Program Overview

Western Europe Transformed: Art of the Italian Renaissance

ABOUT THIS COURSE

The Renaissance marked a turning point from the Gothic period, reshaping art and architecture against a backdrop of cultural transformation. Fueled by an expanding worldview and new exchanges with non-Western cultures through trade and colonial expansion, artists and scholars sought fresh ways of seeing and representing the world. Alongside this outward gaze was a conscious return to the past, drawing inspiration from the works and writings of ancient Greece and Rome in an effort to recapture a perceived golden age.

OFFERED BY:

Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies

OUTCOMES

The course enhances participating learners’ ability to:

• Identify key features that distinguish Renaissance styles of art and architecture.
• Read and interpret iconographic cues in works of art and architecture, with attention to cultural and historical context.
• Use subject-specific terminology accurately and apply it to both course examples and works beyond the scope of the class.
• Discuss the impact of historical events and transcultural influences (religious, social, political) on works of art and architecture of the period.

WHO THIS COURSE IS FOR

• Lifelong learners interested in art, history, or cultural studies
• Art enthusiasts eager to explore the symbolic and religious themes of medieval Western Europe
• History buffs looking to understand the cultural transformations of the Middle Ages
• Anyone curious about how art reflects societal change and religious influence during the Romanesque era
• Those new to art history who wish to learn techniques for “reading” and interpreting medieval art and architecture

COURSE DETAILS

COURSE COSTS

$195 + GST Discounts are available to large groups.

COURSE DATES

• Saturdays, 1:00 – 3:00 pm
  • November 1
  • November 8
  • November 15
  • November 22
  • November 29
  • December 6

COURSE DELIVERY

This course will be delivered in person at UBC Okanagan.

COURSE INSTRUCTORS

Elizabeth Loeffler, MA, is an art historian who has been teaching at universities across Canada for over 20 years. She is particularly interested in works created in the period following the Norman Conquest of England, as well as in the cult of St. Thomas Becket.