This site tours Italian Byzantine paintings of the 1200s and 1300s. The site includes an overview of the genre, historical background, and information on the featured artists, the paintings, their provenance, a bibliography, exhibition history, and full-screen images.

In this course, the student will study the history of Eastern (Orthodox) Christian art. The course begins with the emergence of Christianity and the formation of the Christian visual language that grew out of the Classical tradition. The course then follows the development of Christian art after the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of the Byzantine Empire. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: identify works of art from Early Christian and Byzantine culture, recalling such information as date of creation, artist (if known), patron (if known), medium, and culture (i.e. Early Christian, Early Byzantine, Middle Byzantine, Late Byzantine); recognize the features (stylistic and iconographic) typical of the arts of the early Christian and Byzantine world; explain and discuss the general arc of the history of Early Christian and Byzantine culture; describe the significance and function of works of art produced in Early Christian and Byzantine culture; discuss the sources of influence (from previous historical periods as well as from neighboring geographical regions) that affected Early Christian and Byzantine art; compare and contrast works of early Christian and Byzantine art to those of other cultures; explain the relationship between Christianity (and Early Christian art) and Byzantine culture, and discuss the symbiotic nature of this relationship; describe the methods and materials used to create works of Early Christian and Byzantine art; explain the ways in which Early Christian and Byzantine art reveals the social, religious, and political mores of the culture. (Art History 401)

This course will introduce the student to the history of the world's major civilizations from medieval times to the early modern era. The student will learn about the pivotal political, economic, and social changes that took place in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Europe during this period. By the end of the course, the student will understand how many different civilizations evolved from isolated societies into expansive, interconnected empires capable of exerting global influence. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: Think critically and analytically about world history in the medieval and early modern eras; Identify and describe the emergence, decline, and main features of the Byzantine Empire; Identify the origins and characteristics of the European medieval period and describe the rapidly changing forces at work in society, the economy, and religion during this time; Identify the origins of the Aztec and Inca civilizations and assess how these empires affected socio-economic development in the Americas; Identify the origins of the Tang and Song dynasties in China and assess the impact of these empires on Chinese government, society, religion, and economy during what scholars refer to as the 'golden age'; Identify the origins of the Mongol Empire, which dominated much of Asia in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Students will analyze the nature of this empire created by nomads; Identify the reasons for a changing balance in the world economy in the 1400s and analyze why Europe superseded Asia as the most dominant civilization on the globe; Assess how and why the European Age of Discovery had such a large impact on the New World, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia; Identify the origins and characteristics of the Renaissance and describe its impact on European civilization as a whole; Identify the origins of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation in Europe and assess how this movement altered the social, political, and religious fabric of Europe; Identify the origins of colonial Brazil and New Spain. Students will also be able to assess the impact of Spanish and Portuguese colonization on the New World, Africa, and Europe; Identify the origins of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires and assess the unique characteristics of these dynasties and their impact upon Asia and the world; Identify the origins of the Atlantic slave trade, assessing how this forced migration of peoples affected Africa, Africans, Europe, and the New World; Analyze and describe the Asian trading world, the Ming dynasty in China, the Ňwarring states,' and early modern eras in Japan; Analyze and interpret primary source documents from the medieval period to the early modern era using historical research methods. (History 221)