ARTH - Art History Major
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Program Description
Major effective prior to 2011
Modifications Made to Curriculum: Fall 2013, Fall 2015, Fall 2020
Art History has a distinguished heritage as a field of cultural, social, and intellectual history in the Humanities. Works of art and architecture are tangible documents that need to be assessed on their own merits and, simultaneously, as reflections of the human experience. The program is an exploration of the visual arts, past and present, as forms of communication which are shaped by the physical, cultural, political, psychological and/or economic contexts in which the work of art or architecture was made. Our field seeks to understand works of art and architecture and their meanings on many levels.
Internships
Advanced students are encouraged to take internships yielding professional job experience in museum, or gallery work or in other art-related fields. The Art History Department may act as liaison to arrange internships in the surrounding area and in New York City at institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, Christie’s and Sotheby’s auction houses, major galleries, foundations, and regional centers. Course credit for such work must be earned under the academic internship program (see course).
Advanced Placement (AP) examinations
Students who receive a score of 4 or 5 on the art history examination should consult with the department about the possibility of exemption from one introductory Art History course.
Requisites
Requirements for the Major (48 credits)
I. Introductory Surveys (8 credits)
Complete all of the following:
course - Survey of Art: Ancient and Medieval
course - Survey of Art: Early Modern, Modern, and Contemporary
II. Early Period (4 credits)
Complete 4 credits, selected from the following:
III. Renaissance or Baroque (4 credits)
Complete 4 credits, selected from the following:
IV. Modern Period (4 credits)
Complete 4 credits, selected from the following:
course - 19th-Century European Art: Neoclassicism to Post-Impressionism
course - Early 20th-Century Art
course - American Art
V. Non-Euro-American (4 credits)
Complete 4 credits, selected from the following:
course - Islamic Art
course - Native Arts and Archaeology of Latin America
course - Arts of Africa and The Diaspora
course - The Art of Ancient Egypt: History and Modern Myth
course - Arts of Asia
Students may petition to substitute a Comparative Humanities course for this requirement when that course is at least half art history in content.
VI. Additional (12 credits)
Complete 12 credits, selected from the following:
course - Colloquium in Art History
course - New York Semester on Contemporary Art (only 4 credits of ARTH 385 may be applied to the major in this section)
course - Directed Research in Art History
course - Research Seminar Capstone
VII. Studio Courses (8 credits)
Complete 8 credits of studio courses offered by the Art Department.
VIII. Electives (4 credits)
Students can fulfill this major requirement by either taking course for 8 credits or by taking one additional 4-credit intermediate- or upper-level Art History course listed above, or from the following:
course - Introduction to Museum Studies and Cultural Management
course - History of Photography
course - History of Architecture from A to Z: Alberti to Zaha Hadid
course - Museum Studies and Cultural Management Practicum
Notes
Special Topics: Each year additional courses will be offered on more specific topics, such as Medieval Manuscripts; Gender , Sexuality, and the Victorian Visual Culture; and Monuments and Memorials. These will be offered under course - Colloquium in Art History, course - Special Topics in Art History, and course - Research Seminar Capstone. We urge students to take a variety of additional courses beyond the basic requirements.
Languages: Proficiency in French, Italian, or German is recommended if students anticipate pursuing a graduate degree in Art History.
Regular use of New York and area museums and galleries is considered part of all course work.