and others interested in careers in art history should consider the London and Paris Internship Programs in Art and Architecture sponsored by Boston University. Courses in British and French arts prepare students for professional experience in architectural firms, galleries and museums, auction houses, preservation societies, and other cultural institutions. For further information, consult the general description of the London and Paris Internship Programs in this site.
Boston University also offers students interested in devoting a full semester to art history the opportunity to study at Britain’s preeminent art history institute, the world-renowned Courtauld Institute of Art, a division of the University of London. Students accepted into this program reside at the Boston University complex in South Kensington and attend classes there and at the Courtauld Institute on the Strand in Central London. Students earn 16 semester-hour credits in art history but are considered full members of the Courtauld student body and receive all of the privileges of Courtauld students, including membership in the student union, library privileges at the University of London, and Courtauld e-mail addresses and identification cards. For further information, see Professor Fred Kleiner in the Art History Department and The Courtald Institute of Art.
Courses
Courses marked with a (†) satisfy humanities divisional studies requirements.
Introductory courses, principal courses, directed study, and seminars are listed separately.
Introductory Courses
†CAS AH 111 Introduction to Art History I: Antiquity to the Middle Ages
An introduction to art history and the analysis of painting, sculpture, and architecture. Study of masterpieces from prehistoric to medieval times. Focus on monuments of Greece, Rome, and the Middle Ages, with a survey of Egyptian and Near Eastern art. Kahn, Kleiner. 4 cr, 1st sem. (HU)
†CAS AH 112 Introduction to Art History II: Renaissance to Today
Major monuments and artists. Sequential development, from the late Renaissance to the modern period, of major styles in architecture, sculpture, painting, graphic arts, and photography. Relationship of visual art to social and cultural trends. Ribner, Cranston. 4 cr, 2nd sem. (HU)
CAS AH 201 Understanding Architecture: Theoretical Approaches to the Built Environment
Introduces a range of approaches to the analysis of architecture. Learn how scholars and architects have interpreted meaning in architecture through the rubrics of art, structure, language, nonverbal communication, experience, and culture. Sewell. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
†CAS AH 205 Architecture: An Introduction
Examination of the factors involved in architectural design including program, spatial composition, structure, technology, iconography, and the role of architecture in society. Discussion of major monuments of world architecture. Morgan. 4 cr, 1st sem. (HU)
CAS AH 208 Art and Politics
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 210 Learning to See
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 214 Modern Painting and Sculpture
Not offered 2009/2010
†CAS AH 215 Arts of Africa
Exploration of key themes in royal art and architecture from western, central, eastern, and southern Africa. Topics include state cosmology, dynastic history, palace architecture, royal regalia and ceremonies, court women, and the importance of art in diplomacy and war. Becker. 4 cr, 2nd sem. (HU)
†CAS AH 220 Islamic Art and Architecture
The origins, character, and evolution of the arts of Islamic lands from the eighth to the seventeenth centuries: architecture, painting, and the full range of decorative and minor arts. Fetvaci. 4 cr, 1st sem. (HU)
CAS AH 222 Art and Architecture in Ancient America
Not offered 2009/2010
†CAS AH 225 The Arts of Asia
An introduction to the art and architecture of Asia from earliest times to the twenty-first century. Focus on the contexts of production and use in relation to the cultural, political, religious, and technological forces of each era. Bai. 4 cr, 2nd sem. (HU)
CAS AH 233 The Arts of Greece
Greek architecture, painting, sculpture, and minor arts. Emphasis on developments in Athens and on the creation of the classical style in art and architecture. Westervelt. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS AH 234 The Art of Rome
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 240 Medieval Art
European art and architecture from the Fall of Rome through High Gothic. Covers media including sculpture, textiles, stained glass, and precious metalwork. Monuments treated are Rome’s great churches, the Book of Kells, the Bayeux Tapestry, and Chartres and Rheims cathedrals. Kahn. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS AH 257 Renaissance Art
Survey of the arts in the Renaissance in Italy from the communes of the early fifteenth century to the courts of the sixteenth century. TBA. 4 cr, 1st sem.
†CAS AH 284 Arts in America
Survey of American painting, architecture, sculpture, prints, and photography from the early settlement in 1630 to the present. Hills. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS AH 287 The Nineteenth Century
Examines the major currents in nineteenth-century painting and sculpture, from David to Rodin, in the context of nationalism, revolution, colonial expansion, and technological growth. Emphasizes European developments: Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, and Symbolism. Esielonis. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS AH 295 History of Photography
An introduction to the study of photographs. The history of the medium in Europe and America from its invention in 1839 to the present. After lectures on photographic theory and methodology, photographs are studied both as art objects and as historical artifacts. Sichel. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
Principal Courses
CAS AH 316 African Diaspora Arts in the Americas
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 322 Ancient Aztec and Inca Civilization
Prereq: CAS AH 222 or CAS AR 100 or CAS AR 101 or CAS AR 205 or CAS AR 351 or CAS AR 352. The conquests, trade, society, history, religion, art, and architecture of the Aztec and Inca Empires in Mexico and Peru, as revealed archaeologically and in the accounts of their Spanish conquerors. Also offered as CAS AR 322. Coggins. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS AH 326 Arts of Japan
The arts of Japan, from prehistory through the twentieth century. Painting, calligraphy, sculpture, and architecture (including landscape architecture) are emphasized, but attention is also paid to woodblock prints, ceramics, lacquer, and metalwork. Tseng. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS AH 327 Arts of China
Introduction to the major tradition of Chinese art, from the Neolithic period to the present. Topics include bronzes, tomb sculpture, painting calligraphy, ceramics, and gardens. Bai. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS AH 328 Modern Japanese Architecture
An introduction to the major architects, buildings, theories, and critical issues of Japanese architecture from 1850 to the present. Focus on the development of new forms in response to interchanges with the West, new technologies, earthquakes, nationalism, international wars, and colonialism. Tseng. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS AH 331 Arts of Archaic Greece
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 333 Arts of Classical Greece
Examines architecture, sculpture, painting, and metalwork of the fifth and fourth centuries B.C. in their original contexts. Addresses such larger issues as development of portraiture; tension of “real” and “ideal”; roles and shifting iconographies of myth; and political use of monuments. Westervelt. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS AH 352 Venetian Renaissance Art
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 353 Renaissance Architecture and Theory
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 359 Northern Renaissance Painting
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 361 Southern Baroque Art
Seventeenth-century art in Italy, France, and Spain; emphasis on Caravaggio, Bernini, Poussin, Velazquez. TBA. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS AH 365 Baroque Arts in Northern Europe
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 367 Material Culture
Introduction to the theory and practice of the interdisciplinary study of material culture, which includes everything we make and use, from food and clothing to art and buildings. Also offered as CAS AM 367. Sewell. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS AH 377 American Furniture and Allied Arts, 1630–1830
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 379 Visual Culture of Nineteenth-Century America
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 380 Romanticism in Europe
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 382 Nineteenth-Century Architecture
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 384 Metropolis: Art and Politics in Istanbul, London, Paris, and New York
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 386 Twentieth-Century American Painting
Realist and avant-garde movements of the twentieth century, including New York dada, early abstraction, regionalism, art and politics during the depression years, abstract expressionism, pop art and minimal art, performance art, feminist art, and recent developments in postmodernism. Hills. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS AH 391 Twentieth-Century Art to 1940
A study of the key tendencies in European art between the 1880s and World War II. The work of van Gogh, Picasso, Matisse, Dalí, and their contemporaries is examined in relation to major issues in European culture and politics. Markovitz. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS AH 392 Twentieth-Century Art from 1940 to the 1980
An exploration of the major currents in European and American art since World War II. Examines abstract expressionism, pop art, minimalism, earthworks, and conceptual art in relation to major issues in postwar culture, politics, and art criticism. Williams. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS AH 393 Contemporary Art: 1980 to Now
Explores the terms of debate, key figures, and primary sites for the production and reception of contemporary art on a global scale since 1980. Painting, installation art, new media, performance, art criticism, and curatorial practice are discussed. Williams. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS AH 398 Twentieth-Century Architecture
An introduction to the major developments in architecture and urban planning from ca. 1900 to the present. Traces the history of modern architecture in key projects, taking account of formal, technological, and ideological factors, as well as social, cultural, and environmental contexts. Scrivano. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS AH 399 History and Theory of Landscape Architecture
Not offered 2009/2010
Directed Studies and Seminars
Prerequisites for directed studies and seminars are CAS AH 111 and AH 112 and two courses at the 200 level or higher, or permission of instructor. One seminar, preferably taken in the second half of the junior year or the first half of the senior year, is a concentration requirement.
CAS AH 401, 402 Senior Independent Work
Prereq: approval of Honors Committee. 4 cr each, 1st & 2nd sem.
CAS AH 425 Seminar: Topics in Asian Art
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 428 Seminar: Islamic Art
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 429 Seminar: African Art
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 433 Seminar: Greek Art
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 444 Seminar: Medieval Art
Detailed study of the castles, cathedrals, and works of art produced in Anglo-Norman England, including Canterbury Cathedral, the Tower of London, and the Bayeux Tapestry. Contemporary attitudes toward images, monastic art, allegory, nostalgia, symbolism, parody, the grotesque, building techniques, and patronage. Kahn. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS AH 451 Seminar: Renaissance Art
Prereq: CAS AH 111 and CAS AH 112. Topic for Fall 2009: Sculpture, Painting, Architecture, and Poetry of Michelangelo. Topics explored include Michelangelo’s spirituality, his relationships with popes, princely patrons, and other artists, and his use of visual sources. Investigates the interface between artistic production, psychology, and biography. Bensoussan. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS AH 462 Seminar: Baroque Art
Explores the relationship between visual culture and political authority in seventeenth-century Europe. Focus on painting, architecture, and sculpture by major artistic figures of the period, including Rubens, Van Dyck, Velázquez, Rembrandt, and Bernini. TBA. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS AH 482 Seminar: Nineteenth-Century Art
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 491, 492 Directed Study
Prereq: approval of the Academic Advising Center. Variable cr, 1st & 2nd sem.
CAS AH 494 Seminar: Photography
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 495 Seminar: Twentieth-Century Art
Prereq: CAS AH 111 and CAS AH 112. Examines major artists and artistic currents of the twentieth century. Topics vary each year. Some background in the history of modern art is recommended. Topic for Spring 2010: Paris. Sichel. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS AH 497 Seminar: Contemporary Art
Prereq: CAS AH 111 and CAS AH 112. Rotating topics in art criticism and theory since 1960. Examines major themes such as formalism, minimalism, conceptual art, the neo-avant-garde, art and politics, postmodernism, and globalization in their social and political contexts. 4 cr, either sem.
Advanced Courses
Courses at the 500 level are open to students at the junior level and above, or by permission of the instructor.
CAS AH 502 Practicum in Museum Studies
Prereq: CAS AH 520 and 521 or previous museum/gallery experience. Approval by the director of museum studies and stamped approval are necessary. Internships in Boston-area museums, galleries, historical agencies, and houses arranged for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, 10–12 hours per week with written report. Hall. 4 cr, either sem.
CAS AH 504 Topics in Religion and the Visual Arts
Prereq: junior standing or consent of instructor. In-depth discussion of special issues in the study of religion and art. Topic changes each year. May be repeated for credit. Topic for Fall 2009: Religious Architecture in Islam: Mosques, Shrines, and Tombs. Also offered as CAS RN 504. Fetvaci. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS AH 520 The Museum and Historical Agency
Prereq: permission of the instructor and stamped approval. The history, present realities, and future possibilities of museums and historical agencies. Emphasis on the collection, preservation, and use of objects, as well as on the interaction of artists, dealers, collectors, donors, scholars, trustees, and museum professionals. Hall. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS AH 521 Curatorship: Exhibition Development
Prereq: permisson of instructor and stamped approval. The theory and practice of producing an exhibition: developing concepts, defining the audience, and selecting the focus. Students assist in researching, writing, designing, and producing the catalog. Other areas of involvement include loans, insurance, installation, and visitor interpretation. TBA. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS AH 527 Topics in Art and Society
May be repeated for credit as topics change. Topic for Fall 2009: Representations of Women in African Art. Vendryes. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS AH 529 Seminar: Twentieth-Century Chinese Art
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 530 Chinese and Japanese Calligraphy: History, Theory, and Practice
Introduction to the history, theory, and practice of the art of Chinese and Japanese calligraphy. The related art of seal carving is also introduced. No knowledge of Chinese or Japanese required. Bai. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS AH 531 Modern Asian Art in a Global Context
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 532 Japanese Print Culture
Seminar on print culture of Japan from the eighteenth century to the present. Study of woodblock prints, photographic prints, book art, print advertisements, postcards, and manga. Focus on their function as both artistic expression and instruments of mass communication. Tseng. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS AH 534 Seminar in Roman Art
Prereq: junior standing or permission of instructor. In-depth examination of varying topics in the study of Roman art and architecture: for example, Roman art and politics; Pompeii; Imperial Rome. Topics vary annually. Topic for Spring 2010: TBA. Kleiner. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS AH 540 Europe and The Islamic World: Medieval and Early-Modern Cultural Exchange
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 557 High Renaissance and Mannerist Art in Italy
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 563 Alliance of Art and Power in the Baroque
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 570 Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century American Architecture
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 571 African American Art
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 576 Collections: Ancient and Historical in Modern Context
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 580 Architectural Technology and Materials
Prereq: junior standing or consent of instructor. An introduction to the history of architectural construction, technologies, and materials, and their consequences in the built environment. Students receive a practical understanding of the building process and of its social and cultural contexts. Brown. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS AH 582 Historic Houses
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 583 English Country House and America’s Cottages
Significant historic houses in England and America, reassessed both within the social and artistic contexts in which they were built and in their more recent cultural contexts. Also offered as CAS EN 594. Hall. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS AH 584 Greater Boston: Architecture and Planning
Examines the buildings, development patterns, and open space planning of greater Boston, with particular emphasis on the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Vernacular architecture and the growth of neighborhoods are addressed. Morgan. 4 cr, 1st sem.
CAS AH 585 Twentieth-Century Architecture and Urbanism
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 595 English Country House
Not offered 2009/2010
CAS AH 597 The Baroque
Examines seventeenth-century architecture, painting, music, poetry, and drama. The syllabus is organized both topically and topographically: issues of space, light, ornamentation, and theatricality are explored in relation to the cultural capitals of Rome, Paris, and London. Also offered as CAS EN 597. Redford. 4 cr, 2nd sem.
CAS AH 598 The Sister Arts
Not offered 2009/2010
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