Mar 28, 2024  
2022-2023 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2022-2023 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Art History - Major


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Art history focuses on architecture, painting, and sculpture, as well as on photography, film, performance art, decorative art, historiography, and critical methodology. Art historians study works of art in terms of aesthetic, cultural, and historical issues. The field is concerned with the definitions of style, materials, and modes of execution, in addition to iconographic and other interpretive methods; it also addresses the economic, religious, philosophic, theoretic, and social factors that shape visual culture.

Graduates in the field of art history have found opportunities in art-related fields such as art magazine and book publishing, art galleries, and art councils. Other professional opportunities, however, are available to those who pursue the study of art history at the graduate level, since an advanced degree is requisite for a career in teaching or curatorial work in a museum.

The mission is to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed as active members of the art historical profession. To accomplish this mission, students:

  • Acquire knowledge of diverse cultures and their artistic production from the prehistoric through the post-modern eras.
  • Study artistic styles and developments in the Ancient Near East, Greece, Rome, Egypt, Islam, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, American, Modern, and Asian cultures and periods.
  • Gain factual knowledge about art historical terminology, classifications, methods, and trends.
  • Develop skills in the areas of oral and written communication, critical thinking, visual analysis, and research strategies.

Student Learning Outcomes

  1. Analyze the manners in which art reflects the cultural (historical, social, political, etc.) contexts in which art was made 
  2. Learn appropriate terminology of creative processes and of artistic movements 
  3. Recognize aesthetic qualities of a work of art or of an artistic movement
  4. Apply knowledge from multiple disciplines to deepen relational understanding
  5. Appraise and evaluate the ways in which artists participate in the creation of culture

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Student Learning Outcomes
Students in the Art and Design Department will show respect for all forms of diversity, practice, inclusivity, and engage in a continual process of education and critical self-reflection & dialogue.  Students will be able to: 

  • Acknowledge that individuals of diverse racial & ethnic, gender & sexuality, religious, class & cultural backgrounds create art.
  • Recognize that artmaking is an expressive practice comprising not only individual perspectives, narratives and experiences but also cultural, social, economic and political issues.
  • Synthesize knowledge from multiple disciplines including diverse traditional and contemporary art movements with their own artistic and/or scholarly vision to create unique and meaningful works of art, design or scholarship.
  • Analyze, reflect upon, discuss and/or write about their own and others’ works of art and design using culturally sensitive and inclusive language.
  • Understand the ways in which traditional art associations (including collections, apprentice workshops, museums, galleries and academies) embody institutionally biased practices.
  • Assess the symbiotic dialogue between artists and their culture, recognizing that they both reflect and influence each other.

Core Curriculum Requirements


All Nazareth students complete Core Curriculum coursework as part of their degree requirements. The Core provides a foundation in the liberal arts and sciences while guiding students to pose and explore their own intellectual questions. See Academic Policies and Procedures  for specific core curriculum requirements. 

Senior Experience for Art History Major


Art historians are expected to conduct research that leads to new points of view, and are expected to be able to present their findings in public venues.  During their final semester of study at Nazareth, Art History majors are required to give a formal presentation of their scholarly work to art faculty and students.  This presentation develops from an academic paper written for an upper level course.

Sample Program for Art History Major


Freshman Year


  • Modern Foreign Language Credits: 6
  • Perspectives - Enduring Questions (P-EQ) Credits: 3
  • Perspectives - Enduring Questions (P-EQ) Math and Science with Lab Credits: 7
  • Health and Wellness Credits: 0

As well as:

Sophomore Year


  • Perspectives - Enduring Questions (P-EQ) Credits: 9
  • Integrative Studies (IS) Credits: 6

As well as:

Junior Year


  • AHI 343G Art of Indigenous Peoples  Credits: 3
  • Integrative Studies (IS) Credits: 3
  • Experiential Learning (EL) Pathway Credits: 0
  • Art History Elective Credits: 9
  • Liberal Arts Elective Credits: 6
  • Electives Credits: 9

Senior Year


  • Art History Elective Credits: 9
  • Elective Credits: 18
  • Core Milestone Experience (CME) Credits: 0

As well as:

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