When and why did artists begin painting the landscape  as  a
subject, not  merely a  setting?
Do painted landscapes always represent actual places?
What can a landscape painting reveal about politics?

This course explores artistic responses to the natural world—
crossing boundaries of time and geography. We will survey the
painted landscape in Europe, North America, and China from its
origins to the present day. Additionally, we will explore  ways  in
which  artists  have  altered  the natural environment,  from
Chinese gardens to the Earth Art of  1960s America. Along the way,
we will seek the cultural and political contexts for landscapes,
considering the reasons artists have chosen the natural world as
subject or as material and how others have understood (or not) their
works of art.