ARTH 160 Introduction to East Asian Art

This course is an introduction to the rich traditions of East Asian art and architecture from ancient times to the present. The course is loosely framed in chronological order and each week will engage in an in-depth analysis of a different type of object and monument that addresses a particular concept and/or question. The themes to be covered include burial art for afterlives, the narrativity of handscroll paintings, state Buddhism, social and metaphorical uses of ink and calligraphy, ideology around ceramics, and gender and politics of contemporary performance art. We will also pay attention to the ways in which arts and monuments came to acquire enduring value and relevance through museum display and cultural preservation practices of our times. We plan to schedule at least one field trip to a museum/archive. Furthermore, the course helps students gain skills and methods crucial to art historical research and writing, such as close looking, critical thinking, and self-reflective writing.