Art History Major at Skidmore College
Friday, February 27th, 2009For the class of 2010 and beyond, each student major is required to take a minimum of eleven courses according to the following guidelines.
1. Foundation (two courses)
a. AH100 Survey of Western Art
b. One studio art course of your choice (note prerequisites where necessary)
c. AH221: Practices of Art History should be taken by the end of the second year.
2. Breadth AH221 and one course from four of the following five areas:
a. Ancient and Medieval Art in the West: AH222, 223, 232, 233, 330
b. 15th- to 18th-Century Art in the West: : AH241, 252, 254, 268**, 342, 347, 348.
c. Modern and Contemporary Art in the West: AH217, 256, 261, 265, 268**, 315***, 321, 322, 353, 354, 364
d. Arts of Africa and the Americas: AH103, 203, 207, 309 ,310 ,315 ***
e. Asian Art: AH105, 106, 200, 204, 209, 210, 211, 311, 312, 314.
** Fulfills breadth areas “b” or “c,” NOT both
*** Fulfills breadth areas “c” or “d,” NOT both
3. Exploration (at least three courses) Besides the foundation and breadth courses, each student must take a minimum of three additional art history courses including at least one seminar but not including the senior thesis. (The senior thesis is an option students may take beyond the eleven courses required for the art history major.)
4. AH380 Capstone: All second-semester senior majors are required to take AH380.
For the class of 2008 and 2009, each student major is required to take a minimum of ten courses according to the following guidelines:
1. Foundation (two courses)
a. AH100 Survey of Western Art
b. One studio art course of your choice (note prerequisites where necessary).
2. Breadth: AH221 and one course from four of the five breadth areas listed above OR one course from each of the five breadth areas listed above
3. Exploration (at least three courses) Besides the foundation and breadth courses, each student must take a minimum of three additional art history courses including at least one seminar but not including the senior thesis. (The senior thesis is an option students may take beyond the ten courses required for the art history major.)
4. AH380 Capstone (Or Self-Assessment Portfolio): All second-semester senior majors are required to take either AH380 or compile a portfolio of their work in art history and write a brief two-page assessment of their progress through the major. Students are strongly encouraged to fulfill this requirement by taking AH380. For students who choose to complete the portfolio on their own, it must contain: a list of classes taken in art history, studio art, and any related fields that have enriched the student’s understanding of art history; examples of the student’s work in art history at all levels with faculty commentary on the work, including exams, papers and other relevant class materials; work from all four years at college, and from a variety of professors; your best work, your most formative work, even if it wasn’t highly graded; materials that evidence any special projects, study-abroad work, or internship experiences; and a two-page written self-assessment addressing the ways in which the student did or did not meet the goals of the art history major, including comments on growth within the major and comments on your personal intellectual growth as evidenced by the supporting materials in the portfolio. Please clearly indicate on the front of all papers and exams included in your portfolio the course for which it was completed, the semester and year, along with the name of the instructor.
Because advanced research in any aspect of art history requires foreign languages (generally French or Italian and/or German, plus any language appropriate to your area, e.g. Chinese), we recommend language study. We also recommend additional art history courses (including independent studies, museum/gallery internships, and the senior thesis) and/or courses in related fields, such as literature, history, philosophy, anthropology, religion, and studio art.
HONORS: In addition to meeting the College grade-point average for the major, students wishing to qualify for honors in the program must successfully complete an independent project that the art history faculty judge to be outstanding. The project nominated by a member of the art history faculty, must go beyond the work required in our regular art history classes. Examples of types of projects that could qualify are Senior Theses and Independent Study or Internship projects, whether written, in the form of an exhibition, or computer-based.