Glendale Community College

Not all classes in all disciplines are offered every semester. See the Class Schedule or contact the Art History department for offerings in the current semester.

NOTE For up-to-date course descriptions, please refer to the current GCC catalog.

All Art History courses satisfy the Arts requirement and transfer to USC, UC, CSU. 

Please note: There is no requirement that students take ARTH 101 before taking ARTH 102 or any other art history course.

101 (ARTH C1100)

Survey of Art from Prehistory to the Medieval Era

3.0 Units

This course introduces students to visual art and architecture from prehistory to the medieval era with a focus on art from Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. This course will further consider global interactions involving these regions.

Lecture 3 hours.

Recommended Preparation: ENGL 101

Course Typically Offered: Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall.

Transfer Credit: CSU, UC, USC. (C-ID ARTH 110)

101H (ARTH C1100H)

Survey of Art from Prehistory to the Medieval Era - Honors

3.0 Units
This course introduces students to visual art and architecture from prehistory to the medieval era with a focus on art from Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. This course will further consider global interactions involving these regions. This is an honors course.

Lecture 3 hours.

Recommended Preparation: ENGL 101

Transfer Credit: CSU, UC, USC. (C-ID ARTH 110)

102 (ARTH C1200)

Survey of Art from the Renaissance to Contemporary

3.0 Units

This course provides an overview of art and architecture from the Renaissance to the contemporary period with a focus on art from Europe. This course will further consider global interactions involving this region.

Lecture 3 hours.

Recommended Preparation: ENGL 101

Course Typically Offered: Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall.

Transfer Credit: CSU, UC, USC. (C-ID ARTH 120)

102H (ARTH C1200H)

Survey of Art from the Renaissance to Contemporary - Honors

3.0 Units
This course provides an overview of art and architecture from the Renaissance to the contemporary period with a focus on art from Europe. This course will further consider global interactions involving this region. This is an honors course.

Lecture 3 hours.

Recommended Preparation: ENGL 101

Transfer Credit: CSU, UC, USC.

103
ANCIENT ART
3.0 Units
ARTH 103 is a survey of the architecture, painting and sculpture from their origins in prehistoric time through their development in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. The impact of these works on today’s art is also considered.

Lecture 3 hours.

Recommended Preparation: ARTH 101.

Transfer Credit: CSU, UC, USC.

104
GREEK AND ROMAN ART
3.0 Units
ARTH 104 provides an in-depth study of the architecture, painting, and sculpture of ancient Greece and Rome. Emphasis is placed on the interaction of religious ideas, economic trends, philosophy, and politics of the period and the art objects that are produced during the time period.

Lecture 3 hours.

Prerequisite: None.

Typically Offered: Every other year.

Transfer Credit: CSU, UC, USC.

105
MEDIEVAL ART
3.0 Units
ARTH 105 is a survey of the architecture, painting, and sculpture of the period between ancient Rome and the Renaissance. It introduces the student to the philosophical ideas, economic trends, and political events that produced the art of the period.

Lecture 3 hours.

Recommended Preparation: ARTH 101.

Typically Offered: Every other year.

Transfer Credit: CSU, UC, USC.

106
RENAISSANCE/BAROQUE ART
3.0 Units
ARTH 106 is a survey of the art, sculpture, and architecture in the West from the early Renaissance through the Baroque periods (1300-1750). Emphasis is placed on the interaction of religious ideas, economic trends, philosophy and politics of the period and the art objects that were produced during this time period.

Lecture 3 hours.

Prerequisite: None.

Transfer Credit: CSU, UC, USC.

107
MODERN ART
3.0 Units
ARTH 107 is a survey of the growth of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century trends in painting, sculpture, and architecture in Europe and the United States. It explores the relationship between contemporary art and our historical and social values.

Lecture 3 hours.

Recommended Preparation: ENGL 101

Typically Offered: Every fall.

Transfer Credit: CSU, UC, USC.

108
ART OF THE EASTERN WORLD 
3.0 Units

ARTH 108 is a survey from prehistoric times to 1850 of the sculpture, painting, and architecture of India, China, Japan, Korea, Persia, and the Islamic expansion in the Near East and Spain. It includes an introduction to the religious, philosophical, social, and political ideas which influenced the art of these regions and times.

Lecture 3 hours.

Recommended Preparation: ENGL 101

Course Typically Offered: Fall.

Transfer Credit: CSU, UC, USC.

111
HISTORY OF WORLD CERAMICS
3.0 Units
ARTH 111 is a survey of the most important and influential periods of pre-historic, Mediterranean, European, Middle Eastern, PreColumbian, and Asian ceramic art.

Lecture 3 hours.

Prerequisite: None.

Course Typically Offered: Fall.

Transfer Credit: CSU, UC, USC.

112
PRECOLUMBIAN ART OF THE AMERICAS
3.0 Units
ARTH 112 is a study of the arts of PreColumbian Mesoamerica and Andean South America. Major monuments of sculpture, architecture, ceramics, and textiles from civilizations including the Maya, Aztec, and Inca are examined in their cultural contexts.

Lecture 3 hours.

Recommended Preparation: ENGL 101

Course Typically Offered: Spring.

Transfer Credit: CSU, UC, USC. (C-ID ARTH 145)

113
AMERICAN ART
3.0 Units
ARTH 113 is a survey of art covering major artists, stylistic movements, and cultural trends within the borders of the United States from the Colonial period to WWII. Emphasis is placed on the relationship between art of the United States and European culture, as well as the indigenous influences directing the artistic tradition. The course will concentrate on integrating the development of art forms with the geographic, social, political, philosophical and religious character of the culture.

Lecture 3 hours.

Prerequisite: None.

Course Typically Offered: Spring.

Transfer Credit: CSU, UC, USC.

115
SURVEY OF NON-WESTERN ART HISTORY
3.0 Units
ARTH 115 is a survey of the art outside the western European tradition, focusing on the major artistic traditions of Africa, Asia, Oceania, North America, and South America from ancient times up to the impact of European contact. The course will focus on the role of visual arts in non-western cultural perspectives, including models of sacred ritual, social authority, medium, and of the human form. Emphasis will be placed on recognition of major art works, their artistic traditions, and of what these reveal about the cultural norms and attitudes that produced them.

Lecture 3 hours.

Prerequisite: None.

Course Typically Offered: Fall/Spring.

Transfer Credit: CSU, UC, USC.

116
ART OF AFRICA, OCEANIA, AND NORTH AMERICA
3.0 Units
ARTH 116 is a survey of visual culture within select regions in Africa, Oceania, and indigenous North America emphasizing historical, religious, and socio-cultural contexts. The course will focus on the role of visual arts, including models of sacred ritual, social authority, medium, and of the human form. The relationship of art to its cultural perspective, including social status, gender, belief systems, the environment, and lifecycle stages, is also addressed.

Lecture 3 hours.

Recommended Preparation: ENGL 101

Transfer Credit: CSU, UC, USC. (C-ID ARTH 140)

118
WOMEN IN VISUAL ARTS
3.0 Units
ARTH 118 is an introduction to the history of women as artists in European and American traditions. Women’s roles in non-Western cultures are also discussed as well as images of women in art.

Lecture 3 hours.

Prerequisite: None.

Transfer Credit: CSU, UC, USC.

119
CONTEMPORARY ART 3.0 Units
ARTH 119 is a survey of contemporary art from 1945 to the present. The origins and full development of postmodern and subsequent aesthetic philosophies in the United States and Europe are discussed. Emphasis is placed on the emergence of non-traditional media, as well as painting and sculpture, within the social and political characteristics of the contemporary world.

Lecture 3 hours.

Prerequisite: None.

Typically Offered: Every other year.

Transfer Credit: CSU, UC, USC.

120
HISTORY OF WESTERN ARCHITECTURE FROM PREHISTORY TO 1300
3.0 Units
ARTH 120 follows the historical development of western architecture from prehistory to ca. 1300. Sites, buildings, and design will be examined in the context in which they were produced. Selected periods and cultures covered include: the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Aegean and Greece, Etruscan and Roman, Early Christian and Byzantine, Islamic, Carolingian and Ottonian, Romanesque, and Gothic.

Lecture 3 hours.

Prerequisite: None.

Course Typically Offered: Fall.

Transfer Credit: CSU, UC, USC.

121
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE II
3.0 Units
ARTH 121 is a survey course of architectural styles from the Renaissance to the present. Note: This course may not be taken for credit by students who have completed Art 180 prior to Fall 1986 (History of Architecture).

Lecture 3 hours.

Prerequisite: None.

Course Typically Offered: Spring.

Transfer Credit: CSU, UC, USC.

125
MOTION PICTURE HISTORY AND CULTURE
3.0 Units
ARTH 125 is an introduction to the history of cinema from the perspective of its influence on popular culture, as well as the reverse influence of historic events and cultural shifts upon the creation of cinematic art. Other topics will include the assimilation of major artistic movements within the art of cinema, and the development of film theory.

Lecture 3 hours.

Prerequisite: None.

Course Typically Offered: Fall/Spring.

Transfer Credit: CSU, UC, USC.

199
HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY
3.0 Units
ARTH 199 is a survey of international photography from its beginnings through contemporary developments in the field. Students examine photography as a medium of artistic and social communication.

Lecture 3 hours.

Prerequisite: None.

Course Typically Offered: Spring.

Transfer Credit: CSU, UC, USC.