Six Art History majors were hand-selected as inaugural members of ‘The Art History Collegium’. This group was formed in order to teach art history to local Georgetown residents, as part of Senior University. In the spring of 2013, each member was responsible for leading a one-hour class on their chosen topic.

 

The application process was competitive, with many strong entries. Art History faculty members Thomas Howe, Kim Smith, and Allison Miller met to select the winning proposals. (Patrick Hajovsky was out on sabbatical). Applicants were judged on criteria such as preparation, interest of the topic, and range of subject matter and time period for the overall course.

 

The Art History program hopes this will become a permanent, annual program. Student participants can experience what it is like to be on the other side of the classroom, and may well use their lectures as starting points for grad school or careers as museum curators, professors, etc. The local community benefits as well, hearing about a wide range of topics from enthusiastic young lecturers.

 

Lecture topics, in chronological order are:

 

MLe McWilliams, Ancient Greek Bodies: A Look into Greece’s Sculpture of the Archaic Period. “We will start by looking at the statues of Kouros and Kores and funerary statues and steles. We will look at how one of the great civilizations of the time, Egypt, influenced Greek technes (artists/craftsmen) and how the artists began to fine tune their skill untill what we know as ‘realistic’ statues came to be.”

 

Rachael Regan, The Rise of Gothic: A Transformation in Medieval Church Building. “To explain this shift, [from Romanesque to Gothic] I would like to describe architectural components of Gothic cathedrals, including the use of high vaulting, stained glass windows, and thinned piers, compared to ascetic and heavier application of stone in Romanesque churches.”

 

Avery Centala, Da Vinci’s Female Portraiture. “I would like to teach a course on Da Vinci’s female portraiture, discussing traditional portraiture in the Renaissance and why Da Vinci’s were so unusual and special. In order to do this, I hope to work through the Portrait of Genevra, Lady of the Ermine, and the Mona Lisa to illustrate Da Vinci’s innovation.”

 

Elizabeth Kajs, Locating the Sublime in Nature: German Romanticism and Caspar David Friedrich. “By looking to landscape as the art form of the future, Friedrich used nature to express the essence of Christianity through works often inspired by the German landscape, mythology and Germany’s ancient history.”

 

Megan DiNoia, The Femme Fatale: Rejection and Empowerment of the fin de siecle Woman. “I hope to discuss the femme fatale as a dichotomy, as both a rejection of the modern woman’s new-found freedoms and as a symbol of empowerment and liberation.”

 

Christina Hadly, John Chamberlain and the Masculinity of Hot Rod Culture. “After introducing his works, I would then focus on the way his use of the automobile as sculpture material represents a version of masculinity uniquely coded to the aftermath of World War II and the Cold War-Vietnam era.”

 

Congratulations are in order for these six students. They have worked together to coordinate the course, discussed teaching techniques and course goals, and planned their lectures for this eager local audience.