History of Art and Architecture
Course details for Summer 2017 will be available on December 15. The courses below were offered in Summer 2016 and can serve as a guide to what is typically offered.
College of Arts & Sciences
Introduction to Art History I: Antiquity to the Middle Ages
CAS AH 111
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. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. 4 cr.
Introduction to Art History II: Renaissance to Today
CAS AH 112
Major monuments and artists. Sequential development, from the 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. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. 4 cr.
History of World Architecture
CAS AH 205
An examination of patterns in world architecture and urbanism from pre-history to the twentieth century. Lectures and discussions address questions of program, spatial composition, structure, technology, iconography, and cultural context for the examples considered. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same number that was previously entitled "Architecture: An Introduction." 4 cr.
Learning to See
CAS AH 210
Strengthens your ability to describe and analyze the visual world. From fundamentals such as color and composition to the design of advertisements, propaganda, and appliances. A lab component with frequent visits to the MFA and other Boston sites provides opportunities for direct engagement with objects, images, and the built environment. 4 cr.
Islamic Art and Architecture
CAS AH 220
Examines key monuments of Islamic art and architecture within their historical and cultural context, and emphasizes the diversity within the visual cultures of the Islamic world. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. 4 cr.
Renaissance Art
CAS AH 257
Survey of the arts in the Renaissance in Italy from the communes of the early fifteenth century to the courts of the sixteenth century. 4 cr.
Impressionism
CAS AH 389
Impressionism, its sources, and its aftermath, from the painting of modern life and leisure by Manet, Monet, Morisot, Renoir, and Degas, to the evocation of spirituality, pain, and desire in the work of Van Gogh, Gauguin, Rodin, and Munch. 4 cr.
Contemporary Art: 1980 to Now
CAS AH 393
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. 4 cr.