This survey course traces the rise and development of photography in the United States and, to a lesser extent, Mexico and the countries in Western Europe. It charts the wide range of work with the camera, including commercial, so-called 'vernacular,' and fine art projects, and considers pictures from photography's very beginnings in the mid-nineteenth century to today's practices.

An exploration of major movements and personalities in architecture from the late nineteenth century to the present. Emphasizing the United States against the background of European developments, the course considers the search by architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, and Frank Gehry, for a language of form and space that captures the contemporary spirit as it elevates society to a higher plane of existence. Discussion focuses on issues of technology and utopia, the skyscraper, and the collision of tradition, modernity, and postmodernism in architecture since 1945.

A survey of painting, architecture, sculpture, and design from the Colonial period to the late nineteenth century, this course introduces students to period styles and building types, as well as individual painters and architects. Classes develop ways of looking at and thinking about art and objects as material expressions of American social, political, and cultural ideas. Topics will include: portraiture, colonial Boston, art and revolution, nature and nation, the West, domestic architecture, and the city of Washington.

Through investigation of major works produced in the Muslim world between the seventh and seventeenth centuries from Spain to India, this course explores the ways in which art and architecture were used to embody the faith, accommodate its particular needs, and express the power of its rulers. Topics include the calligraphy of the Qur'an, illustrated literature, the architecture of the mosque, and the aristocratic palace.

Intended primarily for Art History majors, this course introduces key research tools and scholarly methods in the field. Through intensive readings, discussions, presentations, and written work, students will hone their analytical and communication skills. They will learn to navigate libraries and digital resources, to read with a critical eye, and to write persuasive prose. They will become acquainted with interpretive approaches ranging from formalism to Marxism to post-colonialism.

This seminar investigates medieval Paris through buildings, images, maps, and literature. Art historical research will combine with digital technologies, such as Google SketchUp, to analyze and represent the fabric of the city as well as to reconstruct key lost monuments. Ideally students will work in collaborative and interdisciplinary teams.

How are we to respond to Indian popular film, which is notorious for its distracting song and dance numbers, meandering story line, and visually overblown spectacles? This seminar will develop historical and theoretical approaches to Indian films as what scholar Lalitha Gopalan calls a 'constellation of interruptions.' Students will examine feature films in class, write critical papers on scholarly essays, and pursue independent research projects on various aspects of Indian film.