History of Art

Course Descriptions

For additional course information including course outlines for current and past courses please contact the History Office, 204.786.9382 or a.armstrong@uwinnipeg.

HIST-1010(6) ART AND IDEAS (Le3) This course is concerned with the general topic of the relationship between art history and other facets of social, cultural and intellectual history.  Specifically it focuses upon the art of Vincent Van Gogh and Kathe Kollwitz, among other artists.  Issues dealt with are the use of visual and literary sources, the role of biography in art history, and the artist's place in society.
Fall 2011, C. Majzels, Mondays and Wednesdays, 2:30 PM - 5:15 PM, Room 2L17.
This 6-credit course is offered in a condensed format for one term only.

HIST-1010(6) ART AND HISTORY (Le3) This course will consider the relationship between art and its historical contexts, discussing both the art works' conditions of production and their subsequent interpretations. Visual art (which may include traditional forms such as painting and sculpture, and other media such as photography, dance, film and television) will be investigated as historical evidence, human expression and political discourse.  Questions of gender and race will be addressed.  Field trips to local exhibitions and architectural sites will be arranged during class time. 
FW2011-12, C. Labrecque, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:00 AM - 11:15 PM, room 2L17.

HIST-2800(6) HISTORY OF EUROPEAN ART (Le3) The historical development of art forms in the European tradition will be studied in successive eras. Emphasis is given to painting, sculpture, and architecture. 
Fall 2011, D. Topper, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 9:30 AM - 11:20 AM, room 2L17.
This 6-credit course is offered in a condensed format for one term only.

HIST-2801(6) HISTORY OF CANADIAN ART (Le3) A survey of Canadian art from the influences of European styles in the early period to the impact of Canadian culture on art in the 20th century. 

HIST-2802(3) ART IN NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS (Le3)  This course explores the intrinsic links within non-Christian religious traditions between beliefs and social systems and the art produced in those contexts. It focuses on the art and architecture of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. Students explore art's implicit and explicit messages about the religious beliefs of its producing society, how art functions within the context of religion, and how one 'reads' religious art. The class investigates the impact of social, economic, and power structures on religious art, and the role of patronage in art production.
CROSS-LISTED: Religious Studies REL-2901(3).

HIST-2890(3) WAYS OF SEEING (S3) Images are all around us: on the internet, television, and our cell phones; in advertising, movies, galleries and museums. We view and respond to images in many different ways, and when we look at art we can see the structures of social and political ideologies that shape our culture.
Fall 2011, C. Majzels, Tuesdays, 2:30 PM - 5:15 PM, Room 2L17.

HIST-3807(6) TOPICS IN TWENTIETH CENTURY CANADIAN ART (Le,S3)  This is an advanced lecture/seminar course examining various areas in twentieth-century Canadian art. We will address issues such as the taxonomy of style - realism, abstract expressionism, minimalism; problems of value - dealers, galleries, craft, design and electronic imaging; and the politics of art - feminism, regionalism, First Nations, ethnicity, ordinary people and government funding.  The first part of the course will cover issues that affect the country as a whole, within the global context.  Assignments will be focused on art historical writing and criticism.  The latter part of the course will deal with Manitoba's culture, particularly unknown and forgotten women artists.  This will involve individual student projects and primary research in local archives and collections.
RESTRICTIONS: Students with standing in HIST-3820(3) or HIST-3821(3) may not receive credit for HIST-3807(6).

HIST-3809(6) NINETEENTH-CENTURY ART IN CONTEXT (1776-1900) (Le,S3) This lecture/seminar course will focus on the major artistic movements of Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, and Post-Impressionism within the context of the social and political upheavals of the nineteenth century.  We will explore the relations between popular culture and the fine art of the ruling class, between ideology and artistic practice, between the revolution of the avant-garde and of the people, and among industry, exploitation, and empire, and between women as artists and as subjects of art. 
RESTRICTIONS: Students with standing in HIST-3804(6), HIST-3817(3) or HIST-3818(3) may not receive credit for HIST-3809(6).

HIST-3810(6) ART OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (1900 to the present) (Le, S3) We will examine the development of abstraction and expression in art from 1900 to the present, particularly the relation of artistic movements to the political and historical context. The roles of war, sexuality, money, and the cult of personality in the production and reception of art will be addressed within a framework of critical analysis, including formalism, Marxism, the feminist critique, and post-modern deconstruction. A wide range of media will be explored including the arts of film, dance, sculpture, painting, and architecture. 
RESTRICTIONS: Students with standing in HIST-3819(3) or HIST-3820(3) may not receive credit for HIST-3810(6). 
FW2011-12, A. Gillmor, Thursdays, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM, room 4BC57.

HIST-3811(6) WOMEN, ART, AND SOCIETY (Le,S3) This lecture/seminar course will consider the new approaches offered by critical theory, psychology, postmodernism, and feminism to the practice of art history and to the history of art in a wide selection of different cultures and periods. The role of women in the production of art will be re-evaluated, the rediscovery of forgotten arts and women artists will be studied, and the representation of women in art will be analyzed. The creative process, art history as a discipline, and the role of art in society from traditional craft and "fine" art to film and advertising will be explored in the light of women's experience.

HIST-3813(3) ART HISTORY IN FOCUS I (Le, S3) This lecture/seminar course offers students the opportunity for intensive study of a single artist’s work or artistic movement on whose work there is a significant body of art historical writing and criticism. Each time the course is offered the name of the artist or movement in focus will be listed in the Timetable. This course may be repeated for credit when the topic varies. 

HIST-3814(3) ABORIGINAL ARTS (Le, S3) This lecture/seminar course offers an introduction to the arts of Aboriginal peoples with a focus on contemporary First Nations art in Canada. Students explore critical approaches to the social and political issues surrounding tradition, appropriation, modernity, and personal identity in our survey of visual art. Forms examined may include painting, sculpture, print making, installation, dance, music, theatre, new media, and performance. Local artists, exhibitions, and collections offer students first-hand experience of current First Nations and Métis art production in Manitoba.

HIST-3816(6) ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF PILGRIMAGE (Le, S3) This course is an introduction to the history of pilgrimage art and architecture from the Middle Ages to the Modern era. Medieval and Post-Medieval pilgrimages are used as a laboratory for investigating the topic of the journey to a shrine for the realization of spiritual benefits or the fulfillment of personal motives. Class discussions and lectures on the experience of pilgrimage and its visual ways of expression might include: the major pilgrimages to Christian, Muslin, Hindu and Jewish sites, and the later pilgrimages to North-American shrines.

HIST-3817(3) NINETEENTH-CENTURY ART IN CONTEXT I (1776-1870) (Le, S3)  This lecture/seminar course will include the Neoclassical, Romantic, and Realist movements in art, concluding with the early experiments of the Impressionists. We will explore the relations between popular culture and the fine art of the ruling class, between ideology and artistic practice, between the revolution of the avant-garde and of the people, and among industry, exploitation, and empire, between women as artists and as subjects of art. 
RESTRICTIONS: Students with standing in HIST-3804(6) or HIST-3809(6) may not receive credit for HIST-3817(3).

HIST-3818(3) NINETEENTH-CENTURY ART IN CONTEXT II (1870-1900) (Le, S3) This lecture/seminar course will include the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements in art, from Gauguin and Seurat to Cezanne and early Picasso. We will explore the relations between popular culture and the fine art of the ruling class, between ideology and artistic practice, between the revolution of the avant-garde and of the people, and among industry, exploitation, and empire, between women as artists and as subjects of art. 
RESTRICTIONS: Students with standing in HIST-3804(6) or HIST-3809(6) may not receive credit for HIST-3818(3).

HIST-3819(3) ART IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY I (1900-1945) (Le,S3)  We will examine the development of abstraction and expression in art from 1900 to 1945, particularly the relation of artistic movements in art to the political and historical context. The roles of war, sexuality, money, and the cult of personality in the production and reception of art will be addressed within a framework of critical analysis, including formalism, Marxism, the feminist critique, and post-modern deconstruction.  A wide range of media will be explored, including the arts of film, dance, sculpture, painting, and architecture. 
RESTRICTIONS: Students with standing in HIST-3810(6) may not receive credit for HIST-3819(3).

HIST-3820(3) ART IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY II (1945 TO THE PRESENT) (Le,S3)  We will examine the development of abstraction and expression in art from 1945 to the present, particularly the relation of artistic movements in art to the political and historical context. The roles of war, sexuality, money, and the cult of personality in the production and reception of art will be addressed within a framework of critical analysis, including formalism, Marxism, the feminist critique, and postmodern deconstruction.  A wide range of media will be explored, including the arts of film, dance, sculpture, painting, and architecture. 
RESTRICTIONS: Students with standing in HIST-3810(6) may not receive credit for HIST-3820(3).

HIST-3821(3) TOPICS IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY CANADIAN ART I (ISSUES) (Le, S3)   This is an advanced lecture/seminar course examining various areas in twentieth-century Canadian art in a global context. We will address issues such as the taxonomy of style - realism, abstract expressionism, minimalism; problems of value - dealers, galleries, craft, design and electronic imaging; and the politics of art - feminism, regionalism, First Nations, ethnicity, ordinary people, and government funding.  This course will cover issues that affect the country as a whole, within the global context.  Assignments will be focused on art historical writing and criticism. 
RESTRICTIONS: Students with standing in HIST-3807(6) may not receive credit for HIST-3821(3).

HIST-3822(3) TOPICS IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY CANADIAN ART II (RESEARCH PROJECT) (Le, S3) This is an advanced lecture/seminar course examining various areas in twentieth-century Canadian art in a global context. We will address issues such as the taxonomy of style - realism, abstract expressionism, minimalism; problems of value - dealers, galleries, craft, design and electronic imaging; and the politics of art - feminism, regionalism, First Nations, ethnicity, ordinary people, and government funding.  This 3 credit hour course will focus on Manitoba's culture, particularly unknown and forgotten women artists.  This will involve individual student projects and primary research in local archives and collections. 
RESTRICTIONS: Students with standing in HIST-3807(6) may not receive credit for HIST-3822(3).

HIST-3824(3) HISTORY AND THEORY OF DANCE AND ART (Le, S3) Dance is a visual art that lives in both time and space. We will explore the social, historical and aesthetic relationships of dance to other art forms such as painting, sculpture, architecture, performance, and video from antiquity to the present. Differences of class, gender and culture as well as questions of identity and the body will be central to our study.

HIST-3825(6) THEORIES AND METHODS FOR ART HISTORY (Le,S3) This lecture/seminar course explores various traditional art historical and critical approaches to the study of art including visual analysis, biography, iconography, and more recent theories such as historiography, feminism, and postmodernism. Museums, galleries, and the art market as well as techniques and conservation are also considered. Research methods for art historians are put into practice in written assignments and, whenever possible, field trips to local sites and exhibitions take place during class time.

HIST-3826(3) ART HISTORY IN FOCUS II (Le, S3) This lecture/seminar course offers students the opportunity for intensive study of a single artist’s work or artistic movement on whose work there is a significant body of art historical writing and criticism. Each time the course is offered the name of the artist or movement in focus will be listed in the Timetable. This course may be repeated for credit when the topic varies.

HIST-3829(3) MODERN ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN (Le, S3) This course examines the major monuments, architects, and theories of nineteenth and twentieth century architecture, urbanism, landscape design and interior design. The discussion topics include the architectural responses arising from the issues of “Modernity” such as industrialization, new technologies, nationalism, and constructs of “nature”.
Winter 2012, S. Keshavjee, Fridays, 2:30 PM - 5:15 PM, room 4BC57.

HIST-3831(3) ISLAMIC ART AND ARCHITECTURE (Le, S3) This course examines Islamic art and architecture from the rise of Islam in the seventh century to the nineteenth century, concentrating on the period 1250-1800. The course also considers cross-cultural influences and contrasts between the Islamic world and Europe. Topics include the ‘reluctance’ towards figural imagery, regional mosque architecture, and book illumination. Dynasties include Timurid, Safavid, Ottoman, Mamluk, and Mughal.
CROSS-LISTED: Religious Studies: REL 3712(3)
Fall 2011, H. Delacretaz, Mondays, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM, room 4BC57.

HIST-3840(3 or 6) SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ART (Le3, SV) This course explores the visual arts of Italy, France, England, Spain, and the Netherlands against the background of the social, economic, political and religious change in the seventeenth century. Some of the topics we consider include the position of women artists, the cultural effects of colonialism, the natural sciences, art collecting and the emergence of the art market.
RESTRICTIONS: Students with standing in HIST-3803(6) may not receive credit for HIST-3840(3).
Fall 2011, C. Majzels, Thursdays, 2:30 PM - 5:15 PM, room 4BC57.

HIST-3841(3 or 6) ARTS OF THE MIDDLE AGES (Le3, SV) This lecture/seminar course is an introduction to the study of medieval art and architecture in Europe, from the demise of Late Antique traditions up to the Renaissance. In the context of a thematic survey, students are introduced to the terminology, methods, materials, subject matter and function of medieval art and architecture. Since the largest proportion of surviving materials is religious, this includes a firm grounding in the medieval Christian tradition and the nature of the prominent institutions of Church and State. Secular art is considered where possible or appropriate, and broader issues of material culture are explored.
FW2011-12, C. Labrecque, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM, room 2L17.

HIST-3842(3 or 6) ITALIAN RENAISSANCE ART (Le3, SV) This lecture/seminar course is an introduction to the study of Italian Renaissance art and architecture in the context of the social, political and economic circumstances of this time. This course traces the history of painting, sculpture and architecture of the mid-14th to the 16th century. More specific topics explore the virtuosity and philosophies of realism, the discovery of linear perspective, the artists’ social and intellectual status, art patronage, and gender issues (women artists and women’s art patronage). Some artists/art patrons are considered more in depth, such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Isabella d’Este, among others.
 Winter 2012, C. Labrecque, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:30 AM - 9:45 AM, room  2L17.

HIST-3843(3 or 6) NORTHERN RENAISSANCE ART (Le3, SV) This lecture/seminar course is an introduction to the study of art and architecture of the mid-14th to the 16th century Northern regions of Western Europe (France, England, Germany and the Netherlands) in the context of the social, political and economic circumstances of this time. More specific topics should capture our attention, such as the development of panel and manuscript paintings, prints, the raise of realism and secular subjects in the arts, the transformation of the artist’s status and art patronage.

HIST-4800(6) TUTORIAL (T) This is a reading course in History of Art, taken by individual senior students with the instructor of their choice.
PREREQUISITES: Written permission from instructor and Department Chair.

HIST-4801(6) SPECIAL TOPICS IN ART HISTORY (S3) This is a seminar devoted to specific issues in or related to art history. The nature and range of topics will depend upon the Instructor written information about the course for any given year will be available to the student from any Art History Instructor.

HIST-4802(6) FRENCH ART AND CULTURE AROUND 1900 (S3) This seminar examines the dominant issues in France during the fin-de-siècle. Working within the critical categories of modernity and anti-modernity,  the discussion topics include scientific and pseudo-scientific theories of degeneration, regeneration and evolution, constructs of the “natural,” the unconscious, psychology, and notions of hysteria and mediumship. The student seminars focus on how these ideas were reflected in French visual culture at the turn of the century.

HIST-4815(6) ART HISTORY AND EXHIBITION PRACTICE (S3) This course brings students into first hand contact with selected art objects in order to learn how to design and mount an exhibition. The class examines works in their social, historical, and artistic contexts, using primary sources and technical resources available locally whenever possible. Students learn the practical aspects of art historical work.

HIST-4830(6) THE HISTORY OF MUSEUMS AND COLLECTING (S3) Museums do more than just collect art objects, they display and produce culture. This course examines the collecting practices of Western museums, before and after the Enlightenment period, as well as the ideology behind collections. We investigate how museums developed along with the disciple of art history, and how both were dependent on nineteenth and twentieth century ideologies of nationalism and colonialism. Students study how artifacts and collections function in the construction of cultural and national identity. Collections from the Medieval, Renaissance and Modern periods may be studied, including European and North American museums and galleries.
FW2011-12, S. Borys, Wednesdays, 2:30 PM - 5:15 PM, room 3M58(Fall)/2L17(Winter).

HIST-4831(6) PRACTICUM IN CURATORIAL STUDIES (A6) This course combines the theory and practice of curatorial work, public history and experiential learning for students interested in achieving a university credit by working with a local museum or art gallery. The Practicum provides opportunities to explore a range of placements with host institutions in order to learn about being a curator. Students are expected to work 6-8 hours a week in the host institution. Program partners will provide training for the interns who have chosen to work with them. Partnerships opportunities include, but are not limited to Winnipeg Art Gallery, Plug In Contemporary Art Institute, Buhler Gallery, and other local galleries and museums.
FW2011-12, P. Bovey, Tuesdays, 8:30 AM - 11:15 AM, room 3M58.

EXPERIMENTAL COURSES

Experimental Courses are new courses offered on a trial basis to gauge interest in various topics.  Students who successfully complete any experimental course receive credit as indicated.

HIST-2890(3) WAYS OF SEEING (S3) Images are all around us: on the internet, television, and our cell phones; in advertising, movies, galleries and museums. We view and respond to images in many different ways, and when we look at art we can see the structures of social and political ideologies that shape our culture.

HIST-4890(3) WOMEN, ART, AND CRAFT (S3) Art and craft have traditionally been defined along class and gender lines. The prestige of “high art” and “high craft” has privileged the male artist and marginalized the work of women. In any given year, and depending on the instructor, this course may focus on examples of material culture produced by women in Manitoba and participate in the preparation of a small exhibition. Students research the lives of the makers and the social and historical conditions for the production of such work in the light of feminist theories of interpretation.

HIST-4891(3) SPECIAL TOPICS IN VISUAL CULTURES (S3) This seminar is devoted to specific issues in art history or visual culture. In any given year, and depending on the instructor, this course may focus one or more individual artists, a particular movement or movements, or a theme related to visual culture. Please consult the History Office for information about specific offerings of the course. This course may be repeated for credit when the topic varies.