ARTHC 345

Term Paper

Students will gain experience and skill in art historical research and writing.

American Art History: Prehistoric to 1876

Students will acquire a solid foundation in the historical context of the art and architecture of the United States of America from the prehistoric cultures on the North American Continent (Mississippian, Anasazi . . .) to 1876. Through a socio-historical approach, students will gain an understanding of the ways in which events like the arrival of Columbus, the American Revolution, the expansion of the West, and the Civil War, shaped and were shaped by the visual arts of the new nation. Students will also be able to articulate the characteristics of the styles, processes, ideologies, and philosophies of key artists and movements, including Rococo, Neo-Classicism, and Romanticism as they pertain to American art. Students will become conversant with selected works of art in terms of style, patronage, reception, and meaning of individual works of art and the artists or movements that spawned them. They will be able to trace the trajectory of future influence of key works of art from this period.

Art Research and Writing

Students will develop art historical research skills by conducting advanced research focused on a single work of art, artist, or historical concept within this period. Students will apply methodological approaches acquired in ArtHC 300 to their topic. Students will situate their informed, original ideas within the best art historical publications on their subject. Students will demonstrate familiarity with advanced research skills and best research practices as taught by the course professor and supported the HBLL Art History research guides. Students will apply the formatting of an acceptable style guide with exactness to the completed research paper.