AM101: Introduction to American Studies:  The 1960s:  Between the Cold War and Watergate, American social, political and cultural life changed drastically.  We study this tumultuous period from the various disciplinary perspectives that constitute the inter-discipline of American Studies.  Guests speakers share their perspective as scholars and participants, covering topics such as the experiences of Vietnam veterans and political activists, the Black Power, Women's Liberation, Chicano and church reform movements, Pop art, the Warren Court, and Legacies.   

FS104: Looking at Art This first year seminar is devoted both to developing critical thinking through diverse modes of examination and analysis of visual arts, and also to improving writing, research, discussion, and presentation skills necessary for success in college and beyond.  The course includes several field trips both within the Burlington area, and also to the Clark Art Institute and Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.  View photos from our 2009 field trip to Western Mass.

AR 252:  Survey of the History of Art II:  Renaissance to Modern:  A continuation of Survey I, including study of visual culture in Europe and the United States from the fifteenth through twentieth centuries, and sculpture of the Yoruba in West Africa and the Caribbean. Teaching methods are similar to those used in Survey I, with a heightened emphasis on art historical methodology including connoisseurship and feminist, Marxist, semiotic, post-colonial, and post-modernist approaches. early Ren. in Italy podcast

AR 361:  Art, Architecture and Material Culture of the United States: This writing-intensive seminar examines painting, sculpture, landscape, architecture, photography, and decorative arts produced in North America between 1636 and the present. Subjects include Native American visual culture, John Singleton Copley, Thomas Cole, Lilly Martin Spencer, Winslow Homer, Thomas Eakins, Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol,  Sally Mann, and African-American Art by Robert S. Duncanson, Aaron Douglas, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Kara Walker, among many others. Students develop skills in formal analysis and oral presentation in addition to historical research and writing.

AR 381: Special Topics in Art and/or Architectural History: A seminar devoted to original research on local topics. 1998 topic was Historic Architecture of Fort Ethan Allen, winner of the George Bryan Award for Research on the History of Vermont. Students work in teams, and/or individually to help produce original scholarship in the form of a website, documentary film, or publication.  Examples of past student work may be viewed at http://personalweb.smcvt.edu/thefort  ;  http://personalweb.smcvt.edu/winooskimills ; and http://academics.smcvt.edu/collegeartcollection .

Art 391:  West African and African Diaspora Art and Culture:  This course is intended for students who wish to learn about religious philosophies, royal arts, empowering objects, gender and race relations, sacred ritual objects and performance, architecture and curatorial practice in the display of West African and African-American art. Course assignments introduce students to the work of professional art historians as teachers and curators;  the final project requires students to contribute a "virtual exhibition" to our class website:  http://academics.smcvt.edu/africanart and http://academics.smcvt.edu/africanart2 using Adobe Photoshop and Dreamweaver software.  Students are expected, in all their work for this advanced seminar, to critically analyze and interpret the meanings of art.
Boone Reading

GED 673: Art History for the Classroom Teacher:  Studies show that curricula including integrated arts promote literacy and engagement in every academic subject.  Exciting visuals engage even the most distracted learners, and assist them in making the connections that are the basis of critical thinking skills.  In this fast-paced survey, we study cave painting and Egyptian art, Roman sculpture and architecture, Renaissance and Baroque painting, Chinese, West African, and African-American art, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Pop art, and Post-Modernism, in order both to enhance teacher literacy and to share sources for interdisciplinary curriculum.  Teachers will design units that incorporate art history into their current practice.

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