Art History - Major

Art History is a discipline focusing on architecture, painting, sculpture, and also 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, iconographic and other interpretive methods, and with the economic, religious, philosophic, theoretic, and social factors that shape visual culture.

The field of Art History is a constantly expanding discipline that offers stimulating and challenging work. Graduates in the field 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 our students will:
 

• Acquire knowledge of diverse cultures and their artistic production in sculpture, painting, and architecture from the pre-historic 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