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Listed in: Art and the History of Art, as ARHA-425 | Asian Languages and Civilizations, as ASLC-425
Samuel C. Morse (Section 01)
(Offered as ASLC 425 and ARHA 425.) The topic for the seminar changes from year to year; in 2011-12 the topic will be images and icons. The course will examine their role in various religious traditions, drawing in particular on the discipline of the history of art. The primary focus will be on images in the Buddhist and Hindu faiths; however, the class will also make comparisons with those in Christianity and the religions of Africa and New Guinea. Some of the topics to be covered will include the relationship between icons and deities, the authentication and animation of images, the connections between icons and political authority, their use in ritual, and aniconism and iconoclasm. Students will be expected to “write about art,” using formal, stylistic, and iconographic methods of analysis as well as to make a seminar presentation and complete a research paper.
Open to juniors and seniors with priority given to majors, juniors preparing to write a senior thesis, and seniors who have opted not to write a thesis. Limited to 15 students. Fall semester. Professor Morse.
If Overenrolled: Permission of Instructor