Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to: identify the major civilizations that influenced the visual arts prior from pre-history through the Gothic period; identify the major contributions (e.g., architecture, sculpture, mosaics, or paintings) and styles (e.g., stylized, geometric, or stylized) of art in each civilization from the ancient Near East to Europe during the gothic period; describe specific examples of major visual art pieces from civilizations from the ancient near east to Europe during the Gothic period (e.g., the Parthenon, the Hagia Sophia, or the dome of the rock); describe how politics and culture influenced the visual arts in civilizations from the ancient Near East to Europe during the Gothic period (e.g., how pharaohs were patrons of the arts in ancient Egypt or how the catholic church became an important force for maintaining art and learning during the middle ages); explain how the different civilizations influenced one another from the ancient Near East to Europe during the Gothic period (e.g., how Byzantine art influenced Islamic art); describe how different technological innovations and developments influenced the evolution of the visual arts in civilizations from the ancient Near East to Europe during the Gothic period (e.g., how concrete allowed romans to build more impressive structures or how advances in engineering allowed for elaborately designed churches in gothic Europe).