VAFA194 American Art History
Department of Arts and Communication: Art History
- I. Course Number and Title
- VAFA194 American Art History
- II. Number of Credits
- 3 credits
- III. Number of Instructional Minutes
- 2250
- IV. Prerequisites
- Writing Placement Test score of 6 or COMP107 (C or better)
- Corequisites
- None
- V. Other Pertinent Information
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Museum trip is mandatory.
This course meets the General Education requirement for Arts/Humanities.
- VI. Catalog Course Description
- This survey course covers the history of American painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, and other significant arts and crafts from the settlement period to the present. Students gain a formal understanding of American art. Students examine American art from cultural, social, and economic perspectives.
- VII. Required Course Content and Direction
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Course Learning Goals
Students will:
- identify the major art historical periods and styles of American Art from the seventeenth century to the present;
- describe the forms of American art using appropriate art historical vocabulary (i.e., perform a formal analysis);
- analyze the subject matter of a work of art;
- interpret the possible meaning of a work of art within an appropriate and arguable context (e.g., historical, religious, political, economic, social, racial, gender roles, etc.) [Arts/Humanities]; and
- apply research skills using library resources and/or scholarly Internet sites.
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Planned Sequence of Topics and/or Learning Activities
This course examines American art of the seventeenth century, the eighteenth century (mezzotint-inspired portraiture and Palladian pattern books), the Federal period (Neoclassicism and the Grand Manner), the nineteenth century prior to the Civil War (Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Picturesque styles, and the rise of landscape and genre painting), the nineteenth century after the Civil War (Gilded Age and Eclecticism), and major monuments of the twentieth century (e.g., Frank Lloyd Wright, Ash Can School, Modernism, Regionalism, Abstract Expressionism). Students study in class and through museum visits and learn basic terminology used in the study of visual art forms and apply this vocabulary to American art. Students examine art as a reflection of its cultural origin and explore how art can be interpreted in the context of history, religion, politics, economics, social hierarchies, race relations, gender roles, etc. -
Assessment Methods for Course Learning Goals
- required exams that include essay questions
- required museum paper with proper use and citation of research materials
- optional quizzes
- optional writing assignments
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Reference, Resource, or Learning Materials to be used by Student:
Slides, video, digital technology, and supplementary readings are selected by instructor. Departmentally-selected textbook. See course syllabus.
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Review/Approval Date - 3/07; Core Goals/Objectives added 10/06; Revised 6/09; Revised 1/2010; Pre-req added 12/2014; New Core 8/2015; Revised 3/5/2024