Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular semester. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the Student Link for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

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  • CAS AH 387: Boston Architecture and Urbanism
    This class presents a history of Boston from the seventeenth through twenty- first centuries, as seen through the region's architectural and urban history. Major buildings, architects, and urban planning schemes are examined in terms of economic, political, social, and institutional histories. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Social Inquiry I
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS AH 389: The Age of Impressionism
    Impressionism, its sources, and its aftermath: from the painting of modem 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. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Historical Consciousness
  • 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, Dali, and their contemporaries is examined in relation to major issues in European culture and politics. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS AH 392: Twentieth Century Art from 1940 to 1980
    Explores major currents in European and American art made between 1940 and 1980. Examines the following movements and media in relation to postwar culture and politics: abstract expressionism, pop art, minimalism, conceptual art, earthworks, performance, and video. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Historical Consciousness
  • 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. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Historical Consciousness
  • CAS AH 395: 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. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Critical Thinking
  • CAS AH 398: Twentieth-Century Architecture
    This course provides an introduction to the major developments in architecture and urban planning from ca. 1900 to the present. It traces the proliferation of modernist thought through key projects but also to everyday buildings and landscapes. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • 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. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing- Intensive Course, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Aesthetic Exploration.
  • CAS AH 404: Seminar: Topics in Museum Exhibits
    Topics seminar. May be repeated for credit as topics change. Considers and uses the methods and tools of curators and other museum professionals in gallery arrangement and exhibition- making. Taught around specific projects, with visits to museums and meetings with practitioners as can be arranged. Topic for Fall 2018: Digital Humanities and the Museum: Transatlantic Origins of National Parks.
  • CAS AH 444: Seminar: Medieval Art
    In-depth examination of varying topics in the study of Medieval Art. Topic for Fall 2015: The Rebirth of Sculpture in Europe 1000-1250. Monumental architectural sculpture ceased to be produced after the Fall of Rome. This seminar examines prohibitions against carved imagery and the rebirth of sculpture around the year 1000. Focus on the invention and development of the grand church entrance.
  • CAS AH 486: Architecture Capstone
    This course guides junior and senior architectural studies majors through a capstone experience as an internship or research project. It focuses on integrating competencies gained through the major and BU Hub, and on developing post-graduate directions. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Ethical Reasoning.
    • The Individual in Community
    • Ethical Reasoning
  • CAS AH 495: Seminar: Twentieth Century Art
    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 Fall 2020: Picasso. Explores more than eight decades of incessant art making by Pablo Picasso. How his friends, his lovers, and his preoccupation with eroticism and death affected his imagery. Students master fundamental currents of European Modernism. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Aesthetic Exploration, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS AH 497: Seminar: Contemporary Art
    Topic for Fall 2019: Contemporary Art, Politics, and Activism. Addresses a wide range of global contemporary art practices that link protest, performance, and activism in order to explore art's role in fostering social and political change since the 1980s.
  • CAS AH 500: Topics in History of Art & Architecture
    May be repeated for credit as topic varies. Two topics are offered Fall 2020. Section A1: The Silk Road and Dunhuang Caves. Explores visual and material culture of the Silk Road through the Dunhuang caves. Analyzes the modern invention of the "Silk Road", politics and patronage, Buddhist art and architecture, medieval manuscripts, ritual practices, and the impact of China's current "Belt-Road" policy. Section B1: Istanbul: From Imperial Capital to Global City. Architectural and urban history of Istanbul 18th Century to the present: major buildings, urban fabrics and public spaces discussed in national, regional and global context; role of spatial practices in the making, transformation and re-negotiation of cultural and national identities.
  • CAS AH 501: Practicum in Museum Studies
    Centered on an internship, which must comprise a supervised project approved in advance by the Director of Museum Studies. Stamped approval prior to the internship is necessary for registration in the course. Internships in Boston-area museums, galleries, historical agencies, and houses arranged for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, 10-12 hours per week (150 hours per semester) at the host institution, with written report.
  • CAS AH 502: Practicum in Museum Studies
    Centered on an internship, which must comprise a supervised project approved in advance by the Director of Museum Studies. Stamped approval prior to the internship is necessary for registration in the course. Internships in Boston-area museums, galleries, historical agencies, and houses arranged for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, 10-12 hours per week (150 hours per semester) at the host institution, with written report.
  • CAS AH 503: Art Historical Methods
    Explores a wide range of theories and methodologies (including semiotics, Marxism, psychoanalysis, deconstruction, feminism, and post-structuralism) employed by art historians and critics to assess art produced in Europe and the United States since 1900.
  • CAS AH 504: Topics in Religion and the Visual Arts
    In-depth discussion of special issues in the study of religion and art. May be repeated for credit as topics change. Topic for Fall 2019: Sacred Precincts of East Asia. Introduction to East Asian art and architecture through studies of sacred precincts across China, Japan, and Korea. Each class focuses on an important religious site and its connection with other disciplines such as religious studies, literature, social history, and anthropology.
  • CAS AH 507: Digital Curation: Towards National Parks: Art and Nature, Nature and Nation
    Before national parks, wild locations attracted artists, photographers and poets. Their works made these areas known to tourist-viewers. Prepare a digital exhibition and map artist- advocates as they explored mountains, forests and waterfalls. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Digital/Multimedia Expression, Creativity/Innovation.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
    • Creativity/Innovation
  • CAS AH 520: The Museum and Historical Agency
    History, present realities, and future possibilities of museums and historical agencies, using Boston's excellent examples. Issues and debates confronting museums today examined in the light of historical development and changing communities. Emphasis on collecting, display and interpretation.

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