INDES 350 - History of Interiors & Furniture

5 CR

Surveys the main characteristics and motifs of Western interiors and furniture from antiquity to the 19th century. Students examine how people, social conditions, and technology influenced furniture design in each period. Class format includes illustrated lectures and discussions. Either INDES 150 or INDES 350 may be taken for credit, not both.

Course Outcomes

Identify and compare different styles of period furniture and interiors. For example, students would be able to create a project categorizing by style, pictures of historic furniture
Analyze the relationships of concurrent periods in France and in England with furniture design characteristics, and develop a comparative timeline of style
Use the following criteria to analyze how and why furniture took the form that it did in each historic period covered in the class:

Methods of construction
Materials used
Characteristics of furniture
Motifs used
Innovations developed
Significant historic or political events
Significant cultural, social, religious, geographic, or architectural influences on furniture design and construction
People that had significant influence on the design and development of historic furniture styles
Function of furniture
For example, students would be able to design a review chart that organizes and simplifies information about each style period into the above categories.
Explain and effectively apply vocabulary related to furniture anatomy, type, design and construction
Effectively present and defend analysis of main characteristics and motifs of Western interiors and furniture from antiquity to the 19th century in class presentations and discussions

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