Butte College

Course Outline

2026-2027 Catalog

ART 5 - 1800 to Present Art History Survey

Catalog Description

Transfer Status
CSU/UC
Unit(s)
3.00
  • Lecture: 51.00 Contact hours/102.00 Out of class hours/153.00 Total hours/3.00 Unit(s)
  • Total: 51.00 Contact hours/102.00 Out of class hours/153.00 Total hours/3.00 Unit(s)

Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:

  1. Identify, examine, and assess representative works of art and architecture from the art historical periods covered in this course employing appropriate art historical terminology.
  2. Analyze, discuss, and differentiate works of art and architecture in terms of historical context and cultural values.
  3. Analyze, discuss, and distinguish the roles of art, architecture, and the artist from the art historical periods covered in this course.

Course Content

Topic Titles / Suggested Time Topic

Lecture

Lecture topics and suggested hours
TopicsLec Hrs

Classicism and Romanticism

2.00

Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Symbolism

5.00

Art Nouveau, Fauvism, Cubism, Non-Objectivity

7.00

Expressionism, Dada, Surrealism

7.00

American Modernism, including WPA and Abstract Expressionism

7.00

Minimalism, Pop Art

7.00

Conceptual Art, Happenings, Earthworks, Installation, Site-specific Art

7.00

Post-Modernism, Neo-Expressionism

6.00

Globalization

3.00
Total Hours:51.00

Methods of Instruction

  1. Class Activities
  2. Group Discussions
  3. Homework: Students are required to complete two hours of outside-of-class homework for each hour of lecture
  4. Lecture
  5. Multimedia Presentations
  6. Reading Assignments

Methods of Evaluation

  1. Exams/Tests
  2. Projects
  3. Written Examinations
  4. Essays and research papers

Examples of Assignments

Reading Assignments

  1. Read about Dada and Surrealism in your text in preparation for a classroom discussion. How does the attitude and approach of these artists differ from the ideas and techniques of the Cubist and de Stijl movements?
  2. Read about Neoclassicism in your text. Do we have “rules” similar to those used by Neoclassical artists for the creation and critique of artworks? Be prepared to discuss your thoughts in class.

Writing Assignments

  1. Choose two different abstract works of art from the early twentieth century. How do these works reflect two different approaches to abstraction? Support your comparison with reference to specific details as well as the ideas and writings of the artists who made these works in a 1-2 page paper.
  2. Examine a work of Minimalist, Post-minimalist, or Conceptual art. How does your work frame a particular kind of experience for the viewer? Write your analysis as a “narrative” describing a fictional encounter with the work in a 1-2 page paper.

Out-of-Class Assignments

  1. Find a work of art in the Butte Art Gallery or the Art Building. Which historical movements or ideas do you think influenced the artist behind this work? Compare the work with at least two objects from the lectures and meanings.
  2. Select a manifesto belonging to one of the movements that we examined in class. On posterboard, annotate passages from the manifesto with images of artworks that you think best reflect the ideas presented in the text.

Recommended Materials of Instruction

Arnason, H.H. and Mansfield, E. (2013). History of Modern Art. Prentice Hall, 7th. 9780205259472.

Kleiner, Fred S. (2015). Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: The Western Perspective: Backpack – Modern Europe and America. Wadsworth Publishing, 15th. 9781285838021.

Zero Cost Textbook

Jones, M. (2024) Smart History (OER). https://smarthistory.org/

Minimum Qualifications

Art (Masters Required)

Art History