College Schools, Departments & Programs
Art History
Major in Art History—B.A.
Purpose
The B.A. Major in Art History acquaints students with the major developments in the history of art and the discipline and methods of art history, and places works of art in the context of the periods and cultures in which it was produced. The curriculum provides students with a balance of training in the practice, theory, and history of the visual arts in order to enhance their understanding of human sensibility and its diverse potential. In their classes, faculty members foster an intellectual environment in which the highest levels of creativity and critical thinking in the visual arts are studied, practiced and learned.
Requirements
Students must complete at least 33 credit hours in the Art History major, including the CASE Credit Hour and Residency Requirements and the following:
- Survey Courses. Complete two (2) of the following:
- ARTH-A 101 Ancient and Medieval Art
- ARTH-A 102 Renaissance through Modern Art
- ARTH-A 155 Introduction to African Art
- ARTH-A 160 Introduction to East Asian Art
- Area Courses. Complete at least eight (8) courses from 2b below, ensuring that the requirements in 2a are met:
- Area Courses Requirements
- Courses must be selected from at least four (4) different areas listed in 2b
- At least 18 credit hours must be at the 300–400 level, at least 6 of which must be at the 400 level
- Area Courses List
-
Ancient Art
- ARTH-A 206 Classical Art and Archaeology
- ARTH-A 210 Topics in Ancient Art
- ARTH-A 214 Art and Life in Ancient Rome
- ARTH-A 310 Topics in Ancient Art
- ARTH-A 311 Art of the Classical Age of Greece
- ARTH-A 312 Art of the Roman Empire
- ARTH-A 313 Greek Pottery and Painting
- ARTH-A 314 History of Greek Sculpture
- ARTH-A 315 The Body in Classical Art
- ARTH-A 316 Ancient Art from Alexander the Great to Augustus
- ARTH-A 410 Topics in Ancient Art
- ARTH-A 411 Art and Archaeology of Anatolia
- ARTH-A 412 The Art and Archaeology of the Aegean
- ARTH-A 413 The Art and Archaeology of Greece
- ARTH-A 414 The Art and Archaeology of Rome
- ARTH-A 415 Roman Painting
- ARTH-A 416 Greek Architecture
- ARTH-A 417 Roman Sculpture
- ARTH-A 418 Roman Architecture
-
Medieval Art
- ARTH-A 224 The Gothic Cathedral
- ARTH-A 226 Envisioning the Sacred: Survey of Medieval Art
- ARTH-A 321 Romans and Barbarians: Early Medieval Art
- ARTH-A 322 Romanesque and Gothic Art
- ARTH-A 323 Illuminated Manuscripts in the Middle Ages: Form, Function, and Audience
- ARTH-A 326 The Golden Age of Justinian: Art in the Sixth Century Mediterranean
- ARTH-A 329 Topics in Medieval Art
- ARTH-A 421 Pagans and Christians: Christian Art in the Roman Empire
- ARTH-A 423 Romanesque Art
- ARTH-A 425 Heaven on Earth: Art and the Church in Byzantine
- ARTH-A 426 The Medieval City
-
Renaissance and Baroque Art
- ARTH-A 205 Baroque Art in Europe: From Caravaggio to Rembrandt
- ARTH-A 231 The Age of Giants: Art in the Time of Leonardo and Michelangelo
- ARTH-A 233 Renaissance and Baroque Art in Italy 1250-1700
- ARTH-A 234 Renaissance Florence
- ARTH-A 303 The Art and Ideas of Eighteenth-Century Europe and America
- ARTH-A 330 Art of Renaissance and Baroque
- ARTH-A 331 Fourteenth- and Fifteenth-Century Art in Italy
- ARTH-A 332 Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Art in Southern Europe
- ARTH-A 333 From Van Eyck to Vermeer
- ARTH-A 335 Baroque Art in Italy, 1580-1700
- ARTH-A 337 Age of Rubens and Rembrandt
- ARTH-A 432 Italian Art of the Sixteenth Century
- ARTH-A 436 Italian Art of the Fifteenth Century
- ARTH-A 437 Playing with Pictures in the Fifteenth-Century Netherlands
- ARTH-A 482 Sixteenth-Century Visual Culture in Northern Europe
-
Modern and Contemporary Art
- ARTH-A 203 Machine Age Modern: European Modernism, 1848-1939
- ARTH-A 243 History of Photography: An Introduction
- ARTH-A 260 1968 and Its Material Legacies
- ARTH-A 280 The Art of Comics
- ARTH-A 282 The Art of the Comic Book
- ARTH-A 336 The Graphic Novel
- ARTH-A 340 Topics in Modern Art
- ARTH-A 341 Nineteenth-Century European Art
- ARTH-A 342 Twentieth-Century Art
- ARTH-A 345 American Art to 1913
- ARTH-A 347 Picasso
- ARTH-A 348 American Architecture
- ARTH-A 349 Dada and Surrealism
- ARTH-A 353 Art in America: 1945 to the Present
- ARTH-A 354 Contemporary Art: 1960 to the Present
- ARTH-A 428 Comics and the Art World
- ARTH-A 434 Visual Culture of the Interwar Years
- ARTH-A 440 Nineteenth-Century Painting I
- ARTH-A 441 Nineteenth-Century Painting II
- ARTH-A 442 Twentieth-Century Art, 1900–1945
- ARTH-A 443 History of Twentieth-Century Photography
- ARTH-A 445 American Art to 1860
- ARTH-A 446 American Art, 1865-1945
- ARTH-A 447 Modernism and Anti-Modernism in American Art, 1900-1945
- ARTH-A 449 Twentieth-Century Art, 1925-Present
- ARTH-A 450 History of Photography
- ARTH-A 455 Modern Architecture and Design
- ARTH-A 469 Installation Art
- ARTH-A 480 Russian Art
- ARTH-A 484 Experience/Experiment: Modern and Contemporary Intersections of Art and Science
-
Islamic Art
- ARTH-A 281 Introduction to Islamic Art and Visual Culture
- ARTH-A 327 Survey of Islamic Art
- ARTH-A 459 The Painted Image in the Islamic World
- ARTH-A 489 Topics in Islamic Art
-
Asian Art
- ARTH-A 204 Buddha and Beyond: Keywords for the Study of East Asian Buddhist Art
- ARTH-A 262 Introduction to Japanese Art and Culture
- ARTH-A 360 Topics in East Asian Art
- ARTH-A 464 Art and Archaeology of Early China
- ARTH-A 465 Later Chinese Art
- ARTH-A 466 Early Chinese Painting
- ARTH-A 467 Later Chinese Painting
-
African/Oceanic/pre-Columbian Art
- ARTH-A 255 Topics in African Art History
- ARTH-A 350 Topics in African, Oceanic, and Pre-Columbian American Art
- ARTH-A 351 Art of the South Pacific
- ARTH-A 352 Art of Eastern and Southern Africa
- ARTH-A 355 Art, Craft, and Technology in Sub-Saharan Africa
- ARTH-A 356 Art of Central Africa
- ARTH-A 452 Art of Pre-Columbian America
- ARTH-A 453 Art of Sub-Saharan Africa I: Arts of Africa's Western Sudan
- ARTH-A 454 Art of Sub-Saharan Africa II: Arts of the West African Coast
- ARTH-A 458 Topics in the Ethnographic Arts
-
Art Theory
- ARTH-A 276 Eye of the Beholder: Art and Perception
- ARTH-A 375 Topics in Art Theory
- ARTH-A 483 Toys and the Visual Culture of Play
-
- Area Courses Requirements
- Studio/Design Practice. Complete one (1) course from the Studio/Design Practice List below:
-
Studio/Design Practice Course List
- SOAD-A 101 Creative Core: Color
- SOAD-A 102 Creative Core: Drawing
- SOAD-A 103 Creative Core: 3D Design
- SOAD-A 211 Cross-Disciplinary Workshops in Art, Design, and Merchandising
- SOAD-C 181 Design: Creative Revolution
- SOAD-C 280 Introduction to Comprehensive Design
- SOAD-D 168 Beginning Interior Architectural Design Studio
- SOAD-F 207 Fashion Studio I
- SOAD-N 110 Introduction to Studio Art for Non-Majors
- SOAD-N 130 Digital Imagery for Non-Majors
- SOAD-N 198 Introduction to Photography for Non-Majors
- SOAD-S 200 Drawing I
- SOAD-S 210 Digital Art: Survey and Practice
- SOAD-S 220 Textiles I
- SOAD-S 230 Painting I
- SOAD-S 240 Basic Printmaking Media
- SOAD-S 250 Graphic Design I
- SOAD-S 260 Ceramics I
- SOAD-S 270 Sculpture I
- SOAD-S 280 Metalsmithing and Jewelry Design I
- SOAD-S 290 Fundamentals of Photography
-
Students must complete the B.A. degree requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Recommendations
A reading knowledge of a foreign language and a minor in the humanities are recommended.
Residence Requirement
At least 18 credit hours of art history must be completed in residence on the Bloomington campus, including two courses at the 300 level and two courses at the 400 level.
Transferred Credit
All art history courses transferred from another institution or campus must be evaluated by the director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Art History before they may be applied toward the major.