In no other cultural tradition has landscape played a more important role in the arts than that of China. In China, nature imagery has long been read as a metaphor for the individual's values and beliefs. Some flowers and plants may symbolize moral values, and hermitages in the wilderness can suggest political protest. In the course of surveying the evolution of landscape in Chinese art, this undergraduate seminar will address several critical questions, including: Under what sorts of conditions does landscape arise as a genre? What kinds of issues have been addressed through the landscape genre? What sorts of social groups have supported the landscape genre and what sorts of values can be encoded, debated, or negotiated through the forms of landscape? An exhibition of Chinese landscape painting at WCMA will provide examples for the class. In addition, we shall read secondary sources on landscape painting in Western art so as to provide a basis for comparative discussion. Format: lecture/discussion. Evaluation: short writing assignments, painting, group projects, quiz, oral presentation and class participation. No prerequisites:. Enrollment limit: 16 (expected: 16). Preference given to Art History majors. This course satisfies the non-Western requirement.