Courses

Art History

  • HER-H 100 Art Appreciation (3 cr.) An understanding and appreciation of outstanding works of art through analysis of artistic purposes and techniques, and knowledge of historical style and subject matter. Not counted as credit toward the B.F.A. or B.A.E. degree, nor toward the major or minor requirements in art history.
  • HER-H 101 History of Art I (3 cr.) Visual analysis of selected works from the history of Western art. First semester defines historical terms, processes, and principles of architecture, painting, and sculpture and covers the history of art from Prehistoric through Late Gothic. Second semester examines problems of style and subject matter from Early Renaissance to the twentieth century. Required of all Herron degree students.
  • HER-H 102 History of Art II (3 cr.) Visual analysis of selected works from the history of Western art. First semester defines historical terms, processes, and principles of architecture, painting, and sculpture and covers the history of art from Prehistoric through Late Gothic. Second semester examines problems of style and subject matter from Early Renaissance to the twentieth century. Required of all Herron degree students.
  • HER-H 103 Introduction to Contemporary Art (3 cr.) This course introduces the vocabulary of visual arts in the twentieth century. Major movements are briefly introduced with characteristic works. Painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, computer graphics, video, and environmental and performance art in the past three decades are emphasized. Required of all Foundation Program students. Required for all Foundation Program students other than those planning to major in Visual Communication. For art history majors, H103 is not required, but if taken, may be counted for the required 20th/21st century requirement.
  • HER-H 203 Topics in Art History (3 cr.) Study of selected topics or issues in the history of the visual arts. Topics change in order to coordinate with current exhibitions, special events, or faculty expertise. Refer to the current Schedule of Classes for specific course descriptions.
  • HER-H 210 The Art of Art History (3 cr.) This course provides an introduction to theories and methods of art history, with emphasis on developing skills of visual analysis, research, and oral and written communication. Recommended for art history majors and minors who are preparing to take upper level classes. Open to anyone interested in thinking and writing about art.
  • HER-H 221 Art Past and Present (3 cr.) An introduction to the methods and issues within the discipline of Art History. Offers a chronological overview of the history of art. Students will learn to look critically at art, learn about its place in society and history, and develop an understanding of art. This is a course for non-majors and does not count toward a Herron degree.
  • HER-H 300 Black Visual Artists (3 cr.) A survey of the artistic traditions of Africans in the New World, from the period of slavery in North and South America through contemporary and expatriate African American artists. Equivalent to Afro-American Studies A352; students may not receive credit for both courses.
  • HER-H 302 Beginnings of Twentieth-Century Art: 1886-1914 (3 cr.) From the last impressionist group show of 1886 until the end of World War I, the foundation was laid for new visual expressions by both painters and sculptors. Course topics include postimpressionism, symbolism, art nouveau, fauvism, expressionism, orphism, cubism, and futurism.
  • HER-H 303 Contemporary African American Art and Artists: 1920-80 (1 cr.) This distance education telecourse targets the African American visual artist, but it also includes the political and social non-art-related elements that contributed to the period’s activities. The course presents an introduction to, and the foundations of, the African American visual artist. It begins with the pre- and post-Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and journeys to modern African American art and its relation to post-World War II contemporary European and Euro-American art.
  • HER-H 304 Advanced Topics in Art History (1-6 cr.) Lecture/discussion of selected topics in history of art. No prerequisites. Some art history experience recommended. Topics change to coordinate with special exhibitions or other opportunities.
  • HER-H 310 Classical Archaeology (3 cr.) This course explores the material remains of the classical lands from prehistoric through Roman times and a variety of approaches by which they are understood. Archaeological theory and methods are illustrated through select sites, monuments, works of art, and other remains of cultural, artistic, and historical significance. (Equivalent to Classical Studies A301; students may receive credit for only one of these courses.)
  • HER-H 323 History of Printmaking I (3 cr.) This course explores the artistic evolution and cultural significance of printmaking from the invention of printing through the eighteenth century. Emphasis is given to the development of the woodcut, engraving, and etching processes and to the works of major printmakers such as Durer, Rembrandt, and Hogarth.
  • HER-H 325 Islamic Art (3 cr.) The course surveys the art, architecture, and culture of key periods in Islamic history. Students become familiar with styles, contexts, and functions of the arts in the Islamic world.
  • HER-H 326 Romanesque and Gothic Art (3 cr.) Romanesque and Gothic art covers the period from about 1000 until 1550, from the artist-craftsman tradition of monasteries and cathedrals to the end of the Age of Faith in Europe. Painting, sculpture, and stained glass will be considered in their social and architectural context.
  • HER-H 331 Italian Renaissance Art (3 cr.) This course covers the painting, architecture, sculpture and graphic arts of Renaissance Italy with emphasis on the changing role of artists in society, major stylistic movements, the use and reception of art, the work of major artists, and their cultural context.
  • HER-H 333 Art of the Renaissance (3 cr.) Introduction to the architecture, painting, sculpture, and graphic media of Renaissance Europe. Emphasis is placed on the political and social climate prevailing from 1400 to 1600, and its effect on the arts of Italy, Flanders, Spain, Holland, France, Germany, and England.
  • HER-H 334 Baroque Art (3 cr.) Exploration of the characteristics of Baroque art and its development in the seventeenth century. Special emphasis on selected Baroque artists such as Bernini, Rubens, Rembrandt, Velazquez, and Poussin, and on their personalities, styles, and positions in seventeenth-century society.
  • HER-H 304 Women in Art (3 cr.) This course analyzes the roles of women in the history of art. Topics may include women as patrons, viewers, and subjects of art as well as representations of women. The lives and work of women artists past and present will be featured.
  • HER-H 341 Nineteenth-Century Art (3 cr.) Focus is on the major movements and artists in European painting and sculpture from the French Revolution to postimpressionism. Topics include neoclassicism, romanticism, realism, and impressionism. Artists such as David, Ingres, Goya, Delacroix, Courbet, Manet, Monet, and Degas will be covered.
  • HER-H 342 From Dada to Abstract Expressionism: 1915-1950 (3 cr.) International movements in painting and sculpture from World War I until the emergence of the New York School after World War II including Dada activities in Europe and New York, the Bauhaus, European surrealism, and American art.
  • HER-H 343 Nineteenth-Century Architecture and City Planning (3 cr.) An analysis of significant architecture and city planning in Europe and North America from 1790 to 1886. Emphasis on aesthetic, spatial, and theoretical concepts of key architects and their solutions, technological advances, and social implications.
  • HER-H 344 Modern Architecture (3 cr.) Emphasis is given to European and American modern architecture since 1892 and to contemporary architecture in Indiana since 1942. Selected modern movements such as art nouveau, Chicago school, prairie, the Bauhaus, international style, and postmodernism will be studied. Special attention is directed to the American architects Henry Hobson Richardson, Louis Henri Sullivan, and Frank Lloyd Wright and to their contemporaries in Europe: Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
  • HER-H 345 American Art to 1913 (3 cr.) A multicultural and interdisciplinary stylistic approach will be used to study selected examples of American architecture, painting, and sculpture from the seventeenth century to the Armory Show of 1913. Some consideration will be given to Indiana architecture and painting.
  • HER-H 347 Art from 1950 to the Present (3 cr.) Deals with European and American painting and sculpture from abstract expressionism to the present. Topics include post-painterly abstraction, pop art, minimal art, conceptual art, body and performance art, photorealism, site and architectural sculpture, and installations.
  • HER-H 348 History of Photography (3 cr.) This course is a critical examination and in-depth study of photography from 1839 until the present. The general approach is from an artistic and cultural viewpoint, stressing the development of photography as a medium of personal artistic expression as well as its relationship to broader artistic ideas and sociocultural issues.
  • HER-H 351 African Art 1 (3 cr.) Course explores the styles, functions, and contexts of art in a selection of African cultures. Pre-colonial, post-colonial, and contemporary art may be considered, along with the varying perspectives from which African art has been studied.
  • HER-H 361 Asian Art 1 (3 cr.) Major art forms from regions in western and central Asia, considered in their cultural and historical contexts.
  • HER-H 362 Asian Art II (3 cr.) Major art forms from regions in east Asia, considered in their cultural and historical contexts.
  • HER-H 400 Topics and Methods in Art History (1-3 cr.) Critical examination of important topics and methods from the history of art, using the seminar approach. Content may vary according to the specialty of the instructor. May be repeated up to three times for a maximum of 9 credits.
  • HER-H 402 The Roots of Modernism: 1905-1915 (3 cr.) This seminar deals with the decade in the early twentieth century that saw the rise of drastically new attitudes and styles in painting and sculpture. From the first group exhibit of the fauves in 1905 until the arrival of Marcel Duchamp in New York in 1915, the foundations for future developments in art were laid for the twentieth century.
  • HER-H 404 Art of the Past Two Decades (3 cr.) A seminar focusing on directed research into the art, critical writing, and conceptual attributes of current art. Topics include postmodernism, appropriation, feminism, multiculturalism, deconstruction, and semiotics.
  • HER-H 410 Art Theory and Criticism (3 cr.) This course examines a cross-section of theories that underpin current discussions and developments in the visual arts. This course also examines the nature and goals of art criticism, including how different theories help frame the primary concerns and controversies within art criticism.
  • HER-H 413 Art and Archaeology of Greece (3 cr.) Art and archaeology of Greece from about 1000 B.C. through the Hellenistic period. Special attention given to the development of Greek architecture, sculpture, and vase painting. Equivalent to Classical Studies C413; students may receive credit for only one of these courses.
  • HER-H 414 Art and Archaeology of Rome (3 cr.) Development of Roman architecture, sculpture, and painting from the beginning through the fourth century A.D. Consideration given to the major archaeological sites. Continuation of H413, but H413 is not a prerequisite. Equivalent to Classical Studies C414; students may receive credit for only one of these courses.
  • HER-H 418 Myth and Reality in Greek Art (3 cr.) An introduction to Greek iconography (the study of images) that explores contemporary approaches to narration and representation. The course examines the illustration of myth, history, and everyday life in relation to ancient society. Equivalent to Classical Studies A418; students may receive credit for only one of these courses.
  • HER-H 420 The Artist in the Renaissance (3 cr.) This course examines the changing role of artists in Renaissance cities, from anonymous craftsmen in the late Middle Ages to celebrity personalities in the sixteenth century. Workshop structure, relationships with patrons, and competition between artists provide contexts for interpreting Renaissance art and exploring questions central to Renaissance art history.
  • HER-H 431 The Gothic World (3 cr.) Seminar in the Gothic art of the high and late Middle Ages. Focus will be on the cultural, theoretical, and intellectual context of art and architecture of the twelfth through fifteenth centuries.
  • HER-H 460 Visual Culture (3 cr.) The study of visual culture investigates how we see and make sense of images, emphasizing vision's social dimensions. Students will use an interdisciplinary lens to look at diverse visual events, such as advertising, architecture, painting, photography, public art, maps, craft objects, exhibitions, and graphics.
  • HER-H 495 Problems in Art History (1-3 cr.) Directed study in art history for independent research and/or special external programs. May be repeated three times for a maximum of 9 credit hours. Research proposal and permission of Instructor required.
  • HER-H 497 Educational Opportunities Abroad (1-6 cr.) A variable-credit course designed to allow credit for exceptional opportunities in art history study and travel outside the United States.
  • HER-H 531 The Artist in the Renaissance (3 cr.) Graduate course examining the changing role of artists in Renaissance cities, from anonymous craftsmen in the late Middle Ages to celebrity personalities in the sixteenth century.  Workshop structure, relationships with patrons, and competition between artists provide contexts for interpreting Renaissance art and exploring questions central to Renaissance art history.
  • HER-H 560 Visual Culture: A Visual Studies Approach (3 cr.) P: graduate student or consent of instructor. An introduction to visual studies, an interdisciplinary approach to the study of visual culture that emphasizes the social ramifications of the visual.
  • HER-H 590 Topics in Art History (3 cr.) Special topics in the history and study of the visual arts and visual culture.  May be repeated with a different topic for a total of 9 credit hours.
  • HER-H 610 Art Theory and Criticism (3 cr.) This course examines a cross-section of theories that underpin current discussions and developments in the visual arts. This course also examines the nature and goals of art criticism, including how different theories help frame the primary concerns and controversies within art criticism.