Course Syllabus

Course Information：

Year-Semester Course Number Course Name Phase Credits Hours Required/Elective Instructor Class Student NO. Withdraw Note

Spring Semester
Year 2026 355304 Culture of Artifacts 1 2.0 2 ▲ Ya-Hsuan Wang 4CVD2 39 0 　

Year-Semester	Course Number	Course Name	Phase	Credits	Hours	Required/Elective	Instructor	Class	Student NO.	Withdraw	Note
Spring Semester Year 2026	355304	Culture of Artifacts	1	2.0	2	▲	Ya-Hsuan Wang	4CVD2	39	0

Course Plan：

Instructor Ya-Hsuan Wang　Office Hours

Email musechelsea@gmail.com

Last Updated 2025-12-18 23:33:39

Course Objective This course explores world history through significant visual and material cultural artifacts from civilization. In the past, when historical research was dominated by written records, understanding art, visual languages, and material culture was considered a complex and specialized field with high barriers to entry. The course is designed based on the concept of "time as the warp, materials as the weft," introducing the scope and diversity of material culture studies. By incorporating diverse museum collections, objects, materials, and documents, this course aims to break through the boundaries of academic specialization, making material culture to be the part of aesthetics education for a broader audience. The course not only allows students to engage with the latest scholarly developments but also encourages them to recognize that culture can be narrated not only through textual sources, but also through material and visual culture, which are equally vital mediums for recording and interpreting the past.

Course Schedule Week 1 (2/26) Course Introduction Week 2 (3/05) Overview of Objects (Discover Your Personality Through Cultural Artifacts) Week 3 (3/12) The Birth of Pottery: Painted and Black Pottery in the Neolithic Era Week 4 (3/19) Bronze Ritual Vessels and Ritual Culture in the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties (Seminar/Topic Discussion) Week 5 (3/26) Bronze Ritual Vessels and Ritual Culture in the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties (Seminar/Topic Discussion) Week 6 (4/02) The Archaeological Discovery of the Terracotta Warriors of Qin Week 7 (4/09) Tang Sancai (Seminar/Reflection Discussion) Week 8 (4/16) Field trip to museum (tentative, selected from exhibitions) Week 9 (4/23) Midterm Exam: Analysis of Artifacts or Exhibition Cases (Group Presentations & Discussions) Week 10 (4/30) Song Ceramics and Literati Aesthetics Week 11 (5/07) Representative Kilns and Artistic Features of Song Ceramics Week 12 (5/14) Maritime Trade Artifacts and Global Interaction (Seminar/Topic Discussion) Week 13 (5/21) Antique Glass and Aesthetic Development Week 14 (5/28) Field trip to museum (tentative, selected from exhibitions) Week 15 (6/04) The Aesthetics and Symbolism of Decorative Motifs (Seminar/Topic Discussion) Week 16 (6/11) The Aesthetics and Symbolism of Decorative Motifs (Seminar/Topic Discussion) Week 17 (6/18) Final Presentations Week 18 (6/25) Review and Feedback

Evaluation and grading policy Attendance: 20% Class Participation & Discussion: 20% Midterm Report: 30% Final Report: 30%

Materials All right reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Foreign-language textbooks:No
The Magic of Kneaded Clay, Yu Pei-jin (edited 2014). Published Sep 2014. National Palace Museum. ISBN 9789575627126 What Objects Mean: An Introduction to Material Culture, Arthur Asa Berger, Published June 1, 2014. Routledge. ISBN 9781611329049 Material culture in the social world, Dant Tim, Published 1999. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). ISBN 9780335198214

The access to curricular consultation Consultation time：Ｗed. 10-3pm, Thu. 4pm-6pm
Professor email: chelsea@mail.ntut.edu.tw
Arrange meetings according to teacher consultation time.

The course corresponds to the SDGs SDG4：優質教育（Quality Education）

Does the course incorporate AI ● 使用生成式AI作為教學過程的輔助工具（Use generative AI tools as an aid to the teaching process）
● 鼓勵學生使用生成式AI工具（Encourage students to use generative AI tools）

Note
　

Instructor	Ya-Hsuan Wang　Office Hours
Email	musechelsea@gmail.com
Last Updated	2025-12-18 23:33:39
Course Objective	This course explores world history through significant visual and material cultural artifacts from civilization. In the past, when historical research was dominated by written records, understanding art, visual languages, and material culture was considered a complex and specialized field with high barriers to entry. The course is designed based on the concept of "time as the warp, materials as the weft," introducing the scope and diversity of material culture studies. By incorporating diverse museum collections, objects, materials, and documents, this course aims to break through the boundaries of academic specialization, making material culture to be the part of aesthetics education for a broader audience. The course not only allows students to engage with the latest scholarly developments but also encourages them to recognize that culture can be narrated not only through textual sources, but also through material and visual culture, which are equally vital mediums for recording and interpreting the past.
Course Schedule	Week 1 (2/26) Course Introduction Week 2 (3/05) Overview of Objects (Discover Your Personality Through Cultural Artifacts) Week 3 (3/12) The Birth of Pottery: Painted and Black Pottery in the Neolithic Era Week 4 (3/19) Bronze Ritual Vessels and Ritual Culture in the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties (Seminar/Topic Discussion) Week 5 (3/26) Bronze Ritual Vessels and Ritual Culture in the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties (Seminar/Topic Discussion) Week 6 (4/02) The Archaeological Discovery of the Terracotta Warriors of Qin Week 7 (4/09) Tang Sancai (Seminar/Reflection Discussion) Week 8 (4/16) Field trip to museum (tentative, selected from exhibitions) Week 9 (4/23) Midterm Exam: Analysis of Artifacts or Exhibition Cases (Group Presentations & Discussions) Week 10 (4/30) Song Ceramics and Literati Aesthetics Week 11 (5/07) Representative Kilns and Artistic Features of Song Ceramics Week 12 (5/14) Maritime Trade Artifacts and Global Interaction (Seminar/Topic Discussion) Week 13 (5/21) Antique Glass and Aesthetic Development Week 14 (5/28) Field trip to museum (tentative, selected from exhibitions) Week 15 (6/04) The Aesthetics and Symbolism of Decorative Motifs (Seminar/Topic Discussion) Week 16 (6/11) The Aesthetics and Symbolism of Decorative Motifs (Seminar/Topic Discussion) Week 17 (6/18) Final Presentations Week 18 (6/25) Review and Feedback
Evaluation and grading policy	Attendance: 20% Class Participation & Discussion: 20% Midterm Report: 30% Final Report: 30%
Materials	All right reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Foreign-language textbooks:No The Magic of Kneaded Clay, Yu Pei-jin (edited 2014). Published Sep 2014. National Palace Museum. ISBN 9789575627126 What Objects Mean: An Introduction to Material Culture, Arthur Asa Berger, Published June 1, 2014. Routledge. ISBN 9781611329049 Material culture in the social world, Dant Tim, Published 1999. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). ISBN 9780335198214
The access to curricular consultation	Consultation time：Ｗed. 10-3pm, Thu. 4pm-6pm Professor email: chelsea@mail.ntut.edu.tw Arrange meetings according to teacher consultation time.
The course corresponds to the SDGs	SDG4：優質教育（Quality Education）
Does the course incorporate AI	● 使用生成式AI作為教學過程的輔助工具（Use generative AI tools as an aid to the teaching process） ● 鼓勵學生使用生成式AI工具（Encourage students to use generative AI tools）
Note