Art History: Art History after 1300

Introduction to the visual arts, primarily painting, sculpture, and architecture from the Renaissance to present. Credit not awarded for both ARTH 1420 and ARTH 1018.

Open to degree and PACE students

This course offers a survey of global art history from the 14th-century Renaissance to the contemporary period, exploring key artistic movements, traditions, and exchanges that have shaped the development of visual culture. Students will engage with artworks from Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East, examining their cultural, political, social, and emotional contexts. Emphasizing the development of analytical skills and critical thinking, the course encourages students to critically engage with the meanings, functions, affects, and impacts of art while considering issues of identity, power, colonialism, globalization, gender, and class. Students will acquire a foundational vocabulary related to the study of visual arts, including architecture, and will learn to employ these terms effectively when writing about art and architecture. Additionally, students will refine their observation skills, enabling them to identify, describe, and compare features of both familiar and unfamiliar artworks. Drawing from class discussions and readings, students will learn to analyze forms and styles in their historical, political, philosophical, sociological, gendered, class-based, and affective contexts. The course will also emphasize the importance of understanding art as a reflection of and response to its intellectual, cultural, and historical circumstances. Students will examine the interplay between artistic innovation and broader societal changes, gaining insight into how art embodies shifting values, ideologies, and emotional resonance across time, including those related to social hierarchies and gender dynamics. Assessment will include exams and journaling, designed to reinforce comprehension, deepen engagement with course material, and evaluate students' ability to integrate learned concepts into a broader understanding of global art history.

Attendance and Courtesy Policy: Students should use iClicker to sign in to each class. Students are responsible for class material that they have missed for reasons other than qualifying health reasons or religious observance (see below). Absences for reasons other than qualifying health reasons or religious observance will be reflected in your final grade. After signing in, you must silence and put away your phone before class begins. If you forget to do so and your phone rings or vibrates during the class, turn it off immediately and discreetly. If you are a firefighter, a physician on call, a parent of a small child or in another position of responsibility for which you must be always reachable by phone, please alert me to this fact and set your phone to vibrate. Consistent attendance in each class is imperative for your learning experience. I provide my students with insights, tips, and strategies for impending assignments and exam deadlines at the start of each class. Thus, arriving on time is the easiest and most crucial way for you to succeed in this course. Regular absences, late arrivals, or early departures will have a negative impact on your participation, exam/assignment performance, and final grade. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class. Being in the classroom before the designated class time will earn you extra attendance points. To receive a passing grade, only THREE unexcused absences are permissible. Nevertheless, to ensure fairness to students who never miss class, each unexcused absence will result in a 2% reduction of the final grade, and each unexcused instance of lateness will result in a 1% reduction of your final grade. Leaving the classroom early will be considered lateness and is only acceptable in emergencies and with the instructor’s permission. If you miss a class for reasons other than a qualifying health reason or a religious observance, you are encouraged to collaborate with your classmates to review the material that you missed. Group review and discussion is a great way to catch up on and review material, as long as you are respectful of your classmates’ time. Students are expected to focus their attention on the course proceedings during each class, and to not disrupt anyone else’s ability to focus. This means that you should not be listening to music, eating, or chatting. Students should not be using their screens for any purpose other than consulting the class readings or their own notes. I'm confident you wouldn't want to miss our class, considering how much you'll enjoy it! Make sure to be present and engaged in class discussions. Please make regular checks of your UVM school email and Class Brightspace, as I will use them for important announcements, class assignments, and resource sharing. If a student will not be able to attend in-person classes for qualifying health reasons, the student should contact Student Health Services (802-656-3350). Student Health Services (SHS) will send a notification to the appropriate student services office or designated staff member informing them of this along with the dates the student is unable to attend. The SHS notification will specify whether the request for flexibility is only around in-person class attendance or includes additional flexibility for assignments and tests because the student is too ill to participate. Students are responsible for working with their faculty to make up class content and work they miss due to a documented illness. In this class, we will work together to develop a learning community that is inclusive and respectful. As a learning community we will seek to encourage and appreciate expressions of different ideas, opinions, and beliefs in the spirit of Our Common Ground. Meaningful and constructive dialogue is encouraged in this class. This requires mutual respect, willingness to listen, and open-mindedness to opposing points of view. Respect for individual differences and alternative viewpoints will be maintained at all times in this class. Conduct that substantially or repeatedly disrupts the ability of faculty and instructors to teach and the ability of students to engage may result in my asking a student to temporarily leave the classroom. See Undergraduate Catalogue - Classroom Code of Conduct (p. 443-444).

Assignment and Evaluations: This course places primary emphasis on encouraging students to think critically, question, and provide responses to both texts and visual images. In-class discussions will center around the weekly readings, and students are anticipated to actively engage by sharing their reactions to these readings through class participation. Moreover, the evaluation components will encompass class participation, two exams—a midterm and a final—as well as 10 short weekly journal essays. Following each class session, lecture slides will be made available on the class Brightspace platform for reference. Late submission will lower 1 % per day past the due date (Friday) and won’t be accepted after Sunday that week. Attendance/Participation/in-class writing (20 %)--including your self introduction essay (3 %) Midterm Exam (25%)/ Final Exam (25 %) 10 Weekly Journals (3 % each, a total of 30% of your final grade)—similar to Pass/Fail * All written assignments must be typed in a standard font (such as Times New Roman), size 11 or 12, with 1-inch margins on all four sides of the page. Assignments should be submitted as either a PDF or Word file to Brightspace.