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Art History
Faculty List
Professors Emeriti
K. Andrews, MFA
L.E. Eleen, MA, PhD
D.S. Richardson, MA, PhD (U)
D. Rifat, DA
J.W. Shaw, MAT, PhD, D Hum Lett, FSA, FRSC (T)
M.C. Shaw, MA, PhD (S)
B. Welsh-Orcharov, MA, PhD
Professor and Chair
C. Knappett, PhD, FSA (Homer Thompson/Walter Graham Chair in Aegean Prehistory)
Associate Chair, Undergraduate Studies
C. Anderson, MA, PhD
University Professor
P.L. Sohm, MA, PhD (U)
Professors
C. Anderson, MA, PhD
M.A. Cheetham, MA, PhD, FRSC (U)
L. Kaplan, MA, PhD (University of Toronto Mississauga)
E.M. Kavaler, MA, PhD
C. Knappett, PhD, FSA (Homer Thompson/Walter Graham Chair in Aegean Prehistory)
E. Levy, MFA, PhD (University of Toronto Mississauga)
J. Ricco, MA, PhD (University of Toronto Mississauga)
Associate Professors
J. Bear, MA, PhD
J. Caskey, MA, PhD (University of Toronto Mississauga)
A. S. Cohen MA, PhD
B. C. Ewald, MA, PhD
E. Harney, MA, PhD (University of Toronto Scarborough)
K. Jain, MA, PhD (University of Toronto Mississauga)
E.M.M. Legge, MA, PhD (U)
G. Periti, MA, PhD
J. Purtle, MA, MPhil, PhD (U)
A. Syme, MA, PhD (University of Toronto Mississauga)
Assistant Professors
J. Clarke, M. Arch, M Phil, PhD
Y. Gu, MA, PhD (University of Toronto Scarborough)
SJ. Kim, MA, MPhil, PhD
H. Mostafa, MA, PhD
P. Sapirstein, PhD (Limited Term Appointment)
Adjunct Professor
Y. Hendeles, C.M., O.Ont, PhD Amsterdam, LL.D University of Toronto, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Ontario College of Art and Design (Hons)
Royal Ontario Museum
H. Coxon, Associate Professor, Status Only
D. Dewan, MA, PhD, Associate Professor, Status Only
R. Fox, MA, PhD, Assistant Professor, Status Only
A. Gehmacher, MA, PhD, Associate Professor, Status Only
A. Palmer, MA, PhD, Associate Professor, Status Only
Introduction
The Department of Art History offers Minor, Major, and Specialist programs in Art History (FAH).
The FAH curriculum covers the Bronze Age to the present in several global regions: the Mediterranean area, Europe and North America, and Asia. FAH102H1 offers an overview of the discipline of art history through a thematic survey of major monuments and skills. FAH102H1 is a mandatory component of the curriculum, and students are encouraged to take this class early in their progress toward an FAH program. Half courses at the 200 level are more comprehensive surveys that thematically introduce the material from specific chronological periods, regional areas, or the history of architecture. Many of these courses, which are offered on a regular basis, serve as “gateway” prerequisites for courses at the 300 and 400 level; students are advised to check the prerequisites for each upper-level course carefully.
Courses in art history (FAH) are useful to students in other departments or faculties; history, literature, music, and philosophy are likewise concerned with systems of thought and imagery. Fundamental concepts in such disciplines are embodied or reflected in related works of art of the same general period and area. Students in architecture, geography, or city planning will find courses in the history of architecture of benefit.
At the same time, the Department directs the attention of its students to the wide range of offerings in other departments and urges them to acquire the broad cultural background essential to an understanding of the arts. Of special importance are familiarity with history, a knowledge of the various traditions of literature and mythology, and an acquaintance with philosophy. Courses in cultural, historical or urban geography may also be relevant in programs that include the history of architecture. It is imperative that students interested in pursuing an advanced degree in art history acquire the foreign languages necessary for such work. Although the choice of languages will be dependent on an individual’s program of study, it is generally recommended that students learn German and at least one other European language. The Department website provides a list of courses in other departments that can be counted toward an art history degree, or consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies to confirm the eligibility of any course.
In conjunction with Woodsworth College, the Department offers courses during the summer term at the University of Siena, Italy, and at other locations abroad. For information about these degree-credit courses, please consult the Department of Art History website or contact the Summer Abroad Program at Woodsworth College, 119 St. George Street (416-978-8713), summer.abroad@utoronto.ca
The History of Art Students' Association sponsors a variety of lectures and other activities for members of the departmental community.
Many courses in the Department are offered in alternate years only, or on a three-year cycle. For more detailed information on courses and degree programs, consult the Department of Art History website and Undergraduate Handbook at www.arthistory.utoronto.ca. Counselling is available, by appointment, from the Undergraduate Coordinators.
Enquiries:
Undergraduate Secretary, Sidney Smith Hall, Room 6036 (416-978-7892), undergrad.arthistory@utoronto.ca
Art History Programs
Art History Specialist (Arts Program) - ASSPE0908
This is a limited enrolment program. Students must have completed 4.0 credits and meet the requirements listed below to enrol.
Completed courses (with minimum grades)
The following courses with the stated minimum grades are required:
- 2.0 credits from FAH courses with a grade of 70% in each course
(11.0 credits)
At least 9.0 FAH credits, and 2.0 credits in one or more languages including at least one German, French, or Italian, though an acceptable alternative modern language such as Dutch or Russian (or Chinese and/or another Asian language) may be acceptable. It is strongly recommended that students acquire a reading knowledge of German, French, or Italian by the end of the third year. Students specializing in Ancient or Medieval art should also recognize the necessity of studying Greek and/or Latin. Students interested in pursuing Asian art history will need to acquire Chinese and/or Japanese and/or another Asian language.
First Year:
Higher Years:
1. At least 0.5 credit from each of Groups A, B, C, and D (see below for definitions).
2. 0.5 additional credit from each of Groups A and B.
3. No more than 3.5 credits may be taken at the 200-level.
4. 3.5 credits at the 300+level
5. 1.0 credit at the 400 level. No more than 1.5 credits at the 400-level will be counted toward fulfilling program requirements.
6. Approved courses in other programs may be substituted for up to 2.0 FAH credits. See Department web site for details.
In addition, the Faculty of Arts and Science requires Fine Art History Specialists who do not complete FAH338H1 to complete at least 0.5 credit in Arts and Science courses in Breadth Category 5: The Physical and Mathematical Universes.
Art History Major (Arts Program) - ASMAJ0908
This is an open enrolment program. A student who has completed 4.0 credits may enrol in the program.
(6.0 credits)
At least 6.0 FAH credits fulfilling the following distribution requirements:
First Year:
Higher Years:
1. At least one 0.5 credit in three of the four FAH Groups (see below for definitions).
2. 3.0 credits at the 300+ level, including at least one 0.5 credit at the 400-level.
3. No more than 1.0 credit at the 400-level will be counted toward fulfilling program requirements.
4. Approved courses in other programs may be substituted for up to 1.0 FAH credit. See Department web site for details.
In addition, the Faculty of Arts and Science requires History of Art Majors who do not complete FAH338H1 to complete at least 0.5 FCE in Arts and Science courses in Breadth Category 5: The Physical and Mathematical Universes.
Art History Minor (Arts Program) - ASMIN0908
This is an open enrolment program. A student who has completed 4.0 credits may enrol in the program.
(4.0 credits)
At least 4.0 FAH credits fulfilling the following distribution requirements:
1. FAH102H1
2. At least one 0.5 credit in two of the four FAH Groups (see below for definitions)
3. At least one 0.5 credit at the 300-level.
FAH Course Groups
Note:
1. Certain courses, including FAH101H1, do not satisfy the requirement for any group, but do count toward any FAH degree program.
2. Students who have already taken FAH100Y1 are encouraged, but not required, to take FAH102H1 for the fulfillment of degree requirements.
3. Courses used to satisfy one group requirement cannot be counted toward another group requirement.
Course Groups
Group A: Ancient, Medieval
- FAH206H1 Prehistoric Aegean and East Mediterranean Art and Archaeology
- FAH207H1 Greek and Roman Art and Archaeology
- FAH215H1 Early Medieval Art and Architecture
- FAH216H1 Later Medieval Art and Architecture
- FAH303H1 Emergence of Greek Civilisation
- FAH308H1 City of Athens: Art, Politics and Society
- FAH309H1 City of Rome
- FAH310H1 Greek Vase Painting
- FAH311H1 Greek Sculpture
- FAH312H1 Art of the Hellenistic Age
- FAH313H1 Greek Myth in Ancient Art
- FAH318H1 Monastic Art and Architecture
- FAH319H1 Illuminated Manuscripts
- FAH326H1 Cultural History of Islamic Spain
- FAH327H1 Secular Art and Architecture of the Middle Ages
- FAH328H1 Gothic Cathedral
- FAH401H1 Aegean Wall Paintings
- FAH405H1 Understanding Dionysos: The God of Wine, Theatre and the Afterlife
- FAH406H1 Cross-Cultural Issues in Ancient Art Beyond Greece and Rome
- FAH407H1 Studies in Roman Painting and Sculpture
- FAH420H1 Studies in Western Medieval Art and Architecture
- FAH421H1 Studies in Medieval Cities
- FAH423H1 The Palaces of Minoan Crete
- FAH424H1 Studies in Medieval Book Illumination
Group B: Renaissance-Baroque, Modern-Contemporary-Canadian
- FAH230H1 Renaissance Art and Architecture
- FAH231H1 Baroque Art and Architecture
- FAH245H1 Modernism and anti-Modernism, c. 1750-1900
- FAH246H1 Art Since 1900
- FAH248H1 Canadian Painting 1665-1960
- FAH252H1 Introduction to the History of Photography
- FAH330H1 German Art and Architecture in the Age of Dürer
- FAH331H1 Netherlandish Renaissance Art and Culture
- FAH335H1 The Art of Love in the Renaissance
- FAH337H1 Rivalry, Imitation and Envy in Italian Renaissance Art
- FAH338H1 Art and Consumers in the Renaissance (1400-1700)
- FAH340H1 17th-Century Art of the Netherlands
- FAH341H1 Venetian Renaissance Art and Architecture
- FAH344H1 Rembrandt, Rubens and their Age
- FAH345H1 The Romantic Movement in French Art
- FAH346H1 Impressionism
- FAH347H1 Cubism and Related Movements
- FAH348H1 The Dada and Surrealist Tradition
- FAH349H1 Abstraction in Twentieth-Century Art
- FAH350H1 Minimalism
- FAH352H1 19th Century Photography
- FAH353H1 On Display: Cultures of Exhibition, 1789-1900
- FAH354H1 Art in Canada Since the 1960s
- FAH355H1 Landscape to EcoArt
- FAH430H1 Pieter Bruegel
- FAH433H1 Leonardo and His Legacy in Renaissance Italy
- FAH434H1 The First Art Historians
- FAH436H1 Italian Renaissance Art, Fashion, and Material Culture
- FAH440H1 Dutch Genre Painting of the 17th Century
- FAH445H1 The Paris Salon and French Art of the Nineteenth Century
- FAH447H1 19th-Century Landscape Painting
- FAH448H1 International Art Since 1940
- FAH449H1 Contemporary Art Movements
- FAH457H1 Issues in Canadian Art, ca. 1900-1940
- FAH458H1 Issues in Recent Canadian Art
Group C: Asian
- FAH260H1 The Artistic Landscape of East Asia
- FAH262H1 Art and Visual Experience in Modern and Contemporary East Asia
- FAH265H1 Monuments of the Islamic World
- FAH360H1 World of the Senses: Chinese Decorative Arts
- FAH363H1 The Mechanics of the Image in China
- FAH364H1 Visual South Asia
- FAH461H1 East Asian Art as a Cultural System
- FAH462H1 Outside East Asian Art
- FAH463H1 Materiality, Objecthood, Connoisseurship and Collecting in the Arts of East Asia
- FAH464H1 Transregional East Asian Art
- FAH465H1 Exhibiting China
Group D: History of Architecture
- FAH270H1 Architecture: Rituals and Monuments
- FAH272H1 Modern Architecture from 1750 to the Present
- FAH370H1 European Renaissance Architecture
- FAH371H1 Architecture and Urbanism in Baroque Europe
- FAH372H1 Architecture in the Age of Historicism ca. 1750-ca. 1900
- FAH373H1 Modern Architecture Since 1890
- FAH374H1 Consequences of Modernism: Architecture after 1945
- FAH376H1 Canadian Architecture: A Survey
- FAH470H1 Studies in Renaissance and Baroque Architecture
- FAH472H1 Studies in Modern Architecture
- FAH309H1 City of Rome
- FAH328H1 Gothic Cathedral
- FAH364H1 Visual South Asia
- FAH421H1 Studies in Medieval Cities
Art History Courses
FAH101H1 - Monuments of Art History
Consideration of the stylistic and contextual significance of representative monuments in the history of art.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH102H1 - Art and Ideas
A survey of the history of art, architecture and allied arts. This introduction to the history of art will examine a wide range of objects, selected and discussed in connection with a special theme to be selected by the instructor. Students will be expected to study the history and significance of art through the close reading of selected texts that relate to both art and theory. Special attention will be given to developing essential art historical skills necessary for upper level courses. The topic for each semester will vary based on the instructor. No previous knowledge of history of art or architecture is required. Frequent writing assignments and exercises will be based on readings, lectures, and museum or gallery visits to collections in Toronto.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH194H1 - Public Art: Local and Global
We are surrounded by public art, whether in the form of official commemorative monuments or ephemeral (some say illegal) street art. We will examine the history and current practice of this important art form in Toronto and by comparison, globally. The focus will be on discussing the nature, roles, and issues pertaining to contemporary public art that we can see in situ in downtown Toronto. Restricted to first-year students. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH195H1 - On Foot: From Pilgrimage to the Mobile City
Walking is a basic human activity, yet it also defines and shapes us. In order to understand the permutations of this seemingly simple activity we will look at walking in a variety of contexts through the study of texts, art, movies and the built environment. Restricted to first-year students. Not available for CR/NCR option.
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH196H1 - Marco Polo's World
This course explores the visual and material worlds of the Italian traveller Marco Polo, which are described in his Travels. Together we will read sections of this text and explore their meaning with respect to the objects and monuments of Marco Polo’s time from the regions to which he travelled. By studying cartography, art, architecture, and urban form in the expansive medieval world of Marco Polo, the course will introduce us to the global world of the Middle Ages. Restricted to first-year students. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH197H1 - Classical Art from Greek Gods to Roman Gladiators
The ancient Greeks and Romans lived in a world full of images. Ancient visual culture comprises not only the high arts but also the everyday. This course is meant to introduce students to key ideas about how art and images in general impacted the life of ancient Greeks and Romans. Students will learn to examine various categories of visual material ranging from the pictorial and applied arts (painting, sculpture, architecture) to everyday artifacts (for example, domestic wares, jewelry or weapons). Through a series of discussion-centred seminar sessions students will explore the interconnections between art and ideology, art and identity as well as visuality and viewing. Restricted to first-year students. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH198H1 - Shocking Artists, Shocking Art
Art causes scandals for many reasons, provoking a range of consequences, including censorship, cuts to government funding of the arts or even destruction of the work in question. In this course we will consider a number of kinds of art scandal arising from exhibition in public galleries and urban spaces, including those that have to do with legal issues such as plagiarism and vandalism; aesthetic objections on the part of the public, ranging from perceived obscenity to simple resentment of abstract art; racism; sacrilege; and political subversion, amongst others. We will consider the work of artists including Chris Ofili, Joep van Lieshout, Paul McCarthy, Damien Hirst, Michael Snow, Sally Mann, Banksy, Rachel Whiteread, Richard Prince, Andres Serrano, Robert Mapplethorpe, Carl Andre, Maya Lin, and Jeff Koons, amongst others. Restricted to first-year students. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH199H1 - Curiosity: Art and Science
“Curiosity” can refer to the desire to know or learn something, but the word has also been used to define objects of singular interest: “curiosities.” Drawing from the University of Toronto’s rich museum and library collections, this course will present an overview of the diverse and shifting European cultural attitudes toward curiosity—from the early modern period to the present. We will examine themes such as: museum history, rarity and monstrosity, natural history illustration, exploration and travel art, the construction of racial and cultural difference, and visual entertainment. Restricted to first-year students. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH205H1 - Clay: A Material and Visual History
This course will reveal the deep history of clay, stretching back to the Palaeolithic period with the first clay figurines; through the Neolithic period with its extensive use of clay for the earliest permanent houses, the first inorganic containers, and many votive offerings in clay; all the way to the present day with the ceramic art of Pablo Picasso, Grayson Perry, and Ai Weiwei. Our approach will also be thoroughly global, ranging from the Maya of Mesoamerica to the Mingei of Japan. The course will involve hands-on elements too, particularly with the nearby Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH206H1 - Prehistoric Aegean and East Mediterranean Art and Archaeology
An overview of the major monuments, artifacts, themes and problems in the study of the archaeology, art and architecture of the Aegean region and the east Mediterranean to 1000BC.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH207H1 - Greek and Roman Art and Archaeology
An overview of the major monuments, artifacts, themes and problems in the study of the archaeology, art and architecture of the civilizations of Greece and Rome.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH215H1 - Early Medieval Art and Architecture
An overview of major monuments and themes in the art and architecture of Western Europe and the Byzantine East from the third until the eleventh century.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH216H1 - Later Medieval Art and Architecture
An overview of major monuments and themes in the art and architecture of Western Europe and the Byzantine East from the eleventh until the fifteenth century.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH230H1 - Renaissance Art and Architecture
A selective survey of the major art centres and types of artistic and architectural production in Italy and northern Europe, from the early fifteenth century to the mid-sixteenth. Themes include the relations--artistic, economic and ideological--between northern and southern Europe during this period, the changing role of art in religious life, the emergence of secular themes, and the legacies left by Renaissance art to modern life and culture.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH231H1 - Baroque Art and Architecture
Major forms of expression in the visual arts ca. 1600 - ca. 1750 with particular attention to forms, techniques, theories, and patronage of the arts as well as biographies of artists in Italy, France, the Netherlands, Flanders, Germany and England.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH245H1 - Modernism and anti-Modernism, c. 1750-1900
An introduction to the advent and development of art movements including Rococo and Neoclassicism; Romanticism and Revolution, Realism and the advent of Photography, Impressionism; Academic art; Post-Impressionism.
Recommended Preparation: FAH102H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH246H1 - Art Since 1900
An introduction to the consolidation of Modernist tendencies in Europe to the mid 20th century and to the many contemporary responses to these achievements. Individual artists, including Picasso, Matisse, Duchamp, and Matthew Barney are considered in their relationship to various art movements and the theories that supported them, including Expressionism; Abstraction and Constructivism; Dada and Surrealism; Neue Sachlichkeit; Abstract Expressionism; Pop; Conceptual Art; Earth Art; Feminist Art; Postmodernism; New Media Art.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH248H1 - Canadian Painting 1665-1960
An introductory survey of the history of painting in Canada from the 17th to the 20th century.
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH252H1 - Introduction to the History of Photography
This course surveys the history of photography in Europe and North America, from its origins to recent innovations in digital imaging. Emphasis is placed on the various aesthetic, scientific, and political discourses in which photography has been located, and the assumptions and premises associated with the medium's relationship to reality.
Recommended Preparation: FAH101H1/FAH102H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH255H1 - Art of Indigenous North America
A broad survey of Indigenous arts in North America from Mexico to the Arctic, and from ancient to modern. Students will gain a basic literacy in key artforms including painting, architecture, basketry and more, grounded in an awareness of Indigenous realities and historical currents.
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH260H1 - The Artistic Landscape of East Asia
An overview of major monuments and themes in the art and architecture of East Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Mongolia and Tibet), from the neolithic to the present.
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH262H1 - Art and Visual Experience in Modern and Contemporary East Asia
An overview of major monuments and themes in the art and architecture of East Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Mongolia and Tibet) and its diaspora in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH265H1 - Monuments of the Islamic World
This course explores the architecture of the Islamic world from the 7th - 12th centuries through the lens of its major monuments throughout the central Islamic lands, North Africa and Spain. Through an emphasis upon the Umayyad, Abbasid, Fatimid and Seljuk periods, the course explores the range of cultural, political, social and religious aspects related to the development of the built environment. It also considers the impact of Islam's encounter with late antiquity and aims to position the rise of Islamic architecture within the context of this encounter. Additionally, the architecture is contextualized through a study of the urban history of select early and medieval Islamic cities.
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH270H1 - Architecture: Rituals and Monuments
A survey of architecture from pre-history to the start of modernism, with attention given to the ways in which architecture shapes human experience.
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH272H1 - Modern Architecture from 1750 to the Present
An introduction to the buildings, issues and ideas from Neoclassicism to the present.
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH273H1 - Canada Buildings and Landscapes
An introduction to the traditions and patterns of building in Canada taking into account the unique landscapes, resources and history that comprise what is now a unified political entity. Lectures will pay special attention to the complexity of architecture throughout Canada including issues of land rights, natural resources, immigration, settlements and urban design, transportation, and heritage issues. A special feature of this class will be the opportunity to study Toronto first-hand through class projects. No previous architectural history study is required.
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH299Y1 - Research Opportunity Program
Credit course for supervised participation in faculty research project. Details at https://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/academics/research-opportunities/.... Not eligible for CR/NCR option.
FAH303H1 - Emergence of Greek Civilisation
This course investigates the material culture, art and architecture of the Aegean civilizations from the Neolithic through to the building of the palaces of Crete around 2000BC.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH307H1 - Ancient Art, Migration, and the Barbarian ‘Other’
This course surveys the cultural, artistic and social interactions between the Graeco-Roman world and the so-called ‘Barbarians’ beyond its eastern and northern confines. Chronologically, it spans from the Greek Geometric and Archaic periods (9th - 6th c. BCE) to the disintegration of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of Early Medieval Europe (6th- 7th c. CE). The course will address issues of artistic production, material culture, ritual and cult in relation to the mobility of peoples and groups, objects and individuals.
Exclusion: HIS320H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH308H1 - City of Athens: Art, Politics and Society
This course provides a detailed investigation of the city of Athens, focusing on the art, architecture and archaeology in the later Archaic and Classical Period. A combination of topographical and chronological approach is taken to familiarize the students with both the physical cityscape as well as its development in the context of major areas of interest, such as politics, religion and social customs. Some broad themes explored include: art, democracy and propaganda (Agora), the impact of the Persian wars, ritual and religious festivals (Acropolis), the symposium, Athenian women, funerary art (Kerameikos), cult, sanctuaries and votives, art and Athenian drama. The course will also feature digital humanities components in the assignments, which may involve spatial mapping, 3D tools/VR and/or databases, as well as a trip to the Royal Ontario Museum.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH309H1 - City of Rome
The art, architecture and archaeology of the city of Rome to AD476.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH310H1 - Greek Vase Painting
This course is a comprehensive exploration of the art of Greek vase painting, covering material from the late Geometric period (8th C. BCE) to the late Classical Period (4th C. BCE). While iconography and narrative will form a major portion of the ceontent, the class will also explore issues surrounding material and technique, the prevalent sympotic (drinking) culture and Greek rituals that provides the cultural framework, dynamics of trade, theories of viewership and semiotics, status of the artist, and other historiographical concerns, including problematic issues surrounding the modern practice of collecting.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH311H1 - Greek Sculpture
The course provides a thorough examination of ancient Greek sculpture from 7th - 1st century BCE, which in many ways defined the canon of western art that was to follow. Classic issues of style, dating, and technique are complemented by putting them into the contexts of cultural history, religion and socio-politics. While the course is a traditional monument-based survey of major sculptural works from the ancient Greek world, several important issues are also addressed, pertaining both to contemporary society and the study of other areas of art history. These include but are not limited to: gender, social class, colonialism, notion of the artist, originality, and aesthetic theory.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH312H1 - Art of the Hellenistic Age
Transformation in the visual arts, paintings, sculpture, and mosaics of the expanding Greek world c. 400BC to c. 100BC; the response to Hellenization from the new artistic centres of Asia Minor and Italy.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH313H1 - Greek Myth in Ancient Art
A general introduction to Greek mythology and its uses (and abuses) by the Greeks and Romans through the art of antiquity. Students will learn about gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines, their attributes and stories which constituted the subjects of (not only) ancient art.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH314H1 - Eroticism in Ancient Art
Erotic ‘imagery’ – sculptures, reliefs, paintings – is ubiquitous in ancient art, to a degree that modern viewers have often found disturbing. This course faces the challenge posed by the ancient predilection for such imagery and explores it from a critical and scholarly perspective. At its most basic level, it reassigns a seemingly universal segment of human ‘nature’ and experience to the realm of culture, by examining the imagery against the background of ancient constructions of sexuality, gender and the body. But it also explores the libidinal and hedonic structure of the works of art themselves and asks for the functions of erotic imagery in its respective contexts. The course will avail itself of the excellent research on gender, sexuality and eroticism in antiquity that has been produced over the past few decades, and it will also explore the topic’s lateral connections with the thematic fields of ancient humour, the ‘grotesque’, apotropaism, myth and magic.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH318H1 - Monastic Art and Architecture
FAH319H1 - Illuminated Manuscripts
A focused survey of different types of manuscripts and their images from the origins of the book in Late Antiquity to the invention of printing.
Recommended Preparation: SMC358H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH325H1 - Urban Islam
By challenging essentialist questioning of Islamic urbanism, this course considers the inter-animated and complex web of forces that drive cities forward by identifying repertoires of underlying logic. Through a deep and historically situated reading of Medieval Mecca, Medina, Damascus, Jerusalem, Baghdad, Cairo, and Cordoba, we will map and encode history on the urban scale to reveal what makes a city "Islamic." Visual mapping skill cultivation for communication purposes (both digital and analogue) will be taught throughout to enhance understandings of urban complexity in rich historical contexts.
Recommended Preparation: FAH265H1/FAH326H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH326H1 - Cultural History of Islamic Spain
From its earliest beginnings as an Umayyad province and up until the 15th century, al-Andalus acted as a lynch pin within the Mediterranean world. Connecting the Islamic empire in the East and forging links of trade and cultural exchange with Europe to the West, cities such as Cordoba and Granada captured the imagination of contemporary chroniclers, earning descriptions in the sources as truly “first-rate places”. Through an exploration of the historical, artistic, architectural, urban, social and economic contexts, this course will engage with and expand upon current understandings of this seminal period in Islamic history to examine Islam’s encounters and modes of cultural exchange with Europe and the Mediterranean world.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH327H1 - Secular Art and Architecture of the Middle Ages
FAH328H1 - Gothic Cathedral
An examination of the Gothic cathedral from its origins in Paris in the 1130’s through its development and elaboration in France, England and Italy. This course also considers monumental decorations in painted glass, wall painting, tapestry and portal sculpture.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH330H1 - German Art and Architecture in the Age of Dürer
Albrecht Dürer and the painting and printmaking of his contemporaries. Consideration of the great Hall churches of Saxony and the altarpieces of Tilman Riemenschneider and his contemporaries; the status of the arts and attitudes towards Italian art, and the consequences of the Reformation for religious imagery.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH331H1 - Netherlandish Renaissance Art and Culture
Painting, sculpture and architecture of the Netherlands in the sixteenth century with reference to the arts in Italy, France, Germany and Spain. Consideration of Netherlandish art in the context of literature, religion, urban expansion, political and economic developments; and as a system of communication. Particular attention devoted to Hieronymus Bosch, Pieter Bruegel, the rise of secular art.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH335H1 - The Art of Love in the Renaissance
Love is studied not only as a favorite theme of Renaissance art, but as the basis of some of its fundamental aesthetic claims. The question of love connects Renaissance art to important strains of philosophical thought and religious spirituality, as well as to some urgent realities of social life.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH337H1 - Rivalry, Imitation and Envy in Italian Renaissance Art
This course examines works in different art media, including painting, sculpture and prints, produced from 1400 to 1600, discussing how artistic practice of imitation and emulation stimulated the development of individual styles. In addition, this course addresses notions of disruptive rivalry, and the representation of slander and envy.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH338H1 - Art and Consumers in the Renaissance (1400-1700)
It has long been said that the material culture of the Renaissance generated the first stir of consumerism with a variety of artifacts produced from 1400 to 1700 in Italy. This course explores the material culture of Renaissance consumerism and discusses the production and function of works in different art media.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH340H1 - 17th-Century Art of the Netherlands
Concentration on the major painters of Holland’s Golden Age, ca. 1580-ca. - 1700. Particular attention is paid to genre painting and the notion of “Dutch realism.” Consideration of art within its social and political contexts. Notions of gender, of the historical past, of embodiment, and of contact with the non-western world will be discussed.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH341H1 - Venetian Renaissance Art and Architecture
Form and meaning, theory and practice of painting and architecture in Venice, ca. 1450-ca. 1600. Social, political and cultural contexts of making and viewing art, including works by Giorgione, Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto and Palladio.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH345H1 - The Romantic Movement in French Art
This course explores the painting, sculpture, and graphic arts of the Romantic era in France, from abOUT 1820 to 1850. Major emphasis on Gericault, Delacroix, and Ingres in their artistic, cultural, and political context. Key topics in Romanticism, including Orientalism and gender, are also explored.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH346H1 - Impressionism
The origin and development of Impressionism in France and Europe, 1860-1886, in its social, political and intellectual context. Painting, graphics and sculpture by Monet, Renoir, Degas, Pissarro, Sisley, Cassatt and Morisot.
Exclusion: FAH378H5
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH347H1 - Cubism and Related Movements
FAH348H1 - The Dada and Surrealist Tradition
The origins and development of the Dada and Surrealist movements in early 20th-century Western art, and their lasting impact on art after World War II. Painting, sculpture, graphic arts, and the theoretical preoccupation which accompanied artistic production.
Exclusion: FAH447H5
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH349H1 - Abstraction in Twentieth-Century Art
The origins, development, and critical issues pertaining to abstract or non-figurative modes of art as manifested in painting, sculpture and other selected media upt to the present time. Movements include European abstract art before World War II as well as post-war developments.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH350H1 - Minimalism
An investigation of the different definitions and issues of minimal art including seriality, materials, process, objecthood, chance, installation, reception, relations to music and film, and the influence of structuralism.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH352H1 - 19th Century Photography
An introduction to the major artists, movements, and debates in photography in Europe and North America, from its prehistory to the turn of the century. Issues considered include the relationship of social class to aesthetics, the role of illusion, the rise of mass reproduction.
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH353H1 - On Display: Cultures of Exhibition, 1789-1900
Examination of the historical development of the cultures of exhibition in Nineteenth-Century Europe, and the diversity of venues displaying works of art and nature. Historical and theoretical overview is complemented by case studies which include investigations of private cabinets of curiosity, encyclopedic museums, commercial galleries, side-shows, and world's fairs.
Recommended Preparation: some introduction to art and/or cultural history
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH354H1 - Art in Canada Since the 1960s
An examination of the visual arts in Canada from the 1960’s to the present. A large and diverse range of media, practices, artists, and theoretical contexts will be examined. Emphasis is placed on work that can be seen in the original.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH355H1 - Landscape to EcoArt
Ecological art is a focus in contemporary global art. We examine ecoart’s antecedents in the landscape genre and Earth Art and the diverse theoretical and disciplinary perspectives that inform our understanding of these movements. Artists include Burtynsky, Eliasson, Long, Mendieta, Netco, Smithson, Turrell. Readings include Deleuze, Heidegger, Latour.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH360H1 - World of the Senses: Chinese Decorative Arts
This course surveys late imperial Chinese decorative arts from the Song (960-1127) through Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. It focuses on ceramics/porcelain, textiles, and furniture, attending especially to works in Toronto collections. Students will read primary and secondary sources to learn how decorative arts shaped daily life in imperial China.
Recommended Preparation: FAH260H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH363H1 - The Mechanics of the Image in China
East Asian images differ from Western ones in material support, format, and technologies of image-making. This course probes how East Asian images -- painting on objects, handscrolls, prints, optical media, film, and new media – work.
Recommended Preparation: FAH260H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH364H1 - Visual South Asia
An overview of the visual culture (monuments to films) of South Asia form the Indus Valley Civilization (3500 BCE) to the contemporary. Focus on visual literacy, stylistic evolution, major concepts and the first-hand study of objects.
Recommended Preparation: FAH260H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH370H1 - European Renaissance Architecture
Architecture and architectural theory ca. 1400 – ca. 1600.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH371H1 - Architecture and Urbanism in Baroque Europe
Architecture studied through its various building types and in its urban context. Themes include architecture and power under Absolutism, and the rise of the modern city.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH376H1 - Canadian Architecture: A Survey
Vernacular traditions in building, patterns of settlement and urbanization, and development of high styles in architecture in New France, British North America, and what is now Canada, from ca. 1650 to ca. 1925. Material economy, cultural identity, local character, regional expression, national symbolism and international influences.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH380H1 - Special Topics in Art History
The study of various aesthetic, cultural, social, political, and theoretical aspects of Western art and photography across the centuries.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH381H1 - Problems in Jewish Art
This course investigates the changing definition of Jewish art and the status of Jewish artists. Other issues explored include Jewish-Christian visual polemics, the construction of individual and communal Jewish identity through art, architecture, and texts, and the conceptual transformation of Jewish craft and ritual objects into art.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH382H1 - Art Writing
Study and practice in the variety of writing genres and styles associated with art history and contemporary criticism. Students will develop skills in writing for museum exhibitions and publications, reviews and criticism, academic analysis, and writing for popular print and media. Regular and frequent writing assignments. Recommended for FAH majors and specialists.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH388H1 - Art History Theories and Practices
Investigates the development of art and architectural history as an academic discipline and method of analysis including discussion of varied approaches such as formalism, connoisseurship, post-colonialism, feminism, queer studies, psychoanalysis, and material studies. The course explores the relationship of art history to other disciplines including archaeology, literary criticism, film studies, and anthropology. Suggested for all Specialists and students considering graduate study in art history.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH390Y0 - Studies Abroad in Spanish Art and Architecture
Through site visits and local resources, this course looks at the history of Spanish art and architecture, including the various work created by the diverse religious and political groups of the Iberian peninsula. The specific focus of the course may vary from year to year.
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH391Y0 - Studies Abroad in Ancient Art and Architecture
Studies Abroad in Ancient Art and Architecture. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH392Y0 - Studies Abroad in Medieval Art and Architecture
Studies Abroad in Medieval Art and Architecture. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH393Y0 - Studies Abroad in Renaissance and Baroque Art and Architecture
Studies Abroad in Renaissance and Baroque Art and Architecture. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH394Y0 - Studies Abroad in Modern and Contemporary Art and Architecture
Studies Abroad in Modern and Contemporary Art and Architecture.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH395Y0 - Studies Abroad in Canadian Art and Architecture
Studies Abroad in Canadian Art and Architecture. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH396Y0 - Studies Abroad in Asian Art and Architecture
Studies Abroad in Asian Art and Architecture. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH397Y0 - Studies Abroad in Architectural History
Studies Abroad in Architectural History. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH398H0 - Research Excursions
An instructor-supervised group project in an off-campus setting. Details at https://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/academics/research-opportunities/.... Not eligible for CR/NCR option.
FAH398Y0 - Research Excursions
An instructor-supervised group project in an off-campus setting. Details at https://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/academics/research-opportunities/.... Not eligible for CR/NCR option.
FAH399Y1 - Research Opportunity Program
An instructor-supervised group project in an off-campus setting. Details at https://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/academics/research-opportunities/.... Not eligible for CR/NCR option.
FAH401H1 - Aegean Wall Paintings
Investigation of the wall-paintings of the Minoan, Cycladic and Mycenaean worlds in the second millennium BC: context, associations, viewing and historical interpretations.
Recommended Preparation: FAH300H1/FAH303H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH405H1 - Understanding Dionysos: The God of Wine, Theatre and the Afterlife
The Greek god Dionysos presents a multifaceted entry point into exploring Ancient Greek art, culture, religion and history. This course is a comprehensive exploration of the figure of Dionysos, from his obscure pre-historic beginnings of foreign origin, to his transformation into other post-classical entities, spanning Christianity to Buddhism. A substantial part of the course deals with his representations in Greek art, and the god's relationship to the Greeks as the governing figure of many important facets of their lives: drinking practices, sexuality, the performative arts, and the transition into the afterlife through the notion of eternal bliss. The course reading draws on art historical literature, as well as primary sources, and theoretical texts regarding religion and cultural practices.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH406H1 - Cross-Cultural Issues in Ancient Art Beyond Greece and Rome
When cultures collide, they assimilate, they exchange, they transform, and they develop, and there seems to be a pattern of recognizable centres of power around which artistic tradition often revolves. This has caused the conventional understanding of certain flowering of artistic heritage as a product of cross-cultural influences. This course is a seminar style survey that explores these fascinating amalgams of artistic traditions that lie at the Eastern outskirts of the Hellenistic world throughout the roman Period, from Bactria to India, and with a heavy focus on the Buddhist art of Gandhara, reaching out along the Silk Road. As the title suggests, the class aims at a renewed framework that re-evaluates the role of the Ancient West, which has been absent since the heavily Eurocentric scholarship from the early 20th century. It also aims to familiarize students with current theoretical issues surrounding cross-cultural studies as it pertains to the visual arts, touching upon modern postcolonial theories of space.
Recommended Preparation: FAH311H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH407H1 - Studies in Roman Painting and Sculpture
Issues explored might cover Republican and Imperial painting; its Hellenistic sources and parallel media (mosaic, relief). The four distinctive genres of Roman sculptural production: the portrait, the historical relief, sarcophagi, and replicas of famous Greek sculptures. Styles, themes and modes of display in cultural context.
Recommended Preparation: FAH305H1/FAH309H1/FAH312H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH415H1 - History of Islamic Cairo
This seminar explores the architectural and urban development of Islamic Cairo (al-Qahira) between the 7th and 16th centuries. As a nexus of both the Islamic empire and the Mediterranean world, Cairo provides an opportunity to explore a major Islamic Medieval city. Modern day Cairo emerged first as a provincial capital (al-Fustat and later al-Qata'a) in the 7th and 8th century and later morphed into a capital under successive dynasties from the 9th to the 16th century. Exploring Cairo throughout this critical historical period, one of both relative stability and upheaval during the post-conquest period to the Crusades, allows for a better understanding of the reciprocity between architecture and urbanism on the one hand and broader political shifts on the other. A central organizing theme of this course is Cairo's position as a place of multiplicity and confessional diversity, embedded within networks of cultural and economic exchange. Other themes explored include the role played by ceremonies and processions on urban form and the development of public space as well as the development of various religious, charitable, military and educational institutions and their impact upon shaping the city.
Recommended Preparation: FAH265H1/FAH326H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH420H1 - Studies in Western Medieval Art and Architecture
FAH421H1 - Studies in Medieval Cities
A focused examination of urbanism, art and architecture of a specific medieval city, such as Jerusalem, Rome, Constantinople, or Paris.
Recommended Preparation: FAH327H1/FAH328H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH423H1 - The Palaces of Minoan Crete
Around 2000 BC, the island of Crete sees the emergence of what are arguably the earliest towns and states in European prehistory. At the heart of this new social order are the so-called ‘palaces’, massive architectural complexes usually interpreted as seats of administrative and political authority. However, fresh discoveries over the past two decades, coupled recently with radical new interpretations, require a fundamental rethinking of the nature of the palaces and their role in Minoan society. This course will provide students with an active opportunity to learn about the latest developments in Minoan art, architecture, and archaeology.
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH424H1 - Studies in Medieval Book Illumination
A consideration of individual types of books, their decoration, function, and cultural context. Topics might include, for example, Gospels, Psalters, or Books of Hours.
Recommended Preparation: FAH319H1/SMC358H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH430H1 - Pieter Bruegel
The study of Pieter Bruegel’s works in the context of Netherlandish culture. Emphasis on secular works.
Recommended Preparation: Reading knowledge of French or German
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH433H1 - Leonardo and His Legacy in Renaissance Italy
This seminar examines major critical developments in the interpretation of High Renaissance art in Italy by looking at key works produced by Leonardo, his contemporaries, and followers (1470-1530).
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH434H1 - The First Art Historians
In Vasari’s Lives of the Artists and their “after-lives,” painters and humanists explored questions of word and image, art and life, biography and history, the psychology of style, the economics and politics of art and the languages of art. How and why did art history originate?
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH436H1 - Italian Renaissance Art, Fashion, and Material Culture
This seminar explores fashion in the visual and material culture of Renaissance Italy. It focuses on the discourse of fashion as represented by Renaissance artists in their works and as treated in contemporary texts. It further examines the multiple meanings of dress in the courts of Renaissance Italy.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH438H1 - History of Bad Art from Gothic to Kitsch
"Bad" art is a critical category that shadows and defines "good" art. How has the art of invective shaped the histories of art by applying ethical, psychological and anthropological values to the world of art? Topics include blasphemy, decadence, senility, the "other" and anti-social behaviors. Special attention will be given to such prejudicial period styles as Gothic, Mannerism, Baroque and Rococo, and to such artistic movements as the Macchiaioli, neo-Kitsch, Dada, Automatism and Degenerate Art. Readings range from Seneca and Vitruvius to Walter Benjamin and Clement Greenberg. Case studies of artists range from Caravaggio to Odd Nerdrum.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH440H1 - Dutch Genre Painting of the 17th Century
Study of so-called “scenes of everyday life.” Special attention given to cultural context and problems of constructions of gender and gendered relationships, of social and economic interests, of class conflict, of the relationship with broader European culture. Considerable attention will be paid to the work of Jan Vermeer.
Recommended Preparation: Reading knowledge of French or German
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH446H1 - Arctic Anthropocene? Image Cultures of Arctic Voyaging
‘Arctic Anthropocene’ examines the extensive visual culture of voyages in the Arctic in the long 19th century. We will probe both Western and Inuit perspectives on the search for the Northwest Passage, whaling, and scientific understandings of the exotic meteorological, human, and animal phenomena of this region through its complex image culture. To underscore ecological understandings of the Arctic in the 19th century and today, we will frame our investigation of the visual culture of this place and time with an interrogation of the notion of the ‘Anthropocene.’
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH447H1 - 19th-Century Landscape Painting
Investigation of English, French, German and Swiss landscape painting from the birth of the Romantic movement to Post-Impressionism.
Recommended Preparation: Reading knowledge of French or German
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH448H1 - International Art Since 1940
Developments in the mainstream of Western painting and sculpture since World War II with special emphasis upon interrelations between Europe and North America.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH449H1 - Contemporary Art Movements
Selected aspects of the complex array of international contemporary art movements, their artists, objects, and critical discourses. Potential issues include the theoretical, philosophical, and political concerns addressed by given artworks and artists; the role of art journals, the private patron, and museum display.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH452H1 - Contemporary Indigenous Art in Canada and the United States
This course focuses on Indigenous artists working both within and outside of contemporary art spaces in Canada and the United States, through a study of key exhibitions and movements in the Indigenous arts community from 1984 to the present. From the Columbus Quincentennial in 1992 and its echoes in the "Canada 150" celebrations, to artists working from the front lines of land protection movements, we will explore ideas of nationalism, inclusion, intervention, and 'decolonization' of the gallery.
Recommended Preparation: course work focusing on contemporary art and/or Indigenous topics
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH457H1 - Issues in Canadian Art, ca. 1900-1940
Focused, thematic examinations of the visual arts in Canada in the first half of the twentieth century.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH458H1 - Issues in Recent Canadian Art
Focused, thematic examinations of the visual arts in Canada from c. 1960 to the present.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH461H1 - East Asian Art as a Cultural System
Methodologically-focused seminar engaged with recovering and articulating in Western terms indigenous ways of seeing and thinking about East Asian art.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH463H1 - Materiality, Objecthood, Connoisseurship and Collecting in the Arts of East Asia
Seminar based on firsthand examination of East Asian objects in Toronto collections that attends to the historical processes by which such objects were valued and collected.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH464H1 - Transregional East Asian Art
In-depth examination of the play of East Asian Art within and beyond East Asia.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH465H1 - Exhibiting China
This seminar teaches students the skills required to curate an exhibition of Chinese materials. Working firsthand with objects of Chinese art and visual culture in local Toronto collections, students learn to document the object, assess authenticity, write object labels, panel texts, and catalogue essays. Students will thus prepare an exhibition, actual or virtual, of Chinese objects in local collections.
Recommended Preparation: Two additional courses in Chinese/East Asian art
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH470H1 - Studies in Renaissance and Baroque Architecture
An in-depth study of themes and problems in architecture in Renaissance and Baroque Europe.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH472H1 - Studies in Modern Architecture
Focused examination of themes and methods in the history of architecture since 1750.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH473H1 - Studies in Canadian Architecture and Landscapes
FAH481H1 - Internship
The internship is designed to offer hands-on experience pertaining to the study, exhibition, and care of works of art, focused on the collections and activities of the University Art Centre, an auction house, a public museum, or a private gallery. Students must provide proof of their acceptance as an intern by the Art Centre/auction house/museum/gallery in order to be enrolled in the course. This course is Pass/Fail. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH481Y1 - Internship
The internship is designed to offer hands-on experience pertaining to the study, exhibition, and care of works of art, focused on the collections and activities of the University Art Centre, an auction house, a public museum, or a private gallery. Students must provide proof of their acceptance as an intern by the Art Centre/auction house/museum/gallery in order to be enrolled in the course. This course is Pass/Fail. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH483H1 - Introduction to Conservation: Materials, Deterioration, and Preservation in Art and Material Culture
An introduction to conservation, designed to give students a basic understanding of the field, its techniques, and its purposes. Sessions conducted by specialists in the Royal Ontario Museum conservation department.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH484H1 - Fashion & Textiles: Culture & Consumption
This course examines the history, meaning and consumption of Western European fashion (18th - 21st centuries). Analysis and research will combine student seminars with the study of actual artefacts in the Textile & Costume Collection of the Royal Ontario Museum.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH485H1 - Collecting Canada: Canadian Pictorial Arts Collection at the Royal Ontario Museum
Theoretical and practical engagement with the ROM's Canadian paintings, prints and drawing collections (18th-20th C). Through lectures, workshops, and seminars, we consider the collecting, interpretation, and display of images within the framework of “documentary art” and its various connotations.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH486H1 - Case Studies at the Royal Ontario Museum
In-depth investigation of objects at the Royal Ontario Museum. Content will vary according to the museum department offering the course in any given semester.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH487H1 - Introduction to Asian Textiles
Introduction to the diverse textile traditions of Asia and the diverse means for interpreting them, with a concentration on core production areas, select regional traditions and connecting forces. Includes first-hand study of objects in ROM collections and glalleries and possible guest lectures.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH489H1 - Topics in the History of Art and Architecture
Focused examination of special topics in any period of Mediterranean, European, North American, or Asian art and architecture.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH490H1 - Introduction to the Textile Arts of the Indian Ocean World
The Indian Ocean has been called the Cradle of Globalization. For thousands of years monsoon winds linked the people and arts of this vast Ocean that stretches from East Africa in the West to Indonesia (and beyond) in the East. Throughout its long history, handwoven textiles have been amongst the area’s greatest art forms, trade goods, religious objects and markers of identity. This course will survey the wide variety of these forms, from c. 1100 to 1950. Special attention is placed on India, which lies at the center of the region, and originated many of the fibres, techniques, design and iconography of the wider area. Select regional manifestations are then examined in depth, using the ROM’s extensive collections. These range from the silks of Madagascar, to embroidered men’s wear of Oman, to the cosmopolitan batiks of northern coastal Java. It is seen that all these traditions can best be understood within the framework of the wider Indian Ocean region.
Recommended Preparation: Asian art, Islamic art, or anthropology
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH494H1 - Independent Studies
Eligible students may undertake an independent study course under the supervision of Department of Art History (St. George campus) faculty member. Refer to the Art History website for further information and application instructions. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
FAH494Y1 - Independent Studies
Eligible students may undertake an independent study course under the supervision of a Department of Art History (St. George campus) faculty member. Refer to the Art History website for detailed information and application instructions. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)