27 courses with the subject ARTH, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
ARTH 245MYTH AND ANCIENT ART4
Myths from the near-eastern, Egyptian, and classical worlds are not only preserved in textual sources but also in vase paintings, architectural sculpture, carved reliefs, frescoes, and other painted media. We’ll compare the artistic representations with literary sources for the mythological stories of several ancient civilizations, discuss myths known only from visual sources, learn the elements of iconography, and examine the interplay of text and image in many works of art. Also listed and described as CLAS 245. Open to first-year students. (f, w, x, AES, PRE)
ARTH 250SPECIAL TOPIC: INTRODUCTION TO ART HISTORY4
Learning how to look closely and critically analyze what one sees is an important skill.. This course is designed to introduce students to the fundamental methods of inquiry in art history. It teaches the foundations of visual analysis, which is central to art historical inquiry. Through close looking and reading art historical texts, students will learn to think, read, and write about art history. Open to first-year students. No Prerequisite. (INQ)
ARTH 253FROM THE PLANTATION TO THE MASS INCARCERATION: RACE SPACE, AND
THE CARCERAL STATE (4) The built environment is not neutral. Space can be used as a tool for oppression. We must question how the space around us is influencing and affecting us. This course will explore the simultaneous development of race in the United States and the creation and evolution of the American criminal justice system, and the ways in which they are co-constitutive. Open to first-year students. (DJP)
This course challenges the art historical canon and places the work of black artists at the forefront. Spanning the African diaspora in the 20th century in North America, the Caribbean, and Europe, we explore how members of the African diaspora used art to shape identity and discuss the impact of Black art on the world at large. Open to first-year students. No Prerequisite.
This survey course examines the major styles and monuments of the civilizations of Egypt, the Near East, the Aegean, Greece, and Rome. The class explores the methodologies used to study a variety of media: architecture, sculpture, pottery, paintings, and jewelry. The readings in the course present the historical context for each period of ancient art studied. Also listed and described as CLAS 261. Open to first-year students. No prerequisite. (AES, PRE)
A survey of Western art from the end of the Roman Empire until the Renaissance. We will think about catacombs, monasteries, Vikings, the book arts, portal sculpture, and Gothic cathedrals and their stained glass, as reflections of the values of the society that produced them. Open to first-year students. No prerequisite. (AES, PRE)
ARTH 263POWER AND IDENTITY IN RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE ART4
An introduction to Renaissance and Baroque art and visual culture (14th–18th centuries), examining painting, sculpture, architecture, and material culture within global systems of power. The course explores artistic exchange across Europe, Africa, and the Americas, emphasizing how identity, race, gender, religion, and empire shape visual production. Students analyze diverse artists, patrons, and objects while challenging traditional narratives. Open to first-year students. Open to first-year students; no prerequisite. (AES, PRE, SMN)
ARTH 264CHALLENGING IDEAS AND NARRATIVES IN MODERN ART: GENDER, POLITICS, AND
IDENTITY (4) This course traces the interlocking challenges and debates shaping artistic production from the late eighteenth century through the modern era. It examines how art produces, reflects, or Hollins University 2026–27 Undergraduate Catalog Page 119
This course examines the concept of ownership and how cultural property and heritage are defined throughout the world. We examine themes related to identity, memory, and ownership. Students study the history of collecting, domestic and international cultural heritage laws, regulations, and policies related to objects and human remains. The impacts of globalization, war, and historical colonial practices are also explored. Also listed and described as INTL 265. Open to first-year students with instructor permission.
A survey of 19th- and 20th-century photography from its beginning to the present. Bodies of work by significant photographers are examined to determine how photographic artists combine aesthetic choices with subject matter to produce meaning in their work. The course covers the major movements of art photography and is offered in a slide/lecture format. Open to first-year students. (AES, MOD)
ARTH 269GREEN BY DESIGN: SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT4
This course explores sustainability through 20th-century architecture, examining how design responds to environmental, technological, and cultural contexts worldwide. Topics include energy, resources, biodiversity, and climate change. Through a community partnership in the Roanoke Valley, students connect global issues to local practice. Also listed as ES 269. Open to first-year students; no prerequisite. (MOD, GLO).
ARTH 270ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE ROMAN MEDITERRANEAN4
The Roman empire encompassed large and varied landscapes from the Atlantic to Arabia. This course is an introduction to the sculpture, architecture, and other objects found in Italy and the Roman provinces. Material will be presented topically and chronologically so that we can see and evaluate in light of their local contexts and broader cultural connections. Also listed and described as CLAS 270. Open to first-year students. No prerequisite. (AES, PRE)
The conquests of Alexander the Great undoubtedly brought about dramatic changes in the ancient Mediterranean. His military successes led to the spread of Greek art, literature, cult, and myth. Students will study the creation of mythologies that art can illuminate, the historical narratives which informed the creation of such documents, and the ability of art to shape or reflect political realities. Open to first-year students. No prerequisite. Also listed as CLAS 274. (PRE, AES)
Independent study conducted below the advanced level. Application must be made with faculty prior to registration. Offered any term. Hollins University 2026–27 Undergraduate Catalog Page 120
This seminar explores the impact of feminism on the production, reception, and display of works of art from 1965 to the present. Topics include race, class, gender and sexual identity in feminist art, the ground-breaking efforts of feminist artists and theorists in the 1970s, and methods used by feminist artists to address key issues in women’s lives. Also listed and described as GWS 324. (DIV, MOD)
ARTH 328PARIS IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY – STUDIOS AND STYLES4
From the Revolution of 1789 to the Universal Exposition of 1900, this virtual tour of 19th- century Paris explores the firestorm of art movements that originated in the French capital. Academies and salons, cafés, cabarets, and civic buildings will receive special attention as spaces of cultural production. Writings by novelists, poets, and biographers of the time will enliven our discussions. (AES, MOD)
ARTH 337THE AFTERLIVES OF COLONIALISM: MODERN ART IN AFRICA AND EUROPE4
The history of modern art is closely tied to and largely unfolds from the history of Western Imperialism. While the technologies made possible by colonial resource extraction produced new ways of looking, modern conceptions of the nation and how to represent it, developed in dialogue with racialized notions of the other.
ARTH 339ROMAN WOMEN: METHODOLOGIES AND MATERIAL EVIDENCE4
This course examines evidence for women across the Roman empire. It considered material culture, epigraphic material, skeletal remains, and architectural components to answer the following questions; How was the feminine gender constructed and its presentation negotiated? How did women interact with and affect the religious and economic structures around them? How were women included in the making of empire? Also listed and described as CLAS and GWS 339 Open to first-year students with instructor permission. (DJP)
This course examines American visual culture from the pre-Colonial period through the mid- twentieth century. Centering Indigenous, African American, and women artists, it challenges traditional narratives by analyzing art within social, political, and historical contexts. Students Hollins University 2026–27 Undergraduate Catalog Page 121
Ever wondered what it might be like to work in a museum? A thematically integrated approach to the study of museums and exhibition curation, this course offers intellectual and practical preparation for entry into the museum profession. Practicum study within the Wilson Museum, site visits to other museums, and visits by guest speakers to afford insight into today’s art world. Also listed and described as GLAM 371. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or instructor permission. (o,
Independent study conducted at the advanced level. Application for independent study must be made with a member of the art history faculty prior to registration.
This course will engage with the canonical methods of art history to understand, question, and in some cases interrogate and challenge their place in art history today. Students will closely read and discuss theoretical texts to develop an in-depth understanding of some of the discipline’s most referenced, discussed, and debated texts. .
two art history courses or instructor permission. (AES, MOD)
ARTH 471SENIOR RESEARCH PAPER2
Students write an original research paper that demonstrates an understanding of art historical research and critical methods. The weekly class meeting is used to discuss topic development, research progress, and critique student work. Required for all art history majors. Prerequisite: art history major or instructor permission. Offered every fall term.
The senior symposium is the culminating experience for all art history majors. Students will transform senior papers into a professional oral presentation through draft revision, class Hollins University 2026–27 Undergraduate Catalog Page 122
