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 and Visual Culture, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies

ARTH_O: Art History and Visual Culture

  1. ARTH_O 101 (3) Art Without Borders: Connecting Global Visual Cultures

    Introduction to arts and visual cultures of major world regions and their intersections, from the stone age to the early modern era.

  2. ARTH_O 102 (3) Art in Motion: Early Modern to Now

    Introduction to key intersections between the arts and visual cultures of major world regions, from early modernity to the present.

  3. ARTH_O 115 (3) Popular Music and Visual Cultures

    A survey of changing attitudes toward class, ethnicity, gender, and ideology as reflected in folk, blues, jazz, rock and hip-hop music and their accompanying visual cultures from the early 20th century to the early 21st century. Credit will be granted for only one of ARTH_O 115 or MUSC_O 115. Equivalency: MUSC_O 115

  4. ARTH_O 202 (3) Ways of Seeing

    Critical thinking about art and visual cultures of the world, past and present, and how visual works across diverse media can be viewed closely, analyzed creatively, and interpreted with insight. Prerequisite: 3 credits of 100-level English.

  5. ARTH_O 203 (3) Art Today: Exploring Global Voices

    Contemporary art's global landscape, focusing on diverse voices and cultural expressions that tackle social issues and reflect identities in art today.

  6. ARTH_O 301 (3) Art Unravelled: Ideologies and Their Discontents

    Investigation of the prevailing ideologies behind art, focusing on the emergence and globalization of Euro-American theories and practices and the critiques they generated. Prerequisite: Third-year standing.

  7. ARTH_O 309 (3) Performance Art: Global Perspectives

    History, theory, and practice of performance art as a visual medium, a global language, and a political force. Explores a wide range of experimental and interdisciplinary performance art practices, including key contributions by Indigenous artists. Credit will be granted for only one of ARTH 309, CULT 309, THTR 309, or WRLD 309. Prerequisite: Third-year standing. Equivalency: CULT 380, THTR 309, WRLD 309.

  8. ARTH_O 315 (3) Many Modernisms: Art Across Cultures

    Exploration of the diverse expressions of Modernist art through a global lens, focusing on the interactions between various modernities and the influences of European models of the avant-garde. The unique local experiences of modernism and the dynamic exchanges that shaped 20th century artistic ideologies and practices are highlighted. Prerequisite: Third-year standing.

  9. ARTH_O 316 (3) Contemporary Art in a Global Context

    Contemporary art from the late 20th century to today, focusing on key themes and global movements. Examination of the relationship between diverse artistic practices and the hegemonic global art system, emphasizing how artists shape and challenge cultural narratives. Prerequisite: Third-year standing.

  10. ARTH_O 320 (3) Art and Colonial Encounters: Canada 1600-1970

    The connections between art, colonialism, and nationalism in Canada from the initial contact period to 1970 with emphasis on the 20th century. Examination of how both Indigenous and settler artworks reflect and react to the intricate dynamics of colonial interactions and cultural exchanges. Prerequisite: Third-year standing.

  11. ARTH_O 321 (3) Contemporary Art and Canada

    Art connected to the Canadian context between 1970 and the present, with a focus on key movements, artists, and the legacy of colonialism alongside the impact of globalization. Examination of various media, including painting, sculpture, photography, video, and installation art, within the context of contemporary issues. Prerequisite: Third-year standing.

  12. ARTH_O 323 (3) Creative Activism: Art, Media, and Social Justice

    Examination of the convergence between social justice movements, activist media, and artistic practice. Credit will be granted for only one of ARTH 323 or CULT 320. [3-0-0] Prerequisite: 3 credits of ARTH or CULT, or permission of the instructor. ARTH 101, ARTH 102 or CULT 100, CULT 101 strongly recommended. Equivalency: CULT320

  13. ARTH_O 360 (3-12) Selected Topics

    Study of a topic of special interest. This course may be taken multiple times for credit with varying subjects. Prerequisite: Third-year standing

  14. ARTH_O 368 (3) Art Across Asia

    Selections from the vibrant arts of premodern China, Japan, and/or Southeast Asia, highlighting how religious beliefs and historical events shaped their interconnected visual cultures. Prerequisite: Third-year standing.

  15. ARTH_O 370 (3) Story and Image Across the Islamic World

    Selections from the arts of the book across the Islamic world (8th to 19th C) showing how literature inspired painters and calligraphers to weave together word and image. Digital art historical approaches will normally be used, though no computing experience is required. Credit will be granted for only one of ARTH 370, DIHU 370, or WRLD 370. Prerequisite: Third-year standing. Equivalency: DIHU 370, WRLD 370

  16. ARTH_O 375 (3) Encountering India: The Age of the Mughals

    An examination of interrelated arts, visual cultures and texts in South Asia (15th to 19th C) within their historical and cultural contexts. Topics include the rise of the multicultural Mughal Empire, the roles of Hinduism, Islam, and Sikhism, and encounters with Renaissance and Colonial Europe. Digital art historical approaches will normally be used, though no computing experience is required. Credit will be granted for only one of ARTH 375, DIHU 375, or WRLD 375. Prerequisite: Third-year standing. Equivalency: DIHU 375, WRLD 375

  17. ARTH_O 378 (3) Three Faiths, One Culture: The Arts of Medieval Spain

    Medieval Iberia's Christian, Muslim, and Jewish communities and their shared visual cultures, literatures, and religious traditions. Prerequisite: Third-year standing.

  18. ARTH_O 380 (3) African Art and Visual Culture

    Historical and contemporary sub-Saharan African art and visual culture with emphasis on socio-historical contexts. Prerequisite: Third-year standing.

  19. ARTH_O 385 (3) African Dress and Fashion

    An examination of historical and contemporary African dress and fashion emphasizing sociocultural and political contexts, transculturalism, and global identities. Prerequisite: Third-year standing.

  20. ARTH_O 390 (3) Indigenous Art and Visual Culture across North America

    Historical and contemporary Indigenous art and visual culture in North America with emphasis on socio-historical contexts and cultural identity. Prerequisite: Third-year standing.

  21. ARTH_O 395 (3) Renaissance Europe in a Global Context

    Exploration of the Renaissance as a pivotal period in European art history, highlighting global interactions and the exchange of ideas and goods between Europe and regions such as the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas, while challenging traditional narratives. Prerequisite: Third-year standing.

  22. ARTH_O 396 (3) Dramatic Expressions: European Baroque Art and its Global Connections

    An examination of 17th and 18th-century European Baroque art, characterized by its dramatic expression. See how political, religious, and social crises during global expansion influenced diverse artistic expressions worldwide. Prerequisite: Third-year standing.

  23. ARTH_O 397 (3) From Colonization to Contemporary: Art of Latin America

    Inquiry into modern and contemporary Latin American art through Indigenous, colonial, mestizo, and Afro-Latinx influences. Examination of movements such as Mexican Muralism, Surrealism, and feminist art, and analysis of the effects of colonial, political, and social contexts on artistic expression and identity. Prerequisite: Third-year standing.

  24. ARTH_O 403 (3) Global Surrealism

    The development of Surrealism from its roots in 20th-century French thought to its global proliferation in film, literature, visual culture and contemporary theories. Credit will be granted for only one of ARTH 403 or WRLD 403. Prerequisite: Third-year standing. Equivalency: WRLD 403

  25. ARTH_O 410 (3) Gender, Art, and Space in the Islamic World

    An examination of how gender can be used to analyze art and architecture across different regions of the Islamic world, emphasizing critical perspectives on stereotypes of Muslim gender relations. Prerequisite: Third-year standing.

  26. ARTH_O 411 (3) Digital Media for Interpretive Centres

    The art and practice of using digital media for cultural institutions like art galleries, museums, botanic gardens, science centres, heritage sites and parks. Critical perspectives will be employed and approaches may include project-based learning, working with cultural institutions and digital art history methods. Credit will be granted for only one of ARTH 411 or DIHU 411. Prerequisite: Third-year standing. Equivalency: DIHU 411

  27. ARTH_O 420 (3) Curating Contemporary Art

    Approaches to researching Contemporary Art in a global context, and the practice of curating exhibitions. Prerequisite: Third-year standing.

  28. ARTH_O 450 (3) Performance in Africa

    Examination of performance in sub-Saharan Africa addressing theoretical issues and a range of performance practices in context. Prerequisite: Third-year standing.

  29. ARTH_O 451 (3) Politics of Exhibition and Representation

    Politics of exhibition and representation of world arts and visual cultures in contexts of colonialism and postcolonial activism. Prerequisite: Third-year standing.

  30. ARTH_O 460 (3-12) Selected Topics

    Study of a topic of special interest. This course may be taken multiple times for credit with varying subjects. Prerequisite: Third-year standing.

  31. ARTH_O 470 (3-9) Directed Studies

    Directed readings and written assignments taken under the supervision of a faculty member for students pursuing an advanced investigation of an area of interest. Normally available to students majoring in Art History and Visual Culture. Prerequisite: Third-year standing and permission of the Department of Creative Studies and the instructor.

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UBC Okanagan Academic Calendar

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