Winter Quarter 2026 Syllabi
Art History 101
I created this syllabus by pulling from other syllabi, books, and websites including:
Introduction to the Visual Arts of the World, Instructor: Tobah Aukland-Peck, City College of New York
Art History Survey, Instructor: Agnieszka Ficek, Baruch College
Art: Its History and meaning, Instructor: Joseph Henry, Brooklyn College
arthistoryeachingresources.org
A History of the World in 100 Objects, BBC Radio Podcast
Overview
This course will cover art history world wide from prehistory to the Renaissance. Each week will focus on a region and/or time period. Readings will come from online articles and/or textbook chapters. Videos and podcasts will supplement the readings.
Assignments
Weekly written reviews of the topics covered in the course.
VIdeo diary consisting of weekly updates on the course as a whole and the personal curriculum project.
Final paper on one of the artworks covered in class.
Schedule
Week 1: Prehistory and Ancient Near East
Read: Emma Groeneveld, “Chauvet Cave,” Ancient History Encyclopedia, February 12, 2017, https://www.ancient.eu/Chauvet_Cave/
Watch: The British Museum, "The Jericho Skull," in Smarthistory, March 30, 2018, https://smarthistory.org/jerichoskull/.
Read: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/05/nyregion/hobby-lobby-artifacts-smuggle-iraq.html
Read: https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/ur-the-ziggurat
Week 2: Ancient Egypt & Africa
Reading: Stokstad Chapter 3, Art of Ancient Egypt
Read: Timeline of Ancient Egypt: https://www.ancient-egyptonline.com/images/ancient-egypttimeline.png
Read: Dr. Amy Calvert, "The Great Pyramids of Giza," in Smarthistory, August 8, 2015, https://smarthistory.org/the-great-pyramids-of-giza/.
Listen: “Rosetta Stone,” A History of the World in 100 Objects, BBC Radio Podcast
Reading: Stokstad Chapter 16, African Art
Read: Erin Blakemore, “73,000-Year Old Doodle May be World’s Oldest Drawing,” National Geographic https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/news-ancient-humans-art-hashtag-ochre-south-africa-archaeology
Read: Natalie Hager, “Apollo 11 Stones,” Khan Academy https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/global-prehistoryap/paleolithic-mesolithic-neolithicapah/a/apollo-11-stones-2
Watch: “The Rosetta Stone of San Bushman Rock Art,”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ll1A8nXCss
Watch: “Lost History: the terracotta sculpture of Djenne Djenno,” Smart History https://smarthistory.org/lost-historythe-terracotta-sculpture-of-djennedjenno-2/
Watch: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, "How to do visual (formal) analysis," in Smarthistory, September 18, 2017, https://smarthistory.org/visualanalysis/.
Week 3: OFF WEEK - Family Vacation
Week 4: Ancient Greece & Rome
Reading: Stokstad Chapter 5, Art of Ancient Greece
Read: Colette Hemingway, “Architecture in classical Greece”, Heilbrunn Timeline, http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grarc/hd_grarc.htm
Watch: Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris, "Contrapposto explained," in Smarthistory, December 16, 2015, https://smarthistory.org/contrapposto/
Optional reading on the origins of the Olympic Games: The British Museum, "Olympic games," in Smarthistory, August 29, 2016 https://smarthistory.org/olympicgames/.
Read: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/apr/04/brexit-deal-parthenon-marbles
Reading: Stokstad Chapter 6, Etruscan and Roman Art
Watch: The Pantheon, Smart History https://smarthistory.org/the-pantheon/
Watch: Rome’s History in four faces at the Met, https://www.khanacademy.org/humaniies/ancient-artcivilizations/roman/beginners-guiderome/v/romes-history-in-four-faces-atthe-met?modal=1
Week 5: Byzantine, Early Christian, and Jewish Art
Reading: Stokstad Chapter 7, Jewish, Early Christian and Byzantine Art
Read: https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/jewish-art-in-late-antiquity-and-early-byzantium
Read: https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/icons-and-iconoclasm-in-byzantium
Watch: Dr. Ronnie Perelis and Dr. Steven Zucker, "Book of Morals of Philosophers," in Smarthistory, July 13, 2017 https://smarthistory.org/book-ofmorals/.
Watch: “What is the Dome of the Rock?” Religion for Breakfast, Youtube, 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCXjQHFQF14
Read: Sarah Brooks, “Icons and Iconoclasm in Byzantium,” Heilbrunn Timeline, https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/icon/hd_icon.htm
Watch: Dr. William Allen, "Hagia Sophia, Istanbul," in Smarthistory, August 8, 2015, https://smarthistory.org/hagiasophia-istanbul/
Watch: “Making Manuscripts,” Getty Museum, Youtube, June 17. 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuNfdHNTv9o
Week 6: Islamic Art
Reading: Stokstad Chapter 8, Islamic Art
Read: https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/calligraphy-in-islamic-art
Read: https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/figural-representation-in-islamic-art
Read:https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/geometric-patterns-in-islamic-art
Week 7: Art of Meso and South America
Reading: Stokstad Chapter 15, Art of the Americas
Listen: Neil MacGregor, “Olmec Stone Mask,” A History of the World in 100 Objects, BBC Radio Podcast, https://player.fm/series/a-history-ofthe-world-in-100-objects/olmec-stonemask
Read: James Doyle, “Olmec Art,” Heilbrunn Timeline of Art history, The Met, February 2017 https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/olmc/hd_olmc.htm
Read: James Doyle, “Ancient Maya Sculpture,” Heilbrunn Timeline of Art history, The Met, April 2016, https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mayas/hd_mayas.htm
Read: Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank, "Introduction to the Aztecs (Mexica),"in Smarthistory, March 19, 2018, https://smarthistory.org/introduction-mexica/
Listen: Neil MacGregor, “Inca Gold Llama,” A History of the World in 100 Objects, BBC Radio Podcast
Read: Daniel Cossins, “We thought the Incas couldn't write. These knots change everything,” NewScientist, 26 November, 2018, https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23931972-600-we-thought-theincas-couldnt-write-these-knotschange-everything/#ixzz6VVYkNnvk
Read: https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/gold-of-the-indies
Week 8: Native American/First Nations Art
Read: Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank, "Mesa Verde," in Smarthistory, August 9, 2015, https://smarthistory.org/mesaverde-cliff-dwellings/
Read: Dr. Katherine T. Brown, "Fort Ancient Culture: Great Serpent Mound," in Smarthistory, August 9, 2015, https://smarthistory.org/fortancient-culture-great-serpentmound/
Read: https://www.burkemuseum.org/news/origin-seahawks-logo-story-unfolds
Week 9: Asian Art
Read: Melody Rod-Ari, “Hinduism and Buddhism: An Introduction, ”Smart History https://smarthistory.org/hinduism-andbuddhism-an-introduction/
Read: Pringle, Heather, “Ears of Ancient Chinese Terra-Cotta Warriors Offer Clues to Their Creation,” National Geographic (November 14, 2014) https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/11/141114-terra-cottawarriors-qin-shi-huang-tomb-chinaarchaeology/
Read: Maxwell Hearn, “Chinese Painting,” Hellibrun Timeline of Art History, The Met https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/chin/hd_chin.htm
Read: https://smarthistory.org/night-attack-on-the-sanjo-palace/
Read:https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/03/arts/after-the-nightmare-saving-cambodia-s-treasures.html Reading: Stokstad Chapter 9, Later Asian Art
Week 10: Medieval Europe and Early Renaissance
Reading: Stokstad Chapter 10, Early Medieval and Romanesque Art
Read: The Guerrilla Girls “Chapter 2: Hot Flashes from the Middle Ages
Watch: BBC One, "The Bayeux Tapestry, from BBC," in Smarthistory, December 21, 2015, https://smarthistory.org/the-bayeuxtapestry-from-bbc-ones-seven-agesof-britain/ Read: Anika Burgess, “The Strange and Grotesque Doodles in the Margins of Medieval Books,” Atlas Obscura, May 9, 2017, https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/medieval-marginalia-books-doodles Reading: Stokstad Chapter 11, Gothic Art
https://arthistoryteachingresources.org/lessons/early-medieval-art/
Reading: Stokstad Chapter 12, Early Renaissance Art
Art Studio: Watercolor
This course was developed primarily from the book “Everyday Watercolor” by Jenna Rainey. Videos and online tutorials will supplement.
Overview
This studio course is designed to introduce basic concepts related to watercolor and develop skills in various watercolor techniques. Each week will have one or more new skills to practice.
Assignments
Weekly watercolor practice with skills covered in class
Video diary consisting of weekly updates on the course and the personal curriculum project.
Final painting implementing at least 5 of the techniques covered in class.
Schedule
Week 1: Technique
Section 1 of “Everyday Watercolor”
Watch: https://youtu.be/Ls620E6YhjI?si=o9O-n2NmrL4U10Ws
Watch: https://youtu.be/kXqaSriD9EQ?si=vcswEE5xvpeCzHU7
Week 2: Form and Perspective
Pages 56 - 65 of “Everyday Watercolor”
Watch: https://youtu.be/fPI3y7MnLpw?si=l9AlnrqXIR6clw17
Watch: https://youtu.be/vCzvnsl0IEk?si=aeI5ghEYWclYSKSf
Week 3: OFF WEEK - Family Vacation
Week 4: Light and Shadow
Pages 66 - 89 of “Everyday Watercolor”
Week 5: Complex Shapes and Forms
Section 3 of “Everyday Watercolor”
Week 6: Value, Volume, and Depth
Section 4 of “Everyday Watercolor”
Week 7: Application
Wide Landscape: Desert in “Everyday Watercolor”
Week 8: Application
Wide Landscape: Jungle in “Everyday Watercolor”
Week 9: Application
Final Desert Piece in “Everyday Watercolor”
Week 10: Application
Final Jungle Piece in “Everyday Watercolor”