This course introduces a broad range of artifacts in China. It considers how art objects have functioned as agents in shaping human society and the living environment throughout history. We will be looking at art objects and their settings with senses of time and space while drawing historical narratives through their formal and material attributes as well as social functions. We will examine how art objects fostered social changes, reflected environmental issues, and involved cultural and religious interchanges across regions. Students will learn how to look at, and think with, artifacts in various media and forms, and practice critical thinking with regards to how to understand culture, society, and religion through art-historical lenses. At the end of the course, students are expected to gain perspectives in understanding historical depths of certain issues we experience in the present world, including issues of gender, ethnicity, and social justice.

HISTART category for concentration distribution categories: Ancient, Early Modern, Asia

Intended Audience: Undergraduates, graduates welcome