Ph.D. Student Abby Armstrong Check will be teaching ART HIST 201 History of Western Art I: From Pyramids to Cathedrals | June 12th–July 16th (CEE) | Online | Asynchronous | No Prereqs! | L&S Credit | Humanities Breadth. Enroll here. Description: Pyramids to Cathedrals serves as an introduction to the history of human visual expression in Europe and the Mediterranean basin, from 3000 BCE to ca. 1400 CE. We will discuss the context and visual aesthetic of these cultures to understand the historic, social, political, religious and other meanings behind the creation of works of art. We look at well-known artworks such as the Pyramids at Giza, the Parthenon in Athens, Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, the Book of Kells, the Great Mosque at C rdoba, Chartres cathedral. But we also explore the artefacts of everyday life, including books, jewelry, ceramics, clothing, and textiles. Besides considering the social, religious and historical contexts of artistic production, we address basic human concerns: death and the afterlife, the body and portraiture, power and propaganda, monstrosity and the supernatural, the divine and the sacred. Grades will be assigned based on performance on short writing activities, individual and group discussion exercises, one exam, and an individual final paper.