Abou-El-Haj, Barbara, Associate Professor and Chair, PhD, 1975, University of California at Los Angeles: Social history of medieval art and architecture, political economy of building; cult of saints. (1985)*
Burroughs, Charles, Associate Professor, PhD, 1978, Warburg Institute, London University: Italian Renaissance, architecture and urban design, landscape history, vernacular environments. (1982)
King, Anthony D., Professor, PhD, 1983, Brunel University: Social production of building form, colonialism and urbanism, world systems and postcolonial theory, ethnic architecture and development. (1988)
Lindsay, Kenneth C., Professor Emeritus, PhD, 1951, University of Wisconsin: Modern and American painting, connoisseurship. (1951)
McGinniss, Lawrence R., Assistant Professor Emeritus, PhD, 1974, Columbia University: 17th-20th-century architecture, museology and politics, American and European urban history. (1968)
Nzegwu, Nkiru, Associate Professor, PhD, 1988, University of Ottawa: Philosophy of art; modern and traditional African art aesthetics; colonialism and postcolonial influences in contemporary African art; 20th Century African American, African Canadian, and Caribbean art. (1990)
Tagg, John, Professor, MA (RCA), 1973, Royal College of Art, London: History and theory of photography, modern European and American cultural history, contemporary critical theory (Marxism, semiotics, poststructuralism), curatorial practice. (1986)
Vazquez, Oscar E., Assistant Professor, PhD, 1989, University of California, Santa Barbara: Modern European art, patronage, and art market systems; 18th- and 19th-century art criticism and theory; Spanish art and cultural history; Latin American 19th- and 20th-century art (1991).
Wilson, Jean C., Associate Professor, PhD, 1984, Johns Hopkins University: Renaissance and early modern visual culture in Italy and Northern Europe (1300-1700); art markets and conditions of production. (1986)
Distinguished Visiting Scholars
Burgin, Victor, 1987, Professor of History and Theory of the Visual Arts, Polytechnic of Central London
Cromley, Elizabeth, 1995, Professor of Architectural History, University at Buffalo
Hadjinicolaou, Nicos, 1988, Professor of Art History , University of Crete
Hall, Stuart, 1989, Professor of Sociology , Open University, England
Moxey, Keith, 1993, Professor of Art History, Barnard College, Columbia University
Parada, Esther, 1990, Professor of Photography , University of Illinois at Chicago
Sassen, Saskia, 1992, Professor of Urban Planning, Columbia University
Wolff, Janet, 1990, Reader in Sociology of Culture , Leeds University, England
Romano Scholars
D'Ambra, Eve, 1997, Assistant Professor of the Art Department, Vassar College
Kutner, Ann, 1998, Associate Professor of History of Art, University of Pennsylvania
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A. The standard art history concentration prepares undergraduate majors for scholarly and professional work and study in the fine arts world advanced graduate study, professional museum and gallery work, and arts administration careers.
B. The concentration in architectural/urban history prepares departmental majors for advanced study in the field, for careers in teaching, for professional work in such areas as historic preservation and for civic administrative work in related areas.
C. The pre-architecture concentration prepares students for entry into professional graduate schools of architecture, design, and urban planning by providing the prerequisites for admission into such programs.
Students who declare a specialization in art history normally take the introductory sequence (ARTH 101-102-103) in the freshman or sophomore year and then move into intermediate courses (ARTH 210 level) and advanced courses and seminars (ARTH 300 and 400 levels) that focus more intensely on particular periods and problems. The junior seminar (ARTH 496) examines the discipline and its history from a theoretical and critical perspective. It is offered in the Spring semester only. The senior tutorial and honors courses offer an opportunity to crystallize one's studies in a carefully defined project supervised by a member of the art history faculty. Students must obtain the agreement of a member of faculty to enroll for this course and present him or her with a short proposal outlining the proposed topic.
Majors in art history may elect the P/F grade option in only two art history courses. These courses may not include: ARTH 496, Junior Seminar; ARTH 498-499, Senior Honors; or ARTH 497, Senior Tutorial.
| credit hours | |
| Track A: Art History | |
| Lower Level-two from 101, 102 and 103
Intermediate Level-210 and above; five in total, of which at least two must be in each of: |
8 |
| Pre-18th Century | 8 or 12 |
| 18th century to present | 8 or 12 |
| Seminar in theory/method (ARTH 496) | 4 |
| Elective in Studio Practice | 4 |
| Senior Honors (ARTH 498-499) | 8 |
| TOTAL | 40-44 |
| Track B: Architectural History | |
| Lower Level 101 or 102; and 103 | 8 |
| Intermediate Level 210 and above | 20 |
| Three must be in the history of
architecture; at least one in each of: |
|
| Pre-18th century | |
| 18th century to present | |
| Seminar in theory/method (ARTH 496) | 4 |
| Art Studio course in drawing | 4 |
| Senior Honors (ARTH 498-499) | 8 |
| or Senior Tutorial (ARTH 497) | 4 |
| TOTAL | 40-44 |
| Track C: Pre-Architecture | |
| Lower Level: 101 or 102; and 103 | 8 |
| Intermediate Level: 210 and above | 20 |
| Three must be in the history of
architecture; at least one in each of: |
|
| Pre-18th century | |
| 18th century to present | |
| Seminar in theory/method (ARTH 496) | 4 |
| Art Studio courses; Intermediate
level drawing plus elective |
8 |
| Senior Honors (ARTH 498-499) | 8 |
| or Senior Tutorial (ARTH 497) | 4 |
| Department: MATH 221 and
PHYS 121 |
8 |
| TOTAL | 52-56 |
| credits | |
| ARTH 500. Theory and Methods of Art History
(required in the first year) |
4 |
| Seven courses (including at least five art history
seminars) |
28 |
Students planning to apply for funding into the doctoral program should have submitted a first draft of their master's thesis to their supervisor by the date of final registration for the spring semester.
| credits | ||
| ARTH 500. Theory and Methods of Art History (required in the first year) | ||
| Eight courses (including at least six art history seminars) |
| credits | |
| Graduate courses (500-600 level) in art history and related subjects |
32 |
| ARTH 500. | 0-4 |
| ARTH 699. Dissertation registration, as required to maintain registration after admission to candidacy |
ARTH 102. CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN ART
Art now: production, reception, marketing, interpretation, criticism.
ARTH 103. INTRODUCTION TO ARCHITECTURE
Understanding built environments: space, structures, settlements, landscapes;
major monuments and contemporary issues.
ARTH 111. INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD OF AFRICAN ART
Introduction to basic ideas about art and art-making in ancestral Africa:
concepts of nka, ona, neku, design-consciousness, and imagination.
ARTH 221. ICONS AND IMAGES OF THE AFRICAN WORLD
Explores concepts of the rites, performance, and life force in understanding
the production of art in different African and African diasporic communities
in the 19th and 20th centuries.
ARTH 230. GOLDEN ARTS OF KINGS
Art and architecture produced in Europe from the sixth to the ninth
century, from the gravel jewels of Germanic chieftains to the imperial
architecture of Justinian and Charlemagne. Ivory throne of Maximian, Sutton
Hoo ship burial, Book of Kells, and Coronation Gospels.
ARTH 242. NORTHERN RENAISSANCE MASTER PAINTERS
Oil painting originated in the early 15th century in the South Netherlands.
Exploration of artistic and broader cultural phenomena that led to development
of painted panel, its fate and its diverse messages.
ARTH 250. MODERN ART
International survey of the figural arts, beginning with the French
impressionists, up to the post-World War II abstract expressionists.
ARTH 254. CONSTRUCTS OF MODERNISM
Examination of the historically important concepts of modernity, modernism
and avant-garde as objects of critical study within the visual cultures
of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
ARTH 275. BUILDING THE ATLANTIC WORLD:
ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM OF THE FIRST GLOBAL ERA, C. 1500 TO 1800
Concerned with architecture, including the making of cities and designed
landscapes, in Europe and the Americas from the 15th to the 18th centuries.
Main focus on developments involving both sides of the Atlantic, linked
by the infamous "triangular trade." Will consider the impact of Near Eastern
and Chinese ideas, architectural idioms, and technologies in the "West,"
especially France and England.
ARTH 276. MODERN ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM
every other year
International survey of architecture and urbanism from late 18th century
to post-Modernism of 1970s. Major architects, stylistic trends, building
types, and structural systems discussed to evaluate modern built environment.
First half of course covers period to Art Nouveau (c 1900); second half,
20th century.
ARTH 278. AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE every other year
Survey of American architecture and urbanism from late colonial period
to present. First half of course covers to end of 19th century; second
half, to post Modernism of 1980s. Stylistic manifestations in relation
to design process, architectural theory, technological change, and social,
cultural, and political phenomena. Characteristic patterns of American
urbanization. Architecture of Binghamton is field laboratory for studying
national styles and regional manifestations. Course as much about architecture
in general as about American architecture; for majors and nonmajors.
ARTH 280. HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY every other year
Introduction to problems in theory, analysis, and history of photography.
Nature of camera apparatus and photographic meaning; development of photography
as the basis of a picture industry; growth of photographic records and
documentary evidence, recent emergence of new forms of critical practice.
Woven into course is study of the institutional and discursive orders in
which photographies function and produce meaning.
ARTH 281 A-Z. TOPICS IN ART HISTORY
Intensive study of particular themes and problems announced in advance.
May be repeated for credit if different topic offered.
ARTH 330. MEDIEVAL CULT OF SAINTS
History, distribution, art, and architecture of the cult of saints.
Illustrated manuscripts, reliquary shrines, stained glass displayed in
new churches to attract pilgrims to towns such as Vezelay, Sainte-Foy,
Monte Cassino, and Canterbury, among others.
ARTH 331. MONASTERY AND CATHEDRAL TOWNS
The lavish art sponsored by abbots and bishops in late Medieval Europe.
Advances in stone construction, architectural sculpture, and stained glass
in towns such as Vezelay, Santiago, Sant-Denis, Chartes, and Reims and
how these projects provoked local disputes over who controlled resources,
labor, and wealth.
ARTH 340. MASTERS OF EARLY REALISM
The major advances in the mastery of naturalistic representation in
Italy, France, Flanders, and the North Netherlands during 1350-1675 and
the complex socio-political and religious circumstances within which these
pictorial accomplishments were achieved. Prerequisite: one 100 level Art History course.
ARTH 351. AMERICAN ART AND SOCIETY 1930-1960
Organized around three moments or conjunctures - The Moment of Documentary,
1933-1939; The Radical Retreat, 1939-1947; and The American Century, 1947-1960.
Periods of intense crises and conflicts, new types of governmental policies
attempted to negotiate threatening social conditions, cultural and political
economy was recast, and "American" culture emerged into a period of political
conformity and global hegemony.
ARTH 352. INTERMEDIATE WORLD OF AFRICAN ART
Exploration of cultural and artistic issues in the works of 20th century
African and African disasporic artists as shaped by major historical events
in Africa, Canada, Caribbean, South America, and the United States. Prerequisites:
ARTH 111 or 221.
ARTH 355. IMPRESSIONISM/POST-IMPRESSIONISM
The developments and critiques of works that came to be termed under
the problematic rubrics of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, within
the context of the changing urban and political environments of the 1860s
through 1900. Although works from Spain, Germany, and South America will
be examined, emphasis will be placed on western European trends exploring
figures such as Manet, Cassatt, Morisot, Monet, Van Gogh, and Seurat.
ARTH 356. LATIN AMERICAN AND U.S. LATINO /A VISUAL CULTURES
An analysis of the major, critical debates concerning the visual cultures
and representation of Latin America and United States Latino/as. Each class
will focus upon a particular aspect of these debates, or upon a particular
country, artist, or media, while including an examination of their historical,
stylistic, and iconographic development.
ARTH 370. READING THE CITY
Cities are spatial and architectural representations of social life:
and different cultures, economies, histories, and places produce different
forms and images of the city. But cities are themselves also represented
in different cultural forms in novels, films, scholarship, the visual arts.
Consideration of a wide range of issues prompted by contemporary city writings
from a range of disciplines. In addressing discourses on the city, the
different sessions tell us something of the cities themselves, their cultures,
their spaces, as well as the conditions in which they exist.
ARTH 379. CULTURE, DWELLINGS, AND DESIGN
Explores the question of how culture affects the design and use of
dwellings in different regions of the world. Within a cross-cultural framework,
examines recent methods of cultural analysis as applied to the study of
housing and design and discusses contesting theories for the explanation
of dwelling form.
ARTH 381 A-Z. TOPICS IN ART HISTORY
Intensive study of particular themes and problems announced in advance.
May be repeated for credit if different topic offered.
ARTH 397. INDEPENDENT STUDY
ARTH 420. ARCHITECTURE, NATURE, IDEOLOGY
Comparative and interdisciplinary considerations of the functional
roles and ideological character of high-style rural residences (villas,
country houses) in Europe and America since the Renaissance. Development
of architectural types and traditions. Prerequisite: ARTH 101, 103, or
consent of instructor.
ARTH 430-489. ADVANCED STUDIES IN ART HISTORY
These courses are restricted in scope, require specialized knowledge,
and have specific course prerequisites depending on the subject.
ARTH 452. ADVANCED WORLD OF AFRICAN ART
Guided research into the life and art of artists of the global African
world. (Namely Africa, Europe, Canada, U.S., and the Caribbean). Critical
evaluation of race, relevant cultural history, art, and its underlying
theories. Prerequisite: ARTH 111, 221 or 352.
ARTH 492. UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY INTERNSHIP variable credit
"Hands-on" internships for qualified students in aspects of gallery
operations including assistant editor of gallery newsletter, docent, cataloging
assistant, permanent collection, public relations and audience development
assistant, and exhibition design and installation. Interns work on a specific
project or assist with daily operations.
ARTH 493. LOCAL INSTITUTION INTERNSHIP variable credit
Museum experience gained through cataloging projects. Specific work
contracts developed between the student and museum staff member for each
internship. Admission by petition only; preregistration interview required.
ARTH 495. ART HISTORY INTERNSHIP
Student's primary responsibility is to assist the editor (member of
the art history faculty) of the Art History Newsletter with a variety of
tasks related to this publication (e.g., creating topics for articles;
researching information for and producing drafts of articles; working with
University Publications Office on production-related tasks, such as layout
and visuals; and creating mailing lists and distribution).
ARTH 496. THEORY AND METHODS
Discussion of major approaches to art history, past and present, through
reading and analysis of critical theory and selected major historical studies.
Required of majors; open to others with consent of instructor.
ARTH 497. ART HISTORY SENIOR TUTORIAL
May be taken for one semester during senior year, for maximum of 4
credit hours. Exact focus and requirements determined by student and faculty
mentor. Working weekly with individual faculty member on chosen research
topic, student has opportunity to concentrate on developing skills and
techniques of scholarly research, analysis (historical, critical, theoretical,
stylistic), and expository writing. Available only to art history majors
with consent of instructor.
ARTH 498-499. SENIOR HONORS
For students whose primary goal is graduate study in art history and
who wish to write thesis in area of art history. Must be taken for two
semesters, for total of 8 credit hours. Available only to art history majors
with 3.5 cumulative average in art history plus accepted proposal and recommendation
of a faculty member.
Note: All art history majors are required to pass either ARTH
498-499 or ARTH 497.
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ARTH 500. THEORY AND METHODS
Introduction to history, methods, and theory in art history. Reviews
the development of art history as a discipline, its changing paradigms,
and current methods and theories. Acquaints students not only with research
tools and methods for answering questions about spatial and visual environments
but also with the historical and social models and the institutional settings
which shape our questions in the first place.
ARTH 501. ART HISTORY AND CULTURAL THEORY
Introduction to recent debates in cultural theory and their importance
for current attempts to rethink the methodologies, subject matters, and
institutional frameworks of art history.
ARTH 502. REPRESENTATION AND COUNTER-PRACTICE
Focus on the relation of recent cultural theories to forms of cultural
production that, since the mid-1970s, have redefined the arenas, means,
and goals of cultural practice and cultural politics.
ARTH 530. GRADUATE SEMINAR IN MEDIEVAL ART
Recent offerings have included: the medieval cult of saints, Vezelay
and Santiago, cathedral towns in the 12th and 13th centuries, Reims and
Amiens, and Reims, the coronation cathedral.
ARTH 532. SEMINAR IN BAYEUX EMBROIDERY
Examination of the Bayeux Embroidery as one among a number of partisan
Anglo-Saxon, Norman and Anglo-Norman accounts of Duke William's conquest
of England. Historiography, textual, and visual sources and their transformation,
continuous narration, embroidery techniques, patronage, and intended audiences.
ARTH 540. GRADUATE SEMINAR IN RENAISSANCE AND EARLY MODERN ART
Recent course offerings have included seminars on the following topics:
Painting in 15th-century Bruges; Methodological approaches to Renaissance
painting in Italy and northern Europe; Flanders in the 15th-century; the
16th-century in northern Europe; and theories of representation.
ARTH 550. GRADUATE SEMINAR IN MODERN ART
Recent offerings have included: Francisco de Goya and Patrons and Collectors,
18th and 19th Centuries.
ARTH 552. GRADUATE SEMINAR IN AFRICAN ART
Recent offerings have included seminars on the following topics: The
Art of Romare Bearden; 20th century women artists in Africa, the United
States, Canada and the Caribbean; the power of imagery in politicizing
difference; and politics of identity in contemporary African art.
ARTH 560. CURATORIAL PRACTICE
Courses involved in conceptualization, research, and mounting of exhibitions.
Recent examples include: Posing for Power/Posing for Pleasure: Photographies
and the Social Construction of Femininity; Access and Exclusion: Works
from the Wilkes-Barre/Binghamton Region; In Search of a National Identity:
The Min Joong Art Movement of Korea.
ARTH 566. GRADUATE SEMINAR IN MUSEUM STUDIES
Recent offerings have included: the new museologies; cultural politics;
heritage in the post-modern world; and international expositions.
ARTH 570. POWER/PHOTOGRAPHIES/THE STATE
Exploration of points of intersection between new formations and institutions
of the state under capitalism and the development and deployment of new
photographic technologies, new forms of writing, and new regimes of representation.
ARTH 571. STUDIES IN URBANISM, 19th-20th CENTURY
Recent course offerings have included: New York, Paris, London: urban
history; suburbia USA; global cities; and contemporary American urbanism.
ARTH 573. ISSUES IN COLONIAL CULTURE
Course explores recent critical literature on colonial cultures, postcolonialism
and postimperialism as modes of cultural critique. Attention paid to questions
of cultural hegemony and the social production of knowledge.
ARTH 574. GRADUATE SEMINAR IN ARCHITECTURE AND SOCIETY
Recent course offerings have included: cities and colonialism; nations,
cultures, cities; history and theory: architecture and urbanism; the production
of space; the building's face; restraint in design; constructions of society;
society, culture, space.
ARTH 576. CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE
ARTH 580. GRADUATE SEMINAR IN HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY
ARTH 591. TEACHING OF COLLEGE ART HISTORY 1-4 credits
For teaching assistants. May not be applied toward department requirements.
ARTH 592. INTERNSHIPS 1-4 credits/semester
Individually designed projects at University Art Gallery, or work in area museums.
ARTH 597. INDEPENDENT STUDY-MA 1-4 credits
ARTH 599. THESIS 1-4 credits
ARTH 697. INDEPENDENT STUDY-PhD 1-4 credits
ARTH 698. PREDISSERTATION RESEARCH 1-9 credits/semester
Independent reading and/or research in preparation for comprehensive
examinations for admission to PhD candidacy; and/or preparation of dissertation
prospectus. Graded on S/U basis only.
ARTH 699. DISSERTATION 1-12 credits/semester
ARTH 700. CONTINUOUS REGISTRATION 1 credit/semester
Required for maintenance of matriculated status in graduate program.
No credit toward graduate degree requirements.
ARTH 707. RESEARCH SKILLS 1-4 credits
Development of research skills required within graduate programs. May
not be applied toward course credits for any graduate degree. Prerequisite:
approval of relevant graduate program directors or department chairs.
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