...THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ASIA FALL SEMESTER 2014 History of Art Dr Raymond-Josef Hoffmann Description: This course is an introduction to art as the embodiment of cultural, social, and political values, ranging from ancient civilizations to the modern period. The class examines painting, sculpture, and architecture , and both domestic and ornamental artifacts of Near Eastern, Mediterranean and Western civilisations. Various historical periods will be considered through an examination of creative practices, themes, and visual forms. Examples of the work of representative artists and movements, from Praxiteles in ancient Greece to recent artists will be explored. The course will also consider cultural and artistic exchanges between societies of Europe, the Americas, Asia (including central Asia), and Africa, when appropriate. Human beings have been culture-makers and illustrators from the beginning: the history of our species on earth can be traced from early cave drawings and implements for eating and hunting to decorative arts, gothic cathedrals, skyscrapers to non-cognitive forms of expression that defy interpretation. This course is an exploration of an essential aspect of our attempts to shape the world and to create an environment in which self-expression, pleasure, ideology and aspiration can thrive. 1. Structure: The course comprises two 80 minute discussion/seminars based on specific works of art each week. The topics and readings are given...
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