Art History

This course looks in detail at a number of key Renaissance artists including Sandro Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Albrecht Dürer, Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian. It examines the works of these artists within the context of early modern society, investigating the conditions of artistic patronage, and pursuing the theme of the ‘revival of antiquity’ alongside the changing religious demands placed on artists in the light of the Reformation. It also explores critically a number of themes and questions such as the ‘idea of the Renaissance’, whether there was a Renaissance for women, or if the Renaissance was multi-cultural? Other topics examined include ‘the rise of the artist’, the theory of ‘disegno’, artistic exchanges between Italy and northern Europe, the nature of different artistic centres in Italy (like Bologna, Milan or Venice as well as Florence and Rome), the growth of the genre of portraiture, and the experience of dreaming, melancholy or falling in love as described in the visual arts.

Focusing on the visual materials of the Silk Roads, this course explores the dynamic interconnections among Eurasian cultures. The course examines art and monuments, such as cave-temples, Buddhist statues, print ephemera, and mural paintings, to examine distinctive and interrelated styles, ideas, and values in various geographic regions. It considers how pilgrims, merchants, diplomats, and their travels mediated between oasis towns and transitional stations along the ancient trade network. Throughout the course, it helps develops skills in looking closely at artworks and speaking and writing about them. Through the lens of the Silk Roads, the course reimagines the interconnectedness among world cultures and enrich our understanding of globalism today.

This lecture course provides a primer in visual literacy across media, introducing key terms and methods for critically reading the visual world including iconology, formal analysis, art history, ideological analysis, and semiotics. Students gain fluency in understanding how images work in cultural context to communicate meaning, to express a sense of self, to convey pleasure, to sell things, and to distribute power. Questions of the effect of specific visual technologies are also engaged, particularly their impact on perception and conduct. Examples are drawn from fine arts, advertising, film, popular culture, and new media. This is an introductory course that fosters creative, conceptual, analytical and critical thinking with regards to visual communication. The course provides the primary references of the visual arts and graphic design fields as well as its corresponding terminology. It also introduces different creative practices and to contextual dynamics that have shaped the history of visual media from prehistoric times to the present day. Finally, the course gives a glimpse into contemporary theoretical approaches that address issues such as sustainability, social impact, diversity, inclusion and heritage. How do images convey meaning? How can they mislead us? What is the difference between seeing and looking? In other words, does sight guarantee insight? This course delves deep into visual strategies, contexts of viewership, and the ways in which to critically navigate the world around us with the tools.

This course examines the creative and critical roles that exile, diaspora and migration have played in art practices from the last few decades of the twentieth century to the present. It introduces a range of works by artists of divergent backgrounds who have variously engaged with either forced or voluntary cross-border movement and relocation. Apart from distinguishing and clarifying terms, like exile, expatriate, (im)migrant, tourist, nomad, refugee and diaspora, which have been used to describe mobile subjects and communities, the course attaches importance to the affective material capacity of art to cultivate affinities and alliances that are often neglected in the human-centered construction of identity, home and belonging. Moreover, the course considers how recent art practices evoke situations of displacement and dislocation, which make it possible to unsettle and rework systems, orders and power relations that underpin the persistent hegemony of the Global North in the production of knowledge and discourses about nations, cultures, histories and otherness. Artists looked at may include but are not limited to: Emily Jacir, Walid Raad, Nil Yalter, Danh Võ, Yto Barrada, Yinka Shonibare, Lida Abdul, Fiona Tan, Chiharu Shiota, Shirin Neshat, Sonia Boyce, and Tania Bruguera.

The class focuses on learning how to look at and to analyze Egyptian art and to place it in its historical, artistic, and cultural context. It focuses on Egyptian art from the end of the Middle Kingdom into the Ptolemaic Period (a review of earlier periods is provided) and includes: modes of representation, role of Egyptian art, reliefs, statuary, architecture, and minor arts, illustrated with images. Elements of Egyptian art that have influenced modern art are also discussed. This course involves a certain amount of memorization, which improves students’ memory capacity, so that each student has a "database" of images and can use it to situate monuments and artifacts within Egyptian history, as well as to develop visual awareness and memory. There is a focus on oral and written communication. Field trips include the Cairo Museum and pyramid sites such as Sakkara and Dahshur.

This course explores the relation between art and activism as a way of engaging critically with issues such as coloniality, gender inequality, xenophobia, and exploitative labour practices. Students study the work of leading practitioners and theorists in the field of politically-engaged art, with a focus on how dialogue and provocation afford a variety of ways of calling power relations into question through participatory practice and/or collaboration as a process of co-creation.

Tracing the development of modernity in western architecture, this course examines a series of movements and cities from the mid-18th century to the present. Major examples include Neoclassicism in Washington, D.C., Haussmann’s renovation of Paris, colonialism in Hong Kong and Shanghai, skyscrapers in Chicago and New York, and the international spread of Modernism and the diverse movements that have followed it. Emphasis is placed on construction technology, architectural theory, and the way buildings express institutional ideologies. Tutorials include visits to local buildings.

Political leaders use architecture to convey power, to express political ideas, and to influence how people think and act. In twentieth-century Europe, political ideologies including fascism, communism, colonialism, and democracy influenced the creation of new buildings and cities. This course explores those ideologies through the spaces that they produced, and a selection of examples spanning between Hitler’s plans to transform Berlin to public swimming pools in post-war Britain. Under the banner of democracy, it also explores how forces within Irish politics impacted the Dublin cityscape. This is a history of modern Europe told through the mark left by political actors upon architecture and cities. This same course exists as a 5-credit option - UCEAP Course 133A.

This course examines key philosophical and methodological approaches in the field of Art History. The development of professional skill sets will be a key focus. As such, the course serves as an essential introduction to Art History for those considering a career in the arts, education, or the museum and design sectors.

This course provides an overview of the development of art in Hong Kong from the colonial days to the early 21st century, including traditional Chinese painting, calligraphy and seal carving, modern ink painting, and various art forms in western media. It examines the uniqueness of Hong Kong’s art in the context of its economic growth, cultural integration of east and west, and freedom in artistic creation, towards an evaluation of the achievements of Hong Kong’s art in the twentieth century.