MWF 10–11
Instructor TBA

MW 10–11 + Discussion Section
Dr. Ann Johns

TTH 10–11 + Discussion Section
Mode of Instruction: Internet
Dr. Douglas Cushing

Art is a language: how do we decode its meaning and its extraordinary effect on us, the viewers? How does art reflect the era, location, and culture of both its maker and its patron? Through a blend of online lectures, quizzes, and tests, as well as TA-led visits to UT’s Blanton Museum of Art, students will learn that art is a prism—often beautiful, always challenging—through which we can view the human experience, both past and present. Throughout the semester, students will increase their visual literacy and critical thinking skills by looking at a global array of works from many eras and locations. The only prerequisites are open eyes and open minds! We will concentrate on the familiar media of painting, sculpture, and architecture, but we will also examine drawings, prints, photography, garden planning, ceramics, textiles, earthworks, installation art, and other forms of visual culture, both through live online lectures and through in-person visits to UT’s collections of art.

Fulfills → VAPA / Global Cultures flag

MW 11–12 + Discussion Section
Dr. Douglas Cushing

TTH 5–6:30
Instructor TBA

This course discusses art from the prehistoric period to the Early Renaissance (ca. 1300) in Europe, the Middle East and the ancient Americas, with emphasis on style and social and cultural context. The focus on arts-architecture and city planning, sculpture, painting, metalwork, and ceramics—is global with special attention lavished on ancient Near East, Egypt, Africa, Greece, Rome, Islam, Mesoamerica, India, and the European Middle Ages. The control of the viewer’s experience, the political and religious use of art, the meaning of style, the functions of art in public and private life, and the role of art in expressing cultural values will be among the major themes considered. This is also an introduction to the discipline of art history and archaeology, training students in basic vocabulary and techniques of close looking and analytical thinking about visual material.

Fulfills → VAPA / Global Cultures flag

MWF 11–12
Instructor TBA

TTH 8–9:30
Instructor TBA

As a class, we will explore an extraordinary array of art and architecture from across the globe, including art of Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Cultures. Our course begins c. 1300, in the late Global Middle Ages, and concludes with international artistic trends of the early 21st century. While we will concentrate on the familiar media of painting, sculpture, and architecture, we will also be looking at drawings, prints, photography, the decorative arts, garden planning, ceramics, textiles, interior design, earthworks, installation art, and digital media.

Fulfills → VAPA / Global Cultures flag

TTH 2–3:30
Dr. John R. Clarke

This course aims to examine Visual Culture to gain a better understanding of how ancient Greeks and Romans thought about themselves with regard to love, sexuality, divine and human beauty, and protection from demonic forces. We will analyze specific works of Greek and Roman art between the sixth century B.C. and the fourth century A.D. to increase our understanding of what these concepts meant within social and cultural contexts that were very different from our own.

My hope is that you will leave the course with a greater understanding of the processes of acculturation or attitude-formation. You will be able to recognize how, in a given culture, the processes of acculturation lead to specific constructions of love, beauty, and security. Indeed, you may come to realize that all the practices of everyday life are cultural constructions: that each culture constructs the rules that regulate social behavior. I hope that your study of these ancient cultures will give you greater understanding of the phenomena of cultural diversity in the world. You should also gain a greater understanding of the major developments within the visual arts over this long period, from classical Greece to early Christianity.

You will improve your ability to read critically, and to recognize and scrutinize the arguments presented in the readings. The course will help you develop your ability to express your ideas in writing and speaking.

This is primarily a lecture course with three exams. The exams combine slide identifications and comparisons with prepared essays. These exams have the goal of getting you to engage with visual representations through the lens of class discussion and the readings. In particular, the prepared essay should develop your critical skills as well as your writing skills. Finally, the five assignments are designed to help you think about how different cultures mirror or contradict the Greek and Roman cultures we are studying.

Fulfills → VAPA / Global Cultures flag

MWF 10–11
Dr. Stephennie Mulder

Objects, “things” – whether mundane, everyday household items or great works of art and architecture patronized by merchants, religious leaders, or rulers – have had a profound impact on the course of history. Indeed, recently historians have begun to speak of a “material turn” within the field – a movement away from a purely text-based model of understanding the past. This model acknowledges that things can often reveal a more nuanced and rich picture of past lives, in particular, allowing us to understand how ordinary people lived. And yet, history is often still taught as though our only source of knowledge about the past comes through texts. This course will be a survey of the history of the medieval Middle East, from the period of Late Antiquity (in the seventh century) to the beginning of the rise of early modern empires of the Safavids, Ottomans, and Mughals (in the seventeenth century), taught by a close examination of the meaning and significance of 100 objects. The objects will range from buildings to manuscripts to weapons and will come from diverse contexts, including archaeological investigations, museum collections, and European Church treasuries. Yet all of them will tell a vivid story about the people of their time.

Students will learn basic skills of visual analysis and object analysis, and will gain an introduction to theories of seeing and interpreting works of art and architecture – essential skills in today’s increasingly visually-based information economy. At the end of the course, students will not only have a clear sense of the histories of the great medieval Islamic dynasties and their various Zoroastrian, Christian, and Jewish subjects, but will also be able to use works of art and architecture, as well as everyday objects, as an effective tool of analysis.

Fulfills → Global Cultures flag

Cross-listings → HIS 339Q / MES 343

TTH 3:30–5
Dr. Katherine Taronas

This course examines the art and architecture of the eastern Mediterranean from the end of Late Antiquity until the end of the Byzantine Empire in 1453. Having defined itself against its Classical past, Byzantium in the seventh century underwent fundamental changes that produced a medieval and Christian view of the world. This course will interpret different expressions of this worldview in art and architecture, through the upheavals of Iconoclasm in the eighth and ninth centuries and the so-called “renaissances” of the Macedonian, Komnenian, and Palaiologan periods. It will look at meanings Byzantium gave to materials and techniques in architecture, mosaic, relief carving, textiles, wall and panel painting, enamel and metalwork, coins and seals, and more. Finally, the course will examine art produced within the cultural orbit of Byzantium, exploring themes of artistic exchange with Islamic empires, the Caucasus, Christian Africa, and European kingdoms and Crusaders.

Fulfills → VAPA / Global Cultures flag

Cross-listings → R S 357I

MW 12–1:30
Dr. Ann Johns

Florence, Venice, Siena: the cultural landscape of Italy is dominated by cities so rich in artistic treasures that any one example is worthy of a whole course. We begin with the most famous Renaissance city-state, Florence. We will explore the development of art and architecture in civic, ecclesiastic, monastic, palatial, and private settings, from Brunelleschi’s dome to private, secular decoration in the city’s palazzi. We will then examine the cities of Venice and Siena; each of these cities is distinguished by its own unique style of art and architecture. We’ll study Italy’s “court” cities, including Ferrara, Mantua, and Urbino. We’ll observe the unique sense of “place” that distinguishes these communities, but we’ll also discover cultural, artistic, and urban commonalities throughout Renaissance Italy.

We’ll also examine issues such as the role of women and the family; the importance of race and international trade; the rise of specialized hospitals and quarantine islands in an era of plague; and the delicate balance between the growing urban centers and the control of the surrounding territory, so necessary for crops and other resources.

All readings will be posted on Canvas. Assignments include reading responses and other urbanistic analyses. All tests are non-cumulative.

Fulfills → VAPA / Global Cultures flag

Cross-listings → CTI 375.4 / EUS 347.33

TTH 11–12:30
Dr. John R. Clarke

This course surveys the major movements in American art from about 1958 to about 1985. We will look at the work of selected artists associated with the major trends, including pop art, minimalism, conceptual art, site-specific art, performance and body art, photorealism, patterning and decoration, and the varieties of figural art that emerged in the 1980s, including neo-expressionism, graffiti, and appropriation.

We will look at these trends from three principal points of view: their relationship to prior historical developments, their self-stated aims, and their treatment by contemporary critics.

This course should give you a good survey knowledge of the art—including much more than traditional painting and sculpture—between 1950 and 1985. You will gain an understanding the interactions between art movements, artists, critics, and dealers, and you should be able to walk into a museum or art gallery and recognize all of the styles and approaches mentioned above. More importantly, you will learn how visual representation reflects social change. “Art”—broadly defined—always reflects social change, but in this period there were many Counter-Cultural Movements. Most importantly, the Civil Rights Movement for racial equality. But also important were the development of Feminism, the Hippie Movement, and the Gay Liberation Movement—all with important visual components.

This is primarily a lecture course. To help you study the content of these lectures, I will post lecture outlines and the PowerPoints of each lecture on Canvas after I present them to you in class. I expect you to keep up with the assigned readings on canvas and to memorize a group of images.

There will be three one-hour examinations at the end of each of three modules, testing you on the content of that group of lectures and images. I also regularly set “plus” assignments that will give you the opportunity to raise your exam grades.

Fulfills → VAPA

Cross-listings → AMS 339M

MW 11–12:30
Dr. Adele Nelson

It is an exciting moment of heightened visibility for postwar and contemporary Latin American art in the United States. This course will take advantage of the University’s rich Latin American art collections to study artwork first-hand and examine South American art and critical debates from 1945 to the present in particular depth. We will also work to redress the exclusion of Caribbean and Central American art and Afro-descendant and Indigenous creators from the study of art of Latin America. Attention will be paid to transnational artistic exchanges, including the role of new art institutions, such as the São Paulo and Havana Biennials. We will consider Latin America-based artists in their distinct contexts and in relation to broader political, social, and economic forces, among these violent dictatorial governments and the Cold War and its aftermaths.

Fulfills → Global Cultures flag

Cross-listings → LAS 327.9

M 3:30–6:30
Dr. George Flaherty

This course examines art cinemas from the Spanish-speaking Americas, mostly from the 1950s to the present. Weekly screenings and readings foreground the audio-visual experiments and historical contexts, both national and transnational, of films at the intersection of art worlds and film industries. Emphasis will be placed on narrative and documentary cinema, and the power dynamics of media circulation and cultural exchange.

Fulfills → Global Cultures flag

Cross-listings → LAS 327.7 / RTF 347F

MW 12–1:30
Mode of Instruction: Internet
Dr. Moyosore Okediji

This course is a comprehensive study of the visual arts of Africa, in the social and cultural contexts within which people make and use these images. Students will explore historical, contemporary, and diasporic aspects of African art, as part of a larger expressive complex that includes music, dance, literature, and cinematography. The course will present the works of major artists, art groups, ethnicities, and communities, as a lively dialog between the creative imaginations of those who make the objects, and the philosophical responses of those to whom the artists address the objects. This course is web-based.

Fulfills → VAPA / Global Cultures flag

Cross-listings → AFR 335E

TTH 3:30–5
Dr. Astrid Runggaldier

This course provides an overview of the cultures that occupied the Andean coast and highlands prior to and in contact with the Spaniards who occupied the area in the 16th century. Given the lack of written historical documentation prior to the Spanish arrival, investigations of the ancient Andean visual arts – the elaborate textiles, fine ceramic vessels, carved stone sculptures, and monumental architecture – have advanced through multidisciplinary approaches. Students examine various culture groups by engaging both the iconography and archaeology of the regional traditions, focusing primarily on the Nasca, Moche, and Chimu cultures, as these are featured prominently in the UT Art and Art History Collection (AAHC). In this course, we address pertinent environmental and ecological factors, evidence of ritual practices, such as human sacrifice and water management, techniques and materials of manufacture of art and architecture, and issues in looting and collecting antiquities, as well as preserving and presenting collections. Additionally, you will work with primary sources: the ceramic objects in the AAHC provide the basis for written assignments and digital humanities projects focused on these artworks. To that end, your coursework includes group-work and collaborative projects in digital curation to enhance online exhibits for a virtual museum project as well as a hands-on component to create a paired exhibit in the Fine Arts Library.

Fulfills → VAPA / Global Cultures flag

Cross-listings → LAS 327.6

TTH 2–3:30
Dr. Julia Guernsey

This course surveys the art, architecture, and material culture of a number of the ancient civilizations of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica that flourished in what are now the modern countries of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras.  The course spans the time of the Olmec through that of the Aztecs, or from the 2nd millennium BC through the arrival of the Spanish in 1519. The goal of this course is to provide students with a general knowledge of the history, ritual traditions, and belief systems of ancient Mesoamericans, as expressed through sculpture, painting, architecture, archaeological remains, and ancient writing systems.

Fulfills → VAPA / Global Cultures flag

Cross-listings → LAS 327.3

TTH 12:30–2
Dr. David Stuart

This class explores the art and visual culture of Aztec (Mexica) civilization, focusing on sculptures, paintings, and architectural monuments from the fourteenth century into the early colonial period of the sixteenth century. Students will learn how to look at art and architecture through the systems of iconography and hieroglyphic writing, interpreting their historical, linguistic, and mythological contexts. The art and the methods we use to interpret it provide important windows into larger issues of Aztec history, politics, ideology, and social structure.

Fulfills → VAPA / Global Cultures flag

Cross-listings → LAS 327.11

MW 12:30–2
Dr. Astrid Runggaldier

This course explores, through the lens of architecture and sculpture, the ancient world of the Maya, encompassing both monumental, non-movable art, and smaller-scale sculpture and portable artworks. You will learn about the Maya from recent interdisciplinary research highlighting the deep history of art an architectural design, and the social functions of sculptural and artistic programs. In fall 2023, you will additionally benefit from direct observation of Maya artworks for a special exhibition at the Blanton Museum of Art, where you will see ideas from course readings reflected in the objects on view. With a focus especially on the Classic period of the Lowland regions within the Maya area, you will develop an understanding of the role art plays in society, politics, and religion, and you will explore how Classic-period artworks express Maya concepts of kingship, divinity, gender, cosmology and worldview in general. As a writing-focused course, this upper-level undergraduate seminar comprises ongoing student engagement throughout the semester with several writing-based projects and assignments.

Fulfills → Global Cultures flag / Writing flag

Cross-listings → ANT 322V / LAS 327.10

MW 2–3:30
Dr. Penelope Davies

This course explores the intersection of public architecture and change of political regime in the ancient city of Rome, focusing on the transition between a Republic, governed by a senate and a board of elected magistrates, and an Empire, when an emperor ruled as autocrat (broadly,  ca. 133 BCE – 100 CE). Classes focus on the roles of construction, architecture and urbanism in effecting and reflecting radical political change.

Fulfills → Global Cultures flag

MW 12:30–2
Dr. Douglas Cushing

Explores monsters and the role visual culture plays in defining, producing, and transforming them. Also examines how images give form, quality, and measure to our notions of evil. We will consider historical antecedents, but our focus will be modern monsters (e.g., aliens, automatons, vampires, mutants and hybrids, and the undead) and modern incarnations of evil (e.g., fascist leaders, murderers, religious personifications), considering the ethics, aesthetics, and histories that determine them. Readings will be drawn from literature, philosophy, and relevant scholarship across disciplines.

MWF 11–12
Dr. Rikki Byrd

In 2023, museums, libraries, and various media celebrated the 50th anniversary of hip hop. Coming of age in the Bronx during a back-to-school block party organized by siblings DJ Kool Herc and Cindy Campbell, the musical genre that began with turntables, breakdancing, graffiti, Kangol hats, and Adidas has morphed into a cultural phenomenon touching continents, industries, and mediums, including visual culture and art history. This course will explore the latter two poles. Each week will be named after a song lyric, which will guide students’ exploration of themes such as politics, power, gender and sexuality, and locality from the East and West coasts to the Dirty South and Midwest. In addition to analyzing works by artists, such as Jean Michel-Basquiat, Hank Willis Thomas, and Carrie Mae Weems, students will also explore album covers, magazines, music videos, and other material culture to expand their understanding of how the visual culture of hip hop can be used to assess the history and representational politics of the Black diaspora. 

Fulfills → Independent Inquiry flag

Cross-listings → AFR 330I / AMS 325I / C L 323.69

TTH 9:30–11
Dr. Carma Gorman

Explore contemporary color notation systems and color management techniques. Survey economic, health and safety, environmental, cultural, legal, political, and other ethical considerations pertinent to using color.

Cross-listings → DES 323

MW 3:30–5
Dr. Rosemary Candelario

This undergraduate course explores the dynamic landscape of Asian American art and performance from historical, cultural, and social perspectives. Students will examine how Asian American artists and performers navigate identity, representation, and community through various mediums, including visual art, theater, dance, and multimedia. Key themes will include the impact of immigration and diaspora on artistic expression, the role of cultural heritage in contemporary art practices, and the intersectionality of race, gender, and sexuality within Asian American narratives. Students will engage with a wide range of texts, performances, and artworks, critically analyzing the ways in which Asian American artists respond to societal issues and challenge dominant cultural narratives. The course will also feature guest speakers and artists, providing students with insights into the contemporary art scene and the processes behind artistic creation.

Fulfills → VAPA / Cultural Diversity flag / Global Cultures flag

Cross-listings → AAS 335 / T D 357T

MW 11–12:30
Dr. Luke Williams

This undergraduate course examines the impact and legacy of the Black Power political movement on art, performance, and culture today. Drawing upon historical, social, and artistic perspectives, this course highlights how critical discourses in aesthetics have been shaped by key political questions at the foundation of the global movement. Questions and themes under discussion include the political and creative strategies of self-determination, the meaning of diaspora to cultural identity, the significance of the intersectionality of race, gender, sexuality, and class in collective action, and the dilemma of commodification surrounding radical aesthetic intervention. Students will engage with a wide range of texts, artwork conceived broadly, and critical perspectives to analyze the ways international “artivists” respond to societal issues and reimagine the future. The course will also feature guest speakers and artists. Students should be prepared to participate creatively in a collaborative workshop environment.

Cross-listings → AFR 370 / T D 357T

T 9–12
Dr. Ondine C. Chavoya

This seminar is designed to expose students to a range of practical and theoretical concerns that define contemporary curatorial practice. The course approaches curating as a form of research and explores a range of curatorial modalities. We will examine the working processes of organizing exhibitions – for both the visual arts and performance – and consider the practical and theoretical issues of curating performance within the context of art institutions. We will study curatorial methodologies, the history of curating, key watershed exhibitions that changed the field, and the practical skills associated with realizing an exhibition. Particular emphasis is placed on case studies, including sessions with visiting curators discussing their practices. Our conversations will engage curators and museum professionals working across the region, and remote conversations with individuals working farther afield may also be possible, to discuss new directions, challenges, and opportunities in the field. Whenever possible, the conversations will focus on the behind-the-scenes processes of research and scholarship, methods of display, collection development and acquisitions, interpretation and education, audience engagement, curatorial responsibility, risk-taking, and funding that shape the ways we come to know contemporary art and performance. A guiding question for the seminar will be to consider how curators and institutions have responded to demands—both historical and contemporary—for increased representation and diversity in museum collections and exhibitions.

This class includes visits to local museums and galleries, weekly readings, short writing assignments, guest speakers, and a final research project.

Cross-listings → BDP 329

TTH 12:30–2
Dr. Carma Gorman

For years, scholars and students of graphic design history have justifiably complained that the field’s standard textbooks promote a biased canon of “great works” produced almost exclusively by elite white Northern European and North American male professional designers. How have textbook authors explained or justified their choice of illustrations? How should they respond to these critiques as they prepare the next editions of their textbooks? Will adding more works by and for Black, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, female, LGBTQIA+, and/or working-class people suffice to “fix” these books? And if not, which of the definitions, assumptions, and values that currently undergird these textbooks’ narratives should their authors also revisit? In this course, you will answer these questions by proposing remedies to errors, biases, and omissions you identify in the textbook and by reflecting on course readings and lectures that offer counternarratives to the story our textbook tells.

Cross-listings → DES 337.1

TTH 9:30–11
Dr. Sylvia Wu

As a decentralized religion, Islam has been practiced in virtually all corners of the world. While scholarly research has traditionally focused on the so-called central Islamic lands, increasing attention has been given to Muslims living in regions where non-Islamic socio-political systems and infrastructures predominate. This course centers on the latter groups, exploring the material cultures produced in places where Islam did not originate as, or is not, the dominant authority. We investigate both shared traditions and points of conflict, examining collaborations as well as moments of confrontation. By focusing on regions such as East Africa, South Asia, East Asia, Europe, and the Americas, we reflect on how Muslim immigrants and local communities co-create objects and spaces that reflect a state of coexistence.

Fulfills → Ethics flag / Global Cultures flag

MWF 10–11
Dr. Natalie Zelt

This lecture course will traverse multiple intersections of photography, art, and cultures of the United States. With a distinct emphasis on establishing dialogue between contemporary and historical artworks, this course will encourage students to consider the ways that photography is implicated in not only the politics of representation, but the social and cultural politics of everyday life.

While history is profoundly important to understanding photography, this class is not a strict comprehensive survey. With a nod to the chronological, the course offers a series of jumping off points from which students can begin to grapple themes of power, nature, authorship, and the politics of identity through looking at and thinking about photography and its many histories in the United States.

This course will move with care through some of the varying ways photography has impacted history. Those histories include photography’s own as an artistic medium as well as those of the persons who deploy the medium and those who are imaged and imagined by it. Black is a foundational color for photography technically and compositionally. Photography as an idea and photographs as objects have played a foundational role in the entrenchment of racialized blackness in the United States. Photographs have also provided a critical avenue of contestation and care–a tender blackness. Histories of photography are exceedingly complex, ever-changing, and urgent. This course will introduce students to those complexities through artwork and urge students to make connections between history and the present.

Fulfills → Global Cultures flag / Writing flag

Cross-listings → AFR 370

Art History Majors  
Download this guide to view the qualifying Time Periods and Geographical Locations for this course.

MW 11–2
Alexandre Pépin

This course introduces a beginning painting student to basic materials, techniques and ideas germane to historical and contemporary painting. Through the production of painting, one-on-one conversations with the instructor, and class discussion/critique, each student will become more sensitive, insightful and critical about works they produce and encounter. Note: The content of this course is determined by the instructor.

MW 11–2
Instructor TBA

MW 2–5
Instructor TBA

This course introduces a beginning drawing student to basic materials, techniques and ideas germane to historical and contemporary drawing. Through the production of drawings, one-on-one conversations with the instructor, and class discussion/critique, each student will become more sensitive, insightful and critical about works they produce and encounter. Note: The content of this course is determined by the instructor.

MW 2–5
Erin Miller

TTH 8–11
Instructor TBA

As a print survey course, Print for Non-Majors will introduce students to the basic conceptual issues of print and the technical processes of risograph, relief, intaglio, monoprint etc. This course is a “sampler platter” in that it will give students a taste of numerous processes so that students can get a sense of which they would like to explore further. The structure will include a mix of demonstrations, hands-on instruction, and lectures on historical and contemporary print artists.

TTH 11–2
Alex Boeschenstein

Exploration of the processes involved in the production of object-oriented sculpture.

TTH 8–11
Melissa Nuñez

This class will introduce you to the fundamentals of black & white photography. You will learn how to use a manual medium-format camera, expose and develop black & white film, and make gelatin silver prints. You will also study aspects of photographic history and begin to define your individual voice as an artist using photography.