ART

Subject

ART

Type

alias

Source

www.davidson.edu

Instructor Staff An introduction to building skills, techniques and critical awareness across a variety of drawing media. Students will sharpen their awareness of the intimate links between observation and creative expression in the context of contemporary art practices. Topics include figure, still life, landscape, narrative and abstraction. No prior experience is required. (Formerly ART 201 - Basic Drawing) Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement. Prerequisites & Notes (Fall)

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Zhang This course is one of the two survey courses on Asian art exploring the arts in China, Japan, Korea, and India as main focal points. Asian Art Before 1000 covers the temporal scope between the Neolithic time and 1000 CE. The class follows an approximate chronological order with a weekly theme that addresses art history questions ranging from funerary art and the afterlife to gender and transcultural perspectives. Compared to the other survey course, Asian Art After 1000, Asian Art Before 1000 prominently features three-dimensional works of art, including cast bronze vessels, stone carvings, and sculptures. Methodologically, this course offers more opportunities to explore the intersections between art history, archaeology, and material culture studies. Satisfies Art History Major and Minor requirement. Fulfills Art History requirement of 1. The cultural sphere of Asia; 2. Pre-1800. Satisfies East Asian Studies major and minor requirement. Satisfies South Asian Studies minor requirement Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement. Satisfies the Cultural Diversity requirement.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor St Clair This painting course is designed for beginners interested in building a range of skills from traditional principles of oil paint to experimental techniques across a variety of painting media. Students will develop a respect and attention for the complexity of color, variety of texture, diversity of application and brush work needed for a successful composition. The goal of this course is not to make perfect paintings, but to build an understanding of paint and process in the context of contemporary art practices. (Formerly ART 203 - Basic Painting) Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement. Prerequisites & Notes (Fall)

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Zhang This course is one of the two survey courses on Asian art. In this course, we will explore the arts of Asia with China, Japan, Korea, and India as main focal points. This survey of Asian art covers the temporal scope from 1000 C.E. to the present. The class follows an approximate chronological order with a weekly theme that addresses art history questions such as transculturality, gender, and modernity. Satisfies Art major and minor requirement in Art History. Counts as an elective in the East Asian Studies major and minor. Counts as an elective in the Chinese Studies minor. Satisfies South Asian Studies minor requirement. Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement. Satisfies the Cultural Diversity requirement.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Starr An introduction to contemporary studio art practices through hands-on experimentation with print media. Projects explore the unique opportunities and peculiarities of printmaking techniques including digital printing, etching and photogravure. This course includes a community engagement workshop utilizing skills acquired in the course to collaborate with underrepresented artists from local organizations. No prior art experience is required. (Formerly ART 215 - Introduction to Print Media) Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement. Prerequisites & Notes (Fall)

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor J. Corso-Esquivel This course considers the ways that the cataclysmic meeting of Indigenous, European, African, and Asian cultures in the area now called Latin America affected art, architecture, and visual culture. From a brutal invasion by conquistadors to an established network of conventos and viceroyalties, art and architecture were instrumental in converting the Indigenous populations to Christianity and establishing colonial control. As the colonies won their independence, art again played a political role in envisioning new patriotic narratives in fledgling nations. Finally, as Latin American countries modernized, their art, architecture, and visual culture proclaimed the region’s technological and artistic advancement to the world. This course addresses colonial, independence, post-independence, and modern art in Latin America. It pursues an art history characterized by syncretism, hybridity, resistance, and innovation by the diverse peoples of Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking Latin America. Course assessment is based primarily on biweekly quizzes and Problem-Based Learning media projects. An Art History course for the Art major and minor. Satisfies Latin American Studies minor requirement. Satisfies Visual and Performing Arts requirement. Satisfies Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Starr In this course we will utilize printmaking processes to explore the fundamentals of drawing. A mixed media approach to constructing images from paper will be studied through assignments that stress a hybrid of innovative printmaking and direct-drawing techniques. Projects will introduce a no-holds-barred approach to developing artwork by taking advantage of numerous technologies including digital photography, medieval woodcuts and screen printing. No prior art experience is required. (Formerly ART 217 - Works on Paper) Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement. Prerequisites & Notes (Fall)

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Halsted This course introduces students to Islamic art and architecture with a particular focus on the cultures of the Mediterranean and Near East from the Umayyad Caliphate (661-750 CE) to the end of the fifteenth century. Students will gain familiarity with a range of media and techniques of artistic production, from architecture to portable arts including metalwork, ceramics, painting, and calligraphy. This course will engage with the diverse artistic traditions of North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily, Turkey, and the Levant. Throughout the semester we will investigate the arts of the Islamic cultures of the Mediterranean and Near East through recurring themes of cross-cultural encounter, ethnic and religious identity, gender, and social stratification. Satisfies Art major and requirement. Satiafies Arab Studies major and minor requirement. Satisfies Visual and Performing Arts requirement.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Cornejo A hands-on introduction to the fundamentals of contemporary mixed media sculpture through woodworking, welding, mold-making, bronze casting and 3D printing. No prior experience is required or expected. Cultivate awareness through making, reading and discussing the unique roles sculpture plays in the broader social world. Become a more thoughtful, accountable and empathetic human being by exploring your interiority, your biases, your cultural preconceptions and the collective limits of your personal philosophy through working with your hands and the unique way of knowing that is sculpture. You will get dirty. Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement. Prerequisites & Notes (Fall)

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructors Dietrick An introduction to digital art’s history and production. Using sketches and found imagery, students will use Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Premiere and After Effects to create 2D and 4D art. Through readings, online learning tools, in-class exercises, discussions and critiques, students learn the conceptual, formal and technical skills to produce memorable artworks that critically engage contemporary culture. (Formerly ART 211 - Introduction to Digital Art) Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement. Satisfies major requirements for Studio Art and Film, Media, and Digital Studies. Prerequisites & Notes (Fall and Spring)

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Staff How do you create a visual arts culture in America? Whose America is it? What kinds of contributions and encounters does it include from Native Americans to the Digital Age? What did the so-called Founding Fathers think about the role of art in the new nation? How does it shape and is shaped by nationhood? How does it relate to Europe? How does it relate to a global world? This course, open to first-year students and to all students, without any prerequisite, will delve into these questions just at the moment when the visual cultures of nationhood are being challenged and reshaped by international forces such as populism, global migration, and changing borders . (Formerly ART 124 - American Art) Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement. Prerequisites & Notes (Fall)

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Staff Major developments in western architecture that occurred from Stonehenge to the present. (Formerly ART 226 Survey of Western Architecture) Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement. Prerequisites & Notes (Fall)

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Staff The world history of garden design as a manifestation of humanity’s ever-changing relationship with the natural world. Important gardens and their creators will be studied in light of the theology, politics, architecture, painting, theatre and stage design, poetry, and philosophy that shaped them. (Formerly Art 230 - Earth Art-From Lascaux to Lutyens) Satisfies depth and breadth course requirement in the Humanities track of the Environmental Studies major or interdisciplinary minor. Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement. Prerequisites & Notes (Spring)

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Corso-Esquivel Art inspires the feeling of wonder. Through the imagination of artists, we can glimpse the awesome, the impossible, and the terrific. However, since artists are of this world, their work draws from historical and earthbound experiences, and the fantasies in art tell us about that moment’s natural, material, and social conditions. This course introduces Western art that engages the visionary and the fantastical. The class presents an alternative to the traditional survey: it loosely follows the chronology of art from the Early Modern or Renaissance period to today but remains organized around themes and high-impact activities rather than encyclopedic lectures. Though all are welcome, first-years and sophomores are especially encouraged to enroll since this course teaches skills to help you transition to advanced undergraduate coursework. We will develop academic reading and writing skills in various formats, from a digital story to a scholarly research paper, broken down into discrete steps with ample opportunity to receive feedback, grow, and develop your critical thinking and intellectual identity. We will also play a live role-playing game called Reacting to the Past, in which we take on actual historical figures to debate, curate a virtual exhibition, and follow the art historical transition from traditional and neoclassical paintings to the dreamlike images of Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and Symbolism. On the one hand, our discussions will build awareness of the tragic consequences of fantasy like colonialism, systemic oppression, and environmental extraction. On the other hand, we will balance criticism with generative and hopeful imaginaries like speculative futures, critical fabulation, and world-building to actualize a more just, equitable, and inclusive society. Satisfies Art major and minor requirements Satisfies Visual and Performing Arts requirement.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Halsted This course serves as an introduction to Islamic visual culture through the lens of art, architecture and material culture commissioned exclusively by female patrons. Students will explore the role of women as patrons and connoisseurs of art through a series of case studies. We will begin with the earliest influential women in Islam, the Prophet Muhammad’s wives Khadija and Aisha and his daughter Fatima, who themselves drove the transmission of religious knowledge as well as played a major role in the early development of Islamic religious spaces. After exploring the emergence of Islam in the seventh century, we will analyze medieval artifacts and architecture from the Iberian Peninsula, Syria, Egypt, and Morocco, revealing how elite women used patronage to express aesthetic preferences, forge strategic alliances, and assert influence. These include funerary monuments, carved ivories, and religious endowments that demonstrate the intersection of power, piety, and artistic production. Finally, we will explore the early modern empires of the Ottomans, Mughals, and Safavids, and consider some of the most elaborate and architecturally significant buildings produced in Turkey, India, and Iran for royal women who wielded unprecedented political power. Considering these examples of female patronage in Islamic societies can help us to trace the agency of women within historical and cultural frameworks, and reframe the existing canon of Islamic art, which for decades has privileged the contributions of male rulers and reinforced the misconception that women lacked agency in Islamic societies. In encouraging students to critique the traditional canon of Islamic art and reevaluate the role of women’s contributions, this course will include discussions and readings pertaining to feminist art history, postcolonial analysis, and intersectionality. Through individual research projects, students will select their own case studies to investigate while honing their skills in critical thinking, research, and scholarly writing. Satisfies Art History major and minor requirement. Satisfies Arab Studies major and minor requirement. Satisfies Gender and Sexuality Studies major and minor requirement. Satisfies South Asian Studies minor requirement. Satisfies Visual and Performing Arts Ways of Knowing requirement. Satisfies Cultural Diversity.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Subject

ART

Type

alias

Source

www.davidson.edu

Instructor St Clair A continuation of concepts and skills introduced in Basic Drawing. Designed to strengthen skills in drawing technique and process through the development of individual projects. Includes discussions of advanced topics in contemporary art theory and practice. (Formerly ART 301 - Advanced Drawing) Prerequisites & Notes Art 101 (Spring)

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor St Clair This course is designed to strengthen technique in a chosen medium and to develop personal projects. A wide interpretation of painting is applied. Includes discussion of advanced topics in contemporary art theory and practices. (Formerly ART 303 - Advanced Painting) Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement. Prerequisites & Notes ART 103 (Spring)

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Hundley In this course students will learn about the architectural and artistic innovations of Gothic cathedral artisans. Masons, sculptors, glaziers, woodworkers, embroiderers, and other craftspeople created inspiring settings for liturgy, pilgrimage, and daily life. The course examines the structural triumphs, artistic methods, and religious purposes behind key elements of Gothic cathedral architecture and associated arts from the twelfth to sixteenth centuries. Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Starr In this course individualized projects will be developed that explore mixed media applications of printmaking processes. Students will build on printmaking skills already attained and new techniques will be introduced. Both traditional and unconventional approaches to print media will be encouraged. The course will culminate with a series of interrelated works created by each student. Prerequisites & Notes ART 105, 107, 207, 331, or 344 Students who took this course in the Spring of 2020 will be allowed to repeat this course for credit.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Staff A survey of Christian art in the Middle Ages including art and architecture from the Early Christian catacombs in Rome to the earliest illustrated Bibles, Byzantine mosaics, and the Gothic cathedrals in France. Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement. Prerequisites & Notes (Spring)

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Savage Sculptural concepts with attention to complex processes such as large-scale fabrication and bronze casting. Individual development of particular media chosen by the student. (Formerly ART 309 - Advanced Sculpture) Prerequisites & Notes ART 109 (Spring)

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Staff Painting, sculpture, and architecture in Italy from 1300 to approximately 1570. Works by artists such as Giotto, Donatello, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and the writers who were their contemporaries: Alberti and Vasari. Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement. Prerequisites & Notes (Spring)

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Dietrick ART 211 is an advanced digital art studio course with a focus on interactive and narrative forms of digital art, 3D printing, projection mapping, performance, and installation. Students will conceive of project concepts independently or collaboratively. Readings and presentations discuss current trends in digital culture and key works by digital artists. (Formerly ART 311 - Advanced Digital Art) Prerequisites & Notes Art 111

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Staff Painting, sculpture, and architecture in Catholic-Reformation Italy and the Golden Age of Protestant Holland. Artists including Caravaggio, Rubens, and Rembrandt, as well as issues such as how the differing demands of a Catholic culture and a Protestant economy affected the art of the period. Satisfies Visual and Performing Arts requirement.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Staff Once thought of as only a transitional period between the great art of the Counter-Reformation of the 17 th century and the dynamic modernization of the better known art of the 19 th century, recent scholarship has shown how the art of the 18 th century speaks to a changing world in terms of gender, class, travel, and leisure with the rise of secular rationalism and a new idea, “Might it be that things are not what they might seem to be?” These changes seem to be reflected in our current concerns which deal with the challenges of equally virtual realities. Beneath the frills of paint and flirtations of fashionable young people, lie the very serious dreams of autonomy, collective identity and freedom. Can the painting of the personal freedom have anything to do with political liberty? The answer just might be found in this course. (Formerly ART 214 - Eighteenth-Century Art) Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Staff The hundred year period from 1790 to 1890 witnessed the greatest series of revolutions in painting in the entire history of Western art. When these hundred years began art was produced for the sake of the Church or the King; when these hundred years ended art was being produced for the sake of art. This remarkable revolution took place though a series of clearly definable mini revolutions or “isms.” Neo-classicism was revolted against by Romanticism; Romanticism was revolted against by Realism; Realism was revolted against by Impressionism; Impressionism was revolted against by Symbolism; and Symbolism was revolted against by Expressionism. In order to trace the emergence and development of the above revolutions, we will be studying the work of leading nineteenth-century artists from France, England, Germany and Spain in light of the political, theological, philosophical, psychological and art historical influences that shaped their work. (Formerly ART 216 - Nineteenth-Century Painting) Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement. Prerequisites & Notes Final course offering.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Corso-Esquivel From its beginnings in the 19th century to its deconstruction in the 20th, modernism instigated a series of seductive, often totalizing narratives about the role of aesthetics, progress, and power in the industrializing world. Those “Grand Narratives,” as philosopher JF Lyotard called them, allowed Euro-American art historians and artists to afford themselves central positions within an exclusive canon of modern art history. In Europe and later North America, avant-garde challenges to earlier styles and bourgeois aesthetics formed a dominant motif in these art historical narratives. Artists created ways of visualizing the world that reflected scientific and political revolutions-from Symbolism and the birth of Freud’s psychoanalysis to Abstract Expressionism and American Exceptionalism after WWII. We will explore how these modern revolutions unfurled and consider critiques that developed after modernism to question colonialism, empire, and exoticism. We will trace how images played central roles in ideological battles that led to both world wars. We will look at how governments in the postwar era deployed artistic programs to solidify soft power both at home and internationally. Finally, we will end with Neo-Dada and Pop Art, which proved to be harbingers of modernism’s successor: the plural voices of postmodernism. This course format features active lecturing, weekly discussions, and writing workshops. Assessment is based primarily on critical essays seen through several stages of revision. Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Hundley In this course students will analyze the structural innovations, stylistic trends, and design philosophies behind architectural movements throughout the twentieth century. The course will consider the contributions of well-known modernists and their often-overlooked peers and collaborators, both in the U.S. and around the world. Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Staff As a survey of gender in art, this course’s first half examines how women have been represented in Western art and what that implies about the balance of power between the genders over the centuries. The second half of the course deals with the gradual growth of art made by women, the issues addressed by that art, and its reception in American culture of the past century. Satisfies Visual and Performing Arts requirement. Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Staff What is French Impressionism and why do we all seem to love it so? What was once derisively called “mere impressions” of “ugliness” is, almost a century and a half later, arguably the most popular art of our time. The works by Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Auguste Renoir, Frédéric Bazille, Berthe Morisot, Gustave Caillebotte, Camille Pissarro, Alfred Sisley, Mary Cassatt, and many others known as “The Independents,” were shown in eight exhibitions from 1874 to 1886. This seminar will examine the beginnings, techniques, historical context, critiques, and legacies of these artists who are now considered as having executed some of the most beautiful paintings ever made. Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Staff This course will provide students with a detailed introduction to drawing, painting, sculpture, and architecture of the later Italian Renaissance between 1500 and 1600. It will examine artworks and architecture within the cultural context of the 15th-century Italian city-states. It will explore how increasing contact with non-Western lands influenced artistic developments on the Italic peninsula and examine female patronage and collecting practices in the early 16th century. This course will be looking at the Renaissance from a global perspective. Major artists: Leonardo da Vinci, Giorgione, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian. Major works: The Last Supper, the paintings in the Sistine Chapel, and the Vatican Stanze. Satisfies Art History major and minor requirement. Satisfies Studio Art major and minor requirement. Satisfies Visual and Performing Arts requirement.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Y. Zhang This course explores the art and cultural history along the expansive networks across Central Asia and East Asia from the turn of the common era to the tenth century. Case studies in the course cover vast geographical regions and reflect various media, including the hoard of Begram in Afghanistan, the murals of Panjakent in Tajikistan, the Mogao Caves in northwestern China, and the imperial treasury of Shōsō-in in Japan. We will investigate the complexity of cross-cultural exchange and the pluralism of identity by taking an interdisciplinary approach to diverse primary evidence, ranging from art and architecture, to ancient letters and travel accounts. Counts as an elective in the East Asian Studies major and minor. Satifies South Asian Studies minor requirement. Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement Satisfies the Cultural Diversity requirement

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Corso-Esquivel By its very name, postmodernism claims to be modernism’s successor, but some are not so sure. Is postmodernism, theorists like Jürgen Habermas ask, actually modernism by another name? In this course, we will take a tour of the important ideas that influenced European, American, and international artists since 1960. Most of these ideas fall into varying themes challenging modernism, a term that arguably coincides with high and late capitalism. We will interrogate this word in the context of “postmodern” responses to modernism and modernity. We begin in 1960 during major civil rights and feminist movements in the US. We look at identity politics, the politics of representation, post-structural upheavals, and postcolonial critiques. The course will repeatedly problematize the concept of postmodernism and other theoretical approaches to art in the information age. We will end with questions about where the art world is headed, including discussions of globalization, the metamodern, and social justice. This course format features active lecturing, weekly discussions, and writing workshops. Assessment is based primarily on critical essays seen through several stages of revision. Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Halsted Pilgrimage was an important and widespread practice in the Islamic world from the very beginning of the Islamic tradition and continues to be extremely important for Muslims today. This course examines the many facets of Islamic pilgrimage through art, architecture, and material culture produced from the emergence of Islam to the early modern era. In this course we will seek to follow medieval pilgrims on their perilous journeys, to explore sacred sites bursting with peoples of diverse backgrounds, and to understand the ways in which images and materials are believed to be imbued with the sacred blessings of holy places. Satisfies Art major and minor requirement. Satisfies Arab Studies major and minor requirement.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Halsted From glittering gold domes to vibrantly colored illuminated manuscripts, this course examines Islamic art and architecture from the Indian subcontinent to the eastern Mediterranean from the fifteenth to mid-nineteenth centuries. This period corresponds to the rise of major Islamic empires, most notably the Mughals in India, Safavids in Iran, and Ottomans in Turkey, whose capital cities became booming centers of art and architecture. Engaging with a time of Islamic imperial aspirations, our course will examine the so-called “gunpowder empires” whose name hints at both their technological innovations and their conflicts with each other. Dispelling the illusion that the Islamic world was a unified whole, this course will focus on three distinct manifestations of Islamic empire, each with their own cultural and artistic traditions, histories, and political inclinations. Students will gain an understanding of monumental architecture (both religious and secular), Islamic manuscript painting, textile production, and ceramics. We will engage with a range of themes apparent in the material record from this period, including the role of figural imagery in Islamic art, the cultural significance of language, migration of artists and diplomatic exchange, and the fluidity of religious identity. Over the course of the semester, students will gain a foundational understanding of Islamic art in the early modern era, as well as insight into the languages, cultures, and political history of the Islamic world. Satisfies a major and minor requirement in Art Satisfies an interdisciplinary minor requirement in Middle East Studies Satisfies South Asian Studies minor requirement. Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement Satisfies the Cultural Diversity requirement

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Y. Zhang This course is an examination of the art history of chanoyu, the tea ceremony, from its origin in Japan in the fifteenth century to its global practice today. We will explore the various artistic elements that comprise the tea environment - the garden setting, the architecture of the tea room, the forms of tea utensils, and the performance. We will further consider these artistic elements alongside the intellectual history of tea in Japan, retrieved from accounts of the careers of influential tea masters and textual sources on history, religion, philosophy, and beyond. Over this course, we will trace how tea and the tea ceremony have become a metaphor for Japanese culture and Japanese aesthetics, both within and outside of Japan. Satisfies Art History major and minor requirement. Satisfies East Asian Studies major and minor requirement. Satisfies Visual and Performing Arts requirement. Satisfies Cultural Diversity requirement.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Dietrick A rotating studio course in digital and new media techniques, disciplines, and theory emphasizing individual creative development and skilled approaches to technical problem solving in visual art. Topics include exploring the computer as an artistic medium, digital performance, digital storytelling, video art, and code as art. Through interdisciplinary exploration, students employ a combination of digital and traditional methods, using the computer to establish various digital techniques. May be repeated twice when topics vary. Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement. Prerequisites & Notes Art 111 or 211 Repeatable for credit.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Repeatable

May be repeated twice when topics vary.

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Hundley In this course students will investigate architectural responses to the challenges of our time, including climate change, natural disasters, affordable housing, social and racial justice, public health, and more. Students will study the history of attempted solutions to selected problems, analyze the current state of each question, and

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Prerequisite

everyone is welcome. Satisfies Art major and minor requirement. Satisfies Visual and Performing Arts requirement.

Instructor Corso-Esquivel Required during the fall semester for all senior art majors with an emphasis in art history. Satisfies Historical Thought requirement. Satisfies Justice, Equality, and Community requirement. Prerequisites & Notes Normally limited to majors. (Fall)

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Staff This interdisciplinary research and practice course merges the power of art with the healing traditions of curanderismo , a traditional Latin American folk healing system. Using curanderismo as a blueprint, students will explore transformative artistic practices through a diverse range of media, including sculpture, performance, and installation. Students will blend these cultural elements into contemporary art-making, creating new forms of expression that transcend conventional art practices. The course will feature innovative techniques such as digital fabrication, AI, soft sculpture, and sound experiments, providing students with a toolkit for crafting immersive experiences that unite art and healing. Through hands-on projects, critical discussions, and collaborative work, students will develop a deeper understanding of how merging artistic and healing practices can reshape contemporary art and offer pathways for personal and communal restoration.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Kyo This seminar will examine various forms of photography from the mid-19th century to the contemporary period. We will begin by examining how photography played a key role in colonial constructions of racial, ethnic, and gender stereotypes of Asian people (stereotypes that persist to this day), then move on to examine how Asian artists have appropriated these constructions and the medium itself. The course asks these main questions: in what ways did local inventors and photographers create mechanisms and genres of photography different from the colonial framework? How was photography used to envision nationalist or revolutionary identities in the mid-20th century? And how do contemporary Asian artists use photography to document installations, performances, and site-specific works? The course will examine works from Korea, India, Pakistan, China, Japan, Indonesia, and Burma, as well as images of Asian people in the United States during the Gold Rush Era. Satisfies East Asian Studies major and minor requirement. Satisfies Chinese Studies minor requirement.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Staff Courses numbered with even numbers from 320 through 370 are art history seminars limited to ten upperclass students with preference given to art majors. They are offered on an irregular basis in areas of special interest to the faculty, including such topics as history of photography, modern and contemporary critical theory, and individual artists.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Van Beek In this course, students utilize their skills in drawing, painting, photography, video, sculpture, or other media to more deeply understand and raise awareness of specific climate change problems and solutions. Students will research, analyze, and present contemporary and historical art and design projects centered on climate activism. Interdisciplinary guest speakers will join the class to expand the discussion of local, national and global climate change causes, actions, policy, and ethics. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) and Drawdown will be explored and serve as content guides. Assignments will include the development of visual artwork, as well as agit-prop such as signs, posters and zines. In a final expanded social practice project, to be completed individually or collaboratively, students will utilize their visual works as part of a social event to draw attention to the effots of a student, activist, or other climate-related group, or support a particular population vulunerable to the effects of clinate change. Prior studio art course experience at Davidson is recommended but not required. A Studio Art course for the Art major and minor. Satisfies Visual and Performing Arts requirement.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Staff This art history seminar focuses on the art and life Romare Bearden (1911-1988), the most important African-American artist of the twentieth century. Charlotte’s own native son, Romare Bearden was awarded an honorary doctorate by Davidson College in 1978 for his contributions to American culture. His roles in the in the visual arts (most particularly as a master of the art of the collage), dance, music, theatre, civil rights, and sports were essential aspects of modern culture. The seminar will include visits to art exhibitions and other public commemorations of his legacy both in Charlotte and Davidson. Satisfies Art major and minor requirements. Satisfies Visual and Performing Arts requirement.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Staff This seminar focuses on the spectacular paintings, exotic drawings and innovative watercolors, and literary prints and sketchbooks of the French romantic painter, Eugene Delacroix (1798-1863). Delacroix is perhaps best known for his revolutionary painting, Liberty Leading the People (1830) which has become a popular symbol of revolution in many cultures for nearly two centuries. Our seminar will investigate the many facets of this painter so interested in color and imagination including his trip to England where he developed a new kind of painting based on watercolors, his exotic voyage to Morocco in 1832 which challenges the current theories of Orientalism, and his public clashes with the conservative French Academy which challenged his approach to painting. Although he denied it, Delacroix was widely proclaimed the leader of the Romantic movement in France as well as the father of modernism. As the nineteenth century art critic Charles Baudelaire once said of Delacroix, “He is passionately in love with passion and coldly determined to find the ways to express it.” Good words to live by. It is time to reexamine the works, critics, and life of this enigmatic painter now that over twenty years have passed since exhibitions all over the world were held in 1998 to dedicate the bicentennial of his birth. I am especially delighted to offer this seminar this semester because Delacroix has been the center of my academic pursuits for my entire career both here and in France. It is open to all students, but I am sure that Francophone students would find it especially interesting as well! Counts for the French and Francophone Studies major and minor

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Kyo This seminar examines topics related to human rights-including migration and displacement, labor and the body, gender and sexuality, racial and ethnic segregation-as reflected in artworks dating from the post-WWII period to the contemporary period. We will conduct close analyses of artworks in various mediums, including painting, sculpture, installation, performance, and film.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Halsted The pan-Mediterranean phenomenon often referred to as the “evil eye” is an enduring belief that certain individuals possess the power to exert harm through the gaze. Fear of the dangerous potential of the evil eye to cause illness, misfortune, and even sudden death led many cultures to develop artifacts and practices they believed offered protection or treatment for the effects of the evil eye. Images, inscriptions, and efficacious materials were key contributors to the perceived efficacy of these apotropaic and therapeutic material practices. This seminar explores the material culture of the evil eye (and relevant texts) in the eastern Mediterranean and Near East from pre-Islamic late antiquity (200-600 CE) to medieval Islam (1200-1400 CE). Students will engage in cross-cultural analysis, examining a range of artifacts and images across media, and consider recurring themes, including the relationship between artifacts and the body, debates surrounding licit and illicit magical practices, and potential intersections between material and textual evidence. Satisfies a major and minor requirement in Art Satisfies a minor requirement in Arab Studies Satisfies an interdisciplinary minor requirement in Middle East Studies Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement Satisfies the Cultural Diversity requirement

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Starr Artist’s books are extremely varied and broadly defined but typically incorporate a three-dimensional book-like form to present visual information sequentially. In this course, students will use drawing, painting, collage, and printing to create content that will then form the basis of innovative artist’s books. We will start the accordion format and zines before moving on to bookbinding techniques determined by the individual concepts of each student. Advanced techniques for final projects will be developed in collaboration with a visiting professional bookmaker. No prior art experience is required, and all essential supplies will be provided. Artist’s books addressing social justice themes will be a particular focus of this course. Important examples by artists of color such as Kara Walker, Enrique Chagoya, and Adam Pendleton will be studied along with works in Davidson College’s permanent collection by artists including Bethany Collins and Kikuji Kawada Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Halsted, Newman Delve into the dynamic world of curatorial and collection practices with Davidson College’s innovative, project-based course. Explore art collection methodologies from public and private institutions worldwide, understanding their historical frameworks and alignment with contemporary directions in art curation. In line with modern museum and gallery trends emphasizing the rich diversity of their audiences, students will engage hands-on with Davidson’s art collection. Through collaborative deliberation and application of industry standards for art acquisition, students will investigate potential artworks, liaise with gallery owners, and make democratic decisions consistent with the College and Galleries’ art acquisition policy. The course culminates in an exhibition that contextualizes and celebrates the newly acquired artworks. Satisfies Justice, Equality, and Community requirement. Prerequisites & Notes Two art history courses. ART 234 Post Modern Art is recommended.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Zhang Chang’an, the capital of the Tang Empire (618-907 C.E.), was the largest city in the world at its time. This course explores the rich visual and material cultures preserved in, excavated from, and created about this medieval metropolis. We will take interdisciplinary approaches to conduct case studies on art across diverse media, including murals, sculptures, and architecture. Case studies will be introduced following the different neighborhoods in Chang’an. We will pay specific attention to the concept of cosmopolitanism. Together we will explore how to reconstruct urban planning and urban experience in medieval China from art and other primary sources. Satisfies Art History major and minor requirement. Satisfies East Asian Studies major and minor requirement. Satisfies History major and minor requirement. Satisfies Chinese Studies minor requirement. Satisfies Visual and Performing Arts requirement. Satisfies Cultural Diversity requirement.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Villarroel Lamoza A study of the artistic practices of Black feminists throughout the African diaspora.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Staff For the student who wishes to pursue some special interest in art history under the supervision of a faculty member who reviews and approves the student’s work on a regularly scheduled basis. The project must be initiated by a qualified student and approved in advance with a substantial paper as the end result. Prerequisites & Notes Normally limited to majors.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Staff For the student who wishes to pursue some special interest in studio art under the direction and supervision of a faculty member who evaluates the student’s work. Evaluation will be based upon the quality of work produced weekly by the student. The project must be initiated by a qualified student and approved in advance. Prerequisites & Notes Normally limited to majors. Students must have completed 200- and 300-levels of the studio discipline in which they are requesting an Independent Study.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Staff Independent Study for Studio Art majors.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor St Clair This course examines methods for establishing an individualized studio art practice. The course focuses on intensive studio practice and the creation of new artwork weekly. Critical awareness is honed through weekly reading and discussion of contemporary art history, theory, art criticism and critique of work created. The course introduces aspects of professional practice including documenting artwork, composing an artist statement and creating a portfolio. Prerequisites & Notes Limited to junior majors and minors with an emphasis in studio art. (Spring)

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Starr This course is focused on the creation of a concentrated body of work based on independently conducted research, writing and studio production. Course components include periodic faculty/peer critique, an exhibition of work created, and a public presentation regarding the research conducted. Prerequisites & Notes Limited to senior majors and minors with an emphasis in studio art. (Fall)

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Halsted Required of all senior art history majors. Topic TBD. Includes travel component Prerequisites & Notes Normally limited to majors. (Spring)

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu

Instructor Corso-Esquivel Students submit a written proposal for a topic in the spring of their junior year. If the topic is accepted, the student enrolls in Art 496 during the fall semester of the senior year. A draft of the thesis is submitted by the end of the semester, whereupon an “Incomplete” is assigned. The final draft is defended during the spring semester in a one-hour oral examination. Prerequisites & Notes Permission of the instructor/adviser.

Subject

ART

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 Catalog

Source

catalog.davidson.edu