Special Topics Courses

Time/Format: Mondays 11:00–13:00, in person

Instructor(s): Lydia Abbott

This course will examine methods of valuing art and will focus on trends in the auction market in Canada since the 1960s. We will look at the history of art at auction internationally and discuss artists such as Banksy and Damien Hirst and their artworks within the primary and secondary markets. Other topics will include international art fairs, art advisory and appraisals, and issues in authenticity.

Time/Format: Thursdays 13:00–15:00, in person

Instructor(s): Stephanie Azzarello

This course will explore how the visual culture of the medieval and early modern periods influenced and inspired the works of Walt Disney. The kinds of materials examined will include illuminated manuscripts, sculpture, tapestries and architecture from a diverse geographic context: Western Europe, Asia, South Asia, and parts of the Middle East. In addition to visual arts, the course will also draw on elements from other disciplines such as literature, and anthropology as students will be examining fables, legends, myths, and archetypes. Discussions and assignments will focus primarily on how these elements were incorporated by Disney in the creation of some of its most well-known films. 

Time/Format: Wednesdays 17:00–19:00, in person

Instructor(s): C. Katsougiannopoulou

Are there images of Greek or Roman shoemakers? How did a Greek wedding procession look like? This course is intended as an exploration of the daily life of ancient Greeks and Romans and the visual representations associated not only with everyday activities but also with ritual and religion. The focus will be on the analysis of imagery, iconography and reading the images within their socio-cultural and art-historical context. We will also ask what exactly the category of 'everyday life' might have entailed before the modern era, and how it differed from our understanding of 'daily life'. At the same time, we will read a variety of primary sources and will look at the actual objects (pottery, metal ware, even textiles) the Greeks and the Romans used on a daily basis. How were they perceived and valued in a pre-industrial age, before mass production, over-consumption and "planned obsolescence"? Working, eating, drinking/ feasting, the life of women, honoring the gods, rearing children and education, entertainment will be among the main topics. We will explore a variety of artistic media: vase painting, painting, relief, sculpture, mosaics.

Time/Format: Mondays 10:00 - 12:00, in person

Instructor(s): P. Sapirstein

In the modern world, sports are a source of entertainment, social interaction, and livelihood for huge swathes of the population. Fans and practitioners of physical feats were also a major component of ancient Greco-Roman society, from the earliest Olympic Games at the dawn of Greek history to the gladiatorial contests and chariot races that characterized the most decadent phases of the Roman Empire. The course will investigate the history of the ancient Olympic Games and their role and position in the culture and art of the Greco-Roman world. As an art history course, a primary focus will be the archaeological evidence surviving from Olympia. Olympia was but one of several sanctuaries where athletes gathered from throughout the Greek world to compete for prizes at regularly scheduled games (for example, there were Isthmian, Nemean, and Pythian Games), but it was also one of the most important and wealthiest cult sites in Greece. The Olympic games became recognized as the premier athletic event in antiquity, and—long after the sanctuary was abandoned and the games eclipsed by Christianity—Olympia eventually inspired the modern international games revived in Athens at the end of the 19th century. Although there are many differences, we may compare sport in the Classical world to its roles in the modern world—from the point of view of athletes, spectators, and patrons alike. We will also examine the influence of athletic ideals in Greek art, notably the sculpture and architecture at the site of Olympia.

Time/Format: Thursdays 15:00 - 17:00, in person

Instructor(s): TBA

This course will explore the presence of women in the world of art by examining the role of women as creators, as subjects, as collectors, and as patrons. Students will investigate these conceptual functions within various geographic contexts including, Italy, France, England, Spain, and the Netherlands, covering a period from ca. 1300 to the 17th century. The course will look at various media such as illuminated manuscripts, paintings, tapestries, ceramics, jewellery & lace, and prints & drawings.

Time/Format: LEC0301 Mondays 15:00 - 17:00, in person

Instructor(s): J. Purtle

This course seeks to familiarize students with methodological approaches to and questions in the discipline of art history. It takes as its foundation the notion that art history seeks, on the one hand, to understand objects in historical and contemporary contexts, and on the other hand, to understand the world through its objects. This course equips students with some of the possible methodological tools available to them in the study of art history. This course is strongly object-oriented in order to develop hands-on experience in applying methods to objects, rather than considering method in the abstract.

Time/Format: LEC0101 Thursdays 11:00 - 13:00, in person

Instructor(s): TBA

This seminar teaches students the practical skills required to achieve success as a professional in today’s dynamic art market. Students will directly engage with the local and global art world, learn how to prepare for an art fair, navigate the complexities of a public art project, and conduct studio visits with established artists.