26 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 115History of Art: Global Perspectives I–Prehistory to 1500
CR: 3 The study of human culture and experience is grounded in investigation of creativity, continuity, and invention. Through a close examination of artifacts from across the globe within key historical moments, students build a language that allows them to describe and contextualize global visual productions by a range of cultures. Critical readings inform analytical thinking and writing as students explore significant contributions to the development of cultural expression from the Paleolithic to the late Medieval period.
ARTH 116History of Art II: Global Perspectives II–1500 to Present
CR: 3 Students navigate historical and contemporary expressive practices through critical encounters with visual and cultural productions from across the globe. As they explore the emergence of global consciousness and innovative forms of expression, students engage in research, close readings, and visual analysis of artifacts from Early Modern, Modern, and Post-Modern periods.
CR: 3 The words ‘pilgrim’ and ‘pilgrimage’ come from the Latin peregrinus (from ‘per’ = away from + ‘agri’ = field, land, or country), meaning “a person away from their field, land, or country”. Medievalists have emphasized the European route along the Camino or Road that led to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. But pilgrimage was not invented by Christians and is a universal and unifying theme in every culture from around the world. We will study how this ritual, usually involving a lengthy temporal and spatial journey, and whose reward was proximity to a holy site, was a worldwide phenomenon that resulted in the frequent exchange of ideas and visual forms across cultures. We will study and map the anthropological motives for such journeys and how they impacted their respective religions and arts.
First-year students with permission only. A survey of the arts of Asia, including architecture, sculpture, ceramics, metalwork, painting, printmaking, and calligraphy from the neolithic to the modern period. While the class will chart the course of technical and stylistic developments in these media, the primary focus will be on understanding the cultural and social context in which these arts developed. Offered alternate years.
ARTH 248Art of the African Diaspora
CR: 3 This course examines the art of the African diaspora from the colonial era to the present, with particular attention to how African cultures shaped the visual arts of the Americas. Students will explore how artists engaged with histories of enslavement, migration, and cultural exchange, as well as questions of identity, race, religion, memory, ancestry, community, and everyday life. Throughout the course, close looking at individual artworks will serve as our foundation for understanding how aesthetic choices give shape to historical experience.
One ARTH course and permission of the instructor. The study of introductory-level material by an individual student or by a small group of students under the immediate supervision of a faculty member.
ARTH 271Art of the Americas
CR: 3 This course examines the arts of North, Central, and South America from pre-history to the present day within their historical, cultural, and religious contexts. Particular attention will be paid to the synthesis of indigenous Native American and European art due to colonization. Offered alternate years.
CR: 3 This course studies how different cultures–through decoration, manipulation, or depiction–have responded to the land as art. Beginning in the prehistoric era and extending to the present day we will cover topics as diverse as the stone lines of the Nasca in Paris, the visionary paintings of the Aboriginal people of Australia, the nationalistic landscapes of J.M.W Turner in Great Britain, the Zen rock gardens of Japan, the international public installations of Jeanne Claude and Christo, and the shape of Sweet Briar’s campus. By becoming more aware of how the earth has been approached and treated by others, we will gain a greater understanding of how each of us fits into the larger system–as residents, observers, and caretakers. We take that introspection and, in collaboration with multiple programs around campus, together craft our own Sweet Briar land art using earth and other materials from nature to produce sculpture or other mixed-media art. Fulfills the requirements for CORE 150. CORE 150
Any 100- or 200- level ARTH course A special topics course that focuses on modern and contemporary arts. Please see the course schedule for specific topic description.
ARTH 276Special Topics in Art History
CR: 3 Selected topics in art history will be studied in depth. Topics will vary by semester. Course may be repeated when content is different.
ARTH 288Late Antique, Early Medieval Mediterranean, European, and Islamic Art (300-1000)
CR: 3 This course examines the art and architecture of the medieval world, focusing on Europe and the Mediterranean. We will look at decorative arts, paintings, sculpture, and architecture made from about 300-1000 CE, emphasizing both formal analysis and historical context. We will investigate the major ethnic and cultural groups of Europe and the Mediterranean, focusing on how each used art and architecture to articulate their sense of identity and place in the larger world. This class will examine the ways in which Roman, Byzantine, African, Islamic, and European styles were traded and interpreted around the Mediterranean and how a new “medieval” style emerged from that exchange.
Any ARTH course. This course will evaluate art created by women around the globe from pre-historic times to the present day. Rather than simply reconstructing a female version of the dominant male canon of art, we will analyze the cultural, social, economic, historical, and artistic circumstances that influenced/influence art made by women. We will cast a wide net in terms of what constitutes art by evaluating works deemed “arts and crafts”, such as textiles and ceramics, as well as those associated with what has traditionally been viewed as “high” art. Offered alternate years.
ARTH 115 . Contemporary art has a tendency to bewilder viewers. This course attempts to make sense of the no-holds-barred art world since 1970 by examining it within its historical, cultural, and theoretical contexts.
One 100-level ARTH course and permission of the instructor. The study of an intermediate-level topic by an individual student or by a small group of students under the immediate supervision of a faculty member.
Open only to senior ARTH majors. This course involves a capstone project. Students will meet on a regular basis to discuss their work or work on a group exhibition. III.O, III.W
One 100-level ARTH course, one 200-level ARTH course, and permission of the instructor. Pursuit of an upper-level research project determined in advance by the student in consultation with a faculty member who will act as the sponsor.
ARTH 470Advanced Honors
CR: 3 Upper-level research or creative project determined in advance by the student in consultation with two faculty members who will serve as primary and secondary project sponsors. The course is required for the Honors Degree, and serves as the capstone experience for Honors students who do not pursue a senior Honors thesis project. This course is typically taken in the student’s junior or senior year.
CR: 3 During this course, a senior is expected to refine and submit their thesis proposal under the supervision of a thesis advisor. The senior will submit their thesis proposal to the Student Advancement Committee by the deadline determined by the Honors Program. Pending approval by the Student Advancement Committee, the student will spend the remainder of the semester beginning the research described in their proposal. If a student does not submit an acceptable thesis proposal as determined by the Student Advancement Committee, they will not be allowed to continue in the pursuit of the Honors Degree/Program Honors. This course will carry the rubric of the student’s major in which the thesis is based.
CR: 3 In this course, the student is expected to continue the research proposed and approved by the Student Advancement Committee in the 471 Proposal/Research course. This work is completed under the supervision of faculty advisors, culminating in the student defending their thesis before a committee.
