Art History (Minor)
Amy Marie Converse, PhD
Chair
The minor in Art History offers a distinct yet complementary program in relation to other departments, one that is committed to historical inquiry and the critical analysis of art at all levels of learning. We explore and critique canonical and liminal artistic traditions, and look for ways that the study of art history interpenetrates and illuminates other discourses and disciplines.
Students will find that coursework in the minor and in the program overall encourages them to develop an independent critical involvement with works of art and visual culture, to examine changing historical conceptions of art and the artist, and to explore the visual arts in their wider cultural and political contexts. In this program, we explore the evolution of salient methodologies toward art, and look for interdisciplinary tools to examine the wider impact of such shifts over time.
Woodbury’s Art History program provides students with an understanding of the history of Modern and Contemporary Art, and a comprehension of the concept of Modernism and its legacy in the field. We train students to consider the historical, social, and political contexts of art in terms of events and ideas; to evaluate visual, theoretical, and historical information; and to engage with theory, practice, and reflection through reading, research, and writing. Students who fulfill the requirements for the minor will receive a solid foundation in critical methodologies that will inform and enrich their major course of study, whatever that may be.
Student Learning Outcomes
Learning outcomes express the kinds of abilities, knowledge, and values that students can expect to be taught and to learn in the Art History program and its courses.
- Students will explain how history corresponds to art, and art to history, in oral presentations and written work.
- Students will discuss different forms of art in an informed, analytical, and visually critical way in oral presentations and written work.
- Students will discuss the idea and effects of visual culture, particularly within the fields of media and design.
- Students will evaluate works of art from different points of view, through their own analysis and the use of primary and secondary texts.
- Students will contextualize 20th and 21st century art, in terms of historical, social, and political events and ideas in oral presentations and written work.
- Students will demonstrate comprehension of the concept of Modernism and its legacy in this field in oral presentations and written work.
- Students will examine critically the relationship between theory and practice in 20th and 21st century art, and the interaction between the two, in oral presentations and written work.
- Students will evaluate the role of museums and galleries as part of the curatorial field in oral presentations and written work.
- Students will evaluate visual, theoretical, and historical information through first-hand study of works of art.
- Students will demonstrate research and writing skills specific to the discipline of art history.
- Students will use libraries, bibliographies, catalogues, and periodicals in a scholarly fashion.
Curriculum Summary
Art History Minor Curriculum
Students must complete two courses: ARTH 2__ (Lower Division Art History Course).
Students must complete three courses from the following options: ARTH 331, ARTH 332, ARTH 333, ARTH 334, ARTH 337, ARTH 338, ARTH 339, ARTH 340, ARTH 341, ARTH 342, ARTH 343, ARTH (Topics in Art History), and ARTH 375.
| ARTH 2__ | Lower Division Art History Course | 3 |
| ARTH 2__ | Lower Division Art History Course | 3 |
| ARTH 331 | History of Modern Painting | 3 |
| ARTH 332 | History of Photography | 3 |
| ARTH 333 | History of Land Art | 3 |
| ARTH 334 | Curatorial Studies: Theory and Criticism | 3 |
| ARTH 337 | Video Art: Blurred History, Theory, Practice | 3 |
| ARTH 338 | History of Performance Art | 3 |
| ARTH 339 | History of Art and Violence | 3 |
| ARTH 340 | History of Zombie Films, Art, Literature | 3 |
| ARTH 341 | History of Avant-Garde Film | 3 |
| ARTH 342 | Art Theory and Practice | 3 |
| ARTH 343 | History Digital Art and Electronic Media | 3 |
| ARTH 37_ | Topics in Art History | 3 |
| ARTH 375 | Field Experience | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |