This course will present material on the history of ceramics from the Neolithic to the beginning of the 20th Century. The course is structured around aesthetics and themes specific to ceramics, and one of these will be reviewed each week through a visual presentation followed by an assigned reading. Beyond chronology and geography, the material presented and discussed weekly will focus on the social and aesthetic contexts, in order to engage with an examination of meaning in ceramics and analyze the fundamental role it plays within history and culture, as well as art, design, craft and media practices. Research, postings, presentations, responses and written assignments are an integral part of this course.