HISTART 101 introduces students to the disciplinary practices and goals of art history via encounters with selected great monuments of visual culture ranging from magic-charged cave art of prehistory to compelling Christian, Jewish, and Islamic monuments of medieval life, piety, and power down through the fourteenth century CE. We place each monument in dialogue with a cluster of thematically associated creations that enrich our understanding of how art expresses ideas and elicits meaning in its era of production. We also consider how to 'read' a famous monument across time – as its fame may have the power to produce new meanings in new historical contexts. Our discussion sections encourage active use of museum campus collections.

Course requirements:
5 quizzes (in sections) – 35 %;
1 essay (8 double-spaced pages minimum), assigned October 23, due Nov. 20 – 15 %;
final exam Dec. 9 – 25 %;
attendance and participation in class and sections (attendance sheets will be circulating) – 25 %.

NB: All four elements – that is, (1) the five quizzes, (2) the essay, (3) the final exam, and (4) attendance and participation in class and sections – have to be completed with a passing grade in order to pass the course.

Course book: Janson's History of Art: The Western Tradition, vol. 1, 8^th edition (Upper Saddle River &c.: Prentice Hall, 2010), portable edition, vols 1-2: The Ancient World; The Middle Ages; ISBN 10:0-205-16110-3, 0-205-16113-8. Bought new, the volumes come with an access card to www.myartslab.com.

Online study gallery: PDFs of the PowerPoint presentations shown in class will be posted on our C-Tools site.