ObjectivesArt History provides a humanistic and intellectual foundation for the historian through courses in history and theory. The undergraduate curriculum attempts to help students understand the visual arts in their contexts. Emphasis is placed on the social, political, historical and religious contexts of art; visual analysis is also stressed. The department offers a wide variety of courses beginning with a general four-course survey and continuing on through all periods of Western and non-Western art. Class size varies from 400 students in survey classes to about 15 in some upper division courses with occasionally fewer students in Advanced Studies Seminars. Art History majors are required to take courses in a variety of areas, both Western and non-Western.
Course descriptionArt History majors frequently work in art-related fields or in art itself. With the B.A. degree, there are opportunities in a variety of areas, i.e., work in art galleries, auction houses, art libraries and stores dealing with art works and/or supplies, art-oriented positions such as tour guides, administrative buyers and art consultants.
The major provides an excellent background for students planning further education in professional or graduate schools. A Ph D. in Art History is required for teaching and research positions in colleges and universities. An M.A. sometimes prepares the student to teach in community or junior colleges or to work in a museum, but a Ph.D. is increasingly required for museum work. An Art History major is suitable preparation for graduate work in arts management. Some art historians become art critics.
Preparation for the Major
The department strongly encourages completion of the general education requirements in conjunction with preparing for the major.
Required Courses are: Four Art History survey courses, two Western and two non-Western, from the following eight courses: 50, 51, 54, 55A, 55B, 56A, 56B, 57- these survey courses are sometimes prerequisites to upper division courses. These courses entail enrolling in both the lecture and discussion section. Enrollment is through the discussion section and not the lecture itself.
The department requires two additional courses in the same language as the College Foreign Language requirement or two additional courses in another foreign language.