Lectures Mon/Wed 11:15-12:05

Remote Synchronous

This course introduces American art from the colonial period to the 1960s. By exploring the visual aspects of scientific, economic, political, religious, and social change, this course presents artworks as dynamic producers and receptors of American transformation in history. We will examine the textured histories behind familiar icons of national heritage as well as uncover forgotten, but no less impactful, forms of visual expression. This course emphasizes encounters and exchanges among diverse Americans and between America and the world. Of equal importance are events, debates, and innovations that shaped in the art world. We will examine artworks in a range of media—from painting and sculpture to ceramics and posters—historically connecting masterpieces of high art with vernacular expression. For students new to art history, this course also teaches ways of looking at, thinking about, and engaging in critical discussion of the visual and material world.

Professor Maggie Cao  — forms of address: Professor or Dr. Cao [pronounced “Chow”], she/her/hers

Teaching Assistants: Emily Duvall, Michelle Fikrig, and Julianne Miao