Art History - Major

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 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.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Acquire competence in the historical, social and political contexts in which art was made

2. Develop critical thinking and writing skills

3. Build an awareness of the approach and methodology of art history as a discipline

4. Achieve an appreciation of and ability to analyze aesthetic qualities of art