Course Description
Overview of the history and cultural significance of design and designed objects from the nineteenth century to the present. Study of major movements in applied arts, visual communication and product design and the relationships between craft, design, and fine arts.
Athena Title
History Theory Modern Design
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in ARHI 3300E
Prerequisite
ARHI 2000 or ARHI 2000E or ARHI 2000H or ARHI 2300 or ARHI 2300E or ARHI 2311H or ARHI 2400 or ARHI 2400E or ARHI 2411H
Semester Course Offered
Not offered on a regular basis.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Through lectures, classroom discussions, written assignments and exams, students will learn to identify, describe, and analyze major movements associated with the history of design and designed objects from the late 19th through the early 21st centuries, primarily in the United States and Europe. Emphasis will be placed on the relation between artifacts and culture, with the assumption that the production of works of art and design is a form of cultural knowledge, as well as on the cultural conception of the role of the designer or artisan, on various techniques and materials, and on the social context of the works discussed. Students will gain an understanding of: — major movements in the history of design and applied arts, including fiber and textiles, ceramics, glass, metalwork and jewelry, furniture, and graphic design. — the formal and material significance of designed objects as well as how they relate to the fine art of the period from which they emerge. — the relationships of the form, function, and cultural significance of objects which range from singular, hand-crafted pieces to mass-produced consumer goods, and from avant-garde to popular. — the social, political, and historic contexts of designed objects such as the ethics of labor, ideologies of gender, influences of industry and technology, and the mediating role of institutions and publications.
Topical Outline
19th-century Precedents, Victorian Arts and Crafts Growth and Evolution of the Arts and Crafts Movement Arts and Crafts Production in the U.S. Mechanization and Industry Art Nouveau Modern Design from Cubism to Art Deco 
 World War I, Dada, and Germany Between the World Wars 
 Early Modernism, Film, and Design 
 The Politics of Design: De Stijl, Expressionism, Constructivism, and the Bauhaus at Weimar
 The Bauhaus at Dessau and the International Style Post-WWII Design: Toward International Modernism Industrial and Product Design Postmodern Design and Theory
 After Postmodernism: Contemporary Concerns in the History, Theory of Design, and Craft Culture