Art History
Norwich students in all disciplines have the opportunity to broaden their college experience by earning a minor degree in art. The School of Architecture + Art offers two minors. A Studio Art Minor helps students develop their own creative skills and understanding of art in the studio. An Art History Minor helps students explore why and what the artist creates and how it addresses the changing nature and function of art, probe the relationship of the artist to society, and examine the varied systems of beliefs and values that affect the discipline.
A minor in art history consists of successfully completing at least 18 credits with a grade of C or higher. Of these, 15 credits must be in FA courses and three credits must be in a SA course.
The art curriculum affords all students the opportunity to cultivate and extend their understanding and appreciation of art, and in the process, to assess the meaning and significance of the arts to their own lives. The fine arts offer a profound testimony to meaning and significance of the arts to their own and function in a variety of ways: they illuminate the ideas, values, beliefs, manners, and customs of an age; they inform us of how artists interpret and understand the visible world in which they live; they alert us to moral and ethical perspectives which condition the artist's choice and treatment of the subject matter.
Courses in the Fine Arts (FA) explore the history of art, why and what the artist creates assess the changing nature and functions of art, probe the relationship of the artist to society, and examine the varied systems of beliefs and values which affect the shaping form. All Fine Arts (FA) courses may be used towards fulfilling humanities requirements.
Art History Minor
| Select one of the following two courses: | ||
| History/Theory of Architecture I | 3 | |
or FA 221 | History of Visual Arts I: Prehistoric to 1350 | |
| FA 222 | History of Visual Arts II: 1350 to the Modern Era | 3 |
| Six credits must be in FA 250. 1 | 6 | |
| Three credits must be in a SA course 2 | 3 | |
| Three credits must be in another FA course 3 | 3 | |
| Total Credits | 18 | |
| 1 | FA 250 may be taken more than once, however the title and subject matter of the seminars must be different. |
| 2 | Preferably SA 103 Introduction to Drawing or SA 104 Introduction to Visual Design. |
| 3 | FA 201 and FA 221 may not both be taken for credit as there is significant overlap in the material covered in the two courses). |
Courses
FA 201 History/Theory of Architecture I 3 Credits
This course explores the architecture of different cultures from around the world beginning with the earliest evidence of human habitation and ending with the arrival of the renaissance. It examines the development of domestic, civic, and religious sites, as well as towns and settlements. The course explores major cultural, social, technological, and ideological influences on built environments, as well as examines the history, the context, and the form of notable examples. Three hours of lecture per week. Preference given to architecture majors. Note: Students who successfully complete this course may not take FA 221.
FA 202 History/Theory of Architecture II 3 Credits
This course explores the architecture of different cultures from around the world focusing on Western architecture from the Renaissance to the 19th century. It examines the development of domestic, civic, and religious sites, as well as towns and settlements. The course explores major cultural, social, and technological influences on built environments, as well as looks at the history, the context, and the form of notable examples. It additionally examines the developing ideologies of prominent practitioners. Three hours of lecture per week. Preference given to Architecture majors.
FA 221 History of Visual Arts I: Prehistoric to 1350 3 Credits
These courses provide an opportunity to develop an understanding of well-made artifacts by addressing quality or artistic value in terms of form and content. Students are acquainted with the principal periods of Western art by a study of outstanding examples of architecture, sculpture, painting, and the minor arts, ranging from prehistoric times to the present. First semester: formal vocabulary; prehistoric art to the medieval international style. Second semester: Renaissance to the present. Three hours of lecture per week.
FA 222 History of Visual Arts II: 1350 to the Modern Era 3 Credits
These courses provide an opportunity to develop an understanding of well-made artifacts by addressing quality or artistic value in terms of form and content. Students are acquainted with the principal periods of Western art by a study of outstanding examples of architecture, sculpture, painting, and the minor arts, ranging from prehistoric times to the present. First semester: formal vocabulary; prehistoric art to the medieval international style. Second semester: Renaissance to the present. Three hours of lecture per week.
FA 240 History of American Art 3 Credits
A survey of American architecture and art from colonial times to the present. Emphasis is placed on the rise and development of the arts in the United States and the changing nature and functions of art in American society. European influences and Native American contributions will be noted. Three hours of lecture per week.
FA 250 Topics in Art 3 Credits
Topics vary each semester, focusing on past and current issues in art related to historical style, art and the social context, aesthetic theory, tradition and innovation in media, and the role of art and the artist as an agent of communication in our time. This course may be repeated for credit. Three hours of lecture per week.
FA 260 Art Appreciation 3 Credits
This course is introductory in nature and focuses on varied ways to appreciate art: the role of the viewer, the purposes and functions of art, the creative process, materials and technology available to the artist, the relationship of art to culture Western and non-Western), and issues of art style and meaning. Three hours of lecture per week.
FA 308 History/Theory of Artchitectural III 3 Credits
This course presents a survey of architecture from approximately the mid eighteenth century through to the early 1930s, focusing on the rise and early development of the modern movement. It integrates the historic aspects of the key examples of architecture and urban design from this ear with the theoretical ideas that generated the built form. Included in the course content is a discussion of the new programs, new social/economic/political organizations and new construction materials and methodologies the drove the search for new forms to represent the new ideas of the modern industrialized era. Prerequisite: FA 202. 3 lecture hours.
FA 309 History/Theory of Architectural IV 3 Credits
This course presents a survey of architecture from approximately the 1930s to the present day focusing on the various evolutionary paths of architectural development, including the codification of the international style and the subsequent challenges to the modern dogma into eras of mid and late modernism, expressionism, nationalism, organicism, brutalism, regionalism, postmodernism, deconstructivist architecture, and into the integration of the digital in design and manufacture of built works. Each evolutionary stance is discussed through analysis of the key works integrating the historic aspects with the theoretical ideas that generated the architectural works. Prerequisite FA 308. 3 hours of lecture.