First-Year Courses in History of Art (Division 392)

Fall Term, 1999 (September 8 - December 22, 1999)

History of Art 101, 102, 103 and 108, while covering different areas, are all considered equivalent introductions to the discipline of art history. These four introductory survey courses consider not only art objects as aesthetic experiences but also the interactions among art, the artist, and society. The lecture and discussion sections explore the connections between the style and content of works of art and the historical, social, religious, and intellectual phenomena of the time. Attention is also given to the creative act and to the problems of vision and perception which both the artist and his/her public must face.

Although it would be logical to move from History of Art 101 to History of Art 102, this is not required. One course in European/American art (101 or 102) and one course in Asian or African art (103 or 108) serve as a satisfactory introduction to the history of art for non-concentrators (concentrators should see the department’s handbook for more information on requirements). The introductory courses are directed toward students interested in the general history of culture and are especially valuable cognates for students in the fields of history, philosophy, literature, and musicology as well as the creative arts.

Course requirements and texts vary with individual instructors, but an effort is always made to introduce students to works of art in the collections of the university as well as in the museums of Detroit and Toledo. Photographic material is available for study in the Image Study Gallery, G026 Tisch Hall. Examinations usually include short essays and slides which are to be identified, compared, and discussed.

Section 001.

Instructor(s): Mireille Lee

Credits: (4).

Course Homepage: http://www.umich.edu/~hartspc/histart/fall99/101-001.html

This course offers an introduction to major monuments and periods of art from antiquity through the Middle Ages. Its purpose is not only to acquaint students with key works of Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic, Romanesque and Gothic art and architecture, but also to help them develop a vocabulary for the description and analysis of works of art, and to provide them with a basic understanding of the methods and aims of art historical study. Lectures will be supplemented by weekly discussion sections on readings drawn from a general art historical survey and a course pack. Written work will consist of two short papers on objects in the Kelsey Museum and the Museum of Art; there will be a midterm and a final examination. This course, with History of Art 102, is meant to provide a foundation in the history of western art and will be useful to students taking higher level courses in the department.

Section 001.

Instructor(s): Dana Rush

Credits: (4).

Course Homepage: http://www.umich.edu/~hartspc/histart/fall99/108-001.html

This course offers a general introduction to the arts of African cultures south of the Sahara desert. It reviews the history of African art from about 10,000 B.C. through the twentieth century. The survey is based on a carefully selected corpus comprising prehistoric rock paintings and engravings, old and recent sculptures in terracotta, metal, wood, and ivory; and textile and bodily arts. While it adopts an historical approach, it will also explore some prevailing themes in African art, such as African approaches to representation and the social function and meaning of art. Last, it will highlight a number of significant cultural transformations that resulted from contact between African peoples and western societies. Scheduled lectures will be supplemented with written and reading assignments, videofilms, and tours of African art exhibitions in museums and private collections in the Detroit area.

Section 001.

Instructor(s): Matthew Biro

Credits: (4).

Course Homepage: http://www.umich.edu/~hartspc/histart/fall99/112-001.html

This course will explore the history of photography in the 19th and 20th century through a comparative study of photographs, photographers, and theories about the nature of photography. The goal is to create an understanding of the themes and issues, concepts and contexts associated with photographic image-making – from American and international perspectives. One intent is that at the end of the study the student should be aware of some of the diverse concerns in present day photography and be able to identify their origins and influences. The class should interest students from a wide range of disciplines. Class structure combines three hours of lecture sessions a week for general structured presentation of material, with one hour of discussion section that meets weekly for deeper study of the main theories about the nature of photography and its role in shaping our understanding of the world. Assignments will include readings from course texts and completion of some computer-based tasks using special programs developed for use with this program. Grades will be based on participation in discussion sections, three essays, and a final exam.

Section 001.

Instructor(s): Michael Kapetan (nbva@umich.edu)

Credits: (3; 2 in the half-term).

Course Homepage: http://www.umich.edu/~hartspc/histart/fall99/113-001.html

Visual arts are a part of the human experience in all cultures and all time periods. The ability to appreciate, to understand, and to assess the quality of visual art can enrich a person's life and broaden one's thinking. This course will introduce students having no formal art or art historical background to the major forms of visual expression through human history from the Stone Age to the present. We will examine works of art in various media such as painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, sculpture, architecture, graphics, and industrial design. Students will learn how artists use the language of form to communicate information, to express emotion, and to explore the world of nature and the world of the mind. Students will learn the basic techniques of the various media. Students will learn how the art of a time and place defines and expands the boundaries of that culture. Assigned readings and visits to museums and galleries will help students become critical consumers of the visual culture as they learn to see, appreciate, and assess art forms. Requirements include periodic quizzes, a final exam, and a term paper. Students will also make some ungraded drawings and paintings as analytical tools.

Section 001.

Instructor(s): Walter Spink (wspink@umich.edu)

Credits: (3).

Lab Fee: Laboratory fee ($15) required.

Course Homepage: http://www.umich.edu/~hartspc/histart/fall99/151-001.html

In this course, a comparative study is made of eastern and western cultural forms, ideas and values as these are reflected in examples of painting, sculpture, and architecture as well as in poetry, music, and other forms of creative expression. This course also compares western and eastern attitudes toward significant cultural themes such as time, nature, death, God, love, and action.

Section 001 – Art and the City in the Medieval West.

Instructor(s): Robert Maxwell

First-Year Seminar,

Credits: (3).

Course Homepage: http://www.umich.edu/~hartspc/histart/fall99/194-001.html

The medieval city, with its colorful market squares, decorated churches, and drab domestic spaces, was a magnificent hothouse of artistic and social activity. How were these cities constructed and organized and how did the lords, monks, artists, laborers and lepers all negotiate their social interaction through the built space? Which interpretive models will permit us today to enter into this space?

This course introduces students to major issues in the study of medieval urbanism and to related areas of medieval art. We will examine how specialists define cities, as well as how cities might be "un-defined" or deconstructed. We will look to historical and economic models, but our focus will be on the built environment – the architecture of churches, palaces, and fortifications-and on issues of planning and topography. Case studies will be drawn from well-known examples (Paris, London, Florence) and lesser-known examples (new towns, late antique settlements, Carolingian outposts). One of our challenges will be to assess the role of other types of art – e.g., sculpture and the minor arts-in the "urbanization" of medieval society. Special topics will include pilgrimage and urbanization; utopian and imaginary cities; relics, rituals and urban processions; ancient and medieval urban theory; the politics of urban art; public order and disorder; the rhetoric of public and private space; and medieval visions of cities.

Section 002 – Sex, Politics and Visuality in Chinese Cinema.

Instructor(s): Qiang Ning

First-Year Seminar,

Credits: (3).

Course Homepage: http://www.umich.edu/~hartspc/histart/fall99/194-002.html

This course introduces and interprets Chinese cinema by focusing on three themes: "the color of sex, violence and revolution (Red Series);" "the symbol of women (Water Series);" and "the dream of a strong China (Modernity Series)." Varying methods of cinematic analysis will be introduced with case studies. The goal is to explore the issues of gender, politics and visuality in Chinese films and society. Requirement: weekly readings, class participation, multiple writing assignments and a final paper.

Section 001.

Instructor(s): Lauren Talalay (talalay@umich.edu)

Credits: (4; 3 in the half-term).

Course Homepage: http://www.umich.edu/~classics/ca/221/

See Classical Archaeology 221.001.

Section 001.

Instructor(s): Diana Linden

Credits: (3).

Course Homepage: http://www.umich.edu/~hartspc/histart/fall99/230-001.html

This course will examine painting, sculpture, and material culture produced in the United States during the nineteenth century and use isolated examples of 19th-century Canadian and Mexican art as comparison. This century saw the transformation of the United States from a rural to an industrial, urban nation; a Civil War that divided the country, Westward expansion that enlarged it, and waves of immigration and border movements that changed its population; the rise of a middle class, and the emergence of women into public and professional life. While the general outline of the course is chronological, we will not be attempting a complete survey, but will focus instead on certain artists (and media) within the context of broader themes. As a course in social art history, rather than art appreciation, the emphasis will be on developing a critical analysis of how images function within specific moments in time. Through lectures, discussion, and visits to see original works of art, among the topics we will examine are: the West as viewed from the painter's easel, the photographer's lens, and the frontier homestead; the creation of Civil War and other public monuments; the representation of African Americans and Native Americans by Anglo-American artists, versus self-representation; mass-produced images and the dissemination of art for middle-class tastes; and imagery which upheld traditional gender roles.

Section 001 – Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo.

Instructor(s): Erika Naginsky

Credits: (4).

Course Homepage: http://www.umich.edu/~hartspc/histart/fall99/251-001.html

Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo. The course will take a new look at the three most celebrated artists of the Italian Renaissance. It will focus on the relation between their achievements in architecture, sculpture, and painting, and the crisis-ridden historical conditions in which the works were produced – it will be shown how artists exploited contemporary circumstances, and drew upon ideas of genius and divine inspiration to ensure their own reputations of universal mastery and originality. Through these figures, Renaissance and modern myths of artistic independence and individuality can be subjected to a critical scrutiny. Lectures will deal with the interpretation of the works themselves, and with the artists' careers, their interactions and rivalries, their relation to patrons and other artists.

Sections will introduce some of the best of the latest scholarship on the High Renaissance, together with writings by the artists and their contemporaries. Some of these texts, which produce each artist as a "universal genius," continue to affect the perception of these artists right down to the present day. Two papers, midterm, final exam.

Section 001 – Visual Culture in the Nineteenth Century: Development of Painting in France.

Instructor(s): Jasmine Alinder

Credits: (4).

Course Homepage: http://www.umich.edu/~hartspc/histart/fall99/271-001.html

This course examines visual culture in the nineteenth century with a focus on the development of painting in France. Art played a formative role in nineteenth-century life and culture and was intimately related to other dramatic transformations of the period in realms such as industry, social theory, science, and colonialism. The course addresses the role of visual culture in the construction of the past, the negotiation of gender, racial and sexual difference and the representation of social class. In addition to painting, we will analyze the invention and uses of photography, the birth of the motion picture, developments in sculpture, and the mass publication of prints. Artists discussed include: Goya, David, Ingres, Gericault, Delacroix, Turner, Daguerre, Daumier, Courbet, Bonheur, Manet, Cassatt, Monet, Rodin, Van Gogh, Seurat, and Cezanne.