Art History expands one’s appreciation of art. Art history courses consider art, craft, design, architecture, and media through the lenses of history, religion, anthropology, geography, psychology, ethnicity, identity and more. A major in art history not only prepares students for graduate work in art history and careers in museums, galleries and arts administration, but it also develops skills that are essential to many other professions, such as acute visual observation and verbal and written exposition and argumentation. A focus in art history can be combined with a minor in Museum Studies (see Museum Studies 698).
B.A. degree Requirements
CORE CURRICULUM FOR ART HISTORY (9 CREDITS)
All courses listed are 3 credits unless otherwise indicated
Select two from the following:
- 50:082:101 Introduction to Art History
- 50:082:102 Introduction to Art History II
- 50:082:104 Introduction to the Arts of Asia
- 50:698:105 Cross-Cultural Art History
Required
- 50:082:490 Art History, Theory, Method
ADDITIONAL ART HISTORY DISTRIBUTION REQUIREMENTS (15 CREDITS)
Select one course from 5 of the following 6 areas.
Some courses fulfill distribution requirements depending on the specific material covered in that course in a particular semester. Consult with your advisor to determine what distribution area is covered when you register. A partial list of these courses is:
- 50:082:200 Gender and the Arts
- 50:082:202 History of Design
- 50:082:305 Women in Art
- 50:082:394 Learning Abroad
Ancient
- 50:082:206 Art of the Ancient Near East
- 50:082:207 Art of Egypt
- 50:082:208 Greek Art and Archeology
- 50:082:209 Art of Ancient Rome
- 50:082:303 Art of the Silk Road
Medieval & Renaissance
- 50:082:203 Medieval Art and Culture
- 50:082:204 Renaissance Art
- 50:082:313 Renaissance Art of Northern Europe
- 50:082:320 Art of the Middle Ages
- 50:082:333 Italian Renaissance Art
17th – 19th Centuries
- 50:082:210 Arts of Power: Seventeenth & Eighteenth Century Europe
- 50:082:237 Nineteenth Century Art
- 50:082:267 American Art
- 50:082:340 Art in the Age of Discovery
Design & Media
- 50:082:202 History of Design
- 50:082:280 Art in an Age of Mechanized and Electronic Media
- 50:082:316 Art of Film
- 50:082:380 History of Animation
- 50:082:381 Japanese Animation
- 50:082:382 History of Graphic Design
- 50:082:383 History of Photography
Modern & Contemporary
- 50:082:214 Global Modern Art
- 50:082:238 Twentieth Century Art
- 50:082:251 Modern Architecture
- 50:082:352 European Modern Art: 1880-1940
- 50:082:353 Modern Art: 1940-1980
- 50:082:354 Contemporary Art
- 50:082:368 Twentieth-Century American Art
- 50:082:395 Sculpture of the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries
In & Beyond the West
- 50:082:200 Gender and the Arts
- 50:082:201 LGBTQ/Race and Popular Culture
- 50:082:212 Japanese Art
- 50:082:213 Chinese Art
- 50:082:229 Art of the Americas
- 50:082:266 African American Art
- 50:082:285 Art of Africa
- 50:082:286 Latin American Art and Culture
- 50:082:305 Women and Art
- 50:082:329 Pre-Columbian and Meso-American Art
ART HISTORY ELECTIVES (9 CREDITS)
An elective may be drawn from any 200-level or higher Art History or Museum Studies course not already counted in the Distribution Requirements, including 50:082:491 Individual Study in Art History.
Students are encouraged to add an elective from Studio course offerings.
The total number of required courses in the Art History concentration is 11; the total number of credits is 33.
Note: Students intending to pursue graduate study in art history are strongly encouraged to pursue the museum studies minor (see Museum Studies 698). In addition, students should take the equivalent of four semesters of college-level courses in a foreign language, usually French or German, and should strongly consider participating in the art history honors program in their senior year. Because works of art express the ideas of the culture of which they are a part, the study of art history is strengthened by a knowledge of archaeology, cultural anthropology, history, literature, philosophy, religion, urban studies, and other related disciplines. In consultation with their advisers, students should select appropriate languages and courses in related subjects.
DEPARTMENTAL HONORS PROGRAM IN ART HISTORY
50:082:497 & 498 Honors in Art History I & II is a two-semester independent research project on a specific topic, leading to an honors thesis written under the supervision of a member of the art history faculty.
Prerequisites: Candidates for honors in art history must, at the end of their junior year, have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.2 or better, and an average of 3.5 or better in the major. Both semesters’ courses must be completed to receive credit in honors. Art History expand one’s appreciation of art. Art History courses consider art, craft, design, architecture, and media through the lenses of history, religion, anthropology, geography, psychology, ethnicity, identity, and more. A major in art history not only prepares students for graduate work in art history and careers in museums, galleries and arts administration, but it also develops skills that are essential to many other professions, such as acute visual observation and verbal and written exposition and argumentation. A focus in art history can be combined with the minor on Museum Studies (see Museum Studies 698).