AH 324 - Global Renaissance

Virtual networks, physical migrations, and shifts in economic power have given rise to a self-consciously ‘global’ world, where cultural fluidity and fusion have become the norm. As a discipline, art history is likewise said to have taken a ‘global turn’. Today’s art history emphasizes intersections and connections across continents and between cultures. The idea of the Renaissance is tightly bound to stylistic, conceptual, and technological developments in the visual arts and architecture of 15th and 16th century Italy and Western Europe. Yet the same period saw the ‘discovery’ of the New World, extensive trade throughout the Mediterranean, and continued contact with Asia and Africa. Europeans owned Turkish rugs, Indian elephants, and Mexican jade masks, as well as people - slaves and servants. Through class discussion, reading responses, student presentations, and a research paper, students will explore various ways of understanding the global world of Renaissance art and visual culture. Students will consider: travel and travelers, mapping, luxury goods, sacred art, natural objects, and portraiture. Can the Renaissance have a renaissance? Students will consider what it means to consider Renaissance art in an expanding world. Letter grade with Pass/No Pass option. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits