This course is designed to teach first-year students how to look at, think about, and engage critically with the visual arts and architecture. Taking a cue from John Berger’s 1972 television program and series of essays, Ways of Seeing, we will analyze specific artists, works, and buildings through the centuries. Our case-studies will take us from Athens to Persepolis, Florence to New York, and Paris to Chandigarh. The course will offer students training in analyzing the formal aspects of artworks and architecture, an understanding of the materials and techniques used, and a discussion of the political and social contexts in which artmaking is situated. While not a historical survey, there are chronological and conceptual arcs running through the course, which will enable students to draw transhistorical connections and prepare them for future academic and everyday engagements with the visual world that surrounds them.

Textbooks/Other Materials: Will be available through Canvas. No textbook.

Course Requirements:

• Attendance and in-class discussion participation (20%)
• Reading Presentation (20%)
• Visual annotation assignments (20%)
• Formal analysis paper (2-3 pages, 15%)
• Final paper (8-10 pages, 25%).

Intended Audience: First-year LSA students

Class Format: Two 80-minute seminar meetings

Estimated Cost of Materials: $0-50

HISTART Concentration Distributions: Transregional, Transhistorical