Art & the History of Art 118 - The Art of Weather

This course proposes an art history of weather from the vantage point of our climate crisis. Weather is omnipresent, uncontrollable, and ever-changing, qualities that make it difficult to represent. Yet diverse observers have long attempted to picture weather, from painters creating aesthetic effects, to meteorologists seeking accurate forecasts, to activists pursuing political change. In this course, we will consider how and to what ends weather has been given visual form. We will look broadly across artistic and scientific media from the eighteenth century to the present, with particular focus on local artworks and archives—including the records of Amherst's weather station, in continuous operation since 1835. In turn, we will examine the effects of weather on art, such as the decay of outdoor sculptures. Ultimately, we will interrogate the possibilities for representing weather in an era of anthropogenic climate change, asking: how do we picture weather of our own making?

Limited to 25 students. Spring 2026: Visiting Assistant Professor Fein.

How to handle overenrollment: Preference to ARHA majors.

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: An emphasis on written work, readings, group work, field trips, visual analysis, and creative assignments.