Art History

In this course, students examine the art and visual culture of Australia's Indigenous people. Students are introduced to fundamental cultural concepts that are significant to Aboriginal people in terms of their visual culture and art-making. Ancient rock art, bark painting, post-contact art, and urban-based contemporary art are examined and discussed.

This course examines theories of museum informatization, including introduction; digital management of museum collections; digital museums (including digital tour/on-site multimedia display content and online exhibition digital methods); theories and technologies of the museum collection information management system including the function setting principle and operation method; text and multimedia information collection.

The course focuses on the fundamental elements of Roman artistic, architectural, and urban civilization and their role in the processes of cultural integration. The course highlights historical and cultural issues and places artistic productions in their social, political, and economic contexts in order to arrive at sound historical reconstructions. Students are encouraged to explore independently scientific instruments and bibliographical references that are of interest to them. The course focuses on typologies, functions, and significance of Roman monuments and artistic expressions. Attention is placed on chronological questions and the history of research methodologies. The course includes an optional seminar for art history majors. Specific topics include: A Plural Art–artistic Roman cultures from the Archaic period to the Late Antiquity; Rome in the Archaic period–places of power, cultural spaces, houses; the urbanistic and monumental evolution of the Urbe in the Republican and Imperial age; places of power, temples, and sanctuaries, spaces of entertainment, houses, tombs; originality of Roman art, relationships between Greek art and Classicisms; Romanization–diffusion and assimilation of romanitas, town urbanism and its public and private monuments; art of construction–techniques and materials; artistic “languages” Arte colta and arte plebea; sculpture, painting, and mosaics, Achillean statues, historical rendering, portraits. Assessment is based on an oral exam aimed at verifying knowledge of the materials presented in class as well as the assigned readings. Exchange students are given the option of a written exam in lieu of the oral exam, if they prefer. The written exam consists of four essay questions on the general themes of the course and the identification and analysis of specific works of art.