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SAVC 141 Art History  I:  Pyramids to Cathedrals 
9 a.m. – 9:50 a.m., MWF
TBD

This course examines the art and architecture of the ancient world, focusing on Egypt, the Near East, and the Classical Greek and Roman world and Europe from about 2000 BCE to CE 1400. It also studies African and Asian art traditions that emerged during that period.

SAVC 230 Global Foundations of Modern Art
11:00 a.m. – 11:50 a.m., MWF
Abayomi Ola, Ph.D.

This course begins with the premise that the history of European and American modern art, which arose out of seventeenth century Enlightenment ideals, is incomplete without an examination of the African, Oceanic, Indigenous and other global influences that prompted the Impressionists to emulate Japanese woodblock prints and catalyzed Picasso and Braque’s exploration of Cubism in the early twentieth century.

SAVC 238 Art as Social Justice
1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m., MW
Chad Dawkins, Ph.D.

This course examines the central role that art and artists have played in the history of African American and African Diaspora social justice movements. Juxtaposing foundational theoretical texts by Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, W.E.B. DuBois, Angela Davis, Kwame Toure and Bryan Stevenson with archival sources and works of material culture, art, spoken word and film, students learn how art has been a catalyst for social justice.

African American Art
9:25 a.m. – 10:40 am., TR
Bernida Webb-Binder, Ph.D.

This survey examines multiple forms of visual art production by African Americans from 1619 to the present. It begins with an overview of the Middle Passage and slavery in relation to African American traditions in the decorative arts, architecture and archaeology through the end of the eighteenth century. Nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first century topics demonstrate how printmaking, photography, drawing, painting, sculpture, installation and time-based media engage both art historical movements and historical trajectories of freedom, civil rights and social change.

SAVC 291 Special Topics: Amanda Williams
12:00 p.m. – 12:50 pm., W
Karen Comer Lowe & Cheryl Finley, Ph.D.

This course provides an introduction and formal framework to the study of the art and practice of contemporary artist, Amanda Williams. This course will inform a new body of work in development for her upcoming exhibition at the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art. This course is by application only.

SAVC 320 Art History Methods, Theory and Practice

1 p.m. – 2:15 p.m., TR
Bernida Webb-Binder, Ph.D.

This foundational theory and methods course explores the practices and methods of the discipline of art history. Students investigate key questions, interpretative approaches, institutional structures and modes of dissemination that define the study of art history.

SAVC 365 Black Pacific Art
3 p.m. – 5:50 p.m., R
Bernida Webb Binder, Ph.D.

Black Pacific connections in culture and literature can be found on both sides of the world’s largest ocean. Scholars have traced these linkages between African American culture and Oceania as well as Asia Pacific. This seminar explores Black Pacific art and its relationship to Black Atlantic art while teaching critical reading, thinking and writing skills. This is a writing intensive course. 

SAVC 387 The Art Market
3 p.m. – 5:50 p.m., T
Cheryl Finley, Ph.D.

This course examines the history of the art market from the 16th century to the present. Students examine the production, sale and exchange of works of art as well as the patrons, artists and collectors who participate in this economic, social and political form of taste-making and aesthetic valuation.

SAVC 480 Art History Thesis
3 p.m. – 5:50 p.m., M
Abayomi Ola, Ph.D.

The Art History Thesis is required for all graduating seniors and is intended to serve as a “capstone” experience. This course gives students an opportunity to conduct supervised research and adapt to the rigors of study in the field of art history. Students should complete all of their major core requirements before enrolling in this course. The student and professor devise a meeting and writing schedule culminating in a written presentation of an art history research thesis.

Directed Studies – Art History
Cheryl Finley, Ph.D.

This course is open to majors and minors who wish to engage in independent study in areas that course offerings do not cover in depth. Under faculty guidance, the student engages in comprehensive reading, writing and discussion. Faculty permission is required.

SAVC 375 Entering the Art World
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., W​
Karen Comer-Lowe

Entering the Art World: Culture and Context provides a basic introduction to the topics and individuals that shape and inform curatorial practice. Through roundtable discussions, structured classroom exercises, field trips, and workshops with a variety of arts professionals, students will discuss and analyze the challenges, limits, rules and opportunities that have historically informed curatorial practice.

SAVC 282 Acquisitions and Collections
3:00 p.m. – 5:50 p.m., M
Chad Dawkins, Ph.D.

This course explores collections of art and artifacts as dynamic and everchanging archives that should be respected as extraordinary cultural assets to be enjoyed as well as scrutinized. This course focuses on methods of acquisition and collection preservation as they inform current perceptions of museums. Students will work with faculty and museum staff through the processes of receiving artwork into a museum collection.

SAVC 475 Curatorial Practicum
3 p.m. – 5:40 p.m. W
Chad Dawkins, Ph.D.

In this advanced seminar, students research and write a proposal for an exhibition, which is the culminating, capstone project for the curatorial minor. This final project may be a physical or digital exhibition. Students are encouraged to explore opportunities to partner with arts, education and community organizations in the Atlanta area, as well as alternative exhibition designs and educational initiatives both within and outside of traditional venues.

CART 241 Art History  Survey II
10 a.m. – 10:50 a.m., MWF
Cody Houseman, Ph.D.

This foundational course explores the history of the visual arts from the fourteenth century to the twentieth century (from the Medieval period to the Modern era). Students are taught about works of art in the social, political, religious, and philosophical realms as well as in the very personal contexts that gave these objects meaning for their original audiences.

CART 499-03 Special Topics: Art History of Textiles and Fashion
1:40 p.m. – 2:55 p.m. TR
Cody Houseman, Ph.D.

From the ancient Balkans to contemporary artist Bisa Butler, this course explores textiles and fashion through the lens of art history. The course introduces students to theoretical and object-based approaches through a combination of taught and research based components, exploring how historic textiles and dress can be studied in their own right and as part of overarching aesthetic trends. The goal is an understanding of textiles’ influences on art and fashion of the past and present in terms of materiality and art historical developments. Hands-on workshops processing historic types of organic
materials supplement lectures and discussion.

CRN 29896

HART 142 Art History  II:  Renaissance to Contemporary
2 p.m. – 2:50 p.m., MWF
Michelle Laxalt, MFA

This foundational course explores the history of the visual arts from the fourteenth century to the twentieth century (from the Medieval period to the Modern era). Students are taught about works of art in the social, political, religious, and philosophical realms as well as in the very personal contexts that gave these objects meaning for their original audiences.

HART 235 Introduction to Curatorial Studies
11:00 a.m.- 1:00 p.m., WF
Michelle Laxalt, MFA

This foundational course for the curatorial studies minor introduces a common vocabulary and conceptualization for discussing works of art. It provides a shared frame of reference for all students who are interested in the field of curatorial studies. Using exhibitions and works from the permanent collections of AUC institutions as case studies, students examine the role of institutions, curators and other museum professionals.

CRN 29896