AH 324 - The Visual and Material Culture of the Early Modern World (1450-1650)

As a result of new technologies (printing, navigation, banking, communications), cultures from around the world came into an unprecedented level of contact in the early modern period. This course explores the vibrant visual and material culture that resulted from exchange networks, commerce and colonialism. The course will explore objects and images that circulated in this interconnected world across the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, as well as the Mediterranean Sea. We will investigate some of the intricate relationships among communities, things, and social practices, and explore a rich array of visual and material culture and technologies. These will include including architecture, ceramics, cartography, scientific instruments, costume, jewelry, textiles, ivory carving, mosaics, religious imagery, folding screens, metalworking, woodworking, automata, and the formation of the world’s first museums. In addition, this course explores some of the major theoretical approaches to the study of the visual and material culture of the early modern period (1400-1650), to better understand the richness of artistic heritage in a global, early modern world. Letter grade with Pass/No Pass option. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits