Course Description
This topic-centered course provides a foundation for understanding various methods of interpreting art ranging from connoisseurship to iconography, Marxism, and feminism. It addresses the theory, contributions, and oversights of each method as well as how research is accomplished, what sources are used, and how they are interpreted and applied.
Athena Title
Senior Seminar
Prerequisite
Two ARHI 3000-level courses and two ARHI 4000-level courses and permission of major
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall and spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
This course is open to junior and senior art history majors and serves as the required capstone course for completion of the major. It provides an introduction to the literature and methods of art history organized around a topic in the area of specialization of the instructor. Students will learn how to read in a critical fashion by identifying an argument, the sources upon which it is based, and the contribution it proposes to make to the field in general. They will also explore various methods of building arguments in the interpretation of works of art and apply them to specific works. They will work on specific objects, conduct research, and apply at least some of these methods in the preparation of a research paper. Ideally, these papers may provide those majors interested in applying to graduate school a writing sample that reflects their competency and knowledge in the field.
Topical Outline
The following course outline will be adjusted by the individual instructors: Week One: Introduction to Course and Topic Week Two: Formal Analysis and Connoisseurship Week Three: Materials and Conservation Issues Week Four: Museum and/or Library Visit Week Five: Iconography Week Six: Historical Context Week Seven: Reception History Week Eight: Sociology and Marxism Week Nine: Biography Week Ten: Individual Meetings on Research Week Eleven: Feminism Weeks Twelve-Fourteen: Student Presentations