Art History-Visual Arts

Department Office: 826 Schermerhorn Hall; 212-854-4505
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/arthistory/

Director of Undergraduate Studies: Prof. Barry Bergdoll, bgb1@columbia.edu

Director of Art Humanities: Prof. Zoë Strother, zss1@columbia.edu

Coordinator for Undergraduate Programs: Emily Benjamin, eb3061@columbia.edu

The goal of the major in the Department of Art History and Archaeology is to explore the history of art, architecture, and archaeology across a broad historical, cultural, geographic, and methodological spectrum.

Department courses take advantage of the extraordinary cultural resources of New York City and often involve museum assignments and trips to local monuments. The department offers a major and concentration in art history and in the history and theory of architecture, and a combined major in art history and visual arts.

At the heart of the major is AHIS UN3000 INTRO LIT/METHODS OF ART HIST, which introduces students to different methodological approaches to art history and critical texts that have shaped the discipline. The colloquium also prepares students for the independent research required in seminars and advanced lecture courses, and should be taken during the junior year.

Surveys and advanced lecture courses offered by Barnard and Columbia cover the spectrum of art history from antiquity to the present and introduce students to a wide range of materials and methodologies. Limited-enrollment seminars have a narrower focus and offer intensive instruction in research and writing. The opportunity for advanced research with a senior thesis is available to students who qualify.

The major readily accommodates students who wish to study abroad during junior year. Courses taken at accredited programs can generally count as transfer credits toward the major, but students must gain the approval of the director of undergraduate studies. Similarly, any transfer credit for the major must be approved by the director of undergraduate studies. Generally no more than 12 points of transfer credit are applicable to the major. The form to petition for transfer credit can be found on the department website. Eligible Art History courses taken at Reid Hall and through the Berlin Consortium are counted as Columbia courses, not transfer courses.

All newly declared majors and concentrators should visit the department office and speak with the undergraduate program coordinator about the requirements and their planned curriculum.

The director of undergraduate studies regularly communicates with majors by e-mail to announce departmental events, museum internships, and other news. Students who do not receive these messages should email the undergraduate program coordinator. The director of undergraduate studies is also available to talk to students about their professional goals and plans to study abroad.

Course Information

Lectures

Attendance at the first class meeting is recommended.

Colloquia

For information about enrollment in the required colloquium AHIS UN3000 INTRO LIT/METHODS OF ART HIST students should consult the department during the registration period in the semester prior to the one in which the course is offered. Interested students must sign up using an online form; majors will be informed of the sign-up dates and deadline via the majors mailing list. Enrollment is limited and admission is at the discretion of the instructor. It is recommended that students sign up for the colloquium in their junior year.

Seminars

Students must submit an application in order to be considered for enrollment in department seminars. These applications are due around the time of early registration (April for fall courses, November for spring courses). Interested students can apply using the Google form applications which are linked below each seminar description on the website, as well as in the "Notes" section of each Directory of Classes listing. Students should then join the SSOL wait-list for any seminars they have applied to.

Bridge Seminars

Bridge seminars are open to graduate and undergraduate students. Bridge seminars also require an application, which is due in the semester prior to the semester in which the course is offered (August for fall courses, December for spring courses). Interested students can apply using the Google form applications which are linked below each seminar description on the website, as well as in the "Notes" section of each Directory of Classes listing. Students should then join the SSOL wait-list for any seminars they have applied to.

Bridge Lectures

Bridge lectures are open to undergraduate and graduate students. They do not require an application.

Travel Seminar

In the spring, one or more undergraduate seminars in the Department of Art History and Archaeology may be designated as a travel seminar. Travel seminars receive funding to sponsor travel over the spring break to a distant site related to the subject matter of the seminar.

Study Abroad

Reid Hall, Paris

For information about the Columbia University in Paris Art History Program at Reid Hall, including summer session courses, visit the Office of Global Programs website.

Summer Program in Italy: Archaeological Fieldwork at Hadrian's Villa

Columbia University offers a four-week summer program that provides undergraduate and graduate students with the opportunity to excavate and learn together at Hadrian's Villa, a UNESCO World Heritage site near Rome and the most important Roman villa. It synthesizes Roman, Greek, and Egyptian architectural and artistic traditions and has attracted scholarly attention for centuries. For more information, visit the program website.

Columbia Summer Program in Venice

The Department of Art History and Archaeology and the Department of Italian offer a summer program based at Co' Foscari University in Venice. The program uses an interdisciplinary approach to understanding Italian culture through study of its language, literature/film, architecture, art history and conservation. and economy. Students have the opportunity to gain a deeper appreciation of the rich Venetian culture, traditions and history. The program is open to qualified undergraduate and graduate students from the U.S. and Italy. For more information, visit the program website.

Columbia Summer Program in Greece

The Department of Art History and Archaeology and the Program in Hellenic Studies offer a new summer program in Athens. "Curating the Histories of the Greek Present" examines aspects of Greek history and culture through the organization of an art exhibition  under the general theme of the environment. The project is structured around classroom seminars, museum and site visits, walking tours, and workshop sessions in which students will learn about and gain experience in all stages of curating an exhibition. For more information, visit the program website.

Departmental Honors

In order to be considered for departmental honors, students must write a senior thesis and have a GPA of at least 3.7 in the major. The faculty of the Department of Art History and Archaeology submits recommendations to the College Committee on Honors, Awards, and Prizes for confirmation. Normally no more than 10% of graduating majors receive departmental honors in a given academic year. 

Senior Thesis Prize

A prize is awarded each year to the best senior honors thesis written in the Department of Art History and Archaeology.

Professors

  • Alexander Alberro (Barnard)
  • Zainab Bahrani
  • Barry Bergdoll
  • Julia Bryan-Wilson
  • Michael Cole
  • Jonathan Crary
  • Francesco de Angelis
  • David Freedberg
  • Anne Higonnet (Barnard)
  • Kellie Jones
  • Branden W. Joseph
  • Holger A. Klein
  • Rosalind Krauss
  • Matthew McKelway
  • Jonathan Reynolds (Barnard)
  • Simon Schama
  • Avinoam Shalem
  • Zoë Strother

Associate Professors

  • Diane Bodart
  • Zeynep Çelik Alexander
  • Noam M. Elcott
  • Elizabeth W. Hutchinson (Barnard)
  • Subhashini Kaligotla
  • Ioannis Mylonopoulos
  • Lisa Trever
    Jin Xu

Assistant Professors

  • Gregory Bryda (Barnard)
  • Meredith Gamer
  • Eleonora Pistis
  • Michael J. Waters

Adjunct Faculty

  • Dawn Delbanco
  • Rosalyn Deutsche (Barnard)
  • John Rajchman

Lecturers

  • Frederique Baumgartner
  • Susannah Blair
  • Lucas Cohen
  • Sophia D'Addio
  • Alessandra di Croce
  • Xiaohan Du
  • Nicholas Fitch
  • Iheb Guermazi
  • Page Knox
  • Janet Kraynak
  • Sandrine Larrive-Bass
  • Martina Mims
  • Kent Minturn
  • Nicholas Morgan
  • Freda Murck
  • Irina Oryshkevich
  • Nina Rosenblatt
  • Susan Sivard
  • Leslie Tait
  • Stefaan Van Liefferinge
  • Caroline Wamsler
  • Leah Werier

Major in Art History and Visual Arts

Students electing the combined major should consult with a faculty adviser in the department, as well as with the director of undergraduate studies in the Visual Arts Department.

Up to two of the seven 3-point courses in art history may be replaced by a specifically related course in another department with approval of the adviser. The combined major requires fulfillment of sixteen or seventeen courses. It is recommended that students interested in this major begin work toward the requirements in their sophomore year.

The requirements for the major are as follows:

AHIS W3895Majors' Colloquium: the Literature and Methods of Art History
Seven 3-point lecture courses in art history.
At least one course in three of four historical periods, as listed below.
An additional two courses drawn from at least two different world regions, as listed below.
Two additional lectures of the student's choice
21 points in Visual Arts covering:
Basic Drawing
Sculpture I
Five additional VIAR R3000-level or above course
In the senior year, students undertake either a seminar in the Department of Art History and Archaeology or a senior project in visual arts (pending approval by the Visual Arts Department).

NOTE: These chronological divisions are approximate. In case of ambiguities about the eligibility of a course to fill the requirement, please consult the director of undergraduate studies.

Historical Periods

  • Ancient (up to 400 CE/AD)
  • 400-1400
  • 1400-1700
  • 1700-present

World Regions

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Europe, North America, Australia
  • Latin America
  • Middle East

Fall 2023 Undergraduate Lectures and Bridge Lectures

UNDERGRADUATE LECTURES: 2000-level courses. Attendance at first class meeting is strongly recommended. BRIDGE LECTURES: 4000-level courses. Open to graduate and advanced undergraduate students. Attendance at first class is strongly recommended.

AHIS UN2108 Greek Art and Architecture. 3.00 points.

Introduction to the art and architecture of the Greek world during the archaic, classical, and Hellenistic periods (11th - 1st centuries B.C.E.)

Fall 2023: AHIS UN2108
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
AHIS 2108 001/12132 M W 10:10am - 11:25am
612 Schermerhorn Hall
Ioannis Mylonopoulos 3.00 51/70

AHIS UN2412 18TH CENTURY ART IN EUROPE. 3.00 points.

This course will examine the history of art in Europe from the late seventeenth to the early nineteenth century. This was a period of dramatic cultural change, marked by, among other things, the challenging of traditional artistic hierarchies; increased opportunities for travel, trade, and exchange; and the emergence of “the public” as a critical new audience for art. Students will be introduced to major artists, works, and media, as well as to key themes in the art historical scholarship. Topics will include: the birth of art criticism; the development of the art market; domesticity and the cult of sensibility; the ascension of women artists and patrons; and the visual culture of empire, slavery, and revolution. The emphasis will be on France and Britain, with forays to Italy, Spain, Germany, India, America, and elsewhere

Fall 2023: AHIS UN2412
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
AHIS 2412 001/12133 T Th 10:10am - 11:25am
612 Schermerhorn Hall
Frederique Baumgartner 3.00 48/60

AHIS UN2415 History Painting and Its Afterlives. 3.00 points.

This course will study the problematic persistence of history painting as a cultural practice in nineteenth century Europe, well after its intellectual and aesthetic justifications had become obsolete. Nonetheless, academic prescriptions and expectations endured in diluted or fragmentary form. We will examine the transformations of this once privileged category and look at how the representation of exemplary deeds and action becomes increasingly problematic in the context of social modernization and the many global challenges to Eurocentrism. Selected topics explore how image making was shaped by new models of historical and geological time, by the invention of national traditions, and by the emergence of new publics and visual technologies. The relocation of historical imagery from earlier elite milieus into mass culture forms of early cinema and popular illustration will also be addressed

Fall 2023: AHIS UN2415
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
AHIS 2415 001/12134 T Th 4:10pm - 5:25pm
612 Schermerhorn Hall
Jonathan Crary 3.00 24/25

AHIS UN2427 Twentieth-Century Architecture. 4.00 points.

This course examines some of the key moments of architectural modernity in the twentieth century in an attempt to understand how architecture participated in the making of a new world order. It follows the lead of recent scholarship that has been undoing the assumption that modern twentieth-century architecture is a coherent enterprise that should be understood through avant-gardist movements. Instead, architectural modernity is presented in this course as a multivalent, and even contradictory, entity that has nonetheless had profound impact on modernity. Rather than attempting to be geographically comprehensive, it focuses on the interdependencies between the Global North and the South; instead of being strictly chronological, it is arranged around a constellation of themes that are explored through a handful of projects and texts. Reading primary sources from the period under examination is a crucial part of the course

Fall 2023: AHIS UN2427
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
AHIS 2427 001/12135 M W 1:10pm - 2:25pm
612 Schermerhorn Hall
Zeynep Celik Alexander 4.00 54/60

AHIS UN2602 ARTS OF JAPAN. 3.00 points.

Introduction to the painting, sculpture, and architecture of Japan from the Neolithic period through the present. Discussion focuses on key monuments within their historical and cultural contexts

Fall 2023: AHIS UN2602
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
AHIS 2602 001/12136 T Th 10:10am - 11:25am
807 Schermerhorn Hall
Matthew McKelway 3.00 38/60

AHIS GU4021 MDVL ART I: LATE ANTIQUITY TO BYZANTIUM. 0 points.

Fall 2023: AHIS GU4021
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
AHIS 4021 001/12143 M W 4:10pm - 5:25pm
612 Schermerhorn Hall
Holger Klein 0 26/45

AHIS GU4042 AFR AMER ARTISTS IN 20/21 CENT. 3.00 points.

This course is a survey of visual production by North Americans of African descent from 1900 to the present. It will look at the various ways in which these artists have sought to develop an African American presence in the visual arts over the last century. We will discuss such issues as: what role does stylistic concern play; how are ideas of romanticism, modernism, and formalism incorporated into the work; in what ways do issues of postmodernism, feminism, and cultural nationalism impact on the methods used to portray the cultural and political body that is African America? There will be four guest lectures for this class; all will be held via zoom

Fall 2023: AHIS GU4042
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
AHIS 4042 001/12144 T Th 4:10pm - 5:25pm
807 Schermerhorn Hall
Kellie Jones 3.00 30/45

AHIS GU4044 Neo-Dada and Pop Art. 3 points.

This course examines the avant-garde art of the fifties and sixties, including assemblage, happenings, pop art, Fluxus, and artists' forays into film. It will examine the historical precedents of artists such as Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Allan Kaprow, Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, Carolee Schneemann and others in relation to their historical precedents, development, critical and political aspects.

Fall 2023: AHIS GU4044
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
AHIS 4044 001/13048 T Th 2:40pm - 3:55pm
612 Schermerhorn Hall
Branden Joseph 3 33/60

AHIS GU4062 Chinese Art: Center and Periphery. 3.00 points.

This course introduces you to the rich and diverse tradition of Chinese art by focusing on materials and techniques. We will discuss a wide array of artistic media situated in distinct cultural contexts, examining bronzes, jade, ceramics, paintings, sculptures, and textiles in the imperial, aristocratic, literary, religious, and commercial milieus in which they were produced. In addition to developing your skills in visual-material analysis, this course will also acquaint you with the diverse cultures that developed in China’s center and periphery during its five thousand (plus) years of history. Emphasis will be placed on understanding how native artistic traditions in China interacted with those in regions such as the Mongolian steppe, Tibetan plateau, and Central Asia

Fall 2023: AHIS GU4062
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
AHIS 4062 001/13722 M W 2:40pm - 3:55pm
612 Schermerhorn Hall
Jin Xu 3.00 38/45

AHIS GU4110 MODERN JAPANESE ARCHITECTURE. 3.00 points.

This course will examine Japanese architecture and urban planning from the mid-19th century to the present. We will address topics such as the establishment of an architectural profession along western lines in the late 19th century, the emergence of a modernist movement in the 1920's, the use of biological metaphors and the romanticization of technology in the theories and designs of the Metabolist Group, and the shifting significance of pre-modern Japanese architectural practices for modern architects. There will be an emphasis on the complex relationship between architectural practice and broader political and social change in Japan

Fall 2023: AHIS GU4110
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
AHIS 4110 001/12145 M W 10:10am - 11:25am
807 Schermerhorn Hall
Jonathan Reynolds 3.00 48/60
AHIS 4110 AU1/19065 M W 10:10am - 11:25am
Othr Other
Jonathan Reynolds 3.00 4/4

Fall 2023 Undergraduate Seminars and Bridge Seminars

UNDERGRADUATE SEMINARS: 3000-level courses. Open to undergraduate students only. Interested students must submit an online application (April deadline for fall courses, November deadline for spring courses). Visit the "Courses" page on the department website to find a list of undergraduate seminars and links to application forms. BRIDGE SEMINARS: 4500-level courses. Open to graduate and advanced undergraduate students. Applications are due in August for fall courses, and January for spring courses. Visit the "Courses" page on the department website to find a list of bridge seminars and links to application forms.

AHIS UN3103 Roman Villas: The Art and Architecture of an Ancient Lifestyle. 4 points.

Fall 2023: AHIS UN3103
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
AHIS 3103 001/12140 T 6:10pm - 8:00pm
930 Schermerhorn Hall
Blair Fowlkes Childs 4 8/12

AHIS UN3319 The Architect's Library-Laboratory. 4 points.

This seminar challenges the interpretation of architect's libraries as static repositories of information, and it shows how they were in fact sorts of laboratories, in which architects experimented in both the creation of knowledge and the production of designs.

Fall 2023: AHIS UN3319
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
AHIS 3319 001/12808 Th 2:10pm - 4:00pm
806 Schermerhorn Hall
Eleonora Pistis 4 10/12

AHIS UN3413 NINETEENTH-CENTURY CRITICISM. 4.00 points.

Prerequisites: junior or senior standing, and the instructor's permission.
This course examines a diverse selection of social and aesthetic responses to the impacts of modernization and industrialization in nineteenth-century Europe. Using works of art criticism, fiction, poetry, and social critique, the seminar will trace the emergence of new understandings of collective and individual experience and their relation to cultural and historical transformations. Readings are drawn from Friedrich Schiller's Letters On Aesthetic Education, Mary Shelley's The Last Man, Thomas Carlyle's "Signs of the Time," poetry and prose by Charles Baudelaire, John Ruskin's writings on art and political economy, Flora Tristan's travel journals, J.-K. Huysmans's Against Nature, essays of Walter Pater, Nietzsche's Birth of Tragedy and other texts

Fall 2023: AHIS UN3413
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
AHIS 3413 001/12141 M 4:10pm - 6:00pm
934 Schermerhorn Hall
Jonathan Crary 4.00 12/12

AHIS UN3462 Ecology, Art, and Empire. 4.00 points.

Looking at material that speaks to historic encounters and legacies of European imperialisms, this course explores how visual practices manage natural relationships across colonial and postcolonial conditions (c.1800-present). Studying art and other visual material “ecologically” reveals interconnections of people, plants, living beings, and inorganic entities within their specific contexts. Each unit will expose students to contemporaneous thinking about ecology, empire, and the construction of the human across texts, artists, and key objects. We will study a wide range of visual material, including maps, decorative objects, surrealist films, 1970s performances, contemporary Caribbean art, and other artworks that emerge out of imperial entanglements between Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Part one of the course explores how 18th-century landscape imagery supported European imperial conquest around the globe and inspired indigenous resistance. Part two examines how 19th-century evolutionary theory and global botanical trade produced new ideas of hybridity in fin-de-siècle Europe. Lastly, part three examines how modern and contemporary art (20th century to present) has turned towards “elemental media” in a radical reframing of art’s human bias

Fall 2023: AHIS UN3462
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
AHIS 3462 001/15337 M 10:10am - 12:00pm
930 Schermerhorn Hall
Aleksa Zivkovic 4.00 10/12

AHIS UN3708 Beyond El Dorado: Materials, Values, and Aesthetics in Pre-Columbian Art History. 4 points.

In this seminar, we will investigate ancient and indigenous art, materials, and aesthetics from areas of what is today Latin America. Taking advantage of New York’s unrivaled museum collections, we will research Pre-Columbian gold and silver work, as well as equally precious stone, shell, textile, and feather works created by artists of ancient Mexico, Central America, and Andean South America. We will also study latter-day histories of collecting, reception, display, appropriation, and activism that shape contemporary understandings of Pre-Columbian art.

Fall 2023: AHIS UN3708
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
AHIS 3708 001/12142 M 12:10pm - 2:00pm
806 Schermerhorn Hall
Lisa Trever 4 10/12

AHIS GU4546 GILLES DELEUZE:THINKING IN ART. 4.00 points.

The philosophy of Gilles Deleuze has emerged as one of the richest, most singular adventures in post-war European thought; Foucault considered it the most important in France, and more generally, in the 20th century. In all of Deleuze's work there is a search for a new 'image of thought.' But how did art figure in this search, and how did the search in turn appeal to artists, writers, filmmakers, architects, as well as curators or critics? In this seminar, we explore the complex theme of 'thinkin in art' in Deleuze, and its implications for art in the 21st century or for the global contemporary art of today

Fall 2023: AHIS GU4546
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
AHIS 4546 001/12146 W 4:10pm - 6:00pm
807 Schermerhorn Hall
John Allan Rajchman 4.00 22/30

AHIS GU4744 Art and Fashion: The Body, Architecture, Textile. 4.00 points.

This bridge seminar examines topics in and tensions between art and fashion in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The course will first explore clothing’s relationship to the body. This course will consider how artists investigate and critique the materials of fashion and spaces of visual merchandising: textiles, shop windows, and the department store. Topics include but are not limited to: voguing/ball culture, Queer coding and clothing, fashion photography, and site-specific installation. We will investigate the museum through the practices of collecting, curating, and the rise of blockbuster fashion exhibitions. Indigenous perspectives on display and sacred storage will be discussed. Art and fashion are embedded within their historical, political, and social contexts, and throughout this course, we will consider topics from a global perspective. Admission is by application and permission of the instructor. Applications must be submitted to the department of Art History

Fall 2023: AHIS GU4744
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
AHIS 4744 001/15340 T 12:10pm - 2:00pm
930 Schermerhorn Hall
Leah Werier 4.00 17/15

Majors Colloquium

Required course for all majors in the department. See the department website for more information. Students must sign up online by the deadline, which is posted on the department website.

AHIS UN3000 INTRO LIT/METHODS OF ART HIST. 4.00 points.

Required course for department majors. Not open to Barnard or Continuing Education students. Students must receive instructors permission. Introduction to different methodological approaches to the study of art and visual culture. Majors are encouraged to take the colloquium during their junior year

Fall 2023: AHIS UN3000
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
AHIS 3000 001/12137 W 10:10am - 12:00pm
930 Schermerhorn Hall
Meredith Gamer 4.00 13/12
AHIS 3000 002/12138 Th 10:10am - 12:00pm
934 Schermerhorn Hall
Michael Cole 4.00 11/12
Spring 2024: AHIS UN3000
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
AHIS 3000 001/12865 M 12:10pm - 2:00pm
930 Schermerhorn Hall
Lisa Trever 4.00 0/12

AHIS UN3007 MAJ COLLOQ:LIT/MTHDS ARCH HIST. 4.00 points.

This course, on the one hand, examines the intertwined histories of art history and architectural history from the late nineteenth century onwards and, on the other, focuses on questions that have been central to architectural history since the field’s beginnings. It combines theoretical inquiry with practical training in historical research. Students will be asked to carry out research projects in various archives in New York City and complete a single writing assignment in stages

Senior Thesis

The year-long Senior Thesis program is open to majors in the Department of Art History and Archaeology. For more information, please visit the Senior Thesis information page on the department website.

AHIS UN3002 SENIOR THESIS. 3.00 points.

Prerequisites: the departments permission. Required for all thesis writers

Fall 2023: AHIS UN3002
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
AHIS 3002 001/12139 T 10:10am - 12:00pm
930 Schermerhorn Hall
Barry Bergdoll 3.00 3/10
Spring 2024: AHIS UN3002
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
AHIS 3002 001/12866 T 10:10am - 12:00pm
930 Schermerhorn Hall
Barry Bergdoll 3.00 0/10

Spring 2023 Undergraduate Lectures and Bridge Lectures

UNDERGRADUATE LECTURES: 2000-level courses. Attendance at first class meeting is strongly recommended. BRIDGE LECTURES: 4000-level courses. Open to graduate and advanced undergraduate students. Attendance at first class is strongly recommended.

AHIS UN2309 EARLY MODERN ARCHITECTURE (1550-1799). 3.00 points.

This course examines the history of early modern architecture from a European perspective outward. It starts with the time of Michelangelo and Palladio and ends in the late eighteenth century.  It addresses a number of transhistorical principal issues and analytical approaches while focusing on to a series of roughly chronological thematic studies. Travelling across courts, academies, streets, and buildings devoted to new institutions, this course examines the cultural, material, urban, social, and political dimensions of architecture, as well as temporal and geographic migrations of architectural knowledge. Topics will also include: the resurgence of interest in antiquity; the longue durée history of monuments; changes in building typology; the patronage and politics of architecture; technological developments and building practice; architectural theory, books, and the culture of print; the growth of capital cities; the creation of urban space and landscape; the formalization of architectural education; and the changing status of the architect.

AHIS UN2405 TWENTIETH CENTURY ART. 4.00 points.

The course will examine a variety of figures, movements, and practices within the entire range of 20th-century art—from Expressionism to Abstract Expressionism, Constructivism to Pop Art, Surrealism to Minimalism, and beyond–situating them within the social, political, economic, and historical contexts in which they arose. The history of these artistic developments will be traced through the development and mutual interaction of two predominant strains of artistic culture: the modernist and the avant-garde, examining in particular their confrontation with and development of the particular vicissitudes of the century’s ongoing modernization. Discussion section complement class lectures. Course is a prerequisite for certain upper-level art history courses

AHIS UN2702 PRE-COLUMBIAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE. 3.00 points.

The Western Hemisphere was a setting for outstanding accomplishments in the visual arts for millennia before Europeans set foot in the so-called “New World.” This course explores the early indigenous artistic traditions of what is now Latin America, from early monuments of the formative periods (e.g. Olmec and Chavín), through acclaimed eras of aesthetic and technological achievement (e.g. Maya and Moche), to the later Inca and Aztec imperial periods. Our subject will encompass diverse genre including painting and sculpture, textiles and metalwork, architecture and performance. Attention will focus on the two cultural areas that traditionally have received the most attention from researchers: Mesoamerica (including what is today Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and Honduras) and the Central Andes (including Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia). We will also critically consider the drawing of those boundaries—both spatial and temporal—that have defined “Pre-Columbian” art history to date. More than a survey of periods, styles, and monuments, we will critically assess the varieties of evidence—archaeological, epigraphic, historical, ethnographic, and scientific—available for interpretations of ancient Latin American art and culture

Spring 2024: AHIS UN2702
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
AHIS 2702 001/12864 M W 10:10am - 11:25am
612 Schermerhorn Hall
Lisa Trever 3.00 0/60

AHUM UN2901 MASTERPIECES-INDIAN ART & ARCH. 3.00 points.

CC/GS/SEAS: Partial Fulfillment of Global Core Requirement

Introduction to 2000 years of art on the Indian subcontinent. The course covers the early art of Buddhism, rock-cut architecture of the Buddhists and Hindus, the development of the Hindu temple, Mughal and Rajput painting and architecture, art of the colonial period, and the emergence of the Modern

AHIS GU4089 NATIVE AMERICAN ART. 3.00 points.

This course looks closely at objects and images produced by Native North Americans across history. Grounding our study in essays and guest lectures from Native scholars, we will investigate the significance of the works and how and to whom meaning is communicated. Beginning with an introduction that links aesthetics and worldview using the conventional organizing principle of the culture area, we quickly move on to case studies that take up key issues that persist for Native people living under settler colonialism today, including questions of sovereignty, self-expression, transformation and representation. Along the way, we will also tackle historiographic questions about how knowledge about Native art has been produced in universities and museums and how Indigenous people have worked to counter those discourses

Spring 2023 Undergraduate Seminars and Bridge Seminars

UNDERGRADUATE SEMINARS: 3000-level courses. Open to undergraduate students only. Interested students must submit an online application (April deadline for fall courses, November deadline for spring courses). Visit the "Courses" page on the department website to find a list of undergraduate seminars and links to application forms. BRIDGE SEMINARS: 4500-level courses. Open to graduate and advanced undergraduate students. Applications are due in August for fall courses, and January for spring courses. Visit the "Courses" page on the department website to find a list of bridge seminars and links to application forms.

AHIS UN3433 ENLIGHTENMENT&ARCHAEOLOGY. 4.00 points.

In this seminar, we will study the emergence of the disciplines of Near Eastern and Classical archaeology, antiquarian interests and collecting practices in eighteenth and nineteenth century Europe. This European scientific interest was centered around the ancient past of lands under the Ottoman empire in the Near East and the Eastern Mediterranean. Students will learn about antiquarianism and the development of the scientific discipline of archaeology, how it defined itself and set itself apart from its predecessor, focusing on the earliest collecting and documentation of antiquities, the start of organised excavations, the origins of the modern museum and early archaeological photography.

AHIS UN3444 REFLEXIVITY IN ART & FILM. 4.00 points.

This seminar will explore a range of individual works of Western art from the 16th century to late 20th century in which the tension between illusionism and reflexivity is foregrounded. It will focus on well-known paintings and films in which forms of realism and verisimilitude coexist with features that affirm the artificial or fictive nature of the work or which dramatize the material, social and ideological conditions of the work’s construction. Topics will include art by Durer, Holbein, Velazquez, Watteau, Courbet, Morisot, Vertov, Deren, Godard, Varda, Hitchcock and others. Readings will include texts by Auerbach, Gombrich, Brecht, Jameson, Barthes, Didi-Huberman, Bazin, Lukacs, Mulvey, and Daney

Spring 2024: AHIS UN3444
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
AHIS 3444 001/12869 W 4:10pm - 6:00pm
934 Schermerhorn Hall
Jonathan Crary 4.00 0/12

AHIS UN3453 Women Artists in Eighteenth-Century Europe. 4.00 points.

This seminar will examine the career and artistic production of women artists in the long eighteenth century in Europe, with a specific focus on Italy, France and Britain. Recent research has shown that many women managed to become professional artists during this period. But how successful were they? And what did their work consist of? To date, the historical recovery of data about their career and oeuvre remains a work in progress. In contrast, the few women artists who reached international fame in the eighteenth-century – in part because they were members of otherwise overwhelmingly male art academies – have received significant scholarly attention by art historians that include Angela Rosenthal and Mary Sheriff, among others, and have been the subject of important monographic exhibitions in the past two decades. In light of this state of the research, we will study the cases of canonical artists, such as Angelica Kauffman (1741-1807), as well as the cases of still understudied (yet sufficiently documented) artists, such as Marie Geneviève Bouliar (1763-1825). Our primary task will be to examine the different ways in which women who became artists navigated the eighteenth-century social order – an order where the terms “woman” and “professional artist” were commonly understood as contradictory – and analyze their art with a critical understanding of the expectations, aesthetic and otherwise, that they were held to. Topics of discussion will include: training; the hierarchy of genres; women artists and media, including miniature, engraving and sculpture; self-portraiture and gender expectations; women artists and art criticism; and emulation and authorship

AHIS GU4741 Art and Theory in a Global Context. 4.00 points.

What is “globalization”? How does it change the way we think about or show art today? What role does film and media play in it? How has critical theory itself assumed new forms in this configuration moving outside post-war Europe and America? How have these processes helped change with the very idea of ‘contemporary art’? What then might a transnational critical theory in art and in thinking look like today or in the 21st century? In this course we will examine this cluster of questions from a number of different angles, starting with new questions about borders, displacements, translations and minorities, and the ways they have cut across and figured in different regions, in Europe or America, as elsewhere. In the course of our investigations, we will look in particular at two areas in which these questions are being raised today -- in Asia and in Africa and its diasporas. The course is thus inter-disciplinary in nature and is open to students in different fields and areas where these issues are now being discussed

Spring 2024: AHIS GU4741
Course Number Section/Call Number Times/Location Instructor Points Enrollment
AHIS 4741 001/12872 M 4:10pm - 6:00pm
807 Schermerhorn Hall
John Allan Rajchman 4.00 0/25