The Department of Art's course offerings in art history are meant to serve a variety of needs for students in the art department and across campus. Through surveys, focused studies, and advanced seminars, students acquire a strong understanding of the history of art on a global scale. Regular course offerings in the arts of Europe, the United States, Africa, Mexico, Asia, and Oceania are complemented by special topics courses on areas related to faculty research interests. The department's diverse faculty, including art historians, art educators, and studio artists, offers a number of opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaboration towards the study of the visual arts. Along with developing their knowledge of specific art objects within their historical and cultural context, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with history of materials and image-making technologies, increase their understanding of the role of art objects in a global context, and critically consider their own artwork in conversation with a broader history of image-making. In addition, students are invited to participate in study trips to Washington, D.C., and New York, to view original objects on display in museums, to visit artists studio spaces, and to attend lectures. Periodically, international study art history programs are offered to sites in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Mexico.
The department offers several contexts for the study of art history:
B.A. in Art with a concentration in Art History
Students who wish to make art history their main course of study at ASU can pursue a B.A. in art with a concentration in art history. Students take a total of 33 semester hours of art history courses, including surveys and advanced courses. The concentration in art history will provide students with a broad understanding of the history of art production on a global scale, as well as allowing for close studies of individual time periods and artists. The program prepares students for graduate studies in art history and careers as museum and teaching professionals. This program no longer requires students to pass the portfolio review required of other programs in the art department.
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Minor in Art History
A minor in art history consists of 18 semester hours. Students are required to take the two art history survey courses and the Seminar in Art Criticism and Theory. In addition, art history minors choose nine semester hours of art history electives. Students may choose to pursue this minor in art history track with or without Foundations Portfolio Review.
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Major requirements for other students in the art department
Art history forms an integral part of the curriculum of all art students. All students majoring in art take at least 12 semester hours of art history. Art students are required to take the two art history survey courses which cover major developments in art from prehistoric times to the present. In addition, art majors take more specialized art history courses that correspond to their particular degree program or areas of studio concentration.
Students from outside the art department
Students from majors outside the department may take art history courses as part of their general education requirements, or to supplement their own studies in a particular area. Students from diverse disciplines, including english, anthropology, history, interdisciplinary studies, religion/philosophy, and education, have found the study of art history to be an integral component of their studies.
