Art History (ARHS) Course Descriptions

• ARHS 5319 Structures of Poetry

  Prerequisite(s): None

  Structures of Poetry teaches students to read poetry thoughtfully, accurately, and wisely. Students who are experienced with reading poetry will emerge from this course as capable readers. Students who have read much poetry will emerge from this course with a much fuller understanding for the way a poem functions.

• ARHS 5328 The Holocaust: After 50 Years

  Prerequisite(s): None

  Students read poetry, fiction, personal narratives, and essays that reflect the Holocaust experience. Through their reading and research papers, a visit to the Holocaust Museum, and viewing films, students come to understand the history of anti-Semitism and how it culminated in the greatest crime against humanity of the 20th century. Students also consider subsequent genocides and discuss whether or not the hope “Never again” can ever be realized.

• ARHS 5340 Expressionism and the Arts

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course will examine the expressive aspects of the Hellenistic, Baroque, and Romantic eras, but will emphasize the artistic movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries known as Expressionism. Emphasis will be on the European and American experience.

• ARHS 5382 The Greek World

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course introduces students to the world of Ancient Greece. The goals of the course are to read the foundational texts of the Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods, to place them in their historical, philosophical, and archaeological contexts, and to consider their impact on western civilization. Authors read in this class may include: Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Plato, Aristotle and Thucydides.

• ARHS 5383 The Roman World

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course introduces students to the world of Ancient Rome. The goals of the course are: to read the foundational texts of the Republican and Imperial periods, to place them in their historical, philosophical, and archaeological contexts, to understand the interrelationship between the Greek and Roman worlds, to discuss the emergence of Christianity in its classical context, and to consider the impact of Ancient Rome on western civilization. Authors read in this class may include: Vergil, Cicero, Lucretius, Horace, Plautus, Terrence, Suetonius, Tacitus, and Pliny.

• ARHS 5384 The Medieval World

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course introduces students to the Medieval World. The goals of the course are: to read the foundational texts of the Medieval period, to place them in their historical, philosophical, and architectural contexts, to understand the relationship between the Classical Antiquity and the emergence of Christian Europe, and to consider the impact of the Medieval period on western civilization. Authors read in this class may include: Boethius, Augustine, Aquinas, Dante, Bede and Chaucer.

• ARHS 5385 The Renaissance and Reformation

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course introduces students to the period of the Renaissance and Reformation. The goals of the course are: to read the foundational texts of the Reformation period, to place them in their historical, philosophical, and religious contexts, to understand the relationship between the Classical Antiquity, the middle ages, and the emergence of early modern Europe, and to consider the impact of the Renaissance and Reformation on western civilization. Authors read in this class may include: Luther, Calvin, Machiavelli, Erasmus, Petrarch, Shakespeare, Milton and Donne.

• ARHS 5386 The Enlightenment

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course introduces students to the period of the Enlightenment. The goals of the course are: to read the foundational texts of the Enlightenment period, to place them in their historical, philosophical, scientific and religious contexts, to understand the relationship between the Classical Antiquity, the scientific revolution, and the emergence of representative democracy, and to consider the impact of the Enlightenment on western civilization. Authors read in this class may include: Locke, Hobbes, Pope, Swift, Austen, Voltaire, Rousseau and Kant.

• ARHS 5387 The Modern World

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course introduces students to the period of Romanticism and Modernity. The goals of the course are: to read the foundational texts of Romanticism and Modernism, to place them in their historical, philosophical, scientific, and religious contexts, to understand the relationship between the Romanticism and Modernism, and to consider the impact of these movements on the post-modern world. Authors read in this class may include: Goethe, Wordsworth, Nietzsche, Eliot, Einstein and Beckett.

• ARHS 5388 The Last Fifty Years

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course introduces students to recent developments in western civilization. Special attention will be given to Postmodernism and how has it influenced American culture. The goals of the course are: to examine the critical moral, political, economic, and social questions of the 20th century, and to understand the connection between this period and those that have preceded it. Special attention will be given to primary source readings.

• ARHS 5390 Western Culture and Human Experience

  Prerequisite(s): None

  These courses are a core component of the MLA program and offer a broad overview of history, politics, art, and philosophy. MLA 5390 will cover the years from the time of classical Greece through the medieval period; MLA 5391 will cover the Renaissance, Reformation, and Early Modern period; MLA 5392 will cover from the French revolution through Modern times.

• ARHS 5391 Western Culture and Human Experience II

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course offers a broad overview of history, politics, art, and philosophy. MFA 5391 will cover the Renaissance, Reformation, and Early Modern periods.

• ARHS 5392 Western Culture and Human Experience II

  Prerequisite(s): None

  ARHS 5392 offers a broad overview of history, politics, art, and philosophy. The course will cover the period from the French revolution through Modern times.

• ARHS 5393 Turning Points of the 19th Century

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course explores turning points and upheavals in Europe in the context of the post-Industrial Revolution. The course covers Romanticism and Realism, leading to rebellious movements in the art world, including Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Symbolism, and beginnings of Expressionism at the turn of the century. Attention is also given to the formation of fine arts academies and the acceleration of art production in the late 19th century.

• ARHS 5394 Shaping Modernism

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course begins at the turn of the 20th century and continues into the 1930’s. The art world is seen through the lens of the political and societal effects of the World Wars. The material investigates the ideas and impact of important Modern Art movements, including Expressionism, Dada, Futurism, Surrealism, Cubism, as well as art for art’s sake (Whistler), the Vienna Secession (Klimt), and Fauvism (Matisse). Special attention will also be given to International Exhibition of Modern Art in 1913, which would become the first Armory show.

• ARHS 6324 The Art of Being Human

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course is an introduction to the humanities. It reaffirms the liberal arts tradition that maintains that the humanities constitute the best and brightest expressions of all people. The emphasis is on the interaction between the arts, religion, and philosophy, and on the humanities, believing that this approach helps us to see artists and philosophers at work, trying to solve real problems that we all know about.

• ARHS 6375 Van Gogh and the Post-Impressionist Movement

  Prerequisite(s): None

  The course deals with the major formative phase of the modern movement in art. Both Impressionist and Post Impressionist styles and artists will be examined. The focus of the course is concerned with the expressive and lively paintings of this modern master. His style will be traced from his early days in this native Holland, through his contact with the Impressionists in Paris, to his final days in Southern France.

• ARHS 6376 Michelangelo and Leonardo

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course is concerned with a study of the art of two of the great masters of the High Renaissance in Italy–Michelangelo Buonarroti and Leonardo da Vinci. These two great individuals, who have had a tremendous impact in western culture from their own times through our own era, will be studied through a variety of their works.

• ARHS 6377 Contemporary Art Movements

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course is designed to provide an overview of the major visual art movements of the 20th century and to extend an investigation into the current art scene. An introduction will begin with study of the influence of late 19th century movements such as Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and Art Noveau.

• ARHS 6378 The Gothic Cathedral

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course examines the architectural development of the Christian Basilica from the middle of the twelfth through the sixteenth century. The Gothic Cathedral is an enduring symbol of the Middle Ages and provides one of the most important links between ancient and modern times.

• ARHS 6385 Modern Architecture

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course is designed to provide an overview of the major developments of architecture of the 20th century pioneers. The study will include the following: the innovations of the tall buildings in America, the Bauhaus in Germany, the development of major masters of the 20th century, and new forms from new materials. An important objective of the course is to explore current architects and their contemporary efforts, and a substantial part of the course will include an investigation of the architecture of the metropolitan Houston area.

• ARHS 6386 Art Impressionism

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course is designed to cover the movement of Impressionism in art during the latter part of the 19th century. It is recognized as the beginning point of the modern era in art. Works by the major artists of the group to be examined include Degas, Monet, Manet, Renoir, and Pissaro.

• ARHS 6392 Modern Masters – Picasso

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course consists of a thorough study of the life and art of the twentieth-century master artist, Pablo Picasso. His long and productive career is studied in the context of the complex arena of twentieth century art.

• ARHS 6393 The New and the Avant-Garde

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course begins with a shift in Western Art from Paris to New York and the end of WWII. New international collectives in art and architecture begin to form in Europe and the US, including constructivism and Suprematism, the Bauhaus, as well as avant-garde methods of Abstraction and Color Field Painting. The Neo-Dada group, Fluxus, and other global art collectives are formed in the postwar era. American artists gain momentum and begin to form historical 20th century art movements impacted by a postwar economic boom, the beginning of the Civil Rights Movements, and the Cold War.

• ARHS 6394 Postmodern to Present

  Prerequisite(s): None

  This course recognizes the effect of global communication and mass production in the postmodern world. With particular focus on the United States, the course includes the larger movements of Abstract Expressionism in the 1950’s, leading to Pop Art of the 1960’s, followed by Minimalism, Feminism, Earthworks, Performance Art, Public Art, and the current climate of globalization in the 21st Century. The course will also connect this recent past to our more local present, by including special attention to exhibitions and artworks in Houston’s art spaces, as well as current events in media with discussion on how today’s working artists are both part of history and making new history.