COURSE SYLLABUS

History & Styles of Interior Design and Decorative Arts I (IDC1030 76003)
Mondays, 6:30 9:30
Instructor: Elizabeth Scheuer
Email: elizabeth.scheuer@gmail.com
February 23rd March 23rd (5 sessions)
Location: Natural Sciences Building, room 2027
Course Description:
Explore important elements of interior styles and furnishings from antiquity to the
late 18th century. Understand the development of archetypal furniture forms and
private interiors, which were increasingly based on living functions. Gain insight
into Western civilizations fascination with ancient Greece and Rome, culminating in
neoclassicism as the dominant mode in Europe and America by the 1780s.
Course Objectives:
Students will learn how to identify the various historical movements and styles,
analyze their characteristic features, and describe them to others. They will be able
to recognize major historical developments, changes, and innovations related to
period interiors and their furnishings.
Reading Assignments:
Most of the readings will be from John Pile, A History of Interior Design. 4th Edition,
2013.
The required reading assignments are listed under the date when the reading
should be completed.
Presentation:
Students will give a 5 to 10 minute presentation on March 23rd. More details about
the presentation will be discussed on the first day of class.
Final Quiz:
There will be a final quiz on March 23rd. The quiz will consist of a series of slide
comparisons in which the students will be expected to identify, compare, contrast
the images, and discuss them within a larger cultural context. More information
about the quiz will be discussed on the first day of class.

Course Calendar:
Week I: February 23
Introduction to the course and its goals; overview of interior design history.
Ancient Egypt; Greece and Rome; Medieval Era.
Assigned reading: Pile, Ch. 1, pp.26-29; Ch. 2, pp. 32-47; Ch. 3, pp 49-51, 55-56, 6467; Ch. 5, pp. 113-121
Week II: March 2
Renaissance in Italy, France, and England
Assigned reading: Pile, Ch. 6, pp. 123-125, 142-145; Ch. 8, pp. 165-172; Ch. 9, pp.
195-198
Holman, Beth L. Disegno: Italian Renaissance Designs for the Decorative Arts, pp. 114, 15-18, 43-44, 61-65.
Glanville, Philippa. Silver, pp. 19-23
Week III: March 9
Baroque and Rococo in Italy and France
Assigned reading: Pile, Ch. 7, pp. 147-148, 161-163,; Ch. 8, 172-181
Waddy, Patricia. Inside the Palace: People and Furnishings, pp. 21-37
Walton, Guy. Louis XIVs Versailles. Ch. 9, pp. 114-127
Week IV: March 16
Due: Presentation topics for last week of class
Baroque and Rococo in England and the Netherlands
Assigned reading: Pile, Ch. 9, pp. 195-211
Westermann, Mariet, ed. Art & Home: Dutch Interiors in the Age of Rembrandt, pp.
15-47
Week V: March 23
In Class: Final Presentations and Quiz
Rococo to Neoclassicism; Colonial and Federal America
Assigned reading: Pile, Ch. 8, pp. 181-185; Ch. 10, pp. 213-231
Recommended reading: Irwin, David. Neoclassicism, pp. 12-30
Attendance:
Missing more than one lecture will seriously compromise your ability to complete
your assignments. Please contact the instructor immediately if there is a personal
emergency.