The printing-press was defined in its own era as one of the major technological breakthroughs and markers of a new, early modern period. Woodcuts, engravings, and shortly afterwards, etchings emerged as the first visual mass media. While long neglected by mainstream art historians because of their "mechanical reproduction" (Benjamin) and frequently collaborative nature, prints are currently enjoying both historical and interpretive examination in an era of postmodernism. This seminar will interrogate the most important recent scholarly literature as well as the primary objects of prints (with visits to the PMA print room, perhaps also Princeton) from Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands from the origins of printmaking to the era of Rembrandt. Student contributions will consist of one critical response paper and one term paper.