Introduction to Art History at Riverside City College (Welcome Module)
Welcome and Campus Context
The instructor opens by linking visual cues of Bologna, Italy to Riverside City College (RCC): two Bologna images show a long arched corridor leading to a college campus and an arch above a doorway with the seal of Bologna, compared to the RCC seal and campus feel.
Bologna is described as a great place for food (spaghetti bolognese) and wine, establishing a cultural backdrop for art history and campus culture.
Closer look reveals:
The seal of the rulers of Bologna above an arch, reminiscent of the RCC seal on the campus threshold.
A manuscript image showing Boethius meeting philosophy personified (Philosophy in a blue and gold gown with a headdress and veil) presenting the liberal arts: grammar, rhetoric, logic (first three) in brown, red, and pink, followed by music, geometry, arithmetic, and astronomy.
Connection to liberal arts: historical roots in medieval and Renaissance education, expanded over time. The instructor ties this to RCC’s guided pathways across the district (nursing/health sciences; language and humanities; social and behavioral sciences; STEM; visual/performing/creative arts; advanced technical trades; business and information systems; education and teacher preparation).
Welcome to RCC: addressing everyone – new students, returning students, working adults juggling schedules; emphasis on inclusivity and accessibility of courses.
Preview of course focus: close study of Riverside City College and the surrounding city.
Liberal Arts, Pathways, and Campus Life
Liberal arts origin and evolution are used to frame the college’s guided pathways and broad fields of study.
RCC programs mentioned as examples of the pathways:
Nursing and health sciences; language and humanities; social and behavioral sciences;
science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM);
visual, performing, and creative arts;
advanced technical trades, business and information systems; education and teacher preparation.
The message emphasizes accessibility and flexibility for students with different life circumstances.
Riverside: City of Arts, Architecture, and Public Space
Riverside is presented as a city of arts and innovation with art visible in daily life.
Public art and architecture highlighted:
Freedom and social justice sculpture walkway in downtown; bronze sculptures of Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez, Mahatma Gandhi, and others.
The Mission Inn: pastiche of styles inspired by California missions, with hints of European and East Asian influences.
Abundant religious architecture (churches, mosques, synagogues) around the city; their architectural histories.
East Asian influence in local architecture, including Chinese and Japanese architecture reflecting long histories of Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino Americans in the area.
The campus and city are intertwined with art history and cultural life, inviting exploration beyond the classroom.
Art in Public Life: Street Art, Institutions, and Social Spaces
Street art and public advertisements as part of the art ecosystem:
Shepard Fairey’s banner in downtown (a nod to public art and political messaging).
Center for Social Justice and Civil Liberties as a RCCD building, illustrating the district’s engagement with social topics.
Emphasis on experiential learning: students are encouraged to walk, ride public transit, or explore Riverside and the Inland Empire to understand space as a site of art.
Social Media, Memes, and the Modern Art Conversation
Students are identified as part of a social media generation (digital natives vs elder millennials): social media shapes how art is communicated and consumed (memes, selfies, platforms).
Memes introduced as teaching tools: etymology from Greek memē (imitated thing).
A specific meme is used to illustrate perspectives on what an art historian does:
What my parents think I do: reference to Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code (and its film) where the art historian is an “art history detective.”
What my colleagues think I do: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off image, implying museum-scouting and dramatic contemplations.
What society thinks I do: being mistaken for someone who sells art at Sotheby’s or Christie's.
What friends think I do: Ben Stiller’s Night at the Museum, guarding artworks with lively interactions.
What I think I do: Mona Lisa Smile, a film about encouraging students to think beyond the syllabus and bring personal perspective to the classroom.
What I really do: Untitled with subtitle “Everyone's Got an Opinion,” highlighting the plurality of valid interpretations in art history.
The meme discussion leads to the idea that there are debates about high vs low art, high brow vs folk art, and craft vs fine art, which the course will address.
The Instructor’s Perspective: What I Really Do in Art History
The instructor emphasizes study of medieval and Renaissance art, with a passion for book arts (handmade and printed books from around the world) that tell histories of people, places, and ideas.
Pop culture intersections:
Reference to Hermione Granger, Gandalf, and Samwell Tarly to illustrate how scholarship can intersect with popular culture.
Artists engaging with topics such as masking during the COVID-19 pandemic and the broader relationship between fine arts and capitalism (art and business).
Street art and ephemera in Riverside reflect urgent social concerns (e.g., Black Lives Matter movement, queer and trans communities, and broad social justice themes).
Specific contemporary artworks and moments:
Murals and magazine covers (e.g., Titus Kaphar on Time magazine cover addressing Black motherhood and police violence; Kadir Nelson’s New York Times cover with many faces of 2020; a mural in Hollywood for Black Lives Matter).
The border region focus: Frida Kahlo, Ford factory, indigenous temples, Ronald Reyes’ seesaw installation straddling the US-Mexico border, Anna Teresa Fernandez’s paintings of the border wall, and collective group ERE and Margarita Garcia Asperas’ wall interventions.
The course treats art as political and activist, underlining the contemporary relevance of art history.
Core Themes: Art in Society and Global Contexts
The course foregrounds themes in the Inland Empire region and beyond:
The US–Mexico border as a recurring topic due to the geographic context (within of the border).
Historical and contemporary responses to border politics through art (Frida Kahlo, border installations, murals).
The broader range of topics from street art to fashion, hip hop, music albums, and music videos; the role of art in contemporary politics and the destruction of art by natural disasters or terrorism, as seen in cinema (e.g., Killmonger in Black Panther raising questions about how artifacts reach museums and how people of color are treated in museum spaces).
The course emphasizes that art history is dynamic, addressing current events and social concerns through a historical lens.
Creative Practice and Engagement: Getty Art Challenge and RCCD Art Challenge
Students are encouraged to participate creatively:
Create a work of art inspired by something observed in class, using RCCD/departmental hashtags (e.g., RCCD art challenge, between art and quarantine challenge, RCCD art 2|0|1|6, etc.).
The Getty Art Challenge (originating during the 2020 pandemic) prompted people to use household objects to recreate famous artworks; the instructor shares a personal family project from that challenge.
A Canvas learning module will host students’ art creations and offer extra credit bonus points.
The instructor’s own example: a piece created with family during the Getty Art Challenge is shown as inspiration.
The ongoing reminder: this art-creation activity will be revisited weekly throughout the course, emphasizing creativity, reflection, and critical thinking about a single work of art.
Methods of Looking at Art: Formal vs Contextual Analysis
Two foundational skills introduced for looking at art:
Formal analysis: focus on visual elements and composition without needing historical context.
Examples discussed: look at line; shape and form; color and texture; balance and symmetry; pattern.
Observations in two images show how lines guide the eye, how rectangles and architectural forms create space, color contrasts, and textural differences.
Contextual analysis: involves understanding the maker, time period, and purpose behind a work.
Example given: The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci (Italian, Milan, early ), a fresco in a refectory, depicting Jesus with the twelve apostles at supper, where Jesus reveals that one will betray him.
The Last Supper has inspired countless remakes and reinterpretations (e.g., Ariana Grande’s VMA reference to the composition in her video, God is a Woman).
The Last Supper discussion illustrates how context enriches interpretation and helps explain the work’s lasting cultural impact.
The instructor emphasizes that everyone in the course is an art historian, bringing their own experiences and capital to classroom learning.
Educational Community Cultural Capital
A key concept introduced: educational community cultural capital (per Tara Yoso of UC Riverside):
Students bring a range of capital to the classroom, including goals, language skills, family support, navigational skills, resilience, campus-life navigation, day-to-day work, parenting responsibilities, and the ability to rely on community and chosen family.
This capital is a form of wealth that enriches the learning environment and collective understanding.
The message is to recognize and value diverse backgrounds and experiences as essential to learning in art history.
Course Logistics, Support, and Engagement
The instructor’s commitment to accessibility and support:
Open communication: reach out anytime; the instructor is there to help achieve goals.
Personal journey: started at community colleges before transferring to a four-year degree.
Course structure: discussions, low-stakes posts, quizzes, and exams; all quizzes are open-note and open-book to encourage mastery and preparedness for exams.
Office hours, online discussions, and other opportunities to engage with the instructor and peers.
Final note: a warm invitation to RCC and RCCD, with encouragement to have fun while learning.
Instructor Background and Experience
Former curator and educator at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles for nearly .
Personal engagement with the Getty Art Challenge during the 2020 pandemic, using household found objects to recreate artworks.
The instructor’s family also participated in the challenge, illustrating a practical link between classroom theory and real-world creative practice.
The Canvas module will host students’ art projects and provide opportunities for extra credit.
Concluding Orientation and Call to Participation
The welcome emphasizes community, curiosity, and collaboration in the RCC/RCCD learning environment.
Students are encouraged to explore the city, engage with campus spaces, and contribute to the course through creative projects and thoughtful discussions.
The instructor looks forward to getting to know students through office hours, online discussions, and ongoing activities.
Final reminder: the course will be enjoyable, rigorous, and open to diverse ways of knowing and learning, with a commitment to preparing students for exams and meaningful engagement with art history.