Art History
62 courses · UC Irvine · 2026-2027 Catalog
Classes: Fall 2026
ART HIS 30 Latin American Art and Architecture: 1492 to the Present
- Units
- 4
Charts the history of Latin American art and architecture from the invasion of the Americas in 1492 to the present. It examines the production of visual art in relation to colonization, imperialism, migration, international exchange, and racial formation.
ART HIS 40A Ancient Greek and Roman Art, and Architecture
- Units
- 4
An overview of Greek and Roman art, and related ancient visual cultures. Considers how and why the peoples of antiquity created art and architecture, as well as the significance of these works within their social, religious, and historical contexts.
ART HIS 40B Arts of Europe: Medieval and Renaissance
- Units
- 4
Focuses on the art of the Mediterranean area and Europe between ca. A.D. 350 and 1600. By means of movements and artists, examines the cultural identities of the Christian, Islamic, and Early Modern worlds.
ART HIS 40C Early Modern and Modern Art in Europe and America
- Units
- 4
The visual arts from the 17th to the 21st centuries. Explores the purposes and meaning of painting, sculpture, and architecture in relation to artists, viewers, and historical events.
ART HIS 42B History of Asian Art: Arts of China
- Units
- 4
An introduction to the arts and visual culture of China from Neolithic to modern times. Themes includes the representation of power, death and the afterlife, popular culture and elite arts, landscape and women's painting, and concludes with contemporary China.
ART HIS 42C History of Asian Art: Arts of Japan
- Units
- 4
Examines compelling images and objects of spirit and power created in Japan over many centuries. Themes include Buddhist icons, narrative illustration, popular prints, architecture, manga, and the avant-garde. Japanese interactions with Korean, Chinese, and European culture are emphasized.
ART HIS 42D History of Asian Art: Arts of Islam
- Units
- 4
Examines past and present Islamic art, spanning 1,500 years and extending from the Americas through Indonesia. Themes include Islam as a globalizing force, the definition of "Islamic," and the competing roles of religion and politics in making art.
ART HIS 42E Art and Archaeology of Ancient Western Asia: Persia/Iran, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Anatolia (ca. 12,000 BCE-650 CE)
- Units
- 4
Introduction to the art and archaeology of ancient Western Asia from 12,000 B.C.E. to 650 C.E., including Mesopotamia, Syria, Anatolia, Persia, the wider Iranian world and borderlands. Introduces art and archaeological methods and the ancient world's legacy in the present.
ART HIS 42F Arts of Korea
- Units
- 4
Introduction to the arts and visual culture of Korea from the Neolithic period to the Joseon Dynasty. Themes include the conceptions of life, death, and afterlife, expressions of power and privilege, leisure, knowledge, and trade.
ART HIS 44 Image Collision: A Multicultural Approach to Images and Their Users
- Units
- 4
Comparisons between present-day visual culture and pre-modern art to re-evaluate the ways in which one understands the contemporary histories of underrepresented groups in the United States.
ART HIS 46 Introduction to Ancient Egyptian Archaeology and Art
- Units
- 4
Introduction to the art and archaeology of ancient Egypt from prehistory through the Late Period. Themes covered include kingship and monumentality, the materialization of religious beliefs and practices, and non-royal and non-elite cultural expression.
ART HIS 55 Disneyland
- Units
- 5
From Dole Whips to roller coasters, the focus is on the innovations in industrial automation and manufacturing that made Disneyland’s attractions possible. Discusses fandom, guest experiences, operating procedures, technical and design patents, and how rides work.
ART HIS 100 Studies in Ancient Art
- Units
- 4
Topics in Egyptian, Prehistoric, and Etruscan art of the Mediterranean area treated with specific reference to relevant cultural and historical settings. Specialized courses in Greek and Roman art are also taught.
ART HIS 101 Topics in Ancient Egyptian Art and Archaeology
- Units
- 4
Varying topics in ancient Egyptian art and archaeology, from the Predynastic Period through the Late Period. Developments in art and archaeology are analyzed through their sociopolitical and historical contexts.
ART HIS 103 Studies in Greek Art
- Units
- 4
Topics in Greek art, architecture, and topography from the Prehistoric period through the end of the fourth century B.C.E.
ART HIS 107 Studies in Roman Art
- Units
- 4
Topics in Hellenistic and Roman art and architecture; stresses historical and political background.
ART HIS 110 Studies in Medieval Art
- Units
- 4
Specialized topics in Medieval art and architecture in Europe, the Mediterranean area, and the Near East between the fourth and fifteenth centuries. Examples: the Art of the Migration Period, Medieval City.
ART HIS 114 Studies in Western Medieval Art
- Units
- 4
Selected topics on the development of art and architecture in Western Europe between ca. 700 and 1400. Examples: Romanesque painting, Gothic architecture.
ART HIS 120 Studies in Renaissance and Baroque Art
- Units
- 4
Selected topics on the art and architecture of Europe between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries. Examples: Renaissance and Baroque prints, Bruegel to Rubens.
ART HIS 121 Studies in Southern Renaissance Art
- Units
- 4
Selected topics determined by individual faculty members exploring historical developments and individual artists of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in Italy and Spain. Examples: Renaissance Venice, Age of Michelangelo.
ART HIS 125 Studies in Southern Baroque Art
- Units
- 4
Selected topics determined by individual faculty members exploring historical developments and individual artists of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Italy and Spain. Example: Rome in the seventeenth century.
ART HIS 128 Studies in Northern Baroque Art
- Units
- 4
Selected topics determined by individual faculty members exploring historical developments and individual artists of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Northern Europe. Example: the Age of Rembrandt.
ART HIS 134C Modern European Art: From Impressionism to the Fauves
- Units
- 4
History of European painting and urban transformation from 1851 to 1907, when Paris stood strong as the unquestioned cultural capital of the nineteenth century.
ART HIS 134D Modern European Art: From Cubism to Surrealism
- Units
- 4
History of European painting, sculpture, and design from 1907 to 1940, when Paris and painting lost their dominance as other cultural centers and other media claimed renewed importance.
ART HIS 134E Topics in Modern European Art
- Units
- 4
Selected topics within the period 1643 to 1940.
ART HIS 140A History of Contemporary Art
- Units
- 4
Selected topics exploring historical developments of contemporary art from 1945 to the present. Examples: American Art 1945-1989, European Art 1945-1989, Art After 1989. Works of art are studied as cultural, social, and political practices.
ART HIS 140B Topics in Contemporary Art
- Units
- 4
Selected topics exploring artistic movements, artists, and/or issues in contemporary art from 1945 to the present. Examples include Junk Art, Countercultures, Art and Politics Now. Works of art are studied as cultural, social, and political practices.
ART HIS 145A Studies in Modern Architecture
- Units
- 4
Architecture and related design practices from the late eighteenth century through 1945 are studied in relation to social, aesthetic, technological, and political questions.
ART HIS 145B Studies in Architecture after 1945
- Units
- 4
Architecture and related design practices from 1945 through present are studied in relation to social, aesthetic, technological, and political questions.
ART HIS 145C Topics in the History of Modern and Contemporary Architecture
- Units
- 4
Varying topics from the late eighteenth century to the present. Architecture and related design practices are studied in relation to social, aesthetic, technological, and political questions.
ART HIS 150 Studies in Asian Art
- Units
- 4
Topics include visual studies in China, Japan, Korea and India.
ART HIS 151B Later Imperial China
- Units
- 4
Investigates the uses, subjects, styles, and social contexts of art made in the later Imperial dynasties, whether court art, religious art, women's painting, scholar painting, or art for the market.
ART HIS 151C Modern China
- Units
- 4
Examines the evolution and media of Chinese art and visual culture in the context of modern China's sweeping historical, social, and political changes.
ART HIS 155A Ancient India
- Units
- 4
Examines the visual and religious history of the region defined as "India" today, but necessarily encompassing modern Bangladesh and Pakistan. Culminates with the supposed Golden Age of the Gupta empire and its far-reaching legacies.
ART HIS 155B Medieval India
- Units
- 4
Begins with the Gupta period's aesthetic legacies in South Asia's architecture, sculpture, and painting. Explores the dispersal of Islam throughout South Asia, including the Muslim communities of southern India.
ART HIS 155D Topics in the Art and Architecture of India
- Units
- 4
Studies in selected areas of Art and Architecture of India. Topics addressed vary each quarter.
ART HIS 157A Modern and Contemporary Korean Art
- Units
- 4
Examines modern and contemporary Korean art and visual culture. Themes include the concepts of (alternative) modernities and (vernacular) modernism, colonialism, “Koreanness” and its construction, nation-building, state propaganda, citizenship, feminism and art as political activism.
ART HIS 157B Art, Design, Nation
- Units
- 4
Explores the relationship between various forms of nationalism and Korean art and design. Introduces students to the concept of “nation” as a modern construct and how Korean national identity and tradition were envisioned and invented through visual and material means.
ART HIS 162C Contemporary Japan
- Units
- 4
Study of various media of Japanese art from the time of war defeat in 1945 until the present. Topics include artists' responses to the nuclear bomb, the aesthetics of the "economic miracle," avant-garde groups, manga, and innovations in architecture.
ART HIS 163 Asian American Art, Contemporary
- Units
- 4
Study of the Asian American experience in contemporary art and visual culture. Art by Asian Americans of diverse backgrounds as well as the history of visualization of Asian identities in American art/visual culture.
ART HIS 164A Modern African American Art
- Units
- 4
Investigates the history of modern African American art; emphasis on the politics of representation. Examines art in a variety of media from material culture and textiles to painting and photography. Issues of migration, nationalism, gender, sexuality, and hybridity are discussed.
ART HIS 164B Contemporary African American Art
- Units
- 4
Investigates the history of contemporary African American art; emphasis on the politics of representation. Explores art in a variety of media: painting, sculpture, photography, installation, and new media. Cultural politics, appropriation, identity, gender, sexuality, hybridity and civil rights issues discussed.
ART HIS 164D African American Women in Art
- Units
- 4
Examines depictions of and by African American women in art and popular culture through a variety of media including textiles, painting, sculpture, photography, and installation. Focuses on African American women's experiences, perspectives, and strategies for contemporary representation.
ART HIS 164E African Americans and Photography
- Units
- 4
Explores depictions of and by African Americans through photography. Examines the history of photography in relationship to African American culture through a variety of media from early daguerreotype processes to digital imagery.
ART HIS 165A Early American Art
- Units
- 4
An examination of American visual culture from 1620 to 1860 from the era of European exploration and colonization of the New World to the beginning of the Civil War.
ART HIS 165B Nineteenth Century American Art
- Units
- 4
An exploration of American visual culture from 1860 to 1900, including paintings, sculpture, and photographs produced during the Civil War and during the decades of prosperity that followed.
ART HIS 165C Modern American Art
- Units
- 4
Focusing on the period from 1900 until 1965, this course considers the emergence and institutionalization of modern art in the United States.
ART HIS 165D Topics in American Art
- Units
- 4
Varying topics within the period 1620 to 1970. Works of art are studied in their cultural, social, and political contexts.
ART HIS 167 Topics in the History of Modern Latin American and Latinx Art
- Units
- 4
Varying topics exploring the history of modernism in Latin American and Latinx visual art. Art movements and artworks are analyzed through their socio-political and historical contexts with a special attention to race, ethnicity, gender, and migration.
ART HIS 181 Topics in Museum Studies
- Units
- 4
Addresses the historical and contemporary function of the museum as an instructional device. The function of exhibitions in the public sphere, and the roles of curators, educators, and the public are analyzed.
ART HIS 185 Topics in Visual Studies
- Units
- 4
Interdisciplinary topics on the cultural analysis of visual artifacts and practices.
ART HIS 190W Art History Methods
- Units
- 4
- Prerequisite
- Satisfactory completion of the Lower-Division Writing requirement
Theory and practice of art history, with an emphasis on formal and social models of analyzing and writing about art.
ART HIS 196 Ethics, Law, and Art
- Units
- 4
Addresses a broad range of ethical and legal issues pertaining to art, ownership, looting and theft, museum policies, and cultural heritage.
ART HIS 197 Art History Social Hour
- Units
- 1
Students meet members of the faculty and Art History Undergraduate Association, and explore the exceptional opportunities available for internships, independent research, and field trips through the Art History Department’s Steckler Family endowment.
ART HIS 198 Advanced Seminar: Topics in Art History
- Units
- 4
- Prerequisite
- Recommended: ART HIS 190W
Discussion and report-oriented seminar with emphasis on reading, writing, and thinking about problems in art history. Examples: Gothic Cathedral, Portraiture East and West.
ART HIS 199 Independent Study in Art History
- Units
- 1-4
Supervised, but independent reading or research on art historical topics.
ART HIS 255A Ancient India
- Units
- 4
Examines the visual and religious history of the region defined as "India" today, but necessarily encompassing modern Bangladesh and Pakistan. Culminates with the supposed Golden Age of the Gupta empire and its far-reaching legacies.
ART HIS 255B Medieval India
- Units
- 4
Begins with the Gupta period's aesthetic legacies in South Asia's architecture, sculpture, and painting. Explores the dispersal of Islam throughout South Asia, including the Muslim communities of southern India.
ART HIS 296 Ethics, Law, and Art
- Units
- 4
- Prerequisite
- Background in art history or legal studies
Addresses a broad range of ethical and legal issues pertaining to art, ownership, looting and theft, museum policies, and cultural heritage.
ART HIS 298 Master's Seminar: Topics in Art History
- Units
- 4
Studies in selected areas of Art History. Examples include Gothic Cathedral, Portraiture East and West.
ART HIS 299 Master's Thesis Research
- Units
- 4
Research and writing of the Master's thesis.
ART HIS 399 University Teaching
- Units
- 4
Limited to teaching assistants.