Introduction to Art History: Asia
ARHI 1102
Instructor: Dr. Asato Ikeda
Course
This course is a survey of Asian art that introduces artistic practices in India, China, and
Japan. Divided into three parts, the course will introduce arts from the ancient, medieval,
and modern/contemporary periods, and cover major religious arts (such as those
associated with Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and Shinto); cultural traditions unique to
their regions (Mughal figurative paintings, Chinese landscape paintings, and Japanese
woodblock prints); and art produced in the modern world, which was intricately
entangled with the history of imperialism, colonialism, modernization and war.
By the end of the term, students will
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develop the skill of visual analysis
be able to identify important Asian art objects, artists, art movements, and art
theory
understand relationships between objects and the historical contexts in which they
were made, through examination of religious practices, cultural values, and
political debates of the time
be familiar with recent scholarship in the field and develop the skill of close
reading and engaging with seminal debates/issues at stake.
Textbook
Asian Art (Dorinda Neave, et al. Pearson, 2014; available online for purchase and at
Fordham bookstore)
Learning Materials
Students are required to purchase the textbook Asian Art (Dorinda Neave, et al. Pearson,
2014).
Assigned readings for summary and discussion will be made available online via
Fordham portal.
Day 1: Introduction and Visual Analysis
Day 2: Art and Religion in India
Textbook (for Lecture): Neave, et al. Asian Art p. 9-21; 34-35;112-113
Assigned Reading #1 (for Summary and Class Discussion): Edicts of the Indian Mauryan
Emperor Ashoka, Asian Art: Blackwell Anthologies in Art History. Ed. Rebecca Brown
and Deborah S. Hutton. pp. 13-20.
Assigned Reading #2: “The Great Ape Jataka”, Asian Art: Blackwell Anthologies in Art
History, pp.21-24.
Day 3: Art and Religion in India
Textbook: Asian Art, p.24-33; 38-44;114-116.
Assigned Reading #3: Padma Kaimal, “Playful Ambiguity and Political Authority at the
Large Relief at Mamallapuram,” Asian Art: Blackwell Anthologies in Art History, pp.4353.
Assigned Reading #4: Vidya Dehejia, “Reading Love Imagery on the Indian Temple,”
Asian Art: Blackwell Anthologies in Art History, pp. 71-82.
Day 4: Art and Religion in China
Textbook: Asian Art, p.131-134; 138-145; 150-155; 163-165.
Assigned Reading #5: Wu Hung, “The Nine Tripods and Traditional Chinese Concepts of
Monumentality,” Asian Art: Blackwell Anthologies in Art History, pp. 201-211.
Day 5: Art and Religion in Japan
Textbook: Asian Art, p. 287-298; 299-314.
Assigned Reading #6: William H. Coaldrake, “Ise Jingu,” Asian Art: Blackwell
Anthologies in Art History, pp. 261- 273.
Assigned Reading #7: Samuel C. Morse, “Jocho’s Statue of Amida at the Byodoin and
Cultural Legitimization in Late Heian Japan,” Asian Art: Blackwell Anthologies in Art
History, pp. 295- 309.
Day 6: Visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Day 7: Art and the Mughal Empire
Textbook: Asian Art, p. 50-54; 64-71; 74-76.
Assigned Reading #8: Michael Brand, “Orthodoxy, Innovation, and Revival:
Considerations of the Past in Imperial Mughal Tomb Architecture,” Asian Art: Blackwell
Anthologies in Art History, pp. 101- 113.
Assigned Reading #9: Vishakha Desai, “Timeless Symbols: Royal Portraits from
Rajasthan 17th-19th Centuries,” Asian Art: Blackwell Anthologies in Art History, pp. 295309.
Day 8: Chinese Literati Tradition and Landscape Paintings
Textbook: Asian Art, pp. 171-176; 187-193.
Assigned Reading #10: Craig Clunas, “Practices of Vision,” Asian Art: Blackwell
Anthologies in Art History, pp. 352-361.
Day 9: Art and Japanese Warriors
Textbook: Asian Art, pp. 324-326; 334-345; 349-353; 364-368
Assigned Reading #11: Kendall Brown, “Symbolic Virtue and Political Legitimation:
Tea and Politics in the Momoyama Period,” Asian Art: Blackwell Anthologies in Art
History, pp. 338-349.
Assigned Reading #12: Asato Ikeda, “Introduction,” A Third Gender: Beautiful Youths in
Japanese Prints, pp. 11-15.
Day 10: Mid-Term Exam
Day 11: Colonialism, Nationalism, and War
Textbook: Asian Art, p. 81-82; 92-93.
Assigned Reading #13: Richard Davis, “Indian Images Collected,” Asian Art: Blackwell
Anthologies in Art History, pp. 127-139.
Assigned Reading #14: Asato Ikeda, “Japan’s Haunting War Art: Contested War
Memories and Art Museums,” disClosure, p5-7; 16-28. (*not the entire essay)
Day 12: Post-War Art
Ming Tiampo, “Create What Has Never Been Done Before!” Third Text 21.6 (2007):
689-706.
Day 13: Japanese Animation
Reading: Susan Napier, “Confronting Master Narrative: History As Vision in Miyazaki
Hayao’s Cinema of De-assurance,” positions: east asia cultures critique, 9.2 (Fall 2001):
467-493.
Day 14: Visit to Gallery in NYC
Day 15: Student Presentation
Final Exam