Spring 2012

AH322, Special Topics: Arts Management
This course will provide students a basic introduction to the principles, theories, concepts, processes and practices relating to leadership, financial sustainability, arts advocacy, collections and curatorial methodology, education and marketing strategies in arts management.
Prerequisites: AH100 and AH150, HU102

AH323, Special Topics: Art of the Italian Nation
Beginning with the conquest of Italy by Napoleon Bonaparte and hinging on the Unification of Italy in the 1860s, this course will focus on the history of Italian art during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Central themes will be the extent to which the nationhood of the Italian state has influenced the direction of Italian art and the extent to which this new nation was impacted by foreign trends, both artistic and extra-‐artistic. Topics will include Neoclassicism, the Macchiaioli, foreign artists' travels to Italy, Divisionism, Futurism, Metafisica, Fascism, Neorealism, Arte Povera, and the Transavanguardia.
Prerequisites: AH100 and AH150, HU102

AH423, Special Topics: Memory and Commemoration in the Visual Arts, 1850s-‐the present
This seminar is an exploration of memory and commemoration in American and European art and architecture from the 1850s to the present day. We will focus special attention on problems of interpretation and the controversies that monuments and memorials cause in our increasingly diverse and fragmented society. Classroom discussions will cover an array of nineteenth-‐, twentieth-‐, and twenty-‐first-‐century monuments and memorial practices including US Civil War monuments dedicated to both the Union and Confederate causes, Rodin’s Burghers of Calais, Holocaust memorials and museums, Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the National Mall in Washington, DC, and 9-‐11 commemorations. We will read articles and books taken from the disciplines of art history, law, public history, museum studies, and memory theory. Students are required to write a research paper and deliver short oral presentations on their research.
Prerequisites: AH100 and AH150, HU102

HU226, Special Topics: Jewish Studies
The Jew was the West's first and most enduring Other. Simultaneously responsible for the origins of the biblical tradition, foundational for much of western values, and subjected to systematic violence and exclusion, the Jew has occupied the imagination of the West in the dual extremes of admiration and derision. Yet, it was only in the 19th century that a systematic study of the texts central to Judaism – the “portable civilization of the Jews” to borrow a phrase from R. Mordechai Kaplan – by secular scholars of religion began in the form of the “Wissenschaft des Judentums” movement. Despite this, central Jewish texts remain alien and unknown to most of the non-‐Jewish educated population. In some sense this is no wonder. Despite overwhelming oppression, Jewish scholars have produced a staggeringly immense body of literature ranging from mystical texts, legal codes, books of legends, commentaries on the Bible and much else besides. The aim of this class is a task in the impossible: we will seek to negotiate the Otherness of the Jew by a thoughtful and careful survey of Jewish literature. Specifically, we will track a dialectic between the legal work of the Jewish jurists, central to the mundane life of eating, sexual activity, the role of women, etc., and their mystic counterparts, whose mind-‐boggling encounters with God, angels, the afterlife, etc., remain as alluring as they are veiled to us. This interchange between the legal and the mystical will allow us to investigate the amazing precision and dizzying depths of Jewish thought as it developed along side, sometimes in dialogue with, but always as the Other of the West.
Prerequisite: HU102

HU321, Special Topics: Southern History
This course examines the economic, political, geographical and social background of life in the Old South of the United States from its beginnings through the devastation of the Civil War. Emphasis will be placed on the unique social aspects of the southern region, the economic and social institution of slavery, and the path that led to disunion. The unfolding of this story will be through lecture, discussion, and the reading of secondary works by leading historians on relevant topics.
Prerequisite: HU102

HU322, Special Topics: Introduction to Asian American Literature
This course is an introductory survey of Asian American literature. We shall read selected novels and short stories written by the Asian American writers in the light of their cultural and historical contexts as well as their aesthetic and textual qualities. Major issues to be discussed will include the following: What are the changing meanings of “Asian American”? How are these categories imagined by different individuals and how are they reconfigured through time? What are the processes by which the Asian Americans reconstitute or imagine her identity and community? How are ethnicity, gender, class, and sexuality instrumental to the ways in which Asian American writers conceive of and write about their experience in/about “America”? What are the commonalities and differences among the experiences expressed in literature written by Americans of diverse ancestries? What are some of the issues that Asian American communities have faced and are currently facing?
Prerequisite: HU102

MA222, Special Topics: Geometry in Art
A study of topics in geometry with examples of its historical application to art. The emphasis is on geometric concepts. However, the course is designed to illustrate the relationship between two fields of endeavor, geometry and art. The course includes all the topics necessary for a solid foundation in geometry-‐plane, solid and fractal. It goes beyond the traditional geometry course by delving into the history of geometric ideas, the mathematicians who developed them, the symbolism of geometric figures, and the influence of geometry in art and architecture.
Prerequisite: MA165

SC212, Special Topics: Metal Studio Furniture
This course will teach students the design, form, function, and construction of traditional and nontraditional metal furniture through a sculptural filter. Wood, plastics, stone, and recycled materials will be discussed as a complementary component to the primarily metal construction. Additionally, CAD/CAM digital programming will be explored as a tool for a production approach to art making processes. This cross-‐disciplinary strategy will serve a wide segment of the MCA student body, addressing up-‐to-‐date trends in the metal/sculpture industry and ensuring our students are more marketable to potential employers who frequently seek individuals with varied technological skills.
Prerequisites: Sculpture or metals 1, approval of instructor

SC412, Special Topics: Modeling
Creating objects by using materials that can be easily mushed around (clay, wax) is called “modeling”. This Special Topics class presents unexpected materials and methods that can be used to sculpt objects by modeling. While traditional approaches carry the weight of authenticity (it has value because of it’s traditional) nontraditional methods offer the benefits of discovery, invention, and novelty without the expectation of boring or being bored.
Prerequisites: All foundation coursework

SS322, Special Topics: Government
Students will learn about the history, development, and structure of the federal and state governments and outside forces that influence government. Students will analyze the role and the interaction between the three branches of government, concepts of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, and the impact of individual participation in government.
Prerequisite: HU102

Fall 2012

AH321, Special Topics: Contemporary Art

Examining art from the 1980s to the present, this course will utilize current art historical, critical, and theoretical texts to introduce students to modern-day issues concerning the global production, interpretation, and consumption of contemporary art. The primary pedagogical modes of this class include seminar, discussion, and debate. Students will engage in traditional exams, critical writing, research and give presentations based on their work. Prior experience and achievement in Art History curriculum is advised.
Prerequisite: HU102, AH100, and AH150

AH324, Early Renaissance Italy

This course is a survey of the visual arts of Italy from the late twelfth century through the mid-fifteenth century. Focusing on the conditions in which the artworks were produced and viewed rather than on the distinctions between “fine “ and “decorative ” art, the course will emphasize painting, sculpture and architecture, but will also cover aspects of visual culture in both religious and domestic settings. The classes will be primarily lectures but student participation in discussions is strongly encouraged.
Prerequisite: HU102, AH100, and AH150

AH325, High Renaissance Italy

This course is a survey of the visual arts of Italy from the late fifteenth century through the sixteenth century. Focusing on the conditions in which the artworks were produced and viewed rather than on the distinctions between “fine “ and “decorative ” art, the course will emphasize painting, sculpture and architecture, but will also cover aspects of visual culture in both religious and domestic settings. The classes will be primarily lectures but student participation in discussions is strongly encouraged.
Prerequisite: HU102, AH100, and AH150

GD235, Special Topic: Sustainable Design Studio

Sustainable Design Studio seeks to introduce the fundamental principles of sustainable design and foster awareness about various forms of sustainability through interdisciplinary design activities. This course provides a comprehensive approach to the environmentally and socially sustainable design projects, which may include information design, package design, Life Cycle Analysis [LCA] map design, and guerrilla campaign design.
Prerequisites: All Foundation Courses and Permission of Instructor

HU226, Special Topics: Jewish Studies

The Jew was the West's first and most enduring Other. Simultaneously responsible for the origins of the biblical tradition, foundational for much of western values, and subjected to systematic violence and exclusion, the Jew has occupied the imagination of the West in the dual extremes of admiration and derision. Yet, it was only in the 19th century that a systematic study of the texts central to Judaism – the “portable civilization of the Jews” to borrow a phrase from R. Mordechai Kaplan – by secular scholars of religion began in the form of the “Wissenschaft des Judentums” movement. Despite this, central Jewish texts remain alien and unknown to most of the non-¬‐Jewish educated population. In some sense this is no wonder. Despite overwhelming oppression, Jewish scholars have produced a staggeringly immense body of literature ranging from mystical texts, legal codes, books of legends, commentaries on the Bible and much else besides. The aim of this class is a task in the impossible: we will seek to negotiate the Otherness of the Jew by a thoughtful and careful survey of Jewish literature. Specifically, we will track a dialectic between the legal work of the Jewish jurists, central to the mundane life of eating, sexual activity, the role of women, etc., and their mystic counterparts, whose mind-boggling encounters with God, angels, the afterlife, etc., remain as alluring as they are veiled to us. This interchange between the legal and the mystical will allow us to investigate the amazing precision and dizzying depths of Jewish thought as it developed along side, sometimes in dialogue with, but always as the Other of the West.
Prerequisite: HU102

HU321, Special Topics: Southern History

This course examines the economic, political, geographical and social background of life in the Old South of the United States from its beginnings through the devastation of the Civil War. Emphasis will be placed on the unique social aspects of the southern region, the economic and social institution of slavery, and the path that led to disunion. The unfolding of this story will be through lecture, discussion, and the reading of secondary works by leading historians on relevant topics.
Prerequisite: HU102

HU323, Special Topics: African American Literature

This course provides an introduction to African American literature. Examining a number of genres such as poetry, fiction, short stories, essay, and speech, this course will analyze the historical, socio-political and cultural forces which helped to shape the African American experience. Beginning with the works written by enslaved black writers, we will read writings representative of the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights movement, and Black women’s movement. We will think about how these social and intellectual milieus have created new thematic concerns as well as innovative forms in African American writing. During the semester, we’ll consider the issues, such as the complexities of race/color in America’s past, present and future, the changing meaning of “African” in “African American,” the intersection of race, class, gender, and sexuality, and the significance of family and community. The reading list will include supplementary readings that set the historical and cultural context of the literary works.
Prerequisite: HU102

MA222, Special Topics; Geometry in Art

A study of topics in geometry with examples of its historical application to art. The emphasis is on geometric concepts. However, the course is designed to illustrate the relationship between two fields of endeavor, geometry and art. The course includes all the topics necessary for a solid foundation in geometry-¬‐plane, solid and fractal. It goes beyond the traditional geometry course by delving into the history of geometric ideas, the mathematicians who developed them, the symbolism of geometric figures, and the influence of geometry in art and architecture.
Prerequisite: MA165

SC411, Special Topics: Carving

The basics of carving are presented through a variety of commonly available materials. Cutting and shaping tools suitable for the chosen medium will be used. Students develop all necessary skills for creating relief and in the round carvings from preparatory drawings.
Prerequisite: POI