Chinoiserie meant a China craze or the overwhelming appeal of imitation of Chinese art in the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe; it developed by imitating and modifying imported commodities. European objects imitated East Asian objects in relation to themes, styles, and craftsmanship. This course will help students learn Chinese art history and its concepts and it will reveal how art images, motifs, and objects changed due to varying cultural interpretations. This course starts by introducing Chinese figure painting or imaginary figure painting, bird and flower and willow pattern painting, porcelain, faience, furniture, and Chinese garden art. The overall focus will be on how expressions of art changed in the process of imitation and cultural encounter, leading students to see Chinese art in a historical and global context.

This course examines Buddhist art forms and beliefs from wide-ranging contexts in China, Japan, and Korea. We will explore cultural interrelationships and differences among these contexts. Key themes cutting across these regions include the life of the historical Buddha; the Bodhisattva path; State-sponsored Buddhism; belief in the Future Buddha Maitreya; belief in the Western Paradise Buddha Amitabha; Esoteric Buddhism; secularized Buddhism as combined with local beliefs; and the display and understanding of religious icons. Approaches to these materials particularly relevant to museum studies are incorporated, such as: object provenance, curatorial practices, approaches to the display of religious icons, and repatriation.