College of Arts and Sciences

Art History

Chairman Fred Kleiner

Associate Chairman Michael Zell

Director of Undergraduate Studies Hilda Westervelt

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, 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 for a concentrator in a department course.

For information about the concentration, see the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

TOP OF PAGE

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.

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, Zell. 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

History and theory of the relationship between visual culture and the major social and political forces from the American and French revolutions to the present. Selected topics in the areas of painting, sculpture, photography, prints, and the popular arts. Hills. 4 cr, 2nd sem.

CAS AH 210 Learning to See

Not offered 2007/2008

CAS AH 214 Modern Painting and Sculpture

Not offered 2007/2008

†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, 1st 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

Introduction to the cities, monuments, and major art styles of the Aztec, the Maya, the Inca, and their predecessors in ancient Mesoamerica and the Andes from the first millennium B.C. to the sixteenth century. Coggins. 4 cr, 1st sem.

†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 234 The Art of Rome

Not offered 2007/2008

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. Cranston. 4 cr, 1st sem.

†CAS AH 284 Arts in America

Not offered 2007/2008

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. Ribner. 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.

TOP OF PAGE

Principal Courses

CAS AH 316 African Diaspora Arts in the Americas

Not offered 2007/2008

CAS AH 322 Ancient Aztec and Inca Civilization

Not offered 2007/2008

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

Not offered 2007/2008

CAS AH 331 Arts of Archaic Greece

Examines a critical formative stage in Greek art. Analyzes the rise of identifiable artists, the relationship of art to epic, the evolution of the architectural orders, and the formation of Greek style in monumental stone sculpture. Westervelt. 4 cr, 1st sem.

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

A study of art and architecture in Renaissance Venice with focus on the "Myth of Venice," Byzantine heritage, introduction of the oil medium, Scuole, and the work of Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, Palladio, Veronese, and Tintoretto. Cranston. 4 cr, 2nd sem.

CAS AH 353 Renaissance Architecture and Theory

Not offered 2007/2008

CAS AH 361 Southern Baroque Art

Not offered 2007/2008

CAS AH 365 Baroque Arts in Northern Europe

Not offered 2007/2008

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 2007/2008

CAS AH 379 Visual Culture of Nineteenth-Century America

Not offered 2007/2008

CAS AH 380 Romanticism in Europe

Not offered 2007/2008

CAS AH 382 Nineteenth-Century Architecture

Not offered 2007/2008

CAS AH 384 Metropolis: Art and Politics in Istanbul, London, Paris, and New York

An introduction to cities as centers of cultural, social, and artistic activity. Focuses on Istanbul, London, Paris, and New York at their moments of cultural, political, and architectural glory. Scrivano. 4 cr, 2nd sem.

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. Sichel. 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, 1st sem.

CAS AH 399 History and Theory of Landscape Architecture

Explores man's relationship with nature by a study of selected built environments from antiquity to the present. Focus on both the private garden and the public park—here considered as works of art—and their changing forms, meaning, and interpretations. Morgan. 4 cr, 2nd sem.

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 2007/2008

CAS AH 430 Seminar: African Art

Becker. 4 cr, 1st sem.

CAS AH 433 Seminar: Greek Art

Topic for Fall 2007: Greek Myth and Art. Westervelt. 4 cr, 1st sem.

CAS AH 444 Seminar: Medieval Art

Givens. 4 cr, 2nd sem.

CAS AH 451 Seminar: Renaissance Art

Cranston. 4 cr, 2nd sem.

CAS AH 462 Seminar: Baroque Painting

Zell. 4 cr, 2nd sem.

CAS AH 482 Seminar: Nineteenth-Century Art

Topic for Fall 2007: Romanticism. Ribner. 4 cr, 1st sem.

CAS AH 491, 492 Directed Study

Prereq: approval of the Academic Advising Center. Variable cr, 1st & 2nd sem.

CAS AH 494 Seminar: Photography

Sichel. 4 cr, 2nd sem.

CAS AH 495 Seminar: Twentieth-Century Art

Not offered 2007/2008

CAS AH 497 Seminar: Contemporary Art

Prereq: CAS AH 111 and CAS AH 112. Major currents since 1945, including Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Minimalism, Earthworks, Photo-Realism, Conceptual Art, and Neo-Expressionism. Artists include Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, Eva Hesse, Robert Smithson, Audrey Flack, Joseph Beuys, Kiki Smith, and Robert Gober. Williams. 4 cr, 1st 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 501/502 Practicum in Museum Studies

Not offered 2007/2008

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: consent 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. Hirshler. 4 cr, 2nd sem.

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 2007/2008

CAS AH 532 Japanese Print Culture

Prereq: junior standing or consent of instructor. 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, 2nd sem.

CAS AH 534 Seminar in Roman Art

Prereq: junior standing or consent 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. Kleiner. 4 cr, 2nd sem.

CAS AH 540 Europe and The Islamic World: Medieval and Early-Modern Cultural Exchange

Cultural exchange between Europe and the Islamic world, and its impact on visual culture during the late medieval and early modern periods; the transmission of aesthetic concepts and visual traditions via specific patrons, artists, and works of art and architecture. Fetvaci. 4 cr, 1st sem.

CAS AH 557 High Renaissance and Mannerist Art in Italy

Not offered 2007/2008

CAS AH 563 Alliance of Art and Power in the Baroque

Not offered 2007/2008

CAS AH 570 Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century American Architecture

Lectures and field trips explore American architecture and building from initial European contact through the end of the eighteenth century. Emphasis on New England, with discussion of architectural forms from other regions. Dempsey. 4 cr, 2nd sem.

CAS AH 571 African American Art

Not offered 2007/2008

CAS AH 576 Collections: Ancient and Historical in Modern Context

Not offered 2007/2008

CAS AH 582 Historic Houses

Studies the preservation of historic homes as museums, a phenomenon involving more than 26,000 houses throughout the U.S. since 1850. Considers Boston's excellent examples as works of architecture and design and as icons in debates about national and regional identities. 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 2007/2008

CAS AH 595 English Country House

Not offered 2007/2008

CAS AH 598 The Sister Arts

Prereq: consent of instructor. Examination of how the linked activities of showing and telling, seeing and saying, have preoccupied Western culture since the time of Horace, whose influential comparison, ut pictura poesis, brought literature and painting into promising alignment. Explores the intimate relations between word and image by concentrating on such subjects as ekphrasis and spatial form. Also offered as CAS EN 598 and UNI HU 541. Redford. 4 cr, 2nd sem.

TOP OF PAGE

Published by Trustees of Boston University
One Sherborn Street
Boston, MA 02215

22 October 2007
Boston University
Questions
Credits