University of St. Thomas Master s Program in Art History Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies Seminar Offerings, Summer and Fall, 2017
Summer 2017 May 24 - August 17, 2017 ARHS 530: Islamic Art & Architecture Dr. Alisa Eimen Thursdays, 5:30-9:00 p.m. This graduate seminar will introduce students to a long and variegated tradi4on of arts produc4on, which originated in the 7 th century and con4nues today in vibrant and some4mes surprising ways. Our studies will approach the arts tradi4on from the vantage point of the present in order to engage with contemporary scholars, discourses, and arts collec4ons, as we travel back through 4me and around the globe to study a selec4on of masterworks and monuments. Throughout the course, we will examine a broad range of media (architecture, ceramics, metalwork, pain4ng, tex4les, photography, and film), analyzing underlying aesthe4c principles, cultural references, values and concerns that shape ar4s4c produc4on and subsequent interpreta4ons of it. There will be opportuni4es to view historical artworks in person, and students also will gain familiarity with recent artworks through an examina4on of exhibi4ons of Islamic art produced in recent decades. In sum, students will (1) complete a survey of Islamic art and architecture, (2) be able to relate artworks to relevant cultural concerns, (3) analyze the ways in which Western and Islamic civiliza4ons are interrelated, and (4) gain familiarity with trends in modern and contemporary arts produc4on and display. This course meets the Non- Western/Non- European requirement. This course meets the Museum Studies requirement. Suggested background readings: Jonathan Bloom, and Sheila Blair. Islamic Arts. Tamin Ansary, Des/ny Disrupted: A History of the World through Islamic Eyes. Images: Dome of the Rock (691), Jerusalem; I Am Its Secret (1993), Shirin Neshat; and a view of the royal quadrangle (c. 1600) in Isfahan, Iran.
ARHS 500: Methods and Approaches to Art History Dr. William Barnes Mondays, 5:30 8:30 p.m. The class will begin with a considera4on of the beginnings and defini4on of art history and then move on to a survey of different methods or approaches, considering a new method each week beginning with stylis4c/formal analysis and moving on to methods that consider meaning and context. Common readings will consist of historiographical overviews, theore4cal explana4ons, and prac4cal applica4ons of each method; students will present summaries and cri4ques on selected addi4onal readings for class discussion. Students will be asked to write a synopsis of each method defining its goal, basic process, terminology, and evidence. In addi4on, they will write short essays that will apply some of the methods in assigned projects drawing from a range of historical and geographic periods. We will also spend several nights discussing the role of ethics in art history. Unlike other graduate seminars that produce an in- depth research paper, this class will produce a pordolio of shorter wri4ngs that focus on processes. The course will also be held jointly with ARTH 211 (undergraduate majors and minors). This course fulfills the Theory and Methodology core requirement and is required for all newly admieed students. Suggested background reading (one of the following is sufficient): Laurie Schneider Adams, The Methodologies of Art: An Introduc/on. Vernon Hyde Minor, Art History s History.
ARHS 530: CollecMng and Displaying Chinese Objects Dr. Elizabeth Kindall Tuesdays, 5:30-8:30 This seminar will examine the historical development and present state of collec4on prac4ces and exhibi4on culture of Chinese objects in China and the West. The course will begin with an explora4on of the cultural history of the accumula4on and display of objects in dynas4c and Republican China. We will then focus on the emergence of the idea of Chinese art in the West in the late 19th- mid 20th century and its interpreta4on by private collectors and within museums. In the final sec4on of the course students will analyze the strategies and effects of the heritage, historical, commemora4ve, private, and ethnographic museums that have appeared across China since the founding of the People s Republic of China. Aesthe4c, intellectual, ethical, and poli4cal issues will be addressed in each sec4on. These will include: tradi4onal collec4ng prac4ces in late- Imperial China; private collectors and the development of museums in Republican China; the effects of officially- sanc4oned pedagogy in state- funded, ideologically- oriented museums; the diverse approaches to display strategies and effects u4lized in contemporary Chinese museums; early European and Western collectors; construc4ons of the Orient, Chinoiserie, and China in object choice and display culture of the West; and the produc4on of meaning and value to Chinese objects by contemporary European and American museums. Students are not expected to have a background in Chinese studies. All readings will be in English. This course fulfills the Non- Western/Non- European requirement. This course fulfills the Museum Studies requirement. Suggested background reading: Craig Clunas. Art in China.
ARHS 520: American Painters of the Gilded Age Dr. Craig Eliason Wednesdays, 5:30 8:30 p.m. The period between the Civil War and the turn of the twen4eth century is a fascina4ng coming- of- age era in the history of the United States. Postwar reconstruc4on, accelera4ng immigra4on, changing gender roles, and con4nuing industrializa4on and urbaniza4on profoundly changed the American experience. In the world of art, these decades saw the emergence of many sophis4cated and talented painters. This seminar will examine current scholarship on the acclaimed painters of the era, including Winslow Homer, Thomas Eakins, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Albert Bierstadt, John Singer Sargent, James McNeill Whistler, John La Farge, George Inness, and William Harnee. We will also consider per4nent issues of the era such as Americans training or living in Europe; portraiture of gilded- age gen4lity; craming the image of the American West; trompe l oeil pain4ng; and the impact of the rise of illustrated journals. Image: John Singer Sargent, The Daughters of Edward Boit, 1882, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Suggested background readings: Frances Pohl, Framing America. Maehew Baigell, A Concise History of American Pain/ng and Sculpture.
ARHS 570: Museum Studies: Visitors, Trends and ExhibiMons Dr. Jayme Yahr Thursday, 5:30 8:30 p.m. I really strongly believe that going to the museum should not be like going to the dentist. It should not be something that you have to do or that you re dragged to do. And it really should be a place that s open to the kind of learning that you want the museums that I see as most successful and people want to be at, want to go to, are places that give them experiences they can t have anywhere else. Nina Simon Why do museums maeer in the 21 st century? This course provides students with the framework to inves4gate the cri4cal issues facing museums today. Students will explore the prac4cal skills necessary for successful careers in museums and consider the ways in which new audiences, technology, and innova4ve programming shape the museum field. This course will include opportuni4es for dialogue with museum professionals, hands- on projects, and field trips to apply museum studies theory to the visitor experience. Course readings, discussions and projects will address the ways in which museums have changed over 4me and how these changes have led to reinterpreted core values of museums in the present day. Museum missions, prac4ces, and resources will be interwoven with a discussion of audience, social objects, and blockbuster exhibi4ons. This course meets the Museum Studies requirement. Suggested background readings: James Cuno, ed. Whose Muse? Art Museums and the Public Trust. Kirsten Latham and John Simmons. Founda/ons of Museum Studies: Evolving Systems of Knowledge. Stephen Weil, Making Museums MaKer.