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Course Catalog 2025-2026
Course Search
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This is a comprehensive listing of all active courses offered by Oberlin College and Conservatory. Courses listed in this online catalog may not be offered every semester or academic year; for up-to-date information on which courses are offered in a given semester, please see the schedule of classes.
 View the Schedule of Classes.
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Applied Studies
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APST 744 - Early Music Studio HC CNDP
2 credits
This is an instrumental and vocal ensemble dedicated to the performance of early music. Participants are encouraged to treat the ensemble like a workshop, in which together we explore earlier repertoires and experiment with historical techniques. Open to singers and all players of historical instruments. May be repeated for credit.
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APST 745 - Baroque Orchestra HC CNDP
2 credits
Baroque Orchestra.
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APST 748 - Javanese Gamelan HC CNDP
2 credits
In this course you will learn to perform Central Javanese gamelan (a percussion-based ensemble featuring gongs and keyed instruments). No prior musical experience is necessary. By the end of the class, however, students will have gained a basic understanding of how the music is constructed, along with cultural matter specific to its performance. Throughout the semester students will be encouraged to take turns on all the different instruments but work towards ensemble rather than individual expression for a final performance.
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APST 750 - Djembe Orchestra I HC CNDP CD
2 credits
This course provides the fundamentals and basic concepts and techniques of Mandé music. The traditional rhythmic structure of Djembe and Dununs will be studied to further develop skills within modern-day Black American Music, fusion, and orchestral music. Culture, geography, history, and folkloric philosophy will be explored through song, music, performance, practicum and academic discourse. This course will be taught from a traditional West African and world view perspective in the context of social, occupational, and religious function. Students will immerse themselves in a physical, cultural, and spiritual exploration of these traditional styles of drumming from the regions of Mali, Guinea, and Ivory Coast. May be repeated for credit.
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APST 751 - Djembe Orchestra II HC CNDP CD
2 credits
This course is an expansion of the fundamentals and basic concepts and techniques of Mandé music. The traditional rhythmic structure of Djembe and Dununs will be studied to further develop skills within modern-day Black American music, fusion, and orchestral music. Culture, geography, history, and folkloric philosophy will be explored through song, music, performance, practicum, and academic discourse. This course will be taught from a traditional West African and world view perspective in the context of social, occupational, and religious function. Students will immerse themselves in a physical, cultural, and spiritual exploration of these traditional styles of drumming from the regions of Mali, Guinea, and Ivory Coast. Students will be tasked with learning new ways of experiencing themselves through music and with creating their own rhythms through which they will assert their history and voice in a culturally aware and diverse music practice. May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisites: APST 750.
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APST 800 - Chamber Music HC CNDP
2 credits
Students wishing to register must fill out an online chamber music form at the beginning of each the semester. Assignments are made by the Conservatory Office of the Associate Deans in consultation with faculty; assigned students are notified so that they can add the course to their schedule. Since it may not be possible to assign all students to a faculty coach, priority in placement in a group is given to upper-class students who need to complete an ensemble requirement. May be repeated for credit.
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APST 801 - First-Year String Chamber Music Seminar HC CNDP
2 credits
This course is designed for first-year string students to explore the fundamentals of small ensemble playing. Students will develop technical skills including group pulse, pitch, and tone, along with musical skills of interpretation and communication. The semester will include a series of lecture/demonstrations and performance classes. Students will be assigned to chamber groups to study a variety of works. Open to first-year violin, viola, and cello students.
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APST 802 - Orchestral Repertoire for Woodwinds HC CNDP
2 credits
A study of works from the standard repertoire with emphasis on concepts of style and ensemble. Enrollment limited to 3 flutes, 3 oboes, 3 clarinets, 3 bassoons. Priority will be given to third-, fourth-, and fifth-year students. May be repeated for credit a maximum of two times.
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APST 804 - Orchestral Repertoire for Brasses HC CNDP
2 credits
A study of works from the standard repertoire with emphasis on concepts of style and ensemble. Enrollment limited to a maximum of two standard symphony orchestra brass sections. Priority given to third-, fourth-, and fifth-year students. May be repeated for credit a maximum of three times.
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APST 805 - Contemporary Chamber Music HC CNDP
2 credits
Students wishing to register must fill out an online chamber music form at the beginning of each the semester. Assignments are made by the Conservatory Office of the Associate Deans in consultation with faculty; assigned students are notified so that they can add the course to their schedule. Since it may not be possible to assign all students to a faculty coach, priority in placement in a group is given to upper-class students who need to complete an ensemble requirement. May be repeated for credit.
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APST 806 - Advanced String Quartet Seminar FC CNDP
4 credits
A performance class designed around a body of repertoire by the same composer or theme. Each string quartet will receive one coaching and participate in the 90-minute class meeting each week. The class will focus on technical aspects of ensemble playing along with the musical and historical significance of the works studied. The semester will culminate in a formal performance of complete works. Open to pre-formed groups with at least one semester of prior performance experience together.
Prerequisites: APST 800 or APST 805.
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APST 807 - Oberlin Improvisation and NewMusic Collective HC CNDP
2 credits
Ensemble devoted to learning trans-idiomatic improvisation techniques and indeterminate pieces in a workshop setting. In addition to weekly full ensemble rehearsals, participation in a small breakout ensemble is required. It is expected that these small ensembles will spend a significant amount of time rehearsing outside of class. Class time is spent hearing from these ensembles and from small impromptu formations, and with rehearsing full ensemble pieces. Improvisational experience and conventional instrumental virtuosity not required (though welcome).
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APST 808 - Performance and Improvisation Ensemble HC CNDP
2 credits
This course providse an opportunity for students to enrich their existing musical vocabularies and skills through practical exploration of many different musics of the world and improvisation across a range of genres and styles. Emphasis is placed on transcription and creating a means of adaptation to the student’s primary (Western) instrument. Ensemble instruction will be divided into two modules per semester, each focusing on the musical styles of a particular region (Sub-Saharan Africa, South America/Central America/The Caribbean, Northern Africa/The Middle East, Asia). PI ensembles will participate in intensive residencies and collaborative performances with visiting artists. Audition required. Students with highly proficient performance skills on a unique or Indigenous instrument are also eligible to audition.
Prerequisites: (APST 140 or APST 141) and APST 142.
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APST 809 - Silent Film Ensemble HC CNDP
2 credits
The Silent Film Ensemble will devise live performance scenarios for film. A variety of experimental improvisation techniques may be employed and a variety of scoring techniques may also be developed, including text, music and graphic notation. The full ensemble will meet weekly and smaller sub-groups will be expected to create work outside of class time. The semester will culminate in a public performance showcasing the group’s work. This ensemble is open to all students, college or conservatory, regardless of instrumental or vocal experience.
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APST 810 - Piano Ensemble HC CNDP
2 credits
Students wishing to register must fill out an online chamber music form at the beginning of each the semester. Assignments are made by the Conservatory Office of the Associate Deans in consultation with faculty; assigned students are notified so that they can add the course to their schedule. Since it may not be possible to assign all students to a faculty coach, priority in placement in a group is given to upper-class students who need to complete an ensemble requirement. May be repeated for credit.
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APST 811 - Genre Nova Ensemble HC CNDP
2 credits
The Nova Genre Performance and Improvisation Ensemble provides an opportunity for students to enrich their existing musical vocabularies and skills through practical exploration of many different world musics and improvisation across a range of genres and styles. Emphasis is placed on transcription and creating a means of adaptation to the student’s primary (Western) instrument. Ensemble instruction will be divided into two modules per semester, each focusing on the musical styles of a particular region (Sub-Saharan Africa, South America/Central America/The Caribbean, Northern Africa/The Middle East, Asia). The ensemble will participate in intensive residencies and collaborative performances with visiting artists.
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APST 812 - Double Bass Ensemble HC CNDP
2 credits
Preparation and performance of ensemble repertoire for double bass (duos, trios, quartets, etc.).
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APST 813 - Soundpainting: Collaborate and Create HC CNDP
2 credits
Soundpainting is an interdisciplinary live composing language for music, dance, and theater. The soundpainter stands in front of the group and uses physical signs to create the composition. There are no wrong notes, movements, or words. This class will help you develop tools to thrive as a 21st-century artist including: improvisation, interdisciplinary collaboration, composition, decentralization, inclusion, and a focus on expression and fun! Participants will mostly perform within the ensemble, but will also have time to soundpaint/compose themselves near the end of the semester. Explore your inner creativity with artists from across Oberlin’s diverse artistic community. Open to dancers, musicians, and actors. All experience levels and backgrounds; no experience improvising is needed. May be repeated for credit.
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APST 814 - Harp Seminar HC CNDP
2 credits
Includes a variety of activities and topics designed to address many aspects of career preparation, such as group study of orchestral excerpts, harp ensemble repertoire, stage presentation, performance techniques, practice and tuning skills, harp maintenance, and pedagogy. First-year harp students are invited, though not required, to attend during their first two semesters.
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APST 815 - Guitar Ensemble HC CNDP
2 credits
This course will cover ensemble repertoire for classical guitarists (trios, quartets, etc.). Open to classical guitar students.
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APST 816 - Horn Ensemble HC CNDP
2 credits
Coaching in section playing from quartet to octet in standard orchestral repertoire, and one recital each semester of works written for horn ensemble. May be repeated for credit.
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APST 817 - Beginning Guitar Class HC CNDP
2 credits
This course is designed primarily for beginning guitarists, or guitarists who would like to fill in some gaps in their formal training. We will focus on the development of solid technique and musicianship on the guitar and related plucked instruments. Various styles and approaches to guitar playing will be considered, including, but not limited to, classical, folk, “fingerstyle”, and historical (e.g., the lute, using the Conservatory’s collection of historical plucked instruments). Basics covered will include reading pitch notation and tablatures, creating accompaniments, melodic playing, playing by ear, ‘soloing’, historical contexts, and improvisation.
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APST 818 - Oberlin Creative Music Lab HC CNDP
2 credits
The Oberlin Creative Music Lab is an ensemble that specializes in contemporary, open-form, and guided improvisation while performing existing works written for creative music ensemble. Students will rehearse as an improvisation ensemble each week to grow together as a cohort and improve upon skills such as listening, interaction, and creative decision-making. The ensemble will also rehearse contemporary repertoire that highlights approaches to large ensemble improvisation including works by Anthony Braxton, Pauline Oliveros, and George Lewis, among many others. Students will create their own work for the ensemble and present a culminating concert at the end of the semester. The Creative Music Lab welcomes performers and composers who practice in electronic and acoustic mediums. May be repeated for credit.
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APST 819 - Fiddle Ensemble HC CNDP
2 credits
Students will learn traditional and contemporary folk tunes and songs from several different regions and cultures around the world. Students will practice learning the melodies, harmonies, rhythmic structures, and bass lines of these styles. Traditions and regions of the world that will be covered are Irish, Scottish, Balkan, Scandinavian, Spanish, and more. There will be several opportunities for students to lead the class, compose, and create their own tunes in these styles and jam! The midterm and final exam will be a performance on campus. Open to both conservatory and college students with experience on the violin and other string instruments who wish to learn the technical approach the fiddle music, and its traditions. May be repeated for credit.
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APST 821 - Ensemble for Percussionists HC CNDP
2 credits
Percussion students taking this course will be assigned by the major teacher to various performing groups of the school in consultation with the conductors of those groups and in accordance with their needs. Hours according to meeting times of the various ensembles. Students may elect the two-credit option in consultation with advisor.
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APST 822 - Ensembles for Guitarists HC CNDP
2 credits
Includes the assignment of guitarists to chamber music groups or to larger ensembles as needed.
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APST 823 - Chamber Singers HC CNDP
2 credits
Chamber Singers is a select choral ensemble modeled after professional chamber vocal ensembles of 8-16 voices, focused primarily on performing one-voice-per-part music. Admission is by audition only.
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APST 825 - Oberlin Percussion Group HC CNDP
2 credits
Percussion concentrators taking this course will develop skills in finding the right sound, applying techniques learned, nurturing a keen sense of ensemble playing, and gaining valuable performing experience outside of Oberlin. The major objective of this course is to premiere new works. The group rehearses a minimum of four hours per week.
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APST 826 - Oberlin Arts and Sciences Chamber Music HC CNDP
2 credits
This performance class provides students enrolled in the College with the opportunity to learn chamber works in small ensembles, receive coachings, and perform in public as part of a credit-bearing class. Class meets weekly for a two-hour session in which student groups play for the entire class and are coached by the instructor. Students may audition either as individuals or in pre-formed groups; individuals will be placed in groups at the discretion of the instructor. All instruments will be considered, although placement is contingent on the availability of repertoire and instrumental composition of the group of students auditioning in a given semester. The semester concludes with a public performance in which all groups must perform at least one movement selected from the works they have prepared over the course of the semester. Intended only for Arts and Sciences students. May be repeated for credit.
This course is appropriate for new students.
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APST 841 - Viola da Gamba Consort HC CNDP
2 credits
A survey of 16th- and 17th-century consort literature for three to seven viols. First semester open to players with some experience. Second semester open to students who have completed the Winter Term beginning gamba class, as well as to advanced players.
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APST 843 - Baroque Ensemble HC CNDP
2 credits
This ensemble is designed for players of historical instruments (e.g., baroque flute, baroque violin, baroque recorder, viola da gamba, and harpsichord) and for singers.
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APST 844 - Renaissance Flute/Recorder Ensemble HC CNDP
2 credits
Study of performance on Renaissance recorders. Repertoire is chosen from a different area of concentration each semester.
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APST 995F - Private Reading - Full FC CNDP
4 credits
Private readings require the faculty member’s approval. Students who wish to pursue a topic not covered in the regular curriculum may register for a private reading. This one-to-one tutorial is normally at the advanced level in a specific field and is arranged with a member of the faculty who has agreed to supervise the student. Unlike other courses, a student cannot register for a private reading via self-service online registration. To register for a private reading, students must complete the private reading form and return it to the Office of the Registrar.
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APST 995H - Private Reading - Half HC CNDP
2 credits
Private readings require the faculty member’s approval. Students who wish to pursue a topic not covered in the regular curriculum may register for a private reading. This one-to-one tutorial is normally at the advanced level in a specific field and is arranged with a member of the faculty who has agreed to supervise the student. Unlike other courses, a student cannot register for a private reading via self-service online registration. To register for a private reading, students must complete the private reading form and return it to the Office of the Registrar.
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Arabic
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ARBC 101 - Beginning Arabic I FC ARHU CD
4 credits
This course provides a thorough introduction to Arabic language and culture and presumes no previous knowledge of Arabic. The course begins with the alphabet and number system and engages students in reading, writing, speaking, and listening on a range of topics such as self-identification, family, travel, food, housing, study, weather, and others. By the end of the semester, students will have reached the Novice Mid/High level of proficiency in Arabic based on the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines. Students at this level will be able to communicate in speaking and writing about a number of familiar topics. Designed for beginners with no previous study of Arabic. Field trip(s) required.
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ARBC 102 - Beginning Arabic II FC ARHU CD
4 credits
This course continues to develop the Arabic language and culture study begun in 101. This course expands the range of topics and builds upon listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Students will discuss such topics as housing, shopping, education, and professions. By the end of the semester, students will have reached the Novice High/Intermediate Low proficiency level in Arabic according to the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines. Students at this level will be able to communicate personal information, discuss daily activities, express personal preferences, and apply their skills in an Arabic-speaking culture. Field trip(s) required.
Prerequisites: ARBC 101.
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ARBC 201 - Intermediate Arabic FC ARHU CD
4 credits
This is the first intermediate course in Arabic language and culture and provides a thorough grounding in the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing). We will continue to build on the four skills gradually and systematically through carefully selected and organized materials focusing on specific, concrete, and familiar topics such as food and heath, transportation, weather, sports and hobbies, and tourism, etc. By the end of this semester, students will have reached the Intermediate Mid/High level of proficiency in Arabic based on the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines 2012. Students at this sublevel are able to handle a variety of uncomplicated communicative tasks in straightforward social situations.
Prerequisites: ARBC 101 and 102
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ARBC 202 - Intermediate Arabic II FC ARHU CD
4 credits
This is the second intermediate course in Arabic language and culture. This course broadens the studentsknowledge of Arabic language and culture and continues to build on the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing). We will cover a wider range of topics about the Arab world and its culture such as the modern Arab world, the importance/status of Arabic, the food culture, health and sports, etc. By the end of this semester, students will have reached the Intermediate High/Advanced Low level of proficiency in Arabic based on the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines 2012. Students at this sublevel perform at the paragraph level and are able to converse with ease and confidence when discussing familiar topics. They can also perform some advanced tasks such as describing and narrating events in the past and future, but at a lower level.
Prerequisites: Arabic 101, 102, and 201
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ARBC 995F - Private Reading - Full FC ARHU
4 credits
Private readings require the faculty member’s approval. Students who wish to pursue a topic not covered in the regular curriculum may register for a private reading. This one-to-one tutorial is normally at the advanced level in a specific field and is arranged with a member of the faculty who has agreed to supervise the student. Unlike other courses, a student cannot register for a private reading via self-service online registration. To register for a private reading, students must complete the private reading form and return it to the Office of the Registrar.
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ARBC 995H - Private Reading - Half HC ARHU
2 credits
Private readings require the faculty member’s approval. Students who wish to pursue a topic not covered in the regular curriculum may register for a private reading. This one-to-one tutorial is normally at the advanced level in a specific field and is arranged with a member of the faculty who has agreed to supervise the student. Unlike other courses, a student cannot register for a private reading via self-service online registration. To register for a private reading, students must complete the private reading form and return it to the Office of the Registrar.
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Archaeological Studies
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ACHS 300 - Senior Project FC SSCI
4 credits
Senior Project.
Undergraduate Research Intensive
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ACHS 400 - Archaeological Studies Honors FC
4 credits
Honors Program in Archaeological Studies. Archeological Studies majors may undertake Honors research during their senior year under the supervision of a faculty advisor who is normally a member of the Curricular Committee on Archeology. An Honors Project normally consists of a written thesis or other creative project based on original library, laboratory, or field research, or some combination thereof. The final project is submitted in the spring semester of the senior year and followed by a public presentation. Students who qualify for Honors and are interested in the program should consult with the program director by the beginning of the second semester in their junior year. Honors proposals are due on or about April 15.
Undergraduate Research Intensive
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ACHS 995F - Private Reading - Full FC
4 credits
Private readings require the faculty member’s approval. Students who wish to pursue a topic not covered in the regular curriculum may register for a private reading. This one-to-one tutorial is normally at the advanced level in a specific field and is arranged with a member of the faculty who has agreed to supervise the student. Unlike other courses, a student cannot register for a private reading via self-service online registration. To register for a private reading, students must complete the private reading form and return it to the Office of the Registrar.
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ACHS 995H - Private Reading - Half HC
2 credits
Private readings require the faculty member’s approval. Students who wish to pursue a topic not covered in the regular curriculum may register for a private reading. This one-to-one tutorial is normally at the advanced level in a specific field and is arranged with a member of the faculty who has agreed to supervise the student. Unlike other courses, a student cannot register for a private reading via self-service online registration. To register for a private reading, students must complete the private reading form and return it to the Office of the Registrar.
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Art History
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ARTH 110 - Christian Art: A Global History FC ARHU CD
4 credits
A survey of Christian art and architecture from its origins in the third century CE to the present, including all regions where Christian art has been produced, from the Middle East and Europe to Ethiopia, Asia, and the Americas. Topics to be considered include the invention(s) of Jesus’ appearance, icons and iconoclasm, religious architecture, art’s role in the Reformation and its use by missionaries, and contemporary Christian art. The course uses this broad topic to introduce the discipline of art history, and makes extended use of the Allen’s collections. Field trip(s) required.
This course is appropriate for new students.
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ARTH 150 - Approaches to Western Art FC ARHU WINT
4 credits
This course is not a chronological survey course, but rather a chance to learn different ways of thinking and writing about art. Each instructor will address a variety of central art historical topics such as technique, style, iconography, the status of the artist and art’s relationship with its original context within a given period or periods of art history. Visits to the Allen Memorial Art Museum will play an important part in the course. Field trip(s) required.
Undergraduate Research Intensive
This course is appropriate for new students.
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ARTH 152 - Approaches to Chinese and Japanese Art FC ARHU CD
4 credits
This combined introduction to the arts of China and Japan will follow a rough chronology from ancient to modern. We will focus on smaller contexts, including temples, tombs, and artistic circles and examine a range of media (e.g., painting, sculpture, prints). Primary themes will include how socio-political circumstances inform artistic production, the spatial or social networks of art, cultural exchange, and tensions between court-sponsored traditions and other artistic practices.
This course is appropriate for new students.
This course is cross-listed with EAST-143
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ARTH 154 - Approaches to African Art FC ARHU CD WINT
4 credits
This course serves as an introduction to the visual cultures of Africa and its diasporas. Proceeding through a series of thematic case studies, students will explore African arts through critical lenses such as performance, ritual, sexuality, and identity. Special attention will be paid to cross-cultural influences; impacts and legacies of empires, slavery, and colonialism; and the contemporary art market. Visits to the Allen Memorial Art Museum are a central component of the course.
This course is appropriate for new students.
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ARTH 157 - Approaches to the Art of the Americas FC ARHU CD
4 credits
This course provides an introduction to the art of the Americas following a rough chronology from ancient through the present. Through a close analysis of each context, we will consider a range of art practices including architecture, city planning, land art, ceramics, fiber arts, printmaking, painting, and sculpture. Students will explore themes including networks of cultural exchange and migration, empire and expansion, decolonial and post-colonial methodologies, spirituality and art, nation building, modernization, and universalism.
This course is appropriate for new students.
This course is cross-listed with HISP-157
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ARTH 158 - Approaches to Islamic Art FC ARHU CD
4 credits
An introduction to the art, architecture, and material culture of the Islamic world, from its beginnings in the seventh century to present day. Our thematic approach will cover questions of interfaith exchange, race and slavery, gender and sexuality, colonialism, and contemporary museums. We will study manuscript paintings, calligraphy, mosques, palaces, pottery, lacquer, and metalwork. Class sessions include a field trip to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Field trip(s) required.
This course is appropriate for new students.
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ARTH 204 - Introduction to Book Studies FC ARHU
4 credits
This course introduces students to key approaches and concepts in the discipline of Book Studies. Book studies encompasses printed and handwritten paper objects, but also ancient clay tablets and contemporary electronic media. This interdisciplinary course lays the groundwork for students to study the social and cultural history of books as historical, aesthetic, religious, and visual artifacts in book studies courses throughout Oberlin’s curriculum. Students will have hands-on experience in the letterpress studio, art museum, college library and conservatory collections with text-and-image-objects from Europe, East Asia, Islamicate cultures, and the Americas. Field trip(s) required.
Undergraduate Research Intensive
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ARTH 210 - Medieval Art FC ARHU
4 credits
A chronological survey of medieval art emphasizing the period’s creativity and fundamental importance for the larger history of Western art. Topics covered include: the invention of Christian art and architecture, manuscript illumination, Byzantine icons and iconoclasm, Romanesque and Gothic architecture, art in monasteries, courts and cities, medieval realism, and the beginnings of secular art.
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ARTH 211 - Illuminated Manuscripts FC ARHU WINT
4 credits
From 500 to 1500, the hand-written codex operated at the heart of medieval culture. Texts, copied and recopied over hundreds of years, were important conveyors of many types of ‘knowledge’ about history, religion, science, and proper behavior, to name but a few, for which pictures served as amplification, commentary, and/or explanation. This course traces the history of medieval manuscripts and will include visits to Special Collections to view actual manuscripts.
Undergraduate Research Intensive
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ARTH 212 - Monastic Art of the Middle Ages and Renaissance FC ARHU
4 credits
Monasteries were a major venue for artistic production from the sixth to the 15th centuries. We will examine how monks, nuns, and friars used art and architecture in their religious life. We will study such works as the book of Kells, made for Irish monks, Cluniac monasteries on the pilgrimage roads, and work associated with new orders including Cistercian monasteries like Fontenay and the art of the mendicant orders of St. Francis and St. Dominic.
Prerequisites: one 100-level course in ARTH.
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ARTH 213 - Late Medieval Art FC ARHU
4 credits
The art of Northern Europe from 1300 to 1500. In addition to major artists like Pucelle, van Eyck, and Fouquet, the course will consider devotional art, the relation of realism to symbolism, the emergence of oil painting and printing, courtly and civic patronage, and the structure of artistic production.
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ARTH 214 - Synagogues, Churches, and Mosques: Sacred Art of the Medieval Mediterranean FC ARHU CD
4 credits
The art and architecture of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in the Mediterranean from the first to the 15th century. We will study religious art typologically (e.g., what roles did religious buildings play?), through important works (e.g., the Great Mosque of Cordoba), sites (e.g., Jerusalem, Damascus, Rome, and Istanbul) and media (e.g., metalwork, textiles, and manuscripts). We will emphasize art’s contribution to contact, exchange, and conflict between the three religions, with particular attention to Spain.
Prerequisites: one introductory course in ARTH or RELG.
Undergraduate Research Intensive
This course is cross-listed with JWST-326
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ARTH 215 - Saints and Relics in Medieval and Renaissance Art FC ARHU WINT
4 credits
This course studies the role art played in the Christian cult of the saints during the Middle Ages. We begin in the fourth century, when Christianity first assumes a broad public face, and finish around 1550, in the wake of the Protestant Reformation. We will study both thematic issues–the importance of relics, the promotion of pilgrimage, etc.–and the iconography of specific saints–among them Thomas Becket, Francis of Assisi, and King Louis IX. We will seek to understand the impact of the cult of the saints on medieval art, and the impact of medieval art on the cult of the saints.
Undergraduate Research Intensive
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ARTH 216 - Romanesque & Gothic Art FC ARHU
4 credits
A study of European art from c. 1000 to c. 1300, with special emphasis on church architecture and decoration. Topics to be considered include: pilgrimage, the development of Gothic architecture, and art’s varied audiences. Style will be a central theoretical concern.
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ARTH 217 - Ancient and Early Medieval Art: from Augustus to Charlemagne FC ARHU
4 credits
This course studies art’s place in the epochal change from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages. We begin in the mid-first century BCE, as Augustus assumed power, and continue through the Christianization of the Empire in the fourth century up to its consolidation under Charlemagne in the ninth. We address ancient monuments such as the Forum and the Pantheon, the invention and development of Christian iconography and architecture in dialogue with pagan and Jewish art, Byzantine icons and iconoclasm, and the earliest Islamic architecture. A particular focus will be on changing use of cities and buildings. Field trip(s) required.
Prerequisites: one 100-level ARTH course.
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ARTH 218 - From Emperor to Pope: Art, Architecture, and Urbanism in Ancient and Medieval Rome FC ARHU
4 credits
This course studies Roman art and architecture from 31 BCE, when Augustus assumed power, through its Christianization and the rise of the papacy, to 1309 and the papacy’s move to Avignon. We will address ancient monuments such as the Forum and the Pantheon, early Christian monuments such as St. Peters at the Vatican, and the art and architecture of medieval Rome. A particular focus will be the reuse of buildings and spaces over the millennium.
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ARTH 219 - Albrecht Dürer and German Renaissance Printmaking FC ARHU
4 credits
Albrecht Dürer is one of Europe’s most important early modern artists. He made key contributions to new definitions of art and artists, publishers and intellectual property, and identity and fame. This course will emphasize his work as a print maker, using the Allen’s rich collection of almost 100 examples. We will attend to their iconography, materials, and circulation. We will also place him in the context of his artistic contemporaries and competitors in Germany and Italy, and interpret his work in the context of Early Modern Europe, with particular emphasis on humanism and the Protestant Reformation. Field trip(s) required.
Prerequisites: one 100-level course in ARTH.
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ARTH 220 - Japan’s Encounter with the West: Cultural and Artistic Exchanges, 1540-1900 FC ARHU CD WINT
4 credits
Since Portuguese traders arrived in the 1540s, Japan had dynamic cultural, commercial, religious, and intellectual interactions with the West. This course explores how these intercultural exchanges shaped Japanese art and material culture throughout periods of diplomatic isolation and re-opening. How did Japan envision the West? Did curiosity or fear of the foreign contribute to artistic experiments and innovations? We will focus on analyzing visual representations of Westerners in Nanban paintings, production and consumption of export porcelains and lacquer wares, European elements in Ukiyo-e woodblock prints, and westernized architecture in the Meiji period.
Prerequisites: one 100-level course in ARTH or EAST.
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ARTH 223 - Modern Chinese Art FC ARHU CD
4 credits
An examination of artistic trends from the fall of dynastic China in 1911 to the 1990s, this course will highlight artists’ attempts to ‘modernize’ against the backdrop of Civil War, the rise of the Communist Party, and following the death of Mao. Topics will include: early art societies, academies and curriculum, woodcuts, Socialist Realist painting, propaganda posters, and such post-Mao movements as Scar art, the Stars, and ‘90s experimental art. Recommended Preparation: one 100-level course in art history or East Asian studies.
Undergraduate Research Intensive
This course is cross-listed with EAST-222
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ARTH 225 - Pleasure and Design in Confinement: Japanese Prints in and after Edo FC ARHU CD
4 credits
Colorful ukiyo-e, pictures of courtesans, kabuki actors reenacting samurai epics, and landscapes of Mt. Fuji are among the most recognizable images of Japanese art. This course explores how woodblock prints developed in the 17th to 18th centuries alongside the growth of Edo (modern Tokyo) and during a period of isolationism. We will track innovations in woodblock technology and how features of prints were creative responses of artists to constraints imposed by the ruling shogunate. We will begin with key social and cultural changes, examine select thematic topics and artists (e.g. Utamaro, Hokusai) and conclude with modern prints. Recommended Preparation: one 100-level course in art history or East Asian studies.
Undergraduate Research Intensive
This course is cross-listed with EAST-225
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ARTH 226 - Monks, Miracles, and Magic: Buddhist Art in East Asia FC ARHU CD
4 credits
This course explores Buddhist art in China and Japan. Focusing on archaeological sites and monuments, we will explore tenets of the religion and how devotional faith inspired the production of various artistic forms: painted or carved cave-temples, sculptural tableaux and monasteries, as well as portable sutras, paintings, and other artifacts. Key issues include text-image relationships and how Buddhism intersects with interests of imperial patronage and politics.
Prerequisites: one 100-level course in ARTH.
Undergraduate Research Intensive
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ARTH 227 - Topics in East Asian Art: Monuments in a Comparative Perspective FC ARHU CD
4 credits
An examination of personal, religious, and political monuments in ancient-modern Japan and China, this course explores diverse approaches in the construction of monuments and memorials. Do monuments help us remember the past, allow us to generate new memories, or both? We will focus on the overall artistic design of sites, including material, iconography, and space, and examine how features have been reshaped or generated controversies. Topics may include the Ise Shrine, Todaiji, Peace Memorial Park, Nanjing Massacre Museum, and Tian’anmen Square. Recommended Preparation: background in East Asia or art history.
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ARTH 230 - Women in Chinese Art: Patrons, Artists, and Craftswomen FC ARHU CD
4 credits
This course examines female agency and gendered expression in Chinese art and visual and material culture, spanning from the Song dynasty (960-1279) to the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). By focusing on case studies from recent scholarship, we will explore how women in China sponsored and produced architectural projects, religious sculptures, paintings and calligraphy, embroidery, and inkstones. Topics may include image-making and self-fashioning of imperial women in power, such as Empress Dowager Cixi, gendered body and fashion of Buddhist women, literati women’s education and networking, and artistic and social practices of craftswomen.
Prerequisites: one 100-level course in ARTH.
This course is cross-listed with EAST-230
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ARTH 237 - Palestinian Art and Visual Culture FC ARHU CD
4 credits
This course examines Palestinian art and visual culture from 1948 to the present. Approaching our material thematically, we will study how visual artists and filmmakers living in historic Palestine and its diasporas have addressed identity, exile, communal resiliency, and resistance for the last 75 years. We will utilize postcolonial frameworks to historically ground our analysis of the past as well as to consider potential futures. Film screenings and class trips required.
Prerequisites: A 100-level art history course or the permission of the instructor.
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ARTH 238 - Modern & Contemporary Islamic Art FC ARHU CD WINT
4 credits
Addressing a broad selection of artistic forms and thematic issues, this course aims to critically assess the visual output of the Islamic world and its diaspora. We will study modern and contemporary artists from around the globe whose work addresses issues of iconoclasm, gender and sexuality, racialization, climate change, Anthropocene extinction, and the use of the image in revolution and war. Field trip(s) required.
Prerequisites: one 100-level course in ARTH.
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ARTH 252 - Collectives and Collaboration in Modern and Contemporary Art FC ARHU CD
4 credits
This course traces the importance of creative collaboration and spaces of collective art practice in the 20th and 21st centuries. Taking a global approach, we will study how collaboration enabled experiments in materials, style, and audience with attention to the significance of collective work for artists marginalized from the dominant art world whether because of geography or gendered, racial, ethnic, and sexual identities. Drawing extensively from primary sources, students will consider topics including group versus individual voice, art and identity formation, alternative modes of display, audience, and institutionalization. Field trip(s) required. Recommended Preparation: one 100-level course in art history.
Undergraduate Research Intensive
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ARTH 253 - Latinx Art: Past and Futures FC ARHU CD WINT
4 credits
In the past 30 years, Latinx art has emerged as a distinct field of study within art history, absorbing a diverse group of artists working across styles into one category. This survey pairs an overview of Latinx art from 1945 through the present with the theories and arguments that serve as the foundation for the field. Guiding questions are: What are the possibilities and limitations of Latinx art? What role does aesthetics play? What is the future of the field? In particular, we will explore the role of Queer, Black, Indigenous, and feminist histories in the development of Latinx art. Field trip(s) required. Recommended Preparation: one 100-level course in art history.
Undergraduate Research Intensive
This course is cross-listed with HISP-253
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ARTH 254 - The Arts of Latin America in the 20th and 21st Centuries FC ARHU CD
4 credits
This course examines artistic interventions in the Americas between the early 20th century and the present. Taking a thematic approach, this course will consider how artists of the Americas positioned their practice in relationship to local cultural and political struggles (including revolutions, dictatorships, and modernization) as well as dominant international art trends. This course will also introduce students to key critics and scholars that ask, “What is Latin American art and why is it a distinct field?” Field trip(s) required.
Undergraduate Research Intensive
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ARTH 255 - Histories of Performance: From Live Art to New Media FC ARHU WINT
4 credits
Performance art, body art, and live art are terms used to describe visual artists that center embodiment and duration to their practices. Borrowing from other art forms such as ritual, music, theater, and dance, performance art troubles vision-oriented object-centered Art Histories. This course traces the ways artists from around the world have turned to performance to interrogate their own bodies, the sites where actions take place, audience relationships, identity formation, and everyday life. We will look at a range of issues and practices such as: performances through photography, film and video art, street actions, performance recreations, and performance documentation. Field trip(s) required. Recommended Preparation: one 100-level course in art history.
Undergraduate Research Intensive
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ARTH 266 - Little Histories of Photography, 1800-1980 FC ARHU
4 credits
This survey examines technologies, practices, and theories of photography from the turn of the nineteenth-century-with the first successful experiments on photosensitive paper-to the late twentieth, with the coterminous developments of digital photography and “postmodernism.” The sites of photographic production expanded rapidly across this period (from Europe to the rest of the world), as did the medium’s applications (from portraiture and scientific illustration to journalism and surveillance). To grasp the breadth of photography’s global archives, our class will be oriented around exemplary case studies-or “little” histories of photography, in the words of the German critic Walter Benjamin.
Prerequisites: one 100-level course in ARTH.
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ARTH 267 - The Avant-Garde: Art, Music, and Art-Music, 1950-1980 FC ARHU
4 credits
This course examines social, technical, and discursive connections between fine art and music in mid-twentieth-century Europe, North America, and Japan. In these years, visual artists turned their attention to avant-garde music, while composers figured music in visual and conceptual terms familiar to modernist art. Looking at and listening to examples of their often interdisciplinary work, we will examine the changing relationships between once-distinct forms. What does it mean to say that a painter “improvises”? How is minimalist music like (and unlike) minimalist sculpture? What are the grounds of such comparisons, and what are the risks of making them?
Prerequisites: one 100-level course in ARTH.
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ARTH 270 - Africa, Europe, and the Art of Colonization FC ARHU CD WINT
4 credits
Focusing on the relationship between African art and colonialism since the 19th century, this course serves as an introduction to the role of colonial and postcolonial theory in art history. Case studies will investigate the active, multifaceted role visual media played in European colonization efforts on the continent, as well as African responses to colonial visual culture. Using critical readings of key texts and images as the basis for course projects, students will be encouraged to develop their own definitions of ‘colonialism’ and to speculate on the possibility of a ‘de-colonized’ art history discipline.
Prerequisites: one 100-level course in AAST or ARTH.
Undergraduate Research Intensive
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ARTH 271 - Looking for Africa in Brazil FC ARHU CD WINT
4 credits
This course traces the creation and evolution of some major artistic strategies developed and inspired by five million Africans and their descendants who found themselves in Brazil following the transatlantic slave trade. Our focus will be on analyzing the role of visual culture in defining Brazil’s relationship to Africa and the memory of slavery, and in using artworks to think with theories of cultural development in the African diaspora.
Prerequisites: one 100-Level course in AAST or ARTH.
Undergraduate Research Intensive
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ARTH 272 - Sacred Arts of Vodou and Santería FC ARHU CD WINT
4 credits
This course provides frameworks for both describing and analyzing some of the religious arts developed and inspired by Africans and their descendants in the Caribbean and its diasporas. Our focus will be on articulating how lived religious practices associated with terms like ‘Santería’ and ‘Vodou’ embody the contradictions and complexities of culture, race, sexuality, nationhood, and community in Cuba, Haiti, and their U.S.-based diasporas. Specific case studies will include communal altars, religious goods stores, popular media, and sacred rituals. Field trip(s) required.
Prerequisites: one 100-level course in AAST or ARTH.
Undergraduate Research Intensive
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ARTH 273 - Art and Empire in Africa, 1000-1700 FC ARHU CD
4 credits
This course will explore arts associated with the rise of African empires prior to the intensification of the trans-Atlantic slave trade in the 18th century, with case studies focusing on Mali, Ethiopia, the Swahili Coast, Zimbabwe, Kongo, and Benin. Analyzing a broad range of visual culture - including architecture, statuary, prestige and trade goods, and ritual objects - as well as surviving primary sources, students will consider how visual culture exposes and reifies issues of class hierarchy, religious conversion, and political power in indigenous African contexts. Field trip(s) required.
Prerequisites: one 100-level course in AAST or ARTH.
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ARTH 290 - Gender and the Visual Arts in Europe and Colonial Latin America, 1450-1650 FC ARHU WINT
4 credits
This course examines understandings of gender in early modern Europe and Latin America through the lens of art and material culture. We will consider not only how cultural conventions of gender limited experiences, but also how marginalized voices challenged conventions. We will explore how gender affected the artistic production of women artists such as Artemisia Gentileschi and Sofonisba Anguissola. We will also consider how women commissioned and collected works of art to construct an identity, as well as discuss how attitudes towards masculinity were shaped through the visual arts and bodily adornment. Field trip(s) required. Recommended Preparation: one 100-level course in art history or GSFS.
This course is cross-listed with GSFS-340
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ARTH 291 - Baroque Art FC ARHU WINT
4 credits
This course will examine major developments in European art of the Baroque, from c. 1590-1700, a period of explosive creativity in the visual arts. Topics will include: art in response to the Counter-Reformation, the court artist, Baroque women artists, the painter-philosopher, the lure of antiquity, and meaning in Dutch genre painting. We will consider artists such as Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi, Vermeer, Rubens, Rembrandt, and Velasquez. Field trip(s) required. Recommended Preparation: one 100-level course in art history.
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ARTH 292 - Art of the Italian Renaissance FC ARHU WINT
4 credits
This class will explore a range of alternative approaches to Italian Renaissance art and examine works by some of the most famous artists of the Western tradition, including Giotto, Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Titian. Topics to be explored include: the significance of naturalism; the revival of antiquity; the rise of the cultivated patron; miraculous images and civic life; art and politics; and portraiture and gender.
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ARTH 293 - Art and Politics in 16th-Century Italy FC ARHU WINT
4 credits
This course will focus on painting, sculpture, and architecture produced in Italy during the 16th century. While taking account of the contribution of individuals such as Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian, and the woman artist Sofonisba Anguissola, we will also consider the art of this period within the broader context of political, social, and scientific developments. We will conclude with an examination of the art of the next generation, the style known today as Mannerism.
Undergraduate Research Intensive
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ARTH 294 - The Arts of Conquest and Resistance in 16th and 17th century Europe and Latin America FC ARHU CD WINT
4 credits
In 1492 Columbus landed on Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic) and soon after Cuba. By the early 16th century, Europeans had colonized much of the Americas, wiping out vast numbers of indigenous people through disease and violence. Alongside this history of decimation exists one of resistance. We will investigate how Europeans used visual and spatial strategies to exercise domination, and how people of indigenous, African, and mixed-race heritage resisted these efforts by refashioning art and architecture designed to control them. We will consider a range of media, including images of shimmering feathers, processional sculptures, and urban design. Field trip(s) required.
Undergraduate Research Intensive
This course is cross-listed with HISP-294
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ARTH 295 - Ingenious Making in the Early Modern World FC ARHU CD
4 credits
This course will explore what it meant to make things and work with materials, including featherwork, imitation gems, color making, and metal casting, in Europe and colonial Latin America between c. 1350-1650. We will follow historical descriptions and recipes to reconstruct methods of making and learn from expert practitioners, including indigenous makers. We will consider how a wide range of practitioners developed hands-on knowledge in workshops, laboratories, marketplaces, gardens, etc., and we will explore how making was and is a form of knowledge, how there are different systems of knowledge, and the intersections between art making and science. Field trip(s) required. Recommended Preparation: one 100-level course in art history.
This course is appropriate for new students.
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ARTH 299 - Methods of Art History FC ARHU WADV
4 credits
This course examines the historical development and current practice and theory of art history. Based on close reading of key texts, we consider such topics as: iconography/iconology, semiotics, formalism, psychoanalysis, Marxism, feminism, hybridity, Critical Race Studies, and Disability Studies. Intended primarily for art history majors who should take it in their sophomore or junior year.
Prerequisites: one 100-level course in ARTH.
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ARTH 310 - Word and Image in Medieval Art FC ARHU WADV
4 credits
The relationship of word and image is central to art history, which paradoxically uses words to address images. Medieval art provides a useful arena in which to scrutinize this relationship, as the church equated word and image by defining pictures as the “Bible for the illiterate.” What does this imply? Can it be true? What are the art historical consequences if images cannot be reduced to words? Topics considered include narrative, icons, and ekphrasis.
Undergraduate Research Intensive
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ARTH 311 - Art History Without a License FC ARHU
4 credits
Art history is a modern discipline that did not exist in the ancient or medieval West. Despite the discipline’s absence, ancient and medieval people were passionate about old objects and buildings, asking questions we recognize as art historical: Who made that? How? What does it mean? We will study why people asked these questions and how they answered them. Our coverage will range from c. 0-1500, include major sites in Europe and the Mediterranean (i.e., Rome and Jerusalem), and consider Jewish, Christian, and Muslim audiences. Careful and creative attention to primary sources will be emphasized. Field trip(s) required.
Prerequisites: ARTH 299.
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ARTH 312 - Art at the Valois Courts FC ARHU
4 credits
As a new dynasty, the Valois turned to art and architecture to legitimate their rule, and their patronage drove artistic production in late medieval France. This class will study such important patrons as King Charles V and his brothers the Dukes of Berry, Burgundy, and Anjou, together with the famous artists they employed, including the Limbourg Brothers, Jean Bondol, and Claus Sluter. Monuments in Paris, Dijon, Bourges, and Angers will be studied.
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ARTH 313 - Illuminated Manuscripts in Oberlin Collections FC ARHU
4 credits
This class will begin to catalog Oberlin’s significant collection of medieval and Renaissance miniatures. After learning fundamental skills in researching and describing manuscripts, students will be assigned one or more works to research. As most of the works are fragments from larger wholes, we will be particularly concerned with finding related material.
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ARTH 315 - Medieval Treasuries FC ARHU
4 credits
Treasuries were the main venue for collecting objects during the Middle Ages. Established by churches or individuals, treasuries could hold relics, reliquaries, antiquities, gems, metalwork, books, and natural rarities. Incorporating objects old and new, near and far, they were a meeting ground for diverse materials, like the crystal vase that traveled from Cairo through Muslim Spain to Paris. Treasuries thus offer fertile ground for studying how people made, adapted, understood, and (sometimes) destroyed objects. Embracing Europe and the Mediterranean, we will consider Christian, Jewish, and Muslim treasuries, and study the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection. Field trip(s) required. Recommended Preparation: one intermediate (200-level, formerly 300-level) course in art history.
Undergraduate Research Intensive
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ARTH 316 - Research and Writing Workshop FC ARHU WADV
4 credits
This seminar will deepen skills in art historical research, writing, and presentation. Students should bring a substantive paper (2500-3000 word) written for a previous course that they wish to pursue and perfect. Sharing the papers, students will offer and receive feedback in order to advance their research and writing. We will analyze how art historical argument deploys varied forms of evidence, including visual analysis, primary sources, historical context, and theory. We will also develop oral presentation skills. Students will complete the class with a polished research paper suitable as a writing sample, and a talk appropriate for conference presentation. Recommended preparation: ARTH 299 strongly encouraged.
Prerequisites: At least one 200-level class in art history.
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ARTH 326 - Death and Dying in East Asian Art FC ARHU CD WADV
4 credits
The concept of death and one’s post-mortem fate has traditionally elicited an array of human responses, often an amalgam of fear and fascination. This seminar considers art and practices inspired by these concerns: preparations for graves, ritual treatment/transformation of the body, representations of otherworldly realms, and modern modes of commemoration. We consider themes of the soul, Buddhist judgment and rebirth, ritual sacrifice, and suicide to understand how preparations for or representations of death assuage fears of death.
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ARTH 327 - Image/Object: Material and Mediation in Chinese Art FC ARHU CD WADV
4 credits
This seminar explores Chinese art from three perspectives: material, technology, and circulation. Following a rough chronology, we will look at material properties (e.g., bronze, clay) and consider how artisans and artists exploited a medium’s inherent character and technological potential to achieve a desired appearance, and how material choices conveyed attitudes towards the dead or to the past. We will also consider attitudes towards antiquities and the circulation of objects as commodities.
Prerequisites: one 200-level course in ARTH.
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ARTH 328 - New Ghosts Old Dreams: The Art of Post-Imperial China FC ARHU
4 credits
During the 20th century, China struggled frequently with internal and external forces in its attempt to reconcile its political authority and its position in the post-imperial world. This seminar considers the various phases in which China refashioned its artistic identity in light of compelling social forces. Underlying themes include the lingering burden of traditional China and the dilemma of Westernization. Both official trends and unofficial counter-currents will be explored as responses to the confrontation of the West.
Prerequisites: one 200-level course in ARTH.
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ARTH 329 - Cultural Property? Art, Heritage, Ownership FC ARHU CD WADV
4 credits
This course considers the issues and stakes that underlie antiquities and their export to disparate contexts to explore the larger question: who owns the past? We will examine positions on ‘cultural property’ from the perspective of archaeologists, art historians, collectors and museums, and explore issues of nationalism and national heritage, (illicit) trade and forgery, the preservation of world monuments, and recent legal cases. Students will research case studies and argue positions in the debate. Field trip(s) required.
Prerequisites: one 200-level course in ARTH.
Undergraduate Research Intensive
This course is cross-listed with EAST-329
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ARTH 334 - Ecocritical Approach to Chinese Art FC ARHU CD
4 credits
Ecocriticism provides a critical and interdisciplinary approach to examining interconnection between human beings and the environment. The course will focus on how we use this approach to analyze ecological aspects of Chinese art, which have recently begun to be highlighted. How does an ecocritical methodology make us critical of anthropocentric conceptions embedded in artworks? How “interdisciplinary” is it? What are advantages of using it to interpret artistic expressions of ecological thinking and environmental concerns? Specific topics will include zoomorphic representations, environmental history of Buddhist caves, and artistic responses to the impact of the Little Ice Age.
Prerequisites: one 200-level course in ARTH.
This course is cross-listed with EAST-334
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ARTH 337 - Arts of the Islamic Sensorium FC ARHU CD WADV
4 credits
Sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. How are the senses embodied in Islamic visual culture? How might art history, a discipline often critiqued for privileging vision at the expense of other senses, reshape the so-called “sensory turn” in Islamic Studies? Using object-based and site-specific case studies, students will explore the Islamic sensory apparatus, or sensorium, through the prism of art and architecture from across the Islamic world. Topics include the Quran and mosque complex, palace architecture and gardens, the accoutrement of court ceremonial, culinary traditions and dining culture, wondrous mechanical devices, pleasures and erotica, and death and the afterlife. Field trip(s) required.
Prerequisites: one 200-level course in ARTH.
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ARTH 352 - The Pleasures of Disgust in Contemporary Art FC ARHU CD WADV
4 credits
Disgust is a powerful tool used to repel, push away, and create distance from objects, actions, and living things deemed undesirable. This seminar explores the wide range of ways artists since the 1960s have harnessed the possibilities of disgust in art. Students will conduct close readings of theories of disgust and related concepts such as abjection and desire, questioning who and what receives these labels. We will analyze a range of contemporary art practice to consider both how art can transform what is disgusting, and how the label of disgusting is used to dismiss artists or art forms. Field trip(s) required. Recommended Preparation: one intermediate (200-level, formerly 300-level) course in art history.
Undergraduate Research Intensive
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