FINA - Fine Arts

An integrated study of history and appreciation of art and music in Western culture from ancient times to present. (Part of the Humanities Core Curriculum.)

This course offers an understanding of the importance and impact of the arts and the outstanding artists of the modern era from the Christian point of view, teaching students to discern the message behind the forms. It also shows the relationship between the general spirit of culture and artistic expression. Not open to students with credit in FINA-180.

This course is an introduction to humanities including various eras of historic artistic activity by recognizing and describing foundational music and visual art elements among selected historic examples. With an emphasis on developing an aesthetic capacity, the student will learn to critically perceive the meanings, inspirations, and values associated with music and art as filtered by the cultural conditions under which they were created. Particular emphasis is placed on how art influenced the development of Christianity in Western society with application for the present.

In this course, you will be introduced to the discipline of connoisseurship in learning to appreciate historic fine art. By surveying various time periods of artistic activity in Western culture, you will learn to describe the unique stylistic characteristics of fine art among various forms and genres. Included will be biographical studies of leading artists and musicians associated with selected historic eras. With an emphasis on developing your aesthetic capacity, you will learn to write critical reviews of music and art as well. The expression of Christian beliefs and values in fine art will be reviewed as it contributes to the development of faith yet today.

This course prepares students to perform basic research in which they learn to use Off Campus Library Services (OCLS), electronic periodical indexes, and information resources. Students will identify and select appropriate material for inclusion in a college level research project which will be submitted at the conclusion of the course.