Course Description
Throughout the visual cultures of pre-modern Asia, narrative art occupies a prominent, if not predominant, role. Through a series of interrelated case studies, this class will explore, analyze, and interpret representative examples of narrative storytelling in the arts of India, Central Asia, China, and Japan.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
In addition to completing the two written exams as described in
the requirements for undergraduates, graduate students will be
expected to produce an extensive research paper on specific
works or issues related to the field and the methodologies
appropriate to the topic under consideration in the course.
This paper will be a detailed, in-depth consideration of the
student's chosen theme requiring not only a demonstration of
advanced research skills (including the ability to read and use
material presented in foreign languages), but also an
articulation of the student's ability to understand and
manipulate the critical apparatus of art history.
Athena Title
ASIAN NARRATIVE ART
Prerequisite
Two ARHI 3000-level courses and permission of major
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
This course will examine a representative survey of narrative art in India, Central Asia, China and Japan, including the sculptural friezes of the Great Buddhist site of Sanchi, the murals of Dunhuang and Ajanta, the rock-cut masterpieces of Hindu Temples in Central and Eastern India, as well as the illuminated manuscript painting traditions of medieval Japanese and Indian courts. Throughout the course, particular attention will be given to the examination of the relationship between textual redaction and the production of imagery, as well as the specific religious, social, and cultural contexts in which visual narratives are utilized. Students will be required to pass two in-class examinations in addition to completing an independent research paper of approximately 20-25 pages in length. Upon completion of this course students will : 1. be acquainted with the historical and contemporary arts of Asia. 2. be able to understand important art historical terms, issues and ideas related to the study of Asian art. 3. be able to investigate how meaning is constructed and expressed through artistic styles, materials, and symbolic processes in a number of different but related Asian cultures. 4. have developed skills for reflective, critical thinking and writing oriented towards the understanding of different cultures and value systems through the study of Asian art history.
Topical Outline
1. Narrative Theory and Asian Models of Visual Narration 2. Jataka Tales and Early Buddhist Narrative Sculpture in India 3. The Biography of the Buddha in Asian Visual Culture from India to Japan 4. Mahayana Buddhist Sutra Narratives in the Arts of Central Asia, China and Japan 5. Introduction to Hinduism and the Mythology of the Hindu Pantheon in Art and Literature 6. Myths of Shiva – The Erotic Ascetic in Indian Sculpture 7. Encountering the Goddess Devi in Indian Art 8. Incarnations of the God Vishnu in Indian Painting and Sculpture 9-11. India’s Great Epics – the Ramayana and Mahabharata in Asian Visual Culture 12. Tales of Krishna in Regional Indian Painting 13. Storytelling in Mughal Painting Traditions – Emperor Akbar and the Hamzanama 14. Confucian Narratives in Chinese Funerary Art 15. The Tale of Genji in Japanese Painting and Literary Traditions - Heian Handscrolls