Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Upon successful completion students should be able to:

? Appreciate the art and architecture of China from the Neolithic through the modern period, and enjoy a life enriched by the exposure to and the
understanding of personal and cultural achievement
? View works of art "dynamically," that is, to appreciate simultaneously the uniqueness of a work, its origins and precedent, its potential as an
inspiration and influence on later art, and its relationship to a particular cultural moment
? Articulate the relationship between art from China and work produced by other cultures to understand and value art and architecture in all-encompassing ways, in this country and abroad

The student will:
 

• comprehend, apply, analyze and evaluate reading assignments
• identify artwork and architecture, and relate facts and ideas about these works of art in exam format
• research, plan, compose, edit and revise short papers

Themes, Concepts, and Issues:
Theoretical
 

• theory and criticism in the history of art
• pattern-based thinking and historical process
• various interpretations of art
• art and gender
• creativity and the impulse to make art
   

Stylistic and Interpretive
 

• visual literacy
• art media and artistic technique
• "seeing and knowing"
• iconography
• formal elements of art
   

Social and Cultural
 

• other peoples and their histories, values, and culture
• art and economics
• art and the social fabric
• art and religion
• art and politics
• art and gender
• relationship of culture and style
• art and cultural transmission
• historical impact of art
  • the influence of art on one=s own culture
  • the influence of art on relations with other cultures
     

• art and artists
  • the impulse to make art
  • the Gestalt of art
  • the role of the artist in society
  • biography 

• geography and its influence on art and culture
• artifact recovery, analysis, and restoration
   

Competencies and Skills:
The successful student should be able to:
 

• work creatively with art historical data, using it to develop principles of art history
• recognize and appraise patterns in historical phenomena
• assess the ways in which an art object is affected by our own vantage point
• recognize and discriminate among various styles of art
• trace the development of art from one period to another
• analyze formally works of art and appreciate the interrelationship of its elements
• determine symbolism in art
• employ iconographical nomenclature
• express the relationship of art to society and culture to style
• analyze the "meaning" of art objects through understanding of historical, social, and political context
• use specific terminology to describe works of art
• transfer to a four year college and continue a course of study in the field of art history, fine art, anthropology, and history in general
   

Prerequisite Knowledge and Skills:
 

• oral and written command of college level English