Next Semester Courses

DEPARTMENT OF ART HISTORY
Course Supplement – Fall 2013
Updated: March 26, 2013

The Art History Department welcomes students of all disciplines. Our courses provide students with the skills needed to analyze the visual arts on their own, and to build an understanding of the relationships between artistic traditions and the cultures that produce them.

ARTH 11100-all sections EPISODES IN WESTERN ART LA HU 3b, g h
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: TBD
ENROLLMENT: 28 per section
PREREQUISITES: None.
STUDENTS: Mainly first and second year students seeking an introduction to art history. THIS COURSE IS NOT OPEN TO SENIORS.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: The course will introduce students to the study of art, by focusing on particular times and places that have played key roles in shaping our view of western art history. We will investigate art that was produced around these crucial points in western history, as well as what preceded and what followed these turning points. The course will also pursue recurrent themes in western art history, such as conceptions of the body, forms of visual narrative, the art of spirituality, images of death and mortality, and images of power and propaganda. In addition, we will explore the ways in which western cultural production has been defined through contact with cultures deemed to be "outside" of the western tradition. Basic methods and vocabulary of art historical investigation will be stressed.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Discussion and lecture.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Exams and written assignments; consideration given to attendance and class participation in grading.

ARTH 11400-all sections ARCHITECTURE ACROSS CULTURES LA FA 3b, g h
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Lauren O'Connell, Gannett 118, Ext. 4-1377, oconnell@ithaca.edu
ENROLLMENT: 28
PREREQUISITES: None.
STUDENTS: Students of all disciplines with an interest in architecture. THIS COURSE IS NOT OPEN TO SENIORS.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: An investigation of the history of world architecture in its local and global contexts with attention to the architectural impacts of differing climates, materials, histories and belief systems and the ways in which cultural identities can be read in the built environment. In addition to locating architectural forms within specific cultural histories, we will consider trans-cultural human needs, capacities and aspirations that result in common architectural features across cultures.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Digital presentation with discussion.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Course reader and textbooks. Exams, reading responses, project. Grading based on written work and class participation.

ARTH-19600-all sections UNDERSTANDING ART LA HU 3b [CA perspective; Theme: Inquiry, Imagination, and Innovation]
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Stephen Clancy, Gannett 117, Ext. 4-1261, clancy@ithaca.edu
ENROLLMENT: 28
PREREQUISITES: None.
STUDENTS: Mainly first and second year students. THIS COURSE IS NOT OPEN TO SENIORS.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: The course will explore the variety of visual experiences offered by what we call "art" – some forms of which you will recognize (e.g., painting, sculpture, prints, architecture, and even ads), and other forms with which you might not be familiar (e.g., spatial environments, performance art, conceptual art, and even "bug art"). We will attempt to define this thing we call "art," and the different kinds of "value" we assign to it. Then we will analyze the nature and vocabulary of the "visual dialogue" between work and viewer, in an effort to make sense of how visual objects and experiences shape the way we interpret and understand the world and our place within it. We will also investigate a number of techniques through which artists create works of art, and how these techniques directly impact the way we experience these works and the worlds that they create. Above all, you will learn to develop interesting and persuasive "arguments" about art, which will help you to gain a greater personal understanding of how you experience things visually, enliven your next trip to a museum, and improve work you do in other courses.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Digital presentations with discussion.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Exams, written assignments, in-class projects; consideration given to attendance and class participation in grading.

ARTH 20100-01 PRACTICING ART HISTORY LA
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Gary Wells, Gannett 109, Ext. 4-1247, wells@ithaca.edu
ENROLLMENT: 28
PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing and permission of the instructor.
STUDENTS: This course is required for art history majors. Also open to minors and others with related interests.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is about the discipline and practice of art history in a variety of contexts. Students will develop skills in critical reading, evaluating sources, and recognizing a variety of approaches to images in order to build self-awareness in their own research work. Discussions about the discipline of art history, including professional and academic careers, ethics and standards, will be included.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Some lectures but mostly discussions and small group work.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Class participation; papers and other written exercises; and an oral presentation.

ARTH 21900-01 ARTS OF ANTIQUITY LA FA 3b, g h
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Frances Gallart-Marques, Gannett 114, Ext. 4-3482, fgallart@ithaca.edu
ENROLLMENT: 28
PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing.
STUDENTS: Students of all disciplines are welcome.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: In this course we will study the development of sculpture, architecture, and vase painting in ancient Greece and observe how the Romans progressed along different lines, although sometimes borrowing from their predecessors. The arts will be considered within the context of the social, political, and historical developments of the cultures they served.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Lecture, discussion, and in-class work with images.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Attendance in class is expected. Exams and a paper or project. Grade based on written work, class participation, and attendance.

ARTH 22200-01 ARCHITECTURE FROM CATACOMBS TO CATHEDRALS LA FA 3b, g h
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Stephen Clancy, Gannett 117, Ext. 4-1261, clancy@ithaca.edu
ENROLLMENT: 28
PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing.
STUDENTS: Interested students of all disciplines welcome.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: The course will survey the major forms of religious and secular architecture during the Middle Ages. The course will deal with architecture from both Eastern and Western Europe, and will examine issues of building technique, structure, function, style, and decoration from the Early Christian through Gothic periods.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Image-based discussions.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Three exams; one project consisting of a short presentation, written submissions, and building diagrams. Regular attendance is important and expected. Grade based on required work, with consideration given to attendance and class participation.

ARTH 23300-01, 02 GREAT SPACES: INTRODUCTION TO URBAN DESIGN LA FA 3b, g h
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Lauren O'Connell, Gannett 118, Ext. 4-1377, oconnell@ithaca.edu
ENROLLMENT: 28
PREREQUISITE: Sophomore standing.
STUDENTS: Students interested in architectural design, landscape architecture, and city form.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Introduction to the history of open space design around the world with emphasis on the city. Examination of the principles that generate successful spaces at several scales, from pocket parks to public squares, and of the cultural meanings embedded in urban space. Case study analysis of local spaces through basic 3-D computer modeling.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Digital presentations with discussion.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Grading based primarily on exams, modeling projects and participation.

ARTH 23500-01, 02 INVENTION OF ART, 1500-1800 LA HU 3b, g h
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Jennifer Germann, Gannett 113, Ext. 4-1527, jgermann@ithaca.edu
ENROLLMENT: 28 per section
PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing.
STUDENTS: Students with little or no experience in art history, but with a significant interest in understanding the history of European art from the Renaissance through Neoclassicism.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course will explore the visual culture of early modern Europe between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries covering Renaissance art through the Revolutionary era. This course will survey a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, and architecture, as well as the decorative arts. We will also be charting the development of important art institutions, including art academies, public exhibitions, and museums.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Lecture/discussion.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Regular class attendance and participation. Written assignments and exams. The grades for this course will be determined by class participation, assignments, and exams.

ARTH-27514-01 ARCHITECTURAL TOPICS: SMALL BUILDS LA FA 3b, g h
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Gabriella D’Angelo, Gannett 114, Ext. 4-3482, gdangelo@ithaca.edu
ENROLLMENT: 14
PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Small Builds is a course that is open to all students interested in exploring architecture and design through a multi-scale, interdisciplinary lens, uncovering architecture beyond its traditional definition. Studying both historic and current collaborative projects between architecture and art, industrial design, fashion, performance, and beyond, this course will open up to a studio atmosphere allowing for collaborative design/build projects to be investigated and activated.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Combination lecture, discussion, studio.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Grades will be based off of attendance, participation, and the completion of a collaborative design/build project. Students will be required to purchase a sketch book for class and basic art supplies and materials for the project component.

ARTH-27517 Selected Topics (Topic: "Chicano/a Art Since the 1960s: Barrio Streets, Museum Walls, Gallery Spaces") LA HU 3b, g h
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Josh Franco (Pre-doctoral Diversity Fellow)
ENROLLMENT: 22
PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: “Chicano/a” is a self-description taken on by some Mexican Americans initially in the 1960’s to signal dissent of conventional organizations of government, education, and labor in the US. From its inception, demonstrations of this dissent have always prominently, and often exclusively, included visual elements. Posters, graffiti, and murals from this period have since been absorbed by major museums throughout the world. The initial development of images took place in homes, streets, and makeshift cultural centers. Subsequent generations further developed Chicano/a aesthetics through MFA programs and similar venues, leading to the gallery representations and museum inclusion more typical of the art world. As a class, we will ask whether or how these artists’ works have tested the limits of those institutions. This class will be organized chronologically, tracking the institutional paths of Chicano/a art, including the moments of crisis it has encountered. We will see how feminist movements, indigenous figures, and conflicting notions of postmodernism have shaped both these critical moments and the trajectory of Chicano/a art up to today.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Lecture, discussion.

ARTH 28500-01 & 02 ART SINCE 1960 LA HU 3b, g h
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Paul Wilson, Gannett 116, Ext. 4-3281, pwilson@ithaca.edu
ENROLLMENT: 28 per section
PREREQUSITES: Sophomore standing.
STUDENTS: Students of all disciplines with an interest in contemporary art and culture.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This discussion-oriented course will survey the diverse field of contemporary art, focusing primarily on art since 1960, but making connections to earlier trends since 1945. It will address painting, sculpture, photography, video art, performance art, installation, and digital art. Students will become familiar with various issues of recent art theory and criticism in order to analyze artworks from a theoretical perspective. While the primary geographical focus of the course will be the United States and Western Europe, the internationalization and globalization of contemporary art discourses and practices will also be a central theme.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Slide lecture and class discussion.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Grading based upon participation, papers, and exams.

ARTH 30100-01 ARCHITECTURAL STUDIO I: FUNDAMENTALS OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN AND DRAWING LA FA
4 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Gabriella D’Angelo, Gannett 114, Ext. 4-3482, gdangelo@ithaca.edu
ENROLLMENT: 9
PREREQUISITES: Junior standing; ARTH 11300 or 11400; ART 13000; and any Architectural Studies course at the 200-level.
STUDENTS: Students pursuing the Architectural Studies major and students interested in developing design as a method of inquiry and exploring the relationship between ideas and material form are also welcome.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: An introduction to basic concepts of architectural design through a graduated series of exercises and readings. Basic techniques of architectural communication, including drawing, model-making, and simple 3D computer modeling are introduced in the context of controlled investigations of architecture’s formal properties, functional demands, and social ramifications.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Studio course with individual and group critiques and presentations.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Textbooks. Drawing and modeling supplies up to $250. Multiple projects, reading responses. Grading based on evaluation of drawn and written work, presentations, and class participation.

ARTH 35005 STUDIES IN ART FROM BAROQUE TO MODERN: 19TH CENTURY ART AND VISUAL CULTURE LA HU
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Gary Wells, Gannett 109, Ext. 4-1247, wells@ithaca.edu
ENROLLMENT: 15
PREREQUISITES: Three courses in the fine arts or humanities, including at least one art history course; sophomore standing or above.
STUDENTS: Open to any student with an interest in 19th century art and visual culture.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course will explore 19th century art and visual culture through a series of focused topic discussions, readings, and presentations. We will consider the art and visual culture of the nineteenth century as international phenomena, and seek out the ideas that dominated the creation of the visual environment of the era. The traditional periods and styles from Romanticism through Impressionism and Symbolism will be brought into sharper focus through an examination of the underlying cultural, technological, and political currents of the century. We will also examine the ways in which the nineteenth century has been transformed and revisited in the 20th and 21st centuries. Topics will include: “Visualizing the other in an imperial age,” “Sentiment and narrative,” “The Impressionist city and countryside,” “Symbolism and the hidden world,” and “Steampunk revisionism.” Focused readings and discussion will be central to the course. A research project will allow students to closely examine an issue, artist, or visual culture phenomenon of their choice.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Discussion with lecture
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Grade based on class participation in discussions, research project.

ARTH-38002-01 ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY AND THEORY: ARCHITECTURE IN THE U.S. LA HU FA
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Nancy Brcak, Gannett 114, Ext. 4-3482, brcak@ithaca.edu
ENROLLMENT: 15
PREREQUISITES: Three courses in the fine arts or humanities, including at least one art history course; sophomore standing or above.
STUDENTS: Interested students of all disciplines are welcome.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: What does our architecture tell us about our sensibilities and ourselves? Architecture in the U.S. surveys the growth of American architecture from earliest colonial times to the present day. We will examine political, social and artistic forces behind the making of U.S. buildings in the context of a chronological survey that includes vernacular architecture as well as familiar major monuments. We will also consider why it is that Americans destroy or abuse more of their built environment than do inhabitants of many other countries.
COURSE FORMAT/ STYLE: Lecture and class discussion.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Written work, group projects, and participation in class discussion.
GRADING: Based on an assessment of the student’s written work, class participation and group projects.

ARTH 48000-01 SENIOR PORTFOLIO: ARCHITECTURE LA FA
1 credit
INSTRUCTOR: Gabriella D’Angelo, Gannett 114, Ext. 4-3482, gdangelo@ithaca.edu
ENROLLMENT: 9
PREREQUISITES: Senior standing; ARTH 30100.
STUDENTS: Students graduating from the Architectural Studies major.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: A capstone course for students in the Architectural Studies major. Students must design, produce, and submit a portfolio by the end of the course. The portfolio is a compilation of design projects produced in academic settings, along with relevant two- or three-dimensional work in the visual arts, and written work.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Studio course with individual critiques and presentations. Class meets once a week during Block I. Outside class, each student will continue to assemble and refine the portfolio.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Textbooks. Grading based on drawn and written work, presentations, and class participation.

ARTH 49000-01 SEMINAR: HISTORY, MEMORY & NOSTALGIA LA HU
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Paul Wilson, Gannett 116, Ext. 4-3281, pwilson@ithaca.edu
ENROLLMENT: 12
PREREQUISITES: 3 courses in art history including one art history course at the 300-level or 3 courses in art history and senior standing.
STUDENTS: Art history majors, minors, and other students with a substantial background in art history.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: How can we know the past? How do artists visualize or represent the past? How do artworks make us question what we think we know about the past? How can we write about artworks that are so new that they are not yet part of “art history”? This seminar will analyze artworks by a range of contemporary artists using theories of history, memory, and nostalgia. While the course material will focus primarily on artworks made after 1990, student research projects may apply theoretical frameworks of the class to artworks from other time periods.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Seminar, fieldtrip.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING: Research paper, active participation.

ARTH-49200-01 TUTORIAL: ARCHITECTS WRITE LA HU
3 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Lauren O'Connell, Gannett 118, Ext. 4-1377, oconnell@ithaca.edu
ENROLLMENT: 4
PREREQUISITES: Art History or Architectural Studies major with senior standing or permission of department chair; permission of instructor.
STUDENTS: Primarily intended for senior Art History and Architectural Studies majors. Open to non-majors by permission.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Architects design and build, but they write as well, grappling eloquently with eternal questions about the cultural roles of buildings, their relationships to the natural world, and how to go about making them. This tutorial will feature small group study of influential and provocative texts, historical and contemporary, by such architect/writers as Alberti, Viollet-le-Duc, LeCorbusier, Kahn and Koolhaas.
COURSE FORMAT/STYLE: Discussion and research-based study in a small group setting under faculty guidance.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING: Grading based on contributions to group discussion, critical analysis of readings, and research project.

ARTH 49400-01 INTERNSHIP: ART HISTORY NLA
1 to 4 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Staff
ENROLLMENT: 5
PREREQUISITES: Three courses in art history, sophomore standing or above, permission of the instructor.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: The internship provides opportunity to gain practical experience working in a gallery or museum, under the joint supervision of a member of the museum staff and an Ithaca College faculty member. Internships are arranged individually at the student’s request, subject to the availability of an appropriate museum or gallery slot.

ARTH 49700-01 INDEPENDENT STUDY: ART HISTORY LA HU FA
1 to 4 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Staff
ENROLLMENT: 5
PREREQUISITES: Offered only on demand and by special permission.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Program of special reading and research under the supervision of a specialist in art history.

ARTH 49800-01 SENIOR INTERNSHIP NLA
3 to 4 credits
INSTRUCTOR: Staff
ENROLLMENT: 5
PREREQUISITES: Art History major with senior standing or permission of the department Chair and permission of the instructor.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: An opportunity for senior Art History majors to gain practical experience in the fields of art and architectural history, under the joint supervision of a site supervisor and an Ithaca College faculty member. Internships are arranged individually by the student and are subject to the availability of an appropriate internship position.