Making use of the Royal Ontario Museum’s excellent Chinese art collection, this object-based and oriented seminar encourages exploration of the ideas and practices behind works of Chinese art. We examine art and artifacts in relation to their social environment and historical contexts, paying close attention to such issues as political practices, power and authority, identity, gender, and materiality. Other relevant topics include patronage, audience, religious quests, and literati culture. Depending on special Chinese exhibitions of the year at the ROM, the course may incorporate case-studies of relevant exhibition content.