You are reading the 2025/26 Academic Calendar. The 2024/25 version remains in effect until August 31, 2025 and is available here.

Art History, Faculty of Arts

ARTH_V: Art History

Not every course is given every year. For details of current offerings, consult the departmental website at www.ahva.ubc.ca. Students wishing to take fourth-year seminars should normally have had a closely related third-year course and are advised to check with the instructor in this regard. Credit will be given to either the current ARTH_V listing or its former FINA_V equivalent.

  1. ARTH_V 101 (3) Ways of Seeing: Introduction to Visual Studies

    Drawing on examples from across history and around the world, this course deals with the role of the visual in society, culture, and everyday experience.

  2. ARTH_V 102 (3) Crisis and Contradiction in Art and the Built Environment

    Concepts and issues critical to the understanding of art and its histories in a global context.

  3. ARTH_V 210 (3) Byzantium: Arts of an Empire

    Art, architecture, and material culture of the Byzantine Empire situated in the eastern Mediterranean (c. 300-1453); focus on social and cultural contexts of artistic production, including interactions with neighboring cultures. Credit will only be granted for one of ARTH 210, CNRS 207 or AMNE 279. Equivalency: AMNE 279

  4. ARTH_V 225 (3) Art, Patrons, and Audiences in the Middle Ages

    A thematic study of the relationship between patrons and audiences in painting, sculpture, and architecture through the 15th century.

  5. ARTH_V 226 (3) Art, Colonialism, and Indigeneity

    Tensions and conflicts resulting from the expansion of trade and encounters among cultures, ethnicities, and religious practices, explored in visual art and architecture from the sixteenth century to the advent of the modern era.

  6. ARTH_V 227 (3) What is Modern Art?

    Select issues in 20th-century art and the visual and built environment.

  7. ARTH_V 230 (3) Art & Feminism(s): Histories, Lineages, Legacies

    Feminist art and visual culture, from the political activism of the feminist first wave to its intersections with present-day social justice movements.

  8. ARTH_V 251 (3) Asian Arts: From Chinese Warriors to Bollywood Posters

    A thematic examination of Asian arts, such as historic, religious, and secular painting and sculpture to contemporary visual culture.

  9. ARTH_V 253 (3) Asian Architecture: Sacred and Urban Spaces

    Select built forms in Asia, such as temples, tombs, palaces, cities and gardens, and their relations to cultural, social and political systems.

  10. ARTH_V 261 (3) Pre-Hispanic Arts of Central and South America

    The relevance of various arts to social institutions in ancient societies of Peru and Mesoamerica.

  11. ARTH_V 262 (3) Indigenous Arts of North America

    A survey of the artistic production by Indigenous peoples of North America from pre-contact times to the present.

  12. ARTH_V 285 (3) Art and the Moving Image

    Intersections between visual art and the moving image in both a theoretical and historical context.

  13. ARTH_V 297 (3-6) Special Topics in Art History

    Thematic and issue-based courses in art history. Topics vary year to year.

  14. ARTH_V 300 (3) Seminar on Methods and Approaches in Art History

    Theories, problems, and literature in the study of art history. Required of all Major and Honours students in art history. Prerequisite: 3 credits of ARTH coursework at any level. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  15. ARTH_V 309 (3) Arts of Africa and the African Diasporas

    Comparative exploration of art practices and their relationship to colonial and postcolonial histories. Credit will be granted for only one of ARTH 309 or AFST 309. Equivalency: AFST 309

  16. ARTH_V 310 (3) Art and the Religious Transformation of the Late Roman Empire

    Visual culture and religious diversity of the Late Roman Empire (2nd-7th c.); social, political, and religious contexts of art, including diverse viewing practices and cultural frameworks. Credit will only be granted for one of ARTH 310, CNRS 333 or AMNE 379. Equivalency: AMNE 379

  17. ARTH_V 311 (3) Early Medieval Art

    From pagan adornment to Christian devotion to service of Christian or Islamic rule (AD 500-1000). Art and architecture of the Early Medieval world's diverse and transforming social, political, cultural contexts.

  18. ARTH_V 312 (3) Medieval Art in the Age of Monasticism

    Art in Europe between 1000 and 1200; the role of monasteries as leading institutions and patrons of art and large-scale architecture.

  19. ARTH_V 313 (3) Art, Church, Society and their Margins in the Later Middle Ages

    Diversification of the arts and architecture with the expansion of patronage in late medieval society. Credit will be granted for only one of ARTH_V 313 or ARTH_V 333.

  20. ARTH_V 319 (3) The Archaeology of Ancient Iraq and Syria: Babylon and Beyond

    An overview of the archaeology of the ancient Near East, with special emphasis on the civilizations of Mesopotamia, from the appearance of the first cities (c. 3400 BCE) to the end of the Persian period (c. 330 BCE). AMNE 170 recommended as preparation. Credit will only be granted for one of ARTH 319, NEST 319, or AMNE 372 Equivalency: AMNE 372

  21. ARTH_V 320 (3) Entangled Worlds: Spain and Colonial Latin America (1500-1700)

    Role of visual art and culture within Catholic Spain and colonial Latin America is surveyed, with emphasis on transculturation from mudejar to mestizaje.

  22. ARTH_V 321 (3) Public and Private Bodies: Italian Renaissance Art and Culture

    Visual art and culture within the social, political, and religious contexts of the Papacy and the city-states ca. 1350-1550 (Siena, Florence, Venice, Mantua).

  23. ARTH_V 322 (3) Early Modern Italian Art and Culture (ca. 1550-1700)

    Focus primarily on Rome as the center of artistic, cultural, economic, and religious power in the seventeenth century.

  24. ARTH_V 323 (3) Heaven and Earth: Renaissance Art and Culture in Northern Europe

    Early Modern painting, sculpture, and the graphic arts from the great devotional triptychs, through the Reformation, to the emergence of a secular art (1400-1600).

  25. ARTH_V 324 (3) Urban and Courtly Arts in Early Modern Northern Europe (1600-1700)

    The role of visual art in 17th century court cultures, commercial urban centres, and emergent nation states.

  26. ARTH_V 325 (3) Ancient Egypt: The Archaeology of the Land of the Pharaohs

    The material remains of the ancient Egyptians from monumental tombs and temples to the artifacts of daily life; the development of Egyptian civilization from the rise of the first rulers to its incorporation into the Roman Empire. Credit will only be granted for one of ARTH 325, NEST 304, or AMNE 371. Equivalency: AMNE 371

  27. ARTH_V 331 (3) Greek Art and Architecture

    Visual culture of the ancient Greek world in the second and first millennia BCE, especially from c. 1000 to 30 BCE. Credit will only be granted for one of ARTH 331, CLST 331, or AMNE 376. Equivalency: AMNE 376

  28. ARTH_V 332 (3) Roman Art and Architecture

    Visual culture of the ancient Roman world from the 8th century BCE to the 4th century CE. Credit will only be granted for one of ARTH 332, CLST 332, or AMNE 377. Equivalency: AMNE 377

  29. ARTH_V 338 (3) Visual Culture in the Age of Enlightenment and Revolution (1715-1830)

    Art, architecture, and social space in Europe and America: redefining gender, identity and nation in the era of industrialization and political change.

  30. ARTH_V 339 (3) 19th-Century Art and Social Space

    Ideologies of gender, class, race, ethnicity, and economics in 19th-century European and American visual culture.

  31. ARTH_V 340 (3) 20th Century Art and Culture: The Triumph and Demise of Modernism

    A critical survey of western art and cultural production from the turn of the century to the development of Pop Art.

  32. ARTH_V 341 (3) 20th Century Art and Culture: The Postmodern

    A critical examination of international visual art and culture from the 1950s to the present; the role of art in consumerist society and the emergence of postmodernism.

  33. ARTH_V 342 (3) Latin American Art: Modern and Contemporary

    Analyses of specific works and texts will emphasize visual inventions and meaning in the light of recent theoretical debates

  34. ARTH_V 343 (3) Inventing Canada Through Art

    The institutions and art movements that constructed a view to the country now known as Canada, from colonial contact, to Confederation, through the mid-1900s. Emphasis on the significance of locality and situated approaches to understanding the land.

  35. ARTH_V 344 (3) Contemporary Conversations about Art in Kanata/Canada

    Radical shifts in thinking about Canadian art and culture since the mid-20th century. The art movements, debates, and institutions that contribute to the complexity of artistic approaches to representing Canada today.

  36. ARTH_V 345 (3) History of Photography: Archive, Spectacle, Reality

    History and theory of photography, from the competitive context of invention in the 1830s to contemporary uses in social media.

  37. ARTH_V 346 (3) Architecture in Europe: Building the Fabric of the Modern State (1715-1837)

    The role of architecture within the development of the modern state. A survey of broad cultural dynamics, particular building projects and design careers.

  38. ARTH_V 347 (3) Architecture in Europe: Modern Paradigms of Design (1837-present)

    An examination of new requirements imposed on architecture by the consolidation of a capitalist economy, industrialization, new technologies and scientific methods.

  39. ARTH_V 348 (3) Architecture in North America: Colonial Projects and Disruptions (1605-1867)

    The role of architecture in the imposition of European governance within North America; the modification of received conventions in relation to topographical, ethnic-religious and political factors.

  40. ARTH_V 349 (3) Architecture in North America: Independent Design Idioms (1867-present)

    The emergence of a distinctive architecture that superseded British and European agendas; the growth of private and public patronage and the establishment of modern design and practice.

  41. ARTH_V 350 (3) Grounding the Islamic Image

    Contextualizing the complex language of images in the Islamic world.

  42. ARTH_V 351 (3) Art and Urban Culture in the Islamic World

    A thematic and comparative study of visual arts and architecture in their urban contexts.

  43. ARTH_V 352 (3) Historic India: Images, Temples and the Construction of Indian Art History

    North and South Indian art and architecture with an emphasis on Buddhism and Hinduism.

  44. ARTH_V 353 (3) Nepal and Tibet: Art, Ritual and Performance

    Art of the Himalayan region situated within social and religious practices, festivals, and performances.

  45. ARTH_V 354 (3) Mughal India: Art, Architecture and the Spectacle of Empire

    The complex relationship of Mughal imperial architecture and painting with those of the Hindu Rajput courts.

  46. ARTH_V 355 (3) Modern and Contemporary India: Art in Colonial and Independent India

    The development of a new Indian art during the colonial period and nationalist movement; the construction of India's contemporary visual culture.

  47. ARTH_V 357 (3) Chinese Art and Architecture: Patronage and Collecting

    The commission, production, preservation, and transmission of Chinese monuments and artworks focusing on the court and questions of cultural policies.

  48. ARTH_V 358 (3) Chinese Art for the Afterlife

    Close analyses of Chinese tomb objects and tombs as spatial constructs in their historical, ritual, and social context.

  49. ARTH_V 360 (3) Chinese Painting: Word and Image

    Analyses visual narratives and relationships between painting, calligraphy, and poetry in court and literati painting.

  50. ARTH_V 361 (3) Chinese Modern and Contemporary Art

    Chinese art and its global entanglements from Qing Encounters to the 21st century.

  51. ARTH_V 362 (3) Art in Japan: Objects and Spaces

    Changing relationship between art objects and the built environment in the Japanese archipelago, in its social and historical context.

  52. ARTH_V 363 (3) Art in Japan: The Problem with Painting

    Key debates in the history of painting and its institutionalization.

  53. ARTH_V 368 (3) Art in Japan: Print Media

    Historical and theoretical questions concerning the development of print media in Japan, from Edo period woodcuts to the advent of digital technologies.

  54. ARTH_V 369 (3) Art in Japan: Modern Visual Culture

    Self and community in the art and visual culture of modern Japan.

  55. ARTH_V 370 (3) Arts of Mexico's Early Peoples

    Pre-Aztec monumental and portable arts of the Olmec, Zapotec, Teotihuacan and Classic Veracruz peoples.

  56. ARTH_V 371 (3) Arts of the Aztec period in Mexico.

    Symbolic meanings and political agendas of Aztec architecture, sculpture and manuscript illustration investigated using Spanish accounts.

  57. ARTH_V 372 (3) Maya Public Ritual Arts

    Architecture, sculpture, costume, and visual productions associated with Maya public ritual, including the ancient ball game and modern cofrada dances.

  58. ARTH_V 373 (3) Maya Arts of Everyday Life

    Social context and meaning of the Maya's elaborate architecture, sculpture, mural paintings, jewelry, ceramics, figurines, and textiles, ancient and modern, of residences from humble to palatial.

  59. ARTH_V 376 (3) Arts of the Northwest Coast Peoples: The North

    The histories, historiography and cultural diversity of the Northern Northwest Coast region; persistence and innovation in the arts in communities, and in cross-cultural and market spheres.

  60. ARTH_V 377 (3) Arts of the Northwest Coast Peoples: The South

    The histories, historiography and cultural diversity of the Southern Northwest Coast region; persistence and innovation in the arts in communities, and in cross-cultural and market spheres.

  61. ARTH_V 380 (3) Art as Technology

    Relationship between artistic practice and media, examined through a history of paradigm shifts in technology.

  62. ARTH_V 381 (3) The Artist in the World

    Critical approach to the figure of the artist in art, film and texts, from the Early Modern period to the present.

  63. ARTH_V 382 (3) Is Art History Queer?

    Issues in the history of art through the lens of queer theory.

  64. ARTH_V 383 (3) Queer Partnerships in Art & Art-Making

    Diverse forms of human contact and creative collaboration, their effects on art and art-making, and their capacity to challenge conventions of artistic genius as dependent on masculinity, singularity, and heteronormativity. ARTH 382 recommended as preparation.

  65. ARTH_V 386 (3) Art and Ecologies

    Reparative possibilities of art and art history as ways of sensing and responding to human impact on planetary life. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  66. ARTH_V 397 (3-6) Special Topics in Art History

    Thematic and issue-based courses in art history. Topics vary year to year.

  67. ARTH_V 410 (3) Seminar in African Art

    Key debates in the art of Africa and the African diaspora. Credit will be granted for only one of AFST 410 or ARTH 410. Equivalency: AFST 410 This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  68. ARTH_V 429 (3-6) Seminar in the Art and Archeology of Greece and Rome

  69. ARTH_V 432 (3) Seminar in the Art of the Middle Ages

    Credit will be granted for only one of ARTH_V 432, ARTH_V 431, ARTH_V 433. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  70. ARTH_V 435 (3) Seminar in Early Modern: Renaissance

    This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  71. ARTH_V 436 (3) Seminar in Early Modern Art

    This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  72. ARTH_V 437 (3) Seminar in Early Modern: 17th Century

    This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  73. ARTH_V 439 (3) Seminar in 18th & 19th-Century Visual Culture

    Credit will be granted for only one of ARTH_V 439 or ARTH_V 438. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  74. ARTH_V 440 (3-6) Seminar in Modern and Contemporary Art

    This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  75. ARTH_V 442 (3) Seminar in Contemporary Latin American Art

    This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  76. ARTH_V 443 (3) Seminar in Canadian Art

    This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  77. ARTH_V 445 (3) Seminar in Film and the City

    The complex interrelations between film and the city; dominant urban theories, film technologies and viewing practices and the intersections between them. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  78. ARTH_V 448 (3) Seminar in North American Architecture

    This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  79. ARTH_V 450 (3) Seminar in Art in the Islamic World

    Key debates in the field of art and architecture in the Islamic World.

  80. ARTH_V 455 (3) Seminar in the Art of South Asia

    Credit will be granted for only one of ARTH_V 455 or ARTH_V 457, ARTH_V 458. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  81. ARTH_V 458 (3) Seminar in Chinese Art

    Credit will be granted for only one of ARTH_V 458, ARTH_V 451, ARTH_V 452. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  82. ARTH_V 459 (3) Seminar in Chinese Art

    Credit will be granted for only one of ARTH_V 459, ARTH_V 451, ARTH_V 452. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  83. ARTH_V 464 (3) Seminar in Japanese Art

    Credit will be granted for only one of ARTH_V 464, ARTH_V 453, ARTH_V 454. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  84. ARTH_V 471 (3) Seminar in Pre-Hispanic Art

    Credit will be granted for only one of ARTH_V 471, ARTH_V 463, ARTH_V 465. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  85. ARTH_V 476 (3) Seminar in North American Indigenous Art

    Credit will be granted for only one of ARTH_V 476, ARTH_V 469. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  86. ARTH_V 479 (3) Seminar in Performance Actions and Approaches

    Advanced performance art practices and research methodologies. Credit will be granted for only one of ARTH_V 479 or VISA_V 479. Equivalency: VISA_V 479 This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  87. ARTH_V 480 (3) Seminar in Visual and Digital Media Theory

    A thematic examination of key arguments in visual and digital media theory, focusing on developments in lens-based and digital media in relationship to twentieth-century and contemporary artistic practice.

  88. ARTH_V 490 (3) Art History Internship

    Prerequisite: ARTH 300. and departmental approval. Interested students may contact the department for details on how to proceed. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  89. ARTH_V 499 (6) Honours Essay

    This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  90. ARTH_V 531 (3-6) Studies in Early Medieval Art

    This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  91. ARTH_V 533 (3-6) Studies in Medieval Art

    This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  92. ARTH_V 535 (3-6) Early Modern: Renaissance

    This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  93. ARTH_V 537 (3-6) Early Modern: 17th Century

    This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  94. ARTH_V 539 (3-6) Studies in 19th-Century Art

    This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  95. ARTH_V 540 (3-6) Studies in 20th Century Art

    This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  96. ARTH_V 543 (3-6) Studies in Canadian Art

    This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  97. ARTH_V 548 (3-6) Studies in Architecture

    This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  98. ARTH_V 550 (3-6) Studies in Art in the Islamic World

    This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  99. ARTH_V 551 (3-6) Studies in Chinese Art

    This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  100. ARTH_V 553 (3-6) Studies in Japanese Art

    This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  101. ARTH_V 555 (3-6) Studies in South and Southeast Asian Art

    This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  102. ARTH_V 561 (3-6) Studies in the Indigenous Arts of the Americas

    This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  103. ARTH_V 571 (6) The Methodology of Art History

    Required of all art history graduate students. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  104. ARTH_V 577 (3-6) Directed Reading

    This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  105. ARTH_V 597 (3-6) Special Topics in Art History

    Topics vary year to year. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  106. ARTH_V 599 (6) Master's Thesis

    This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

  107. ARTH_V 649 (0) Doctoral Dissertation

    This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.

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