California University of Pennsylvania
Guidelines for New Course Proposals
University Course Syllabus
Approved: 2/4/13
Department of Art and Design
A.

Protocol
Course Name:
Art History: Renaissance through Rococo
Course Number:
ART 316
Credits:
3
Prerequisites:
None
Maximum Class Size (face-to-face): 90
Maximum Class Size (online):
(Choose which one is appropriate or both if applicable)

B.

C.

Objectives of the Course:
1.

Students will commit to memory and utilize the correct sequence of art
movements and their representation, art objects, artists, art criticism and
theory, aesthetics, and the processes and production of art from the
Renaissance through the mid-18th century.

2.

Students will analyze visual art in relationship to contemporaneous social,
political, religious and cultural issues.

3.

Students will demonstrate essential basic art historical methods of inquiry
emphasizing clear observation, critical thinking, informed judgments,
abstract reasoning, and problem-solving skills.

4.

Students will present art historical content using clear written and oral
exposition.

5.

The students will explore all requirements under the guidelines for
“Knowing the Content” established by the Pennsylvania Department of
Education for Art Education Certification.

Catalog Description:
Art History from 1300 to 1750 surveys the major artists, styles, and movements
of the 14th -mid-18th centuries. Significant artistic developments are examined

within their historical and cultural contexts. This course considers the art and art
movements of Europe and the United States as well as the art of non-Western
cultures. Through lectures, class discussions, and opportunities for study in the
field, students will learn how to make the art of this period accessible and
meaningful, and thus enhance their humanistic perspective.
D.

Outline of the Course:
1. Introduction to Art History: Its Vocabulary, Subjects, and Theoretical Frameworks
2. The Transition from Gothic to Renaissance
3. Early Renaissance Art in Italy
4. Royal Art of African Kingdoms
5. 15th-Century Art in Northern Europe and Spain
6. 15th-Century Italian Art
7. The High Renaissance in Italy
8. Mannerism
9. The Northern Renaissance and the Reformation
10. Islamic Art of the Ottomans
11. The Art of Zen Buddhism in Japan
12. The Baroque in Italy
13. Spanish and Flemish Baroque Art
14. The Baroque in France
15. 17th-Century English Art and Architecture
16. 17th-Century Dutch Art
17. Mughal Art of India
18. 17th-Century Japanese Painting
19. Chinese Calligraphy and Porcelain
20. Rococo Painting
21. Rococo Sculpture and Architecture

E.

Teaching Methodology:
Traditional Classroom Methodology
The class will be taught in a lecture-discussion format. Participation in class
discussions is required so that students may enhance both critical thinking and
communication skills. The instructor will present material for discussion from a
variety of media sources, and when possible, the class will make visits to
museums to see works of art produced during the periods considered in the
course. The textbook is intended as a source of background information, and the
instructor extends its scope, often with primary source material. The instructor
draws connections among the historical events of the period, the aesthetic ideas
current in the period, the technologies of the time period, specific cultural
milieux, and the development of artistic movements and individual artists. The
course is designed to present the study of art history as an examination of the

contributions of artists and the influences of historical styles within the context
of broader historical, religious, and cultural developments.
F.

Text
Primary Text:
Kleiner, Fred S. and Christin J. Mamiya. Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, Vol.
II, 12th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2005.
Supplemental Texts:
Harris, Ann Sutherland. Seventeenth-Century Art and Architecture. Upper
Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005.
Hartt, Frederick and David Wilkins, History of Italian Renaissance Art:
Painting, Sculpture, Architecture. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice
Hall, 2006.
Snyder, James, Larry Silver and Henry Luttikhuizen, Northern Renaissance Art:
Painting, Sculpture, the Graphic Arts from 1350 – 1575. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle
River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2004.

G.

Assessment Activities:
Traditional Classroom Assessment
1. Examinations: Students will complete two examinations during the course
of the semester and a cumulative final exam. All exams will consist of
slide identifications, objective items, comparison-contrast essays, and
thematic essays.
2.

Quizzes: Student progress will be assessed throughout the term via
frequent quizzes. The quizzes will examine student comprehension of
information presented in class regarding iconography, style, technique, and
cultural and religious context.

3.

Presentation and Analysis Paper: Each student will be required to lead the
class in a discussion analyzing a major work of art. On the day of the oral
presentation, he or she will submit a 4-5 page formal essay detailing his or
her analysis of the work’s composition, style, and meaning.

H.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities:
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities:
• Reserve the right to decide when to self-identify and when to request
accommodations.
• Will register with the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) each semester to
receive accommodations.
• Might be required to communicate with faculty for accommodations, which
specifically involve the faculty.
• Will present the OSD Accommodation Approval Notice to faculty when
requesting accommodations that involve the faculty.
Requests for approval for reasonable accommodations should be directed to the Office for
Students with Disabilities (OSD). Approved accommodations will be recorded on the
OSD Accommodation Approval notice and provided to the student. Students are expected
to adhere to OSD procedures for self-identifying, providing documentation and requesting
accommodations in a timely manner.
Contact Information:
• Location:
Azorsky Hall – Room 105
• Phone:
(724) 938-5781
• Fax:
(724) 938-4599
• Email:
osdmail@calu.edu
• Web Site:
http://www.calu.edu/current-students/studentservices/disability/index.htm
I.

Supportive Instructional Materials, e.g. library materials, web sites, etc.
The Manderino Library provides access to The Art Bulletin in print form and
via an electronic database. Art History is available through a full-text database.
The library video collection contains a number of films pertinent to this art
historical period.
Additional Information for Course Proposals

J.

Proposed Instructors:
Art historians, or qualified faculty in the department of Art and Design

K.

Rationale for the Course:
This course is a necessary art history component to help satisfy a required
minimum of 12 credits of art history for every art and design program major.
This is in keeping with state and national Art Education standards and the criteria
established by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. The
complexity of the history of art from the fourteenth through the twentieth
centuries is considerable. The faculty of the Department of Art and Design agree
that the department’s majors and students taking art history courses as electives
in order to broaden their understanding of the humanities would be better served
by offering two survey classes for this historical period. This also will allow for
expanded coverage of non-Western artistic traditions in the art history
curriculum.

L.

Specialized Equipment or Supplies Needed:
No specialized equipment is necessary in order for the course to be taught.

M.

Answer the following questions using complete sentences:
1.
2.
3.

Does the course require additional human resources? (Please explain)
This course does not necessitate additional human resources.
Does the course require additional physical resources? (Please explain)
No additional physical resources are required for this course offering.
Does the course change the requirements in any particular major?
(Please explain)
The approval of this survey course will necessitate a change in the
requirements for the four degree programs offered by the Department of
Art and Design. This course, along
with ART 317: Art History: Neoclassicism through the Present, will
replace ART 309: Art History: Renaissance to Contemporary (which is
currently required for all majors in the Department). ART 316 and ART
317 will be required for all majors in the Department of Art and Design.
Furthermore, the Department seeks to establish ART 422: The
Art World after Modernism as the Writing Intensive Course in Art
History. The courses proposed to replace ART 309 need not be
designated as Writing Intensive courses.

4.

5.
6.

N.

Does the course replace an existing course in your program? (If so, list the
course)
Yes. Please see the explanation provided in response to question #3
above.
How often will the course be taught?
The course will be taught at least one semester per academic year.
Does the course duplicate an existing course in another Department or
College? (If the possibility exists, indicate course discipline, number, and
name)
This course does not duplicate any University course offerings.

If the proposed course includes substantial material that is traditionally taught
in another discipline, you must request a statement of support from the
department chair that houses that discipline.
It does not.

O.

Please identify if you are proposing to have this course considered as a menu
course for General Education. If yes, justify and demonstrate the reasons
based on the categories for General Education. The General Education
Committee must consider and approve the course proposal before
consideration by the UCC.
The Department proposes to offer this course as a General Education menu
course in the Humanities category. This course presents, critiques, and
analyzes human values and emotions as they are conceptualized, formulated,
and expressed through works of art perceived through the senses. In Art
History: Renaissance through Rococo students analyze art works produced in
the 14th – 18th centuries and learn the ways in which the formal qualities and
the subject matter of works of art interact to express ideas and values.
Students also situate these ideas within historical contexts and analyze how
these ideas and values change within different historical moments.