Art History

This course examines the history of Western art and architecture through such defining issues as the respective roles of tradition and innovation in the production and appreciation of art; the relation of art to its broader intellectual and historical contexts; and the changing concepts of the monument, the artist, meaning, style, and “art” itself. Representative examples are selected from different periods, ranging from Antiquity to Modern. 

With an emphasis on Italy, this course focuses on the looting, destruction, and reselling of antiquities, from classical antiquity to today. Together students consider issues such as what constitutes an art/cultural heritage crime, how ideas of value (both real and symbolic) have emerged historically and how have they changed over time, what constitutes "ownership" in the eyes of different entities, and how this has changed over the past fifty years, resulting in the current difficult and controversial issue of the repatriation of cultural artifacts which have crossed international borders. Themes considered include the history of collecting, illegal excavation and the illicit trade in antiquities, the role of auction houses, the Church, museums and galleries, ownership and patrimony issues, international laws and agreements, recovery and repatriation, and ongoing problems with the protection and conservation of antiquities. The course concludes with a review of cultural heritage laws and the current international situation, as well as a discussion identifying challenges and providing suggestions for regulating the market of antiquities in the future. The course includes visits to relevant sites and museums in and around Rome and includes the close investigation of actual case studies throughout.

This course offers a survey of art and architecture up to the end of 17th century, with a focus primarily, although not exclusively, on the Western world. It provides an introduction to the critical analysis of artworks, including painting, mosaic, fine metalwork, manuscripts, sculpture, buildings and the built environment. The course considers such matters as the iconography of major religious and mythological subjects, issues of style and the functions of works of art and architecture. Art works are considered in the context of influential factors such as historical period, geographic location, inter-cultural influences and the prevailing social, political, and religious environments.

This course provides a firm foundational understanding of the development and history of photography;  themes and genres in modern and contemporary photography, and some first-hand experience of the challenges involved in producing a photographic image. The goal of the course is to develop a deeper understanding of the photographic medium—its relationship to technological development, and its aesthetic, cultural, and political relevance. 

This course offers an overview of Iberian Art from its beginnings to the present day. It explores architecture, painting, and sculpture from various styles and eras including: Islamic, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Golden Age, and Baroque. 

This course is team-taught by lecturers in the School of Art History & Cultural Policy. Dublin is home to a rich variety of museums; its collections survey the entire history of Irish art but also include outstanding examples of European and non-Western art. The city and its environs is itself renowned for its architecture and sculpture. Over the course of two lectures per week, this course fosters an enhanced appreciation of, and a direct engagement with, local art works and monuments among students who are not majoring in art history. Although short readings are assigned, the principal demand made upon students outside of class hours is to visit local sites/collections relevant to material discussed in class. This course is introductory in nature, and aimed at students with no previous experience of art history.

This course examines the material culture of modern China from the Republican period to the Reform era, with a focus on the Maoist era from 1949 to the late 1970s. By focusing on the design, production, consumption, and circulation of the material culture everyday life, this course will make sense of how the profound changes experienced during the twentieth century translated into the material, aesthetic, and cultural experiences of everyday people in China. It looks at how objects came to signify abstract concepts such as socialist modernity, feudal backwardness, or revolution, and ask how material goods can carry multiple associations, from the ideological to the aesthetic. The class will examine a variety of objects, including ceramics, consumer goods, enamelware, interior design and decor, lantern slides, photographs, posters, and textiles, paying particular attention to the relationships formed with objects and the cultural meanings ascribed to them.