Courses

Monuments and Ideas in Asian Art*
This course is an introduction to the study of Asian art history through an investigation of selected art works, considered individually and in broader contexts. This course chronicles the evolution in painting, sculpture, and architecture, and other media of Asia. It is designed for those who wish to build a broad acquaintance with the major works and ideas of Asian art in their historical settings and to develop tools for understanding these works of art as aesthetic objects and bearers of meaning for the societies, group, or individuals that produced them. Registration priority given to first and second year students. 2 hrs. lect./1 hr. disc..

DesignLab: Creating Innovation
We live in a ‘designed’ world. Good design brings function and delight to everything we see and interact with. This course teaches fundamental principles of design and creative innovation. Students will learn how to articulate and develop design concepts through hands-on projects that explore a broad range of design types (graphic, digital, industrial, craft, and architectural). These projects will be catalysts for critique, as we consider the environmental and ethical aspects of design in our increasingly global and digital world. Materials and tools, as well as training for 3D printers, laser cutters, and power tools, will be provided. 3 hrs. lect

Approaches to Islamic Art
A survey of major expressions of Islamic art from the inception of Islam to the present, from all parts of the Islamic world. This is not a traditional survey; rather, it focuses on key monuments and important examples of portable and decorative arts: mosques, tombs, palaces, manuscript illumination, calligraphy, metalwork, textiles, ceramics, etc. We will consider their meanings and functions in their respective socio-historical contexts, and we will also analyze the impact of patronage and region. We will try to understand what general principles unify the richness and diversity of Islamic art: what is Islamic about Islamic art? Finally, we will address the issue of contemporary Islamic art. (No prerequisites). 3 hrs. lect.

Understanding Early Medieval and Romanesque Art: Seeing Ste. Foy
This course is an introduction to key artworks and architectural monuments made and built in Europe during the eighth through twelfth centuries. We will study such structures as Charlemagne's Palace Chapel and the reliquary statue of Ste. Foy at Conques to explore how these monuments were products of independent cultures that valued the creation of a visual fusion between the Judeo-Christian God and humankind. Likely lines of inquiry include: the persistence of a Classical ideal and its myriad adaptations; the coordination of art objects to specific locations; and, not least, the self-conscious staging of political and ecclesiastical power. 3 hrs lect.

Modern Architecture
Rotating skyscrapers, green roofs, and avant-garde museums: how did we arrive in the architectural world of the early 21st century? In this course we will survey the major stylistic developments, new building types, and new technologies that have shaped European and American architecture since the late 18th century. Students will learn about the work of major architects as well as key architectural theories and debates. Special emphasis will be placed on the cultural and political contexts in which buildings are designed. 2 hrs. Lect./1 hr. disc.

Architecture and the Environment
Architecture has a dynamic relationship with the natural and cultural environments in which it operates. As a cultural phenomenon it impacts the physical landscape and uses natural resources while it also frames human interaction, harbors community, and organizes much of public life. We will investigate those relationships and explore strategies to optimize them, in order to seek out environmentally responsive architectural solutions. Topics to be covered include: analysis of a building's site as both natural and cultural contexts, passive and active energy systems, principles of sustainable construction, and environmental impact. Our lab will allow us to study on site, "off-the-grid" dwellings, hay-bale houses, passive solar constructions and alternative communities, meet with "green" designers, architects, and builders, and do hands-on projects. 3 hrs. lect./3 hrs. lab.

Architecture of Planning and Place
As the earliest design activity of the architectural process, context analysis and planning play a significant role in shaping our built environment, from individual dwellings to campuses, towns and cities. This course introduces students to fundamental planning concepts such as open space and density, site characteristics and context, and the circulation of people, traffic, and services, with a strong focus on the relationship between built and natural environments. We will examine national and international case studies as well as local examples. Though no formal architecture experience is required, students will learn and use methods of graphically representing information and conveying design concepts. 3 hrs. lect.

Art and Protest
Can art serve as a means for resistance and political change? Can art only call attention to social inequalities or can it initiate systemic change? What is the difference between propaganda and activism? In this course, we will examine these questions through close analysis of works dating from the French Revolution to the contemporary moment. We will consider a range of strategies across diverse geographies. We will also examine curatorial strategies to critique the cultural assumptions of museums and recent efforts to boycott museums’ financial ties and political complicities. This course is held in conjunction with the Middlebury College Museum of Art and students will have the opportunity to work closely with the current exhibition. 3 hrs. lect.

Gold, Sex, and Death at the Museum
Most visitors to museums notice the architecture, carefully chosen collections, and meticulously curated special exhibitions. However, behind this façade is a busy network of museum professionals coordinating every aspect of the institution’s life. Through readings and guest lectures, we will explore how directors, curators, and staff navigate the challenges facing the modern museum, such as establishing acquisitions policies in an increasingly uncertain art market, defining ethical standards for conservation, and addressing audiences with ever-changing needs. Speakers such as a curator, art critic, and conservator will contribute to our discussion, and attendance at a series of public talks is required. 3 hrs. lect./disc.

Court, Castle, and Cathedral: The Gothic World
This survey course will consider closely the major architectural monuments of the Gothic period in Western Europe, using them as a point of departure in a larger consideration of the artistic culture of this time. In looking at Gothic art and architecture, the class will ask some of the following questions: How were buildings embedded in the promotion of distinct political programs? How do liturgical considerations determine the shapes of buildings and sites? How can we track the emergence of a non-Christian "other" in art of all media? How can we characterize the visual and intellectual culture of "courtly love"? 3 hrs. lect.

Photography in the Middle East
In this course we will survey 19th and 20th century photographs of the Middle East. We will consider indigenous studios as well as European and U.S. photographers and artists who traveled to the region and circulated their photographs as visual knowledge of distant cultures, peoples, monuments, landscapes, and experiences. Looking at a range of genres, we will examine how photographs visually construct notions of race, gender, class, religion, and cultural otherness. Students will work with original photographs in the collection at the Middlebury College Museum of Art. 3 hrs. lect.

The Bayeux Tapestry: Models, Contexts, and Afterlives
In this course we will take a close look at the late eleventh-century Bayeux Tapestry (also known as the Bayeux Embroidery), examining its historical and literary models, the details of its creation, and its varied reverberations throughout the arts of the medieval and modern eras. Along the way, we will consider how this 230-foot long embroidered textile entangled its medieval and modern viewers in the stories it tells and those it avoids. We will discover that it offers much food for thought in relation to issues of gender and masculinity in the European Middle Ages, the representation of the Other, the visualization of disability, the taming of the natural world, and the terrors and banalities of war. Hands-on assignments will familiarize us with some of the techniques and materials used to create this monument of medieval European Art History. No prerequisites. Some familiarity with art history and/or medieval history helpful but not required. (Not open to students who have taken FYSE 1032) 3 hours lct/disc.

Art Response to Political Strife: Contemporary Arab Art
In what ways can artists protest war? What are the possibilities for creating art during times of conflict? How do artists respond to the memories of a violent and divisive recent past? These are some of the questions we will examine in this course, with a focus on contemporary artistic practices in the Arab world. Considering a range of media—documentary and experimental film, installation and conceptual practices, painting, photography, and monuments, we will ask how artists living in Beirut, Baghdad, Damascus, Jerusalem, and Algiers are able to confront the traumas of the past, intervene in contemporary socio-political realities, and imagine a different future. (not open to students who have taken INTD 1209)

Twentieth Century Latin American Art
In this course we will survey major developments in the art of Latin America from 1890 to the present. We will explore the rise of avant-gardism and abstraction, Mexican muralism, surrealism, kinetic art, neo-concrete art, and conceptualism, as well as the interaction between Latin Americans artists and their European and North American counterparts. We will also study the work of individual artists such as Diego Rivera, Joaquín Torres García, Wilfredo Lam, and Lygia Clark, among others. Readings will be drawn from artist's writings, criticism, primary documents, and recent art historical scholarship.

Developing the Built Environment: Economic, Social, and Ecological Factors
Underneath every city block, every building, is a parcel of land that was developed, or redeveloped many times. It could have been a park, a single house or an office tower. How do we decide what is built, and who decides? Building our environment begins with regulation and economics, but includes stakeholders with varying influence. Governments, neighbors, designers, activists, investors and capital markets all shape our world. In this course students will examine these choices critically, by analyzing sites and making decisions, project by project, and by connecting choices to larger debates about housing, conservation, spatial and environmental justice.

Arts of Asia
This course considers South and East Asian art history from its most ancient origins in India, China, and Japan to the present. This is not a comprehensive survey; rather, it focuses on cross-cultural connections through selected art works, considered individually and in broader contexts. We will chronicle the evolutions of painting, sculpture, architecture, and other media of Asia, focusing especially on painting, sculpture, architecture, and decorative arts. We will pay particular attention to the impact of religious and royal patronage, Buddhism and Hinduism, the Silk Road, Asian aesthetics, and specialized techniques such as ink painting and woodblock printing. Works of art will be studied in terms of style, religious meaning, and social and historical contexts. 3 hrs. lect.

Chinese Art
This course is an introductory survey of the arts of China from the Neolithic period to the 20th century. Considering works in their original context and in museum collections, we will investigate how art objects and monuments reflect the religious beliefs, political agendas, and aesthetic preferences of their creators. At the same time, we will pay particular attention to the local development of artistic technologies, the role of ethnic and national identity in art production, and China's place in the larger histories of the Silk Road and modern international commerce and diplomacy. 3 hrs. lect.

Mastodons, Mermaids, and Dioramas: Capturing Nature in America
Why did 18th-century museums stuff and mount exotic and domestic animals? Why does the American Museum of Natural History still house dioramas of so-called native peoples hunting? How has the study and staging of nature transferred into various kinds of artistic expression? In this course we will examine the intertwining of art, science, and ecology in the United States from the 1700s to the present day. Objects of study will include museum dioramas, scientific models, artifacts and artworks collected during scientific expeditions, and the work of Walton Ford and Christy Rupp, contemporary artists whose work engages ecological issues. (not open to students who have taken FYSE 1447) (formerly AMST 0214) 3 hrs. lect.

Art and Material Culture of American (US) Middle-class home*
In this course we will consider the effects of technology and mechanical reproduction on the United States home, from prints to posters, houseplants to aquariums, mass-produced decorations to home-made crafts. We will also study the culture of at-home visual entertainments, from early “magic lanterns” and optical toys to the effects of televisions and computers on perception and social life. How do race, class, gender, and issues of labor and leisure inflect the middle-class domestic sphere and relate to social concerns outside the home? We will also examine the work of contemporary artists inspired by the aesthetics and social relationships of the United States middle-class home, including Martha Rosler, Mona Hatoum, and Laurie Simmons. 3 hrs. lect. AMR, ART, NOR

Feminist Building: Art, Aesthetics, and Mini Golf
In this project-based course, we will build a reproductive justice mini golf course to be housed in the athletics facility. We will collaborate with graphic artists, woodworkers, activists, and faculty and students to design, develop, and construct the mini golf course. The studio course work will include opportunities to explore sculpture, construction, and engineering using many art forms and fabrication processes. The course will engage with Feminist and Queer Studies approaches to using art for social change and what it means to build in feminist ways, both in terms of process and product. All students will contribute to designing and building the mini golf course. No prior experience with GSFS or HARC required

Viewer Discretion Advised: Controversies in American Art & Museums, 1876-Present
What are the “culture wars,” and why do they matter? What ideas are considered too “obscene” for American audiences? In this course we will explore controversies and scandals sparked by public displays of art in the U.S. including: Eakins’s Gross Clinic (1876), seen as too “bloody” for an art exhibition; the U.S. Navy’s objections to Paul Cadmus’s painting of sailors (1934); censorship and NEA budget cuts (Mapplethorpe & Serrano, 1989); backlash to The West as America’s deconstruction of myths of the frontier (1991); tensions surrounding Colonial Williamsburg’s “slave auction” reenactment (1994); debates over the continued display (and occasional defacement) of Confederate monuments in the era of the Black Lives Matter Movement. (open to AMST, HARC and ART majors only, other by approval) 3 hrs. lect./disc.

Mapping Conceptualism: Art and Idea in International Context
In this course we will explore the impact of conceptualism—the notion that an ‘idea’ takes priority over an artwork’s physical form—in a range of historical and geographic contexts from the 1960s forward. Beginning with foundational texts and objects, we will then explore the reach of conceptualist practices through close readings of art and artists in the context of specific artistic milieux and exhibitions from the Americas to Asia. Classes will be a mixture of lecture and more focused discussion. No prerequisites, but some exposure to modern and/or contemporary art is desirable.

From Velázquez to Cabrera: The Arts of Spain and the Spanish Americas
In this course we will examine the art and visual culture of Spain and the Spanish Americas from the early sixteenth to the early nineteenth century. We will consider the impact that religion, politics, and patronage had on artists working in Spain and the Viceroyalties of New Spain and Peru, focusing especially on how visual traditions, iconographies, and practices were reshaped when they crossed the Atlantic. We will also consider how—in the wake of global trade and exploration—contact between Amerindian, African, Asian, and European artisans transformed artistic production, patronage, and collecting practices throughout the Iberian world. 3 hrs. sem.

Gender and the Making of Space
In this course we will investigate the complex relationship between gender and architecture, examining how the design of the built environment (buildings, urban spaces, etc.) can reinforce or undermine ideas about the respective roles of women and men in society, from the creation of masculine and feminine spaces to the gendered nature of the architectural profession. By looking at both visual evidence and textual sources we will also uncover how the social construction of gender roles and gendered spaces are, and continue to be, inflected by race, class, and sexuality. Not open to students who have taken FYSE 1407. 3 hrs. sem.

Home: The Why Behind the Way We Live
In this course we will examine the development of numerous housing types in America (with references to Europe). The prevalence of the single-family home today and its importance as the symbol of the “American dream” was never a forgone conclusion. In fact, the American home has been the focus of and battleground for cooperative movements, feminism, municipal socialism, benevolent capitalism, and government interventions on a national scale. 3 hrs. sem.

Berlin: History, Architecture, and Urbanism in Faust’s Metropolis (in English)
In this course we will investigate the rich and complicated built environment of Berlin. By looking at both visual evidence and textual sources we will uncover how the city has been transformed from a cultural backwater during the early modern period to the current capital of a reunified Germany. By the conclusion of this course, you will be comfortable “reading” buildings and spaces and will be able to navigate both the physical city of Berlin and the many layers of history buried within. 3 hrs. sem.

The Good, Bad, and Ugly: Gods, Goddesses, and Demons in Indian Art
Indian mythology and epic literature abounds with stories of conflicts between the forces of good and evil. There are multiple forms of Hindu gods and goddesses who battle an array of evil and colorful demonic foes, and each cosmic battle embodies a profound philosophical lesson about relative values and complex moral choices. We will explore the meanings and myriad creative expressions of this rich terrain through a lively variety of artistic depictions—in mythological literature, painting, sculpture, drama, dance, television, film, graphic novels, and contemporary arts. (Not open to students who have taken FYSE 1023.) 3 hrs. sem.

The Rhetoric of Public Memory
This course focuses on public memory and the various statues, memorials, sites, and spaces that construct public memory in contemporary U.S. society. In this course, we will study local Middlebury and Vermont public memories, Civil War and Confederate memories, and spaces of contention and controversy, while visiting nearby memorials and museums. Students in this class will compose analyses on these public memories and create arguments on the viability of memories in different shapes and forms. Overall, students will leave this class with a stronger understanding of not only public memory rhetoric but the various components that keep these memories alive. 3 hrs. lect.

Digital Methodologies for Art Historians: NW x NE
In this seminar we will apply new technologies to the study of ancient art. Our primary case study will be the ninth-century BCE relief of a winged genie at the Middlebury College Museum of Art, which will be considered alongside other panels from the Northwest Palace of King Ashurnasirpal II in the Assyrian capital at Nimrud in Iraq. The sculptures still in situ at this site were destroyed by ISIS in 2016, but fragments remain in nearly two dozen museums across the northeastern United States. In this class we will uncover the history of the creation, removal, collecting, and display of these works, while at the same time learning about the latest digital tools for data management, analysis, visualization, and imaging used by curators and art historians. Our larger goal will be contributing to an ongoing multi-institution project called "NW x NE" that aims to digitally reunify these works and facilitate the sharing of information and resources between museums. No prior experience with art history necessary. 3 hrs. sem

Orientalism and the Visual Arts
In this course we will consider the relationship between visual culture and the politics of knowledge. Comparatively examining a series of cross-cultural encounters in modern and contemporary art, we will ask how knowledge is visually codified, labeled, and displayed. The course will begin with a reading of Edward Said’s Orientalism. We will then examine a series of case studies in order to identify and compare strategies of both “representing the other” and “speaking back.” We will address notions of exoticism, cultural difference, authenticity, and native authority with a particular focus on the ways in which the visual arts construct notions of race and gender and difference in representations of the Middle East, and more specifically, the Arab world. Case studies, drawn from the late eighteenth century until today, will be focused in the discipline of art history and the geographical regions of primarily the Middle East and Africa, as well as Europe and the U.S. 3 hrs sem.

Toward a Global Survey: Reassessing the Art Historical Canon
In this course we will interrogate the decades-old approach to teaching the survey of Western Art History, and by extension the deeply ingrained understanding of the art historical canon. We will analyze survey texts and syllabi that have long guided these courses, and we will consider the decision on the part of institutions like Yale University to abandon this course for a more global and inclusive approach. What would a global survey look like at Middlebury, and what are the works of art every current student of the discipline should know? (HARC 100 or 102) 3 hrs. lect/dsc

Artemisia Gentileschi
Who was Artemisia Gentileschi, and why do her personal history and her art continue to provoke such a wide range of scholarly and artistic responses? In this course we will investigate the culture of early seventeenth-century Rome, as well as the artistic training that shaped Artemisia’s style and approach. At the same time, we will vigorously examine the ways in which gender and sexuality conditioned the reception—and distortion—of Artemisia from the start. A consideration of recent scholarship, literature, film, and painting will invite us to critically examine the construction of this singular artist’s identity. 3 hrs. sem.

Art’s Worlds: Topics in Contemporary Art
The word contemporary is relational; to be con-temporary means to exist with others in time. In this seminar we will explore themes in very recent art, paying particular attention to how various practices draw attention to the constitutive relation of “with” through form. Topics may include artistic responses to social conflict, technological change, expanding global art centers, among others. Specific topics will vary, in part, based on student interests and current debates. Readings will be drawn from critical texts, recent scholarship and artists’ writings. Prior exposure to post-1945 art is helpful, but not required. 3 hrs. sem.

Leonardo da Vinci and the Invention of Artistic Genius
Famed for paintings such as The Last Supper and Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci was a dedicated observer and a prolific journal writer. His notebooks reflect an insatiable appetite for learning, and a mind equally engaged by engineering and sculpture, hydraulics and oil paint, human nature and faith. By reading Leonardo’s writing and by examining his commissions, we will explore how this single artist came to define our understanding of artistic genius. More recent scholarship will spark robust discussions of how to best understand the “afterlife” of an artist and his work. 3 hrs sem.

The State of Emergency and its Aftermaths: Kitchen Design to Counter-History
In this class we will uncover how architecture and design have mitigated and exacerbated the human tragedy of modern industrialized war in the 20th century. Taking the First World War and its inheritances as a through line to the present-day refugee crisis, we will discover how conflicts have manifested spatially (refugee camps to military installations, villages to capital cities), how design cultures of education, care, and memory emerged from battle and conditions of scarcity, and how war often blurred the meaning of what constitutes “architecture.” Shifting the focus from trenches, monuments, and imperial building projects to the architecture of the everyday, we will think about the politics of food systems and garden design, urban (and rural) recovery and reconstruction efforts, the creation of ephemeral and ad-hoc architectures, the role of mechanization, technology, and governmentality, and the gendered implications of states of emergency.

Potter, Painter, and Goldsmith: How Asian Art is Made
In this seminar we will explore the manner in which the distinctive artistic traditions of China, Korea, and Japan were shaped by the materials and techniques available to ancient craftsmen. Some of these technologies remained localized, while others—like porcelain and silk—went on to transform world history by fueling major export markets. Through observation of objects from the Middlebury Museum of Art, we will explore such questions as: How was Asian art made; Why was it made that way? What was its historical impact? Topics will include jade and other hardstones, bronze, textiles, ceramics, painting, lacquer, glass, and gold.

AS/Habitat for Humanity Housing Unit: From Design Development to Bidding
Architectural Studies at Middlebury partners with Habitat for Humanity of Addison County for the design and realization of high-quality, energy-efficient, affordable housing. The objective of this interdisciplinary studio course is to develop the design of the housing unit from a conceptual level to the point that it can be bid upon competitively by contractors. This intensive process will be driven by a schedule of deliverables conceived to allow for construction to start in the following spring. Studio components include materials selection; energy analysis; code review, construction detailing; permitting; physical and digital modeling; engineering coordination; and construction specifications. This studio will continue into HARC 0373 (formerly INTD 0274) during WT: AS/Habitat for Humanity: Design Production. Students should expect a substantial amount of work outside of class time. (HARC 0330 or HARC 0371 or by permission) 3 hrs. lect./3hrs lab

WWI and Its Legacies in Art and Photography
“We will glorify war,” declared the Italian poet Marinetti in the 1909 Futurist Manifesto. For Marinetti and his fellow writers and artists, military conflict held the promise of restoring a decadent Europe. Meanwhile, the new technology of photography was being deployed across the Ottoman Empire by European governments to document a declining empire with vast territory up for grabs. The outbreak of World War I, however, soon exposed the grim realities and failed promises of modernity and technologies of warfare. In this course we will consider how art and photography in Europe, America, and across the Ottoman Empire documented, portrayed, and confronted World War I, and the colonial and aesthetic legacies of the first industrialized global war in today’s world.

Exhibiting the Bauhaus
The Bauhaus (1919-1933) was an experimental school, a modern laboratory for artistic innovation. In three different German cities over a period of 14 tumultuous years three different artistic directors, their colleagues, and students challenged the traditional hierarchy of the arts by placing the fine arts, design, and architecture on equal footing. With the help of primary and secondary source readings, we will not only consider the Bauhaus’ far reaching influence on the practice and teaching of art, design and architecture, but also its enormous social and political impacts. Taking these ideas as our point of departure, our class will work with select works from the holdings of the Sabarsky Foundation in New York City (including those by Walter Gropius, Wassily Kandinsky, Anni Albers and Oskar Schlemmer). A major part of our inquiry will involve the planning of an exhibition of these original artworks at the Middlebury College Museum in the spring of 2020. 3 hrs. sem

Bollywood and Beyond: Topics and Themes in Indian Cinema
‘Bollywood,’ the term given to the Indian film industry juggernaut in Bombay (Mumbai), India, has gained an avid following of millions of viewers worldwide. In this course we will provide a critical consideration of the history and development of this popular Indian film industry. We will focus on such topics as the construction of an Indian national identity, notions of gender, idealized beauty, caste, class, religion, social norms, globalism, modernity, politics, nationalism, and fundamentalism. Films are subtitled and no knowledge of another language is expected. Lectures, discussion, and readings will accompany screenings.

Museum Studies: Exhibit Design
In this course we will explore the many aspects of the exhibit design process in a museum setting–from object care and interpretation through space analysis, display furniture design, graphics, and lighting. Utilizing digital images, readings, and discussions, the class will explore the history of exhibit design from Victorian curiosity rooms to current trends in interactive exhibits and designing for the disabled. Through hands-on exercises, model making, and electronic CAD and graphics programs, students will experiment with exhibit lighting, gallery layouts, and graphic design. Students will keep a daily design journal and as a final project, each student will present a formal design proposal of a particular museum installation. This course will count as an elective towards the History of Art Major.
Ken has designed more than 150 exhibits, mostly for his 35-year career at the Middlebury College Museum of Art./

I'm So Mad I Made This Sign
In an increasingly visual world understanding the constructions intertwining image and text are an essential skill. Graphic design explicitly engages these structures, and in this course we will explore its history and practice through the design of Posters. The poster format offers a variety of challenges for the beginning designer in its uses of direction, narrative, and illustration.  Central to the course will be the history and theory of poster design. Putting this history into practice, each student will choose their own topic, research it, and design their own poster. By term’s end each student will have their own 18”x24” poster to be displayed.
With an MFA in Design, and a BS in Graphic Design, Sepi Alavi has been designing for 20 years./

Photography and the Ethics of Witnessing
In this course we will consider photography as an eyewitness to violence and human suffering and the ethical position of the viewer. What does it mean to regard the pain of others? Can there be beauty in violence? Can a photograph alone speak truth? Can photographs initiate empathy or spark activism? Are we so bombarded with images of violence that we are immune to their power? To explore these questions, we will examine a series of case studies, from photography’s earliest documentation on the battlefield to contemporary examples of drone imagery used to wage war from a distance. We will also consider contemporary artists who integrate documentary photography into their practice as a form of resistance.

Printmaking in the Time of Rembrandt
In this course we will study a selection of seventeenth-century Dutch prints from the collection of the Middlebury College Museum of Art, which includes etchings and engravings by artists such as Hendrick Golztius, Rembrandt van Rijn, Adriaen van Ostade, Nicolaes Berchem, and Cornelis Dusart, among others. In this hands-on course students will learn how to research and write catalogue entries for a selection of these works by engaging directly with the objects in the collection. By the end of the course, we will produce a small catalogue featuring our short essays.

Print Culture and the History of the Book, 1450-1800
Students will learn the historical background and bibliographic skills needed to use printed books from the hand-press period (1450-1800) in their own research. Readings and discussions will focus on: the material culture of the printed book and its impact on Western society; the technical aspects of printing and publishing in the hand-press period, including binding techniques/styles, print illustration processes, bibliographic description; and how bibliographic studies can inform humanities scholarship. This course will be partially embedded in the Middlebury Special Collections Library, and students will conduct original research on a book of their choosing from the collection.

Data Science Across Disciplines
In this course, we will gain exposure to the entire data science pipeline—obtaining and cleaning large and messy data sets, exploring these data and creating engaging visualizations, and communicating insights from the data in a meaningful manner. During morning sessions, we will learn the tools and techniques required to explore new and exciting data sets. During afternoon sessions, students will work in small groups with one of several faculty members on domain-specific research projects in Sociology, Neuroscience, Animation, Art History, or Environmental Science. This course will utilize the R programming language. No prior experience with R is necessary.
ENVS: Students will engage in research within environmental health science—the study of reciprocal relationships between human health and the environment. High-quality data and the skills to make sense of these data are key to studying environmental health across diverse spatial scales, from individual cells through human populations. In this course, we will explore common types of data and analytical tools used to answer environmental health questions and inform policy.
FMMC: Students will explore how to make a series of consequential decisions about how to present data and how to make it clear, impactful, emotional or compelling. In this hands-on course we will use a wide range of new and old art making materials to craft artistic visual representations of data that educate, entertain, and persuade an audience with the fundamentals of data science as our starting point.
NSCI/MATH: Students will use the tools of data science to explore quantitative approaches to understanding and visualizing neural data. The types of neural data that we will study consists of electrical activity (voltage and/or spike trains) measured from individual neurons and can be used to understand how neurons respond to and process different stimuli (e.g., visual or auditory cues). Specifically, we will use this neural data from several regions of the brain to make predictions about neuron connectivity and information flow within and across brain regions.
SOCI: Students will use the tools of data science to examine how experiences in college are associated with social and economic mobility after college. Participants will combine sources of "big data" with survey research to produce visualizations and exploratory analyses that consider the importance of higher education for shaping life chances.
HARC: Students will use the tools of data science to create interactive visualizations of the Dutch textile trade in the early eighteenth century. These visualizations will enable users to make connections between global trade patterns and representations of textiles in paintings, prints, and drawings.