Southern Methodist University
SMU

DIVISION OF ART HISTORY

Associate Professor Randall C. Griffin, Division Chair

University Distinguished Professor: Annemarie Weyl Carr; Professors: Karl Kilinski II, P. Gregory Warden; Associate Professors: Janis Bergman-Carton, Adam Herring, Pamela A. Patton; Assistant Professor: Lisa Pon, Mark Roglán, Charissa Terranova; Haakon Fellow: Amy Freund

The Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in Art History is designed to provide a broad but rigorous background in the history of art. It is intended either as a final degree for those who wish to pursue careers in which training beyond the baccalaureate degree is helpful, or as a foundation in graduate study for those who wish to continue work toward a Ph.D. at another institution.

Admission and Financial Aid

Admission to the graduate program is selective. Students are expected to have had substantial undergraduate work in the history of art. A minimum of 12 term credit hours of undergraduate art history above the survey level or equivalent is required before a student may begin to accumulate hours for graduate credit. Students who have been admitted without adequate undergraduate preparation will be expected to take the requisite number of undergraduate hours before or during their first term at SMU. The applicant should have a reading knowledge of one foreign language. Applicants must take the GRE or, in the case of non-U.S. citizens resident outside the U.S., have a previous degree from an English-speaking university. An interview with the art history graduate adviser is desirable.

Outstanding students are awarded tuition grants and teaching/research assistantships. These awards are based on merit. Students accepting the offer of a scholarship may not decline the accompanying assistantship. In addition, the Division has funds available so graduate students may travel to conduct research on their thesis topics.

Application for admission with financial aid must be filed in full by February 15 for the fall term and November 1 for the spring term. To receive a graduate application for admission and/or information concerning assistantships and fellowships, scholarships, and degree programs, write to the Office of Graduate Admissions and Records, Meadows School of the Arts, SMU, PO Box 750356, Dallas TX 75275-0356.

Master of Arts in Art History

This is a 36-term-credit-hour program. Thirty credit hours are required in course work; each course is worth three credit hours. Twenty-one of the 30 credit hours must be of seminar standing, that is, ARHS 5303 plus six additional seminars. During the first term of graduate study a student must enroll for at least two seminar courses. The final six credits must be taken in the form of a major research paper in the field of the student's strongest interest. This thesis will be presented at the conclusion of the student's M.A. work. Prior to enrollment for the thesis, each student must pass a translation examination in a foreign language related to the field of his or her particular concentration.

Each student will consult with the department's Director of Graduate Studies upon arrival. Subsequently, students will select permanent advisers and committees in their fields of special interest. Courses numbered 5000 or higher are graduate courses.

The Courses (ARHS)

Directed Topics and Studies

5011, 5012. Museum Internship.

5101, 5201, 5301. Directed Studies in Art History. To be arranged with permission of the adviser and the faculty members directing the studies project.

5303. History and Methods of the History of Art. Introduction to the history of the discipline with discussion of major methodological approaches as they have shaped past scholarship and the present sense of crisis in the discipline; exercise in methods of research and its presentation in good form. Required of all first-year graduate students.

6101, 6201, 6301. Master's Thesis.

Ancient Art

5304. Seminar in Ancient Art. Specific topics for investigation will be chosen by the instructors. Student reports will be discussed by seminar members.

5305. Seminar in Greek Art. Specific topics for investigation will be chosen by the instructors. Student reports will be discussed by seminar members.

5306. Seminar on Art, Society, and Politics in Periclean Athens. This course focuses on the interrelationships among the social and political institutions of Athens and its art and architecture in the Golden Age. Set against historical currents of the fifth century BCE, the art and theater of classical Athens are explored for their social and political relevance. A variety of topics is offered for individual research and classroom presentation, along with a class visit to the Dallas Museum of Art. Taught jointly by faculty in Art History and History.

5307. Seminar on Classical Art and Theatre. A comparative examination of art, architecture, and theatre in Classical Greece, with particular attention to representational structures and strategies in Classical performance and the visual arts. Topics will include the uses of art and performance as a forum for addressing issues of local and universal concern and for reflecting upon mythic and historical events. Taught jointly by faculty in Art History and Theatre.

5308. Seminar in Etruscan Art. Specific topics for investigation will be chosen by the instructors. Student reports will be discussed by seminar members.

5309. Seminar in Roman Art. Specific topics for investigation will be chosen by the instructors. Student reports will be discussed by seminar members.

5310. Seminar on Classical Myth in Art. The myths of the Greeks and Romans provide a lively commentary on the beliefs and feelings of those peoples, founders of Western civilization, whose art and literature continue to have profound effects on our own. The course is designed to study the origins, developments, iconography, and interpretations of classical myth through the painting and sculpture of the Greeks and Romans. It also will focus on the treatment of classical myth in subsequent periods of Western art up to and including the 20th century.

5311. Seminar on Classical and Neo-Classical Architecture. This course will begin with a detailed analysis of the "vocabulary" and "syntax" of Greek and Roman architecture and then progress to the study of the re-use of classical motifs, symbols, and styles by architects from the Renaissance to the 20th century.

6306. Mummies, Myths, and Monuments of Ancient Egypt: Art and Expression of Eternal Egypt. Mummies, magic, pyramids, and pharaohs provide the focus for a survey of the exotic world of the ancient Egyptians as seen through their brilliantly preserved art and architecture along the banks of the Nile. Egyptian artistic developments from Pre-Dynastic times through the New Kingdom are followed.

6311. Mortals, Myths, and Monuments of Ancient Greece. A visual analysis of the rich tapestry of ancient Greek culture, fountainhead of Western civilization, with emphasis on mythological, archaeological, and historical settings in which the art and architecture occur. Touches on various aspects of ancient Greek life including religious practices, Olympic contests, theatrical performances, and artistic perfection, among others.

6312. Etruscan and Iron Age Italy. A survey of the art, architecture, and material culture of Etruscan and Roman Italy from about 800 B.C. to the advent of Christianity. Begins with the Etruscans and their neighbors in Iron Age Italy and ends with Roman art in the age of Constantine. Special emphasis placed on the interpretation of art within the historical, social, and cultural context of ancient Italy.

6313. The Etruscans and Early Italy: Art and Culture. The art and architecture of early Italy, including Etruscan art, early Roman art, and "Italic" art will be studied with respect to the cultural context and environment.

6314. The Art and Architecture of Ancient Pompeii. A survey of the history, monuments, and society of Campania from the Iron Age to AD 79 as reconstructed from the excavations of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and neighboring sites. The influence of the Pompeian discoveries on 18th- and 19th-century art will also be discussed.

6315. Classical Sculpture. A study of the styles, subjects, and techniques of the sculptor's art during the ancient Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman eras. Focuses on the functions of sculpture in the round and in relief, free-standing, and in architectural settings, with particular attention to historical background.

6317. Ancient Painting. A study of the painter's art in the Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan, and Roman eras encompassing murals, mosaics and ceramics. Iconographical and stylistic developments are given equal consideration.

6319. Art of the Roman Empire. The art and architecture of Imperial Rome will be studied in relation to the complex artistic traditions of the Roman provinces. The monuments and art of all the provinces of the Roman Empire are surveyed, dealing with the problem of Roman interaction with alien cultures and styles.

6303. Archaeological Field Methods of Italy. Archaeological field experience in classical archaeology in Italy.

Medieval Art

5320. Seminar in Medieval Art. Specific topics for investigation will be chosen by the instructor.

5321. Seminar in Early Christian Art. Taught jointly by professors in art history and theology, this seminar engages students in both disciplines in examining the emergence of a distinctly Christian visual culture, the functions and communicative strategies of its images, and the role they played in both the religious and the cultural development of early Christianity.

5322. Seminar on "Convivencia": Jewish, Islamic, and Christian Art in Medieval Spain. This seminar will examine the art and architecture produced by the Christians, Jews, and Muslims of Iberia during the tenth through fifteenth centuries, studying the cultural contacts, conflicts, and compromises that affected each culture's artistic traditions and contributed the diverse heritage of what we now call Spanish art.

5323. Seminar in Byzantine Art. Specific topics for investigation will be chosen by the instructor.

6320. Medieval Art. An introduction to the art of Byzantium, Islam, and the medieval West through study of five genres to which each of these cultures made distinctive contributions: the congregational worship space, imaging the sacred word, the court and its objects, the pilgrimage site, and the urban religious complex.

6321. Age of the Crusades. Looks at the art of the various Christian cultures that were swept into the Crusades especially the northern European, Italian, Byzantine, and Armenian and examines both the changes and the interchanges that characterize the period between 1096 and 1291.

6322. Art and the Italian Commune. The interplay of artistic styles, workshop practice, religious change and political controversy in the century between St. Francis and the Black Death, emphasizing the art of the Pisani, Cimabue, Cavallini, Giotto, Duccio, and the Lorenzetti.

6323. Romanesque Art and Architecture. Surveys the flowering of art and architecture that appeared throughout Western Europe at the threshold of the new millennium. Emphasis will be placed on issues of cultural exchange and conflict, the intensification of national identities, the role of spirituality, and the changing conception of the individual during the eleventh and twelfth centuries.

6324. Art and Cultures of Medieval Spain. Considers the art architecture of the Iberian Peninsula within its highly diverse cultural context. Hispano-Roman, Visigothic, Romanesque, Gothic, Jewish, and Islamic examples will be highlighted; classroom lectures will be supplemented by direct study of works in the Meadows Museum.

6325. The Gothic Cathedral. The social and spiritual centerpiece of medieval European life, the Gothic cathedral was also one of the greatest multimedia creations of its age. This lecture course uses the cathedral as a springing point for the investigation of the rich architectural and artistic traditions of the high and late Middle Ages in Europe.

6328. Byzantine Art. The art of the Byzantine Empire from the end of Iconoclasm through the 14th century, examining both major media gold mosaics, mural painting, manuscript illumination, ivory carving, and enamel and the role that this art played in the lives, thoughts, and writings of its contemporaries.

Renaissance and Baroque Art

5330. Seminar in Italian Renaissance Art. Specific topics for investigation will be chosen by the instructor.

5331. Seminar in Early Modern Art. Specific topics for investigation will be chosen by the instructor.

5332. Seminar in Northern Renaissance Art. Specific topics for investigation will be chosen by the instructor.

5333. Seminar in 18th-Century Art. Specific topics on 18th-century art and/or architecture will be chosen by the instructor.

5334. Seminar in Italian Art: Rome. Specific topics for investigation will be chosen by the instructor.

5340. Seminar in Spanish Art. Specific topics for investigation will be chosen by the instructor.

5341. Seminar on Goya and Spanish Culture in the Age of Reason. The paintings and etchings of Goya are considered for their significance in the Age of Reason. After full discussion of the range of Goya's diverse work, students may either draw on the rich resources of the Meadows Museum for their reports or research a cultural or ethical topic pertinent to the period.

6330. Renaissance and Baroque Architecture. An introduction to Renaissance and Baroque architecture through a focus on the fashioning of religious spaces in Italy in the 15th­17th centuries. The work of artists and architects such as Bramante, Sangallo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Vasari, Bernini, Borromini, Tintoretto, Caravaggio, Guarini, and others will be considered.

6331. Art and Culture of the Italian Renaissance. Surveys major artistic developments of the Renaissance (1300-1600), with special attention to the work of Giotto, Donatello, Leonardo, Raphael, Titian, and Michelangelo. Includes study of the customs, literature, and philosophy of the period through selected readings of primary sources.

6332. Sixteenth-Century Italian Art. Issues to be considered include the dominance of Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian in the sixteenth century; the High Renaissance in Florence and Rome and its aftermath, Mannerism, in Catholic courts across Europe; the development of art history as a discipline in conjunction with the rise of academics, art collecting, and the search for elevated status; and the challenge of women artists such as Sofonisba Anguissola to prevailing notions of creativity.

6335. Renaissance and Baroque Art in Northern Europe. Survey of major artists and monuments in France, Germany, and the Low Countries from 1400 to 1700.

6336. Seventeenth-Century Dutch Art. An examination of visual culture of the Netherlands during the 17th century as an "art of describing" through the work of such painters as Hals, Vermeer and van Ruisdael, and a consideration of the major figure of the period, Rembrandt.

6337. The Baroque from a Northern Perspective. The world of Rembrandt, Rubens, Leyster, Vermeer, Van Dyck, De la Tour, Le Brun, Jones, and Wren is explored in this course in the context of such contemporary events as the Thirty Years' War and the Reformation, as well as such issues as art versus craft, nationalism versus internationalism, individual genius versus market, colourism versus classicism, collector versus connoisseur. By considering a broad range of artworks ­ from tapestry to painting, from etching to architecture ­ in terms of the maker, patron/client, and market, this survey will seek the underlying why's for this absorbing period.

6338. Baroque Art in Italy, Spain and the New World. A survey of artistic currents in Southern Europe and the Americas during the 17th century, this course concentrates on the achievements of such artistic giants as Bernini, Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi, Murillo and Velázquez, studying the artistic controversies they ignited and placing them in the context of major social movements. We also look at the work of artists who are less well-known and trace the development of Baroque styles in Central and South America.

6339. El Greco to Goya: Spanish Painting of the Golden Age. A survey of the incomparable painting traditions of Spain's 15th through early 19th centuries, including such artists as El Greco, Valazquez, Ribera, Murillo, and Goya. Lectures will be supplemented by direct study of Spanish paintings and prints in the Meadows Museum.

6343. Goya and His Time. A study of Goya's versatile talents as painter, etcher, lithographer, miniaturist, and a master of drawing. Through Goya's work it will be possible to follow the most relevant events of a decisive period for contemporary Spain.

6347. Eighteenth-Century European Art and Theatre: Staging Revolution. This course will be concerned with the repercussions in the visual and dramatic arts of what historian Eric Hobsbawm called the "dual revolution": the French Revolution of 1789 and the early English Industrial Revolution. This twin upheaval had broad effects on cultural production in ways that we will explore through the interrelations between art and theatre in France and England between 1750 and 1848.

6348. Eighteenth-Century Art. A study of European visual culture, 1700-1800, in its many contexts. Topics to be considered include art and the public sphere; the rise of museums, exhibitions, criticism, and theory; shifts in patronage and artistic practice; connections between commerce, industry, and the arts; questions of identity; stylistic revivals and innovations; explorations of the past; and encounters with cultures outside Europe.

6399. The Jewish-Christian Dialogue in Art and Text. Examines the mutual perceptions, conflicts, and commonalities among medieval European Christians and Jews, as reflected in works of visual art and in philosophical, theological, legal, and literary texts.

Modern Art

5350. Seminar on Romanticism and the 19th Century. An interdisciplinary investigation of the cultural sources and subject matter of Romanticism in Europe and America. Students will present oral reports on topics of their choice.

5351. Seminar on Art Nouveau and Expressionism. Introductory lectures on centers, sources, and styles of the two international art movements with emphasis on parallel manifestations in dance, music, literature, cinema, and philosophy.

5352. Seminar on Edvard Munch and the Nordic Impact. The Scandinavian heritage of existential anxiety as voiced by Kierkegaard, Ibsen, Strindberg, and Ingmar Bergman, with a focus on the work of Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. Students report on topics of their choice.

5353. Seminar on Vienna: From Facade to Psyche. An interdisciplinary study of the imperial city just before World War I: Klimt, Schiele, Mahler, Schönberg, Schnitzler, Hofmannsthal, Musil, Kraus, Loos, Wittgenstein, and Freud. Student oral reports on related topics.

5354. Seminar in Nineteenth-Century Art. Specific topics for investigation will be chosen by the instructor.

5355. Seminar in Twentieth-Century Art. Specific topics for investigation will be chosen by the instructors.

5356. Seminar on Picasso. The styles and personality of this genius whose protean oeuvre anticipated every major art movement of the first half of the 20th century. Lectures cover Picasso in Spain and the early years in France. Student reports on thematic topics.

5357. Seminar on Cubism. A research seminar in the development of what has been called the most significant stylistic revolution since the Renaissance. The course will examine the origins of Cubism and its effect on such other styles as Orphism, Synchronism, Constructivism, Futurism, Dada, and Abstract art.

5358. Seminar on Modern Art. Specific topics for investigation will be chosen by the instructor.

5359. Seminar in Contemporary Art. Specific topics for investigation will be chosen by the instructor.

5380. Seminar on Portraiture. A study of portraiture from different periods of history and an investigation of the culture and stylistic reasons for the shift in portraiture from façade to psyche.

5382. Museums and Collecting. The history of great collections and the foundation of art museums as public institutions, the role of museums today, possibilities for the future. Field trips, guest lecturers.

5383. Connoisseurship. Focusing on three major categories (style, quality, and authenticity), the student will be taught to discriminate between real and false works, evaluate media use, judge relative aesthetic and historical qualities, and assess condition and degrees of restoration.

5390. Spanish Art in the Meadows Museum. Intensive study of original works of Spanish art (14th century to the present) in the world-renowned collection of the Meadows Museum. Discussion and oral and written reports will focus on issues of style, iconography, connoisseurship, and historical context. Visits to local public and private collections. Reading knowledge of Spanish is recommended.

6351. History of Modern Sculpture. A survey of the development of modern European and American sculpture from the late 19th century to the present. The course will also attempt to relate stylistic changes in sculpture to major trends in other mediums of expression and to art theory and criticism.

6352. Impressionism, Symbolism, and the Deviant Body: Making a Difference. The course examines Impressionist and Symbolist art in relation to the emergence of the modern metropolis and the concept of modernity in Europe from 1848-1914. The discourse of deviance and degeneration that emerged in the context of nineteenth-century racial theory, criminology, and medical science will form the framework for our discussion. (Also SMU-in-Paris)

6356. Modern Architecture. Western architecture from the late 19th century to the present, focusing on the proto-modern trends of the late 19th century, and the major masters of the "modern" movement: Sullivan, Wright, Gropius, Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe.

6357. Women Artists. A study of notable women artists from the Renaissance to the 20th century. Introductory lectures on women artists of the past viewed in their cultural and political context. Student reports on more recent women artists.

6358. Women in the Visual Arts: Both Sides of the Easel. This class offers an in-depth study of women in the visual arts in Europe and the Americas. Though introductory lectures will examine the historical exclusion of women from the canon, most of the class will look at images produced by and of women from 1850 to the present. The topics covered include feminist challenges to the history of art; abstraction and the female nude; the use of one's "self" as material for art; and feminist filmmaking.

6364. History of the Print. A survey of some established and emerging printmakers and major printmaking techniques from the fifteenth through twenty-first centuries. We will also consider some fundamental issues regarding originality/copying, uniqueness/multiplicity, display and collecting as raised by the medium of print. First-hand experience of prints, through visits to and looking assignments in local collections as well as in-class exercises, is a vital part of this course.

6367. History of Photography. A survey of the evolution of photography from its beginnings in the early 19th century. The course will focus on the closely interwoven threads of technological and aesthetic developments in photography.

6368. Contemporary Art and Architecture, 1945-1965. A survey of American and European art and architecture from World War II to 1965. Within this chronological survey, broader themes of nationalism, race, and gender will be discussed.

6369. Contemporary Art and Architecture, 1965-Present. A survey of American and European art and architecture from 1965 to the present. Within this chronological survey, broader themes of nationalism, race, and gender will be discussed.

British and American Art

5360. Seminar in British Art. Specific topics for investigation will be chosen by the instructor.

5361. Seminar in American Art of the 19th Century. Specific topics for investigation will be chosen by the instructor.

5362. Seminar in American Art of the 20th Century. Specific topics for investigation will be chosen by the instructor.

6370. British Architecture. Developments, architects and buildings in Great Britain from the late Middle Ages through the middle of the 19th century, emphasizing Smythson, Wren, Hawksmoor, Adam, Soane, and Pugin.

6371. British Art: Elizabethan through Victorian. This class will examine landscape traditions, portraiture, and genre painting in England from 1740 to 1860 and their relationship to the literature and politics of the period.

6372. American Architecture. A survey of building types and styles from the first European settlements to postmodernism, emphasizing the Mexican baroque, the American wooden vernacular, Richardson, Sullivan, and Wright.

6373. American Art and Architecture to 1865. A survey of American painting, sculpture, and architecture from the Colonial period through the Civil War.

6374. American Art and Architecture, 1865-1945. A survey of American painting, sculpture, and architecture from the Civil War through World War II.

6375. Arts of the American Southwest. An overview of the visual culture of the region, defined as Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and California. Focuses on the region's cultural landscape, its identity past and present as art colony, art subject, and art center. Looks at works produced by indigenous inhabitants, later arrivals, and visitors; at cross-cultural connections and disconnections; at the roles played by the arts and tourism in the region's development; and at the validity of regionalism as a category of investigation.

World Art

5366. Seminar In Pre-Columbian Art. Specific topics for investigation will be chosen by the instructor.

5368. Seminar on the Maya City: Art and Culture. Specific topics for investigation will be chosen by the instructor.

5369. Seminar on the Art of the Inca. Specific topics for investigation will be chosen by the instructor.

5391. Seminar in Asian Art. Specific topics for investigation will be chosen by the instructor.

6376. Latin American Art. A survey of art and architecture in Latin America from the initial contacts between European and American civilizations until the 20th century.

6380. Native American Art: The Southwestern Traditions. Surveys, through field trip and lecture-discussion, two major traditions, Native American and Hispanic, which flourish in the American Southwest.

6381. American Indian and Eskimo Art. The ritual and everyday objects of the Native inhabitants of North America, and the architecture of the Mound Builders and the Southwestern Indians.

6382. Arts of the Ancient Andean Tradition: Chavín to Inca. A survey of the major arts produced between ca. 1200 BC and AD 1530 by the indigenous peoples of modern western South America with greatest emphasis on the many successive art-producing cultures of Peru.

6383. The Ancient Maya: Art and History. Presents an introduction to the art and history of the Maya of Central America. The course will address the principal sites and monuments of the ancient Maya civilization, impart a working understanding of the Maya hieroglyphic writing system, and survey the political history of the fractious ancient Maya cities.

6385. The Aztecs Before and After the Conquest: Mesoamerica, 1400-1600. Examines the art and cultural history of Mexico in the centuries immediately before and after the Spanish arrival in Mesoamerica. Topics include the art and ceremony of the imperial Aztec state; the nature of the conflict between 1519 and 1521 that ended in the fall of the Aztec capital to the Spanish; and the monuments of Spanish conquerors, missionaries, and native elite in Mexico's early colonial period.

6390. Traditional Arts of Africa. A survey of the art produced in traditional African societies with special emphasis on the sculpture of West and Central Africa.

6392. (CFA 3313) Islamic Art and Architecture: The Creation of a New Art. Treats issues significant to the creation and expansion of Islamic art from the 7th to the 15th centuries. Topics include the cultural and political exchange and conflict between Muslims and Christians; religious concerns and the artistic forms created to meet them; the importance of the book in Muslim culture; the distinctions between religious and secular art; and the appropriation of sacred space in Muslim architecture.

6394. Art and Architecture of Japan. Survey of religious and secular arts from prehistoric times through the Edo period. Field trips to Kyoto and Nara. (Also SMU-in-Japan)

6395. Art and Architecture of India. Designed to introduce the student to the major artistic expressions of India from the Indus Valley civilization through the time of the Mughals.

6396. Art and Architecture of China. Focuses on important monuments in China ranging from 2000 BC to the present day, in a variety of media: cast bronze, stone, sculpture, painting on silk and paper, porcelain, and wooden architecture, among others. Selected objects and sites will illuminate the concept of "monument" from differing perspectives of technology, aesthetics, labor, religion, ethnicity, and politics. Also discussed are comparisons to analogous monuments outside China, and visits to collections of Chinese art in Dallas-Fort Worth. (Also SMU-in-China)

CONNECT TO
ACCESS.SMU
STUDENT HANDBOOK
PONI.SMU.EDU

Spirit Point Image
Spirit Point Banner
Mustangs Eleven are students within each class year who promote spirit and traditions like “Red and Blue” Fridays.