The fundamental principle that drives my teaching approach is the belief that a strong education changes not only what we know but how we think and operate. Through education we acquire new perspectives and new analytical and communicative tools, allowing us to choose freely our modes of critical analysis and articulation. With this in mind, I see studying art history as an important step in the educational process because the visual nature of art forces us to develop an entirely new set of skills to approach and discuss it, thereby opening a new mode of communication for its students.

As a lecturer and recitation instructor for a number of art history courses, including introductory courses that survey western art from Neolithic times through the Modern Era, I have tried to emphasize the cultural and historical significance of the art and monuments we study while helping students develop the tools to visually analyze art objects and communicate their observations. My goal is always to provide a cultural and historical foundation for students, while emphasizing that artworks do not merely illustrate cultural themes but frequently directly add to our knowledge and understanding of a culture by providing primary information. I stress that by looking at the details of an artwork and at the culture that produced, used, and valued it, we can begin to develop new understanding of that culture.

Sample Syllabus: Art History Survey – Neolithic to Renaissance Art

Sample Syllabus: Art History Survey – Renaissance to Modern Art