Graduate Courses, Fall 2009

Last update: March 20, 2009.

ARTHIST 589: Postcolonial African Art
Crosslisted with ILA 790
Kasfir--------------- TuTh 11:30 - 12:45 PM----------------- Max: 8

Content: We will examine the sweeping changes which have characterized the African art of the past half century, beginning in the late colonial period of the 1950s. We approach this vast region of fifty-four countries by considering the major themes which crosscut all regions. These include the impact of 20thc colonization; the place of modernity in relation to tradition; urbanization and the emergence of a uniquely African form of popular art and culture; the introduction of European patronage into the colonial milieu; the transformation of formerly local or regional art forms into global commodities; the shifting identity of artists within these new systems of patronage and production; academic versus informal art training and the successes and failures associated with these as career paths; the postcolonial, transnational and national as regimes of value and as ideological positions.  

Texts:

• Chris Abani, Graceland, 2004.
• Congo Chronicle: Patrice Lumumba in Urban Art
• Flash Afrique! Photography from West Africa
• Athol Fugard, Statements
• S.L.Kasfir, Contemporary African Art
• Simon Njami (ed.), Africa Remix : Contemporary Art of a Continent
• Okwui Enwezor (ed.), The Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa
• 1945-1994, In/sight: African Photographers from 1940 to the present
• Clementine Deliss (ed.), Seven Stories About Modern Art in Africa
• Susan Vogel (ed.), Africa Explores : 20th Century African Art
• Others TBA

Assessment: TBA

Prerequisites: TBA

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ARTHIST 590: Methods and the Profession
McPhee--------------- M 1:00 - 4:00 PM----------------- Max: 10

Content: This class is designed as an orientation to the historiography, methods and profession of Art History. We will address primary texts, sample the approaches and contributions of various art historians to the field, and make occasional trips to museums, symposia, and the Rare Book room in Woodruff Library.

Texts: Selected books and articles on reserve.

Assessment:

Ekphrasis
Visual Analysis
Critical Analysis of an Article (4-5 pages related to the work of art and the method(s) used to address it
Annotated bibliography
40-minute formal presentation (with slides or PowerPoint)
Research paper 10-12 pages, double-spaced, due 22 December 5:00 p.m.

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ARTHIST 592: Introduction to Graphics and Computer-Aided Design
Shpuza ---------------- Tu 6:00 - 9:00 PM ----------------MAX: 2

Content : This course is designed to provide students interested in architecture with a basic understanding of computer-aided design and graphic analysis. Emphasizing a hands-on approach, the course is structured around two projects which are designed to let students explore the potential of the computer, not merely as a drafting and presentation instrument but as an active analytical and design aid.

Texts: TBA

Assessment: TBA

Prerequisites: TBA

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ARTHIST 592: Issues in the Conservation of Art and Cultural Property
Stein ------------------ Tu 1:00 - 4:00 PM--------------------Max: 3

Content: This course will provide an introduction to the field of Art Conservation as well as an overview of the principle issues surrounding the care and preservation of cultural properties. Lecture and discussion will address historic materials and technologies, as well as aging properties, deterioration, and conservation treatment. Examples will be drawn from a wide variety of cultures and will represent diverse media, including paper, paintings, stone, metals, ceramics, archaeological remains, and historic monuments. We will examine the use of science to recognize fakes or forgeries, document artists' working methods, and identify historic materials. Discussions will consider issues of aesthetics, artist’s intent, change over time, and compensation for loss or damage.

Texts: Course readings available through electronic Reserves Direct.

Assessment: TBA

Prerequisites: TBA

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ARTHIST 596R: Internship
Coordinator: Faculty

May be repeated with permission from the director of internships. Interns must be nominated by the department for internships at the Michael C. Carlos Museum, the High Museum of Art, and elsewhere. Variable credit.

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ARTHIST 597R: Directed Study
Faculty; variable credit.

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ARTHIST 599R: Thesis Research (Permission only)

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ARTHIST 729: Politics and Power in Miniature
Varner------------------- Th 1:00 - 4:00 PM---------------------Max: 10

Content: Roman Portraits on Coins and Gems Coins constituted a form of mass media for the Romans and a major vehicle for propagating the imperial image.  Gems were another place where small scale imagery communicated imperial policies and positions.  This seminar will explore in detail Roman portraits on coins and gems and will rely heavily on material in the collection of the Michael C. Carlos Museum

Texts: TBA

Assessment: Seminar presentation and paper.

Prerequisites: None

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ARTHIST 759: Bible Illustration in the Low Countries
Melion ---------------------- F 1:00 - 4:00 PM ---------------------Max: 10

Content: 1500-1600 Seminar focusing on printed scriptural imagery and its hermeneutical functions, to be taught in conjunction with the exhibition 'Scripture for the Eyes,' opening at the Carlos Museum in mid-October.

Text: J. Clifton and W. S. Melion, "Scripture for the Eyes: Bible Illustration in Netherlandish Prints of the Sixteenth Century"

Assessment: TBA

Prerequisites: TBA

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ARTHIST 775: Winslow Homer in Context
Merrill-------------------------F 9:00 - 12:00 PM---------------------Max: 6

Content: This seminar will explore the life and works of Winslow Homer (1836-1910), widely regarded as one of the two greatest American artists (with Thomas Eakins) of the nineteenth century. Homer’s work in illustration, watercolor, and oil has long attracted leading scholars in the field, who have employed all the approaches of art history to settle the question we will also address in this course—of whether Homer is too idiosyncratic to consider in the context of his time, or whether he is in fact the perfect product of his age, as concerned with social change and material success as he is with the greater issues of morality and mortality.

Texts: TBA

Assessment: TBA

Prerequisites: TBA

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ARTHIST 790: Teaching Art History
Fletcher--------------- W 12:50 - 2:50 PM --------------- MAX: 10

CONTENT: ARTHIST 790/791 is designed to meet the Graduate School (TATTO) requirement for a teacher training course for students in art history. It is required of those graduate students serving as TAs in ARTHIST 101/102, and is offered in concert with their teaching experience in those courses.

TEXTS:

• Stokstad, Art History , 3rd edition (new)
• Pierce, Abacus to Zeus, 7th ed.
• Davis, Tools for Teaching

Assessment: TBA

Prerequisites: None

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ARTHIST 792: Early 20th-Century Art of the African Diaspora
Chambers ----------------------- W 1:00 - 4:00 PM ----------------------Max: 6

Content: This seminar will critically examine what is arguably the most fascinating period of visual arts creativity amongst African Americans and people of the African Diaspora, most notably those of the Caribbean region. Alongside (and indeed, an integral component of) what we have come to know as the Harlem Renaissance, was a concurrent flowering of creativity in the African diaspora. The seminar will take a closer look at the international connectivity, interplay and cross-fertilization of relevant artists and art forms during the first four decades of the 20th century. The century brought with it a renewed sense of hope and optimism, as well as pressing reminders of ongoing difficulties facing the world's Black people. This seminar will look at how the work of the world's Black artists responded to, and reflected, these tumultuous times, and what sorts of factors influenced their creativity.
 
Texts:

• Martin, Tony. Literary Garveyism: Garvey, Black Arts, and the Harlem Renaissance (The New Marcus Garvey Library; No. 1) 1983.
• Boyd, Valerie. Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston.
• Powell, Richard J. Black Art and Culture in the 20th Century (Reissued as Black Art: A Cultural History.
  

Assessment: Students are required to produce weekly response papers, relating to the previous week’s class. The response papers should be a word length of 750 words. A 5000 word paper, relating to some aspect of the seminar, must be submitted towards the end of the semester. Students are also required to make class presentations on their research topics, of between 30 - 45 minutes’ duration. These presentations should be based on the research for their seminar paper. Final grades will be based on attendance, participation, response papers, presentation and final paper.

Pre-Requisites: None

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ARTHIST 796R: Internship
Coordinator: Faculty

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ARTHIST 797R: Directed Study
Faculty
Variable Credit (1 - 12)

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ARTHIST 799R: Dissertation Research
Faculty
Variable Credit (1 - 12)

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