metropolitan college academic courses undergraduate courses art history

Art History Undergraduate Courses

MET AH 111 Survey of Western Art I

A chronological survey of European art from pre-classical times through the end of the Middle Ages. Emphasis on the relation of art to its historical and cultural context. (4 cr.)

MET AH 112 Survey of Western Art II

Continues MET AH 111, but can be taken separately. Chronological survey of European art from the Renaissance to the present. Emphasis on the relation of art to its historical and cultural context. (4 cr.)

MET AH 215 Basic Photography

Extensive practical application in basic aspects of photography. Negative exposure and processing coordinated with print production and evaluation. Students use their own 35mm camera. Single-lens reflex is recommended. Cost of materials: approximately $125. (4 cr.)

MET AH 225 Arts of Asia

Introduction to the arts of Asia. Emphasis on masterpieces of Asian art and the cultural and historical context in which they were created. (4 cr.)

MET AH 233 Greece, Gods, and Art

Painting, sculpture, and architecture in Greece from early times to the end of the Hellenistic period. Interrelationships among art, mythology, religion, athletics, and history. (4 cr.)

MET AH 234 Rome, Emperors, and Art

Painting, sculpture, and architecture in Italy and the Roman Empire from the Etruscans to Constantine, the first Christian emperor. Emphasis on art, engineering, politics, religion, and urban life. (4 cr.)

MET AH 315 History of Photography

Examines photography from a cultural perspective in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Focuses on individual photographers, institutions, art movements, and historical circumstances that defined the perception of photography in Europe and America. (4 cr.)

MET AH 336 Medieval Art & Architecture

An examination of the architecture of the Medieval period with an emphasis on man’s relationship to God as symbolized by the Cathedral, the evolution of urban life from the town to the city, and the art of that period. (4 cr.)

MET AH 342 Masters of the Renaissance: Giotto to Botticelli

The role of the artist and his work in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Europe. Emphasis on the rise of humanistic thought and the shift from a God-centered to a man-centered society. (4 cr.)

MET AH 344 Artists, Princes, and Popes

The artistic masters of the High Renaissance and their patrons, from Leonardo da Vinci to El Greco, with an emphasis on social forces and artistic styles in the sixteenth century. (4 cr.)

MET AH 364 Architecture and City Planning in Old Boston

Traces the development of Boston as an urban entity since the seventeenth century. Emphasis on Boston as a model for American architectural history from the colonial to the international styles. Surveys the city's history from English village to modern megalopolis. (4 cr.)

MET AH 370 Nineteenth Century Art

Major currents in European painting and sculpture, 1760-1900, will be viewed in light of political revolution, nationalism, colonial expansion, and industrialization. David, Goya, Friedrich, Turner, Delacroix, Ingres, Courbet, Manet, Monet, Van Gogh, Rodin, and Munch are among the artists included in this exploration of a rich and troubled period extending from the late eighteenth-century cult of antiquity to the dark sexuality of the 1890s. (4 cr.)

MET AH 372 Modern Art

Analysis of the work and thought of major masters of twentieth-century painting, sculpture, architecture, and photography, including the School of Paris and the New York School. (4 cr.)

MET AH 380 Special Topics in Art History

Program faculty selects seminar topics of current interest, usually with a singular focus, in the field. (4 cr.)

MET AH 389 Impressionism

Detailed study of Impressionism from 1860s to circa 1900. Emphasis is on French artists, but Impressionists elsewhere in Europe and America are also considered. Discusses Impressionism's sources, Realist underpinnings, stylistic development, themes, and changes in the 1880s. (4 cr.)

MET AH 395 Art, Computers, and Digital Imaging

Introductory survey of digital imaging in the visual arts. Lectures and slides illustrate historical perspective, and hands-on studio sessions allow students to create and manipulate digital images. Emphasis on expressing personal ideas through new imaging techniques. (4 cr.)

MET AH 418 Seminar: Creativity, Imagination, and the Masterpiece

In-depth exploration of the various forces of society, personality, and media that influence or hinder the creative drive of the artist. Selected artists and art works studied. (4 cr.)

MET AH 419 Seminar: The Avant-Garde in the Arts

The special character, expression, and forces behind the concept of the "new" in the arts. The importance of reaction and shock in the twentieth-century arts of painting, sculpture, theatre, dance, literature, and film. The role of the artist and the viewer. (4 cr.) (4 cr.)

MET AH 420, 421 Directed Study

Prereq: consent of instructor. Independent study on special projects under faculty guidance. (4 cr.)

MET AH 517 Seminar: The Art World

An examination of the arts institutions, issues, and forces that shape the contemporary art world. Topics include government cultural policy, National Endowment for the Arts, museums, symphonies, curators, critics, artists' rights, public art, corporate support, censorship, feminism and multiculturalism. See also Arts Administration MET AR 690. Stamped approval required. (4 cr.)

MET AH 546 Studies in Michelangelo

The life, works, and thought of Michelangelo as a draftsman, architect, sculptor, painter, and poet are considered in the context of the future of the Italian Renaissance. (4 cr.)

MET AH 588 Arts in Cuba

Participate in this extraordinary experience as we look at Cuban art and cultural institutions, the role of the arts and the freedom of intellectual, artistic, and cultural creation in Cuba. Join us for an intensive residential course in Cuba for a provocative exchange of ideas and experiences among students, faculty, and professional artists in Cuba. (4 cr.)

MET AH 598 Art and Popular Culture

Drawing on materials from the visual arts, music, literature, and contemporary criticism, this course examines the blurring boundaries between art and popular forms of culture in the closing moments of the twentieth century. Writers, artists, and critics are included. (4 cr.)