Art History (ARTH)
ARTH 101. World Art I: Caves to Cathedrals. 1 Credit.
Offered Both Fall and Spring; Lecture hours:3
Why make art? Before 1400 CE, answers to this question ranged widely. From prehistoric paintings to great medieval cathedrals, premodern art and architecture reflected and shaped social, political, and religious forces. This course examines the history of art across the globe through the lens of tradition and change.
ARTH 102. World Art II: Renaissance to Now. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
This course explores art and architecture from 1400 to the present. Focus on visual analysis and the development of European and American art from the Renaissance to Postmodernism.
ARTH 204. Castle, Cathedral and Cloister. 1 Credit.
Offered Fall Semester Only; Lecture hours:3
Architecture, sculpture, and painting from the Early Christian period to the beginning of the Renaissance. Monastic, religious and secular arts will be explored.
ARTH 207. Birth of Modern Art: 1850-1915. 1 Credit.
Offered Fall Semester Only; Lecture hours:3
Examination of artists and movements from 1850-1915, including Realism, Impressionism, Post-impressionism, Symbolism, Expressionism, Fauvism, Cubism and Abstraction. Focus on innovations in French painting and urban experience.
ARTH 208. Surrealism to the Present. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
Significant artists from twentieth century from WWI to the present. Movements: Futurism, Dadaism, Constructivism, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, Fluxus, Earth Art, Conceptual Art, Performance Art, Feminist Art, Pop Art, Institutional Critique, Social Practice Art. Readings from textbook, documents, art historians. Grades by weekly writing assignments; one exam and research paper.
ARTH 209. Art, Science, and Magic in the Medieval World. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
What did “science” and “magic” look like in the medieval world? How did concepts of art, science, magic, and religion overlap, and how do modern definitions obscure premodern ideas about the natural world? Students will develop the conceptual tools necessary to confront these questions using visual evidence.
ARTH 217. Performance Art, Then and Now. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
Hugo Ball reads nonsense poetry in a Zurich cafe; Marina Abramović breathes in air from a high-powered fan until she falls unconscious; William Pope L. crawls down Broadway dressed in a Superman costume. This course explores the provocative history of performance art from Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
ARTH 222. Philosophy of Art. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
Analysis of the creative process, the work of art, natural beauty, aesthetic experience, and principles of criticism. Prerequisite: PHIL 100 or permission of the instructor. Crosslisted as PHIL 212.
ARTH 231. Arts of East Asia. 1 Credit.
Offered Both Fall and Spring; Lecture hours:3
This course introduces you to the art of China, Korea and Japan from prehistory to the present. We examine a broad range of objects—ritual bronze vessels, Buddhist temple architecture, Neo-Confucian landscape painting and ukiyo-e woodblock prints—to emphasize how cross-cultural exchanges stimulated new interpretations across time and space. Crosslisted as EAST 231.
ARTH 241. Archaeology of Egypt. 1 Credit.
Offered Alternate Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
Survey of the material culture, with emphasis on major architectural and artistic developments and their legacy to modern Western civilization. Crosslisted as CLAS 241.
ARTH 242. Archaeology of Greece. 1 Credit.
Offered Alternating Fall Semester; Lecture hours:3
Survey of the material culture of the Greek world from the Bronze Age through the Hellenistic period. Crosslisted as CLAS 242.
ARTH 243. Archaeology of Rome. 1 Credit.
Offered Alternate Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
Survey of the material culture of the Roman world from the Etruscans through the late Empire. Crosslisted as CLAS 243.
ARTH 262. Life in Ancient Pompeii. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
This course explores the history, literature and material culture of Pompeii with the goal of better understanding daily life for all levels of society in the early Roman Empire. Crosslisted as CLAS 262.
ARTH 265. Contemporary Philosophy of Art. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
An investigation of and focused study of contemporary philosophical issues in the arts and aesthetics more generally. Prerequisite: PHIL 100, or ARTH 207 or ARTH 208. Crosslisted as PHIL 265.
ARTH 273. High Drama: Art of Vermeer and Rembrandt. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
Northern European art c.1430-1660 especially Vermeer and Rembrandt: and its interconnections with Italian art.
ARTH 275. Art and Architecture of the Islamic World. 1 Credit.
Offered Spring Semester Only; Lecture hours:3
A survey of Islamic art and architecture from the inception of the faith in the 7th century through the 16th century.
ARTH 319. Independent Study in Art History. .25-1 Credits.
Offered Both Fall and Spring; Lecture hours:Varies; Repeatable
Advanced problems in art history. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.
ARTH 320. Independent Study in Art History. .25-1 Credits.
Offered Both Fall and Spring; Lecture hours:Varies; Repeatable
Advanced problems in art history. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.
ARTH 322. Decolonizing Museums: The History & Ethics of Collecting. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
This course explores the formation of art collections and the ethical challenges that museums face. Using wide ranging examples from cultural and historical perspectives, we evaluate arguments for and against encyclopedic museums, examine laws aiming to prevent antiquity trafficking, and analyze case studies of repatriation.
ARTH 323. Contemporary Art. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
Study of key artists and concepts of the past 30 years. Focus on the transformation from modernism to postmodernism in painting, sculpture, photography, and performance art. Prerequisite: one of the following ARTH 102, ARTH 207, ARTH 208 or permission of the instructor.
ARTH 326. The Art of the Book and Books as Art. 1 Credit.
Offered Either Fall or Spring; Lecture hours:3
This course focuses on developments and changes in the making of books – both print and manuscript – and the images they contain. We will explore how books have been made, read and seen from antiquity to today. This seminar includes extensive, first-hand study of materials at Bucknell’s Special Collections.
ARTH 330. Hokusai and the Global Art of Edo. 1 Credit.
Offered Both Fall and Spring; Lecture hours:3
From luminous golden folding screens to delicate lines in woodblock prints, the arts of Edo (1603-1868) Japan profoundly impacted artists worldwide. How is this art global when seclusion policies of the era forbade foreign travel? Such questions guide our discussion as we focus particularly on artworks in the Samek Museum. Crosslisted as EAST 330.
ARTH 380. Honors Art History. 1 Credit.
Offered Both Fall and Spring; Lecture hours:3; Repeatable
Independent study leading to the writing of a thesis. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.
ARTH 381. Honors Art History. 1 Credit.
Offered Both Fall and Spring; Lecture hours:3; Repeatable
Independent study leading to the writing of a thesis. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.
ARTH 402. Culminating Experience. 1 Credit.
Offered Fall Semester Only; Lecture hours:3
Required for all art history majors. Students will explore individual research projects independently and workshop them in class. The class will culminate in a departmental art history conference where students will present their work. Prerequisite: senior status. Juniors by permission only.