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Art
History 411 |
| Although Confucius himself
said relatively little about the arts, ideas and values generally considered
"Confucian" have influenced Chinese theories and practices in
various arts over the centuries. In this course, we will start by spending
several weeks studying ideas associated with Confucius and his later interpreters,
and then focus on various ways he has been represented visually. The rest
of the course will consider some genres of art and material culture in which
Confucian ideas played different kinds of important role, such as tomb and
temple design, didactic illustration, and ancestor portraits. The goal is
to understand ways that Confucian concepts guided choices of content, style,
and structure, as well as the expectations of patrons, users, viewers, and
collectors. Students who enroll in this course should have some prior acquaintance with China, perhaps through coursework dealing with Chinese art, history, religions, or literature. You do not need to know Chinese in order to do well, but I do expect you to be (or quickly become) familiar with pronunciation and spelling conventions. Classes will be conducted in a combination of informal lecture and discussion, and students will be expected to be active participants. Course grades will be based on writing assignments, oral presentations, and participation in class discussion. Because the course meets only once a week, attendance is mandatory and will be recorded. |