The Visual Arts major is designed to prepare students to create, analyze, and critique visual art in a complex, rapidly changing global culture. The mission of the major is to empower students through the integration of technical applications and critical theories, to provide students with marketable skills, to assume creative, scholarly, and leadership roles in the visual arts field, and to promote an understanding of the role that the visual arts play in all facets of contemporary life. Concentrations are available in: Studio Arts and Art History.

Students must earn a C- or better in all major courses. Failure to earn this minimum grade will result in the need to repeat the course thereby possibly extending the student’s course of study beyond four years.

Learning Outcomes

B.A. in Visual Arts, Art History Concentration

Global and Intercultural Understanding

1. Students must understand the chronology and development of Western art.
2. Students must understand select non-Western cultures from pre-history to the present.
3. Students must demonstrate mastery of the course content through exams, quizzes, written and oral work.
4. Students must have knowledge of historical context.
5. Students must be proficient in analysis of historical and cultural discourse.
6. Students must have a knowledge of the art production of Western cultures from the Italian Renaissance through the Modern and/or Contemporary period and selected non-Western cultures, and the ability to evaluate critical issues in art history by demonstrating mastery the course content through exams, quizzes, written and oral work.

Analysis and Critical Thinking

1. Students must be able to critically analyze and interpret the varied contexts -social, political, cultural, economic, religious, theoretical, etc.- that works of art emerge from and shape through mastery of course content, readings for discussion, and research papers.
2. Students must be able to write creatively and critically about visual art, confidently utilizing diverse methodological approaches common in the discipline.
3. Students must be proficient in investigating appropriate sources, primary and secondary, in written work.
4. Students must execute discipline-specific modes of writing in art history, including research papers, exhibition reviews, exhibition didactics (labels, text panels), catalogue entries, etc. Student writing will also demonstrate knowledge of professional standards of style, word usage, citation, and illustration in art history.

Professional Practice and Presentation

1. Students must demonstrate the ability to communicate orally in the discipline through knowledge and use of specialized vocabulary and summarizing professional scholarship and articulating cogent criticism, evaluating content, clarity, and substance through discussions and presentations.
2. Students must have experiential opportunities to work with actual works of art through field trips to local and regional sites and course assignments, work with the university art collections, and curating or planning exhibitions for the university art gallery, in addition to an enhanced understanding of the institutions that display and conserve art collections.
3. Students must be prepared for graduate study in Art History, Museum Studies, Museum Education, or entry-level work in the art field through mastery of the curriculum and internships/independent studies

Curriculum

+Major Requirements

ART103	Intro to Visual Culture Visual Culture can be understood as the practice of scrutinizing visual items in both elite and popular culture; of determining how and what they mean to a variety of audiences; and of examining how those meanings might slip, change, or be changed according to both context and audience. Students examine a broad range of visual materials - from paintings to films - through the term of study.	3
ART117	Drawing I Through various drawing media, this studio course explores the basic principles of creating a work of visual art, including figure studies from the model, studies from nature, and techniques of composition. Additional Fee(s): Applied art fee.	3
ART132	History of World Art II: 1400 to Present This introductory survey focuses on Western art from the Renaissance to today and the art of selected non-Western cultures (including Japan, Africa, and Islamic countries) after 1400. It concentrates on the stylistic, technical, and expressive evolution of painting, architecture, and sculpture within specific historical contexts, yet also explores the cross-influences and interaction of non-Western and Western art as defining characteristics of the modern world.	3
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ART230W	Women and Art Women and Art addresses the work of women artists from the Renaissance to the present and images of women in Western art. Feminist approaches to the history of art are examined critically to determine their contribution to the history of art. This is a writing intensive course.	3
OR
ART309W	Art + Land: Artists Engage the Environment This course explores interactions between visual artists and the natural environment. It examines 15th- to 17th-century landscape painting and the role of landscape and national identity in the 19th century. It also explores the Earth Art movement that began in the 1960s and current investigations of art and sustainability.	3
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FDT300W	Critical Theory Critical theory offers a critical study of the key debates in theories of media and communication interfaced with cultural studies. This course also examines the communication circuit from production to consumption within the broader paradigms of cultural studies, feminism, politics of identity, and theories of ideology and postmodernism. Connections are made between these debates and wider debates in communication studies.	3
ART214	Design Studio This course is an introduction to the visual grammar of dynamic composition and form. In this studio course the student will study design with an emphasis on gaining an understanding of organizing principles that contribute to visual engaging and visual arrangements.	3
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ART254	Modern Art, 1900 to the Present In this course the student will be introduced to the major movements in European and American art since 1900. The first half will focus on 1900 to 1950 and the concept of modernism, who and what shaped it, and the shifting definitions of the artist. The second half will focus on recent trends in world art, focusing on new media and movements, including installation art, earth art, video art, postmodernism, and the new theoretical and conceptual approaches to art and art history.	3
OR
ART328	The Carnegie International This course will analyze contemporary art of the past 4-5 years as organized by the curators of the Carnegie International. It will examine the history of the International and other exhibitions of this type, the globalized art market, and current media techniques and broader concerns of visual artists working today. Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses: ART132 History of World Art II: 1400 to Present ART254 Modern Art, 1900 to the Present	3
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ART313	Special Topics Special Topics	3
ART490	Integrative Capstone The integrative capstone, undertaken by the student during the senior year, is an extended project that helps the student complete their transition from an undergraduate student to a world-ready professional. The study usually centers on the student's major and may be conducted, at least in part, in the context of a group experience. Such programs are crafted to meet the unique needs of each major, and could include, for example, fieldwork, theater production, creative work in the arts, independent research, or independent readings. The integrative capstone in an interdisciplinary major must have the approval of both academic programs. Pre-requisites Complete the following course: FDT300W Critical Theory	3

+Art History Concentration

ART131	History of World Art I: Prehistory to 1400 This introductory survey focuses on art of the ancient world and the Middle Ages in the West and selected non-Western cultures to 1400 including India, China, and Mesoamerica. It emphasizes the role of art in the formation of a culture, the shifting function of art in different societies and time periods, and the approaches students can use to understand art.	3
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ART231	Renaissance Art This course traces the rise of the humanistic spirit in the art of Italy between 1300 and 1550. Equal emphasis is placed on the achievements of Early Renaissance artists and architects (Ghiberti, Alberti, Donatello, Masaccio, Botticelli), and the masters of the High Renaissance (Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Bramante, Titian).	3
OR
ART234	Baroque and Rococo Art An in-depth survey of the various styles and aims of European art from 1590 to 1700.	3
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ART366	American Art: Colonial to 1900 This course examines the major movements, artists, and cultural issues of American painting, sculpture, and photography from its beginnings to 1900. Special attention is given to works that address definitions of American "identity" and cultural interaction and conflict between races. Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses: ART132 History of World Art II: 1400 to Present ART131 History of World Art I: Prehistory to 1400	3
OR
ART248	19th-Century Art This survey examines art movements in France, England, Germany, and other European countries from the early to late 19th-century, focusing on Romanticism and Realism, the Pre-Raphaelites, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, and Symbolism. It explores the impact of urbanization, industrialization, and race and gender issues on visual culture.	3
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ART372	Curating African Art and Artifacts This course explores the rich diversity of art across sub-Sahara Africa from the Paleolithic era to today. It focuses on cultures from West Africa, Central Africa, and East Africa to complement the holdings of the College's outstanding Olkes Collection of African Art, which includes more than 600 objects. Class lecture, discussion, and student projects utilize works from the collection, including masks, wood sculpture, beadwork, and metalwork.	3
ART271	Asian Art This course surveys the art of India, China, Southeast Asia, Korea, and Japan from the earliest civilizations to the modern period. Since much Asian artistic production was inspired by religious belief, students also will be introduced to the major currents of Asian religion and philosophy, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Islam, Confucianism, Daoism, and Shintoism.	3
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ART208	Introduction to Art Museum Studies This course introduces students to the themes and issues addressed in the Art Museum Studies program, including an overview of the history and function of art museums, their role in society, the interpretation of objects for museum audiences, and other issues central to the museum profession such as censorship and repatriation.	3
OR
ART368	Museum Education and the Visual Arts This course traces the development of the American art museum's educational mission from the early nineteenth century to the present. A range of programming types, including docent touring, computer-based learning, museum-school partnerships, and hands-on experiences are observed and analyzed. Students will also design programs for exhibitions in the Chatham University Art Gallery. Pre-requisites Complete the following course: ART208 Introduction to Art Museum Studies	3
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+Art History Minor

5 courses

ART131	History of World Art I: Prehistory to 1400 This introductory survey focuses on art of the ancient world and the Middle Ages in the West and selected non-Western cultures to 1400 including India, China, and Mesoamerica. It emphasizes the role of art in the formation of a culture, the shifting function of art in different societies and time periods, and the approaches students can use to understand art.	3
ART132	History of World Art II: 1400 to Present This introductory survey focuses on Western art from the Renaissance to today and the art of selected non-Western cultures (including Japan, Africa, and Islamic countries) after 1400. It concentrates on the stylistic, technical, and expressive evolution of painting, architecture, and sculpture within specific historical contexts, yet also explores the cross-influences and interaction of non-Western and Western art as defining characteristics of the modern world.	3
ART231	Renaissance Art This course traces the rise of the humanistic spirit in the art of Italy between 1300 and 1550. Equal emphasis is placed on the achievements of Early Renaissance artists and architects (Ghiberti, Alberti, Donatello, Masaccio, Botticelli), and the masters of the High Renaissance (Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Bramante, Titian).	3
ART254	Modern Art, 1900 to the Present In this course the student will be introduced to the major movements in European and American art since 1900. The first half will focus on 1900 to 1950 and the concept of modernism, who and what shaped it, and the shifting definitions of the artist. The second half will focus on recent trends in world art, focusing on new media and movements, including installation art, earth art, video art, postmodernism, and the new theoretical and conceptual approaches to art and art history.	3
ART366	American Art: Colonial to 1900 This course examines the major movements, artists, and cultural issues of American painting, sculpture, and photography from its beginnings to 1900. Special attention is given to works that address definitions of American "identity" and cultural interaction and conflict between races. Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses: ART132 History of World Art II: 1400 to Present ART131 History of World Art I: Prehistory to 1400	3