California University of Pennsylvania
New Course Proposal
University Course Syllabus
Approved: 8/20/12
Department of Art and Design
A. Protocol
Course Name: Methods of Art History
Course Number: ART 345
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: Art History I or II
Maximum Class Size (face to face): 22 students
Maximum Class Size (online): N/A
B. Objectives of the Course:
1. To gain the ability to express the visual experience of a work of art in words and an
ability to use the appropriate art historical terminology in doing so.
2. To demonstrate knowledge a knowledge of art historiography, the discipline’s key
theorists, and their contributions to the field.
3. To develop the ability to discern legitimate scholarly sources of research information
and the ability to cite them properly.
4. To gain knowledge of various theoretical approaches to the study of art and how to
apply them to works of art.
C. Catalog Description:
Methods of Art History is an introduction to the history of the art historical discipline and its
research and interpretive methods. Rather than discuss the what of art history – that is, the major
works and their histories - as most art history courses do, this course addresses the how of art
history. We will consider various ways in which art historians interpret a work of art according
to its specific and unique characteristics, the place and time period in which the work is created,
and the changing nature of viewers’ responses to it.
D. Outline of the Course:
I.
Introduction
II. Museum Trip
III. The Art and Science of Art History
IV. Tips on Research Writing and Citing: Part I
V. Materials and Meaning
VI. Form and Meaning
VII. Content and Meaning
VIII. Tips on Research Writing and Citing: Part II
IX. Art as Biography
X. Art as Social Production
XI. Art as Gender
XII. Art as Sign
XIII. Art as Ritual

XIV. Art as Reception
XV. Student Presentations
XVI. Student Presentations
E. Teaching Methodology:
Traditional Classroom Methodology:
The course will be taught as an upper-division writing-intensive seminar. The instructor
will lead class discussions, which will be facilitated by the examination of images of
pertinent works of art. Students will have assigned readings for each class session and will
discuss the art presented vis-à-vis the theoretical texts assigned. Class participation will
constitute a significant portion of the student’s grade in the course. The course also will
require each student to engage actively in the learning process by
Online Methodology:
This course will not be offered online.
F. Text
The readings for this class will be available via electronic course reserves and will include
selections from texts such as the following:
Baxandall, Michael. Painting and Experience in Fifteenth Century Italy; a Primer in the Social
History of Pictorial Style. Oxford,: Clarendon Press, 1972.
Clark, T. J. Image of the People: Gustave Courbet and the 1848 Revolution. Princeton, N.J.:
Princeton University Press, 1982.
Duncan, Carol. Civilizing Rituals : Inside Public Art Museums. Re Visions. London ; New York:
Routledge, 1995.
Fernie, E. C. Art History and Its Methods : A Critical Anthology. London: Phaidon Press Ltd.,
1995.
Nochlin, Linda. Women, Art, and Power : And Other Essays. Icon Editions. 1st ed. New York:
Harper & Row, 1988.
Panofsky, Erwin. Meaning in the Visual Arts: Papers in and on Art History. Doubleday Anchor
Books, A59. [1st ed. Garden City, N.Y.,: Doubleday, 1955.
Preziosi, Donald. The Art of Art History : A Critical Anthology. Oxford History of Art. New ed.
Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Vasari, Giorgio. Lives of the Artists Volume I (Penguin Classics). S.l.: s.n.
http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl/openurl?ctx_ver=Z39.88-

2003&xri:pqil:res_ver=0.2&res_id=xri:lion-us&rft_id=xri:lion:ft:Prose:Z001589096:0.
Wölfflin, Heinrich, and Marie Donald Mackie Hottinger. Principles of Art History; the Problem of
the Development of Style in Later Art. New York,: Holt, 1932.
G. Assessment Activities:
Students will be evaluated by:
1. Quizzes: Quizzes will be given throughout the semester to ensure that students are
acquiring knowledge of art history’s methods.
2. Response papers: Students will write a minimum of three 3-page response papers in
response to three texts of their choosing over the course of the semester. Feedback and the
opportunity for revision will be given.
3. Final Essay: Students will write a final 12- to 15-page essay in which they will apply
three methods of art history to a work of art. Feedback the opportunity for revision will be
given. A museum trip will be taken at the start of the semester in which students select a
work of art. Response papers and the final essay will be written with this work of art in
mind.
4. Presentations: Students will give a final presentation in which they demonstrate their
ability to apply methods to a work of art.
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 selfidentifying,
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@cup.edu
Web Site: http://www.calu.edu/current-students/student-services/disability/index.htm
I. Supportive Instructional Materials, e.g. library materials, web sites, etc.
The library owns numerous books that will support the teaching of this class, including, but not
limited to:
Adams, Laurie. The Methodologies of Art: An Introduction. 2nd ed. Boulder, CO: Westview
Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group, 2010.
Kultermann, Udo. The History of Art History. New York?: Abaris Books, 1993.
Moxey, Keith P. F. The Practice of Theory : Poststructuralism, Cultural Politics, and Art
History. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1994.
———. The Practice of Persuasion : Paradox and Power in Art History. Ithaca: Cornell
University Press, 2001.
Podro, Michael. The Critical Historians of Art. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1982.
Preziosi, Donald. Rethinking Art History : Meditations on a Coy Science. New Haven: Yale
University Press, 1989.
Schiff, Gert. German Essays on Art History. The German Library. New York: Continuum, 1988.
In addition, the Manderino Library provides access to ArtNews, Art in America, Art
Bulletin, Art Journal, Art History and the Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism in print
form or through an electronic database.
Additional Information for Course Proposals
J. Proposed Instructors:
Qualified art history instructors/professors
K. Rationale for the Course:
Methods of Art History is an essential course for students focusing their studies on art history. It
provides the basic methodological tools for the art historian. The course will provide students
pursuing a BA in Art with a focus in art history with a solid grounding in the methodological
tools that they will use in other upper-level art history courses.
L. Specialized Equipment or Supplies Needed:
None. Course needs to be taught in a smart classroom.
M. Answer the following questions using complete sentences:
1. Does the course require additional human resources? (Please explain) No, it does not. It can be
taught by faculty currently employed by the university.

2. Does the course require additional physical resources? (Please explain) No, it does not. It
requires the use of a smart classroom.
3. Does the course change the requirements in any particular major? (Please explain)
It is a required major course for the new BA in Art with a focus in art history.
4. Is the course replacing an existing course? (If so, list the course) No, it does not. It is a new
course.
5. How often will the course be taught? It will be taught once every year.
6. Does the course duplicate an existing course in another Department or College? (If the
possibility exists, indicate course discipline, number, and name) No, it does not.
7. What is the recommended maximum class size for this course? As a writing intensive course
intended for majors and minors, the recommended class size is 22 students.
N. 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. No 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 course should be designated as a Writing Intensive course. Students must engage in
a considerable amount of writing (20 pages, minimum) during the course of the semester.
Revision is encouraged at each stage of the writing process, and the instructor provides
feedback in order to facilitate student progress.
P. Provide Approval Form (electronically).
Additional Guidelines
The following are additional guidelines that you must follow which will expedite your course
proposal. Failure to follow these guidelines will result in the return of the proposal to the
department.
1. Be sure that your proposal is in the correct format (Guidelines for New Course Proposals)
and that all questions have been completely answered.
2. Be sure that you have completed and attached the Application to Establish a New Course
form and/or the Advisement Sheet Revision form and that the appropriate signatures
have been affixed. Please send through the process electronically (the preferred method)
or by paper. No items will be placed on the agenda until the Chair of the UCC is in
possession of these forms.
3. Be sure that you include an updated advisement sheet for any course that is being

required by the department or is classified as a restricted elective. In addition, you must
include an electronic copy (MS Word or PDF) of the current advisement sheet(s) with
your proposal. Be certain that all advisement sheets affected by the proposed course
change be included with your proposal.
4. When submitting materials for consideration by the Curriculum Committee, you must
provide an electronic copy of each item to be reviewed to the Chairperson.
5. All completed items must be in the hands of the Chairperson of the Curriculum
Committee a minimum of one week prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting.
6. Any department requesting a course name change, number change, prefix changes, credit
changes, etc. must submit this request on the Application to Establish a New Course
Form and submit electronically.
7. New advisement sheets, major proposals, minors, or changes to advisement sheets will
become effective the fall semester following committee approval. The advisement
sheets must also include the committee approval date and the effective date on the
advisement page. Submit this request on the Advisement and /or Program Changes
form.
8. New courses will become effective the semester following committee approval.
9. Any references listed must be in the appropriate bibliographic format for the discipline.
10. Online courses must follow the Quality Matters™ rubric and is posted on the UCC
website. Be sure that you include the online teaching methodology statement (refer E.2
above) that refers to the Quality Matters™ rubric.
11. All course objectives must follow Bloom’s Taxonomy learning domains located on the
UCC website.