Purposeful destruction has occurred many times in the history of art. This undergraduate seminar examines the causes and theorization of such Iconoclasms through a number of case studies, including Christian destruction of pagan images; the Byzantine Iconoclasm; Maya breaking and reuse of images; image destruction in Renaissance Italy, Revolutionary France, and the two World Wars; and the more recent attacks of monuments and artifacts under the Taliban and ISIS.

This course fulfills the following Major requirements: Geographical area (E) and Chronological period (I) or (II), based on the topic of the final research paper or project.