DEPARTMENT OF ART HISTORY

Undergraduate Department of Art History

COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS

Chair: Lorenzo Pericolo; Assistant Chair: Jean Hudson; Professors: Leitch, Neuman, Pericolo; Associate Professors: Beauchamp-Byrd, Bick, Carrasco, Dowell, Jolles, Jones, Niell; Assistant Professors: Loic; Professors Emeriti: Draper, Freiberg, Gerson, Nasgaard, Rose (dec.), Weingarden; Courtesy Professors: Ali, Boda, de Grummond, Lee, Pfaff, Pullen

The Department of Art History offers programs leading to the Bachelor of Arts (BA) in the history and criticism of art; the Master of Arts (MA) in the history and criticism of art, with concentrations in either art history or museum and cultural heritage studies; and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in the history and criticism of art. At the introductory undergraduate level, students learn about art, creative practices, and visual and material cultures in a wide variety of geographic, cultural, and historical contexts. Each student will be able to analyze works of art and visual and material culture by examining the basic formal and contextual elements of the works studied and by developing a visual memory. Students at the introductory undergraduate level also learn reading and writing practices in art history. At the intermediate undergraduate level, students are introduced to theoretical and critical concerns in disciplinary sub-fields and in the broader field. At the advanced undergraduate level, students explore different historical periods, cultural contexts, and media in depth and conduct sustained research on these topics. By providing students with the core competencies in the discipline, including critical aptitude for professionally informed, advanced research and writing in art history, the program objective is to prepare the student for a professional career in academic art history and related fields, including work in museums, archives, galleries, and publishing.

The faculty includes specialists in a wide range of fields that support and intersect with three major areas of program study: the Post-Ancient and Medieval World, Modernities and Modernisms, and Visual Cultures of the Americas. Areas of faculty expertise within these three major areas include: Islamic art, pre-Columbian art, the arts of Byzantium and global medieval art; Italian and Northern European Renaissance art, Spanish colonial art, Baroque and 18th-century art, modern architecture, 19th- and 20th-century art and criticism, global modern and contemporary art, contemporary arts of Africa and its diasporas, and contemporary global Indigenous art; Caribbean art, North American and United States art, 20th century American cinema, Indigenous American art and film, and African American and Afro-Caribbean art. Other areas or expertise include histories of media (including history of the book, prints and photography, comics studies, word-image studies, and architectural history), and fields intersecting with art history (including cultural landscape studies, and museum and curatorial studies). Members of the Classics faculty trained in archaeology and art history offer courses in Aegean, Greek, Etruscan, Roman, and Egyptian art.

The Department of Art History is supported by an array of resources, including classrooms, seminar rooms, a teaching lab, a media center, and the 2,500-square-foot Art & Design Library, which houses more than 10,000 books on art and art history. The media center houses a comprehensive collection of digital resources, including a database of more than 45,000 images. The University library holdings are extensive and include a rare book and facsimile collection. The library supports many electronic resources and an excellent interlibrary loan division. The resources of the Ringling Museum Library as well as those held by other state universities in Florida are also available.

The FSU Museum of Fine Arts houses several permanent collections and is used for temporary exhibitions, student research, object study, and course visits. The University administers the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, with its internationally known collection of European and Asian art. Internships are available at each of these museums.

Students have the opportunity to pursue independent research at the Florida State University Study Centers in Florence, London, Panamá, Paris, and Valencia. The Florence program is used extensively by students of the history of art for the study of the Italian language and arts, and for archival work. The Florence program offers annual teaching positions for art history doctoral students. The London Study Center offers opportunities for internships at major London museums. Archaeological experience is available at the site of Cetamura del Chianti (Tuscany), the University’s field-school excavation in Italy focused on Etruscan, Roman, and medieval Italian cultures.

Since 1982, the department has convened an annual Art History Graduate Student Symposium on FSU’s Tallahassee campus for graduate students attending universities nationwide. Students are chosen to present papers during a two-day series of panels. Presented papers may be submitted for consideration for publication in Athanor (est. 1981), a journal for graduate students in art history sponsored by the Department of Art History and the College of Fine Arts. Each year, a distinguished art historian is invited to participate in the symposium and to deliver the keynote address.

Digital Literacy Requirement

Students must complete at least one course designated as meeting the Digital Literacy Requirement with a grade of “C–” or higher. Courses fulfilling the Digital Literacy Requirement must accomplish at least three of the following outcomes:

Evaluate and interpret the accuracy, credibility, and relevance of digital information
Evaluate and interpret digital data and their implications
Discuss the ways in which society and/or culture interact with digital technology
Discuss digital technology trends and their professional implications
Demonstrate the ability to use digital technology effectively
Demonstrate the knowledge to use digital technology safely and ethically

Each academic major has determined the courses that fulfill the Digital Literacy requirement for that major. Students should contact their major department(s) to determine which courses will fulfill their Digital Literacy requirement.

In art history, undergraduate majors must satisfy this requirement by earning a grade of “C” or higher in ARH 2814 Cultural Heritage in the Digital Age.

Oral Communication Competency

All undergraduates at Florida State University must demonstrate the ability to transmit ideas and information clearly and orally in a way that is appropriate to the topic, purpose, and audience. Undergraduates must also demonstrate the ability to discuss ideas clearly with others, to listen and respond to questions, and to assess critical responses appropriately. The need for specific oral communication skills, such as formal lectures/presentations, interviewing skills, or group dynamics varies from discipline to discipline. In art history, undergraduate majors must satisfy this requirement by earning a grade of “C” or higher on verbal presentations in seminars about works of art and art historical topics of research.

State of Florida Common Program Prerequisites for Art History

The Florida Virtual Campus (FLVC) houses the statewide, internet-based catalog of distance learning courses, degree programs, and resources offered by Florida's public colleges and universities, and they have developed operational procedures and technical guidelines for the catalog that all institutions must follow. The statute governing this policy can be reviewed by visiting https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2021/1006.73.

FLVC has identified common program prerequisites for the degree program in Art History. To obtain the most up-to-date, state-approved prerequisites for this degree, visit: https://cpm.flvc.org/programs/150/229.

Specific prerequisites are required for admission into the upper-division program and must be completed by the student at either a community college or a state university prior to being admitted to this program. Students may be admitted into the University without completing the prerequisites but may not be admitted into the program.

Major in Art History

The Bachelor of Arts (BA) program in the history and criticism of art requires a total of 48 credit hours, of which 42 will be in art history and six in studio art. Foundation survey courses (ARH 2050 and ARH 2051) provide a broad view of major artists, cultural groups, and monuments from Western and World Art history and are to be taken as early as possible, as is ARH 2030, a foundation practicum-style course on reading and writing art history as a discipline of study. ARH 3XXX courses, conceived as intermediate-level introductions to subfields and theoretical concerns within the discipline, should also be taken early to build in-depth disciplinary knowledge, skills, and other critical competencies in advance of 4000-level upper-division coursework. Majors are required to take an additional ten upper-level courses, two of which must be in World Arts. Two of the ten courses must be seminars in art history (ARH 4800), prior to which 12 credit hours in art history must be completed. Only a grade of “C” or better is acceptable for courses in Art History to be credited toward the major. Students must also satisfy the University language requirement for the BA degree. Art History majors satisfy the University Digital Literacy Competency with ARH 2814.

Art History Research Concentration (ARC)

Beginning Fall 2024, all art history majors will identify an “ARC,” or Art history Research Concentration, under the mentorship of the Academic Program Specialist and the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Students should identify an ARC by the end of the junior year, or when they have earned 60–90 credit hours. An ARC is satisfied by three 3000- or 4000-level ARH courses offered by the Department of Art History, one of which should be a research seminar (ARH 4800). Concentrations might include historical periods, cultural areas, history of specific media (e.g. books and prints, photography, architecture), or methodological approaches to art history. Students may develop their own ARC after consultation and approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Honors in the Major

The Department of Art History offers honors in the major to those who wish to pursue an extended independent research project. For requirements and other information, see the “University Honors Office and Honor Societies” chapter of this General Bulletin.

Minor in Art History

A minor in art history requires 15 credit hours of coursework in the department. Students must complete ARH 2050 and 2051, one course at the 3000 level, one course at the 4000 level, and one seminar in Art History (ARH 4800) to satisfy the minor. ARH 2000 is not eligible for the minor, beginning with students entering the minor in the 2023–24 academic year.

Minor in Medieval Studies

The undergraduate minor in medieval studies provides students with focused, interdisciplinary training in the culture of the pre-modern era in the lands of Europe, both West and East, as well as the cultures of the Middle East. The minor will consist of 15 credit hours beyond the CoreFSU Curriculum and major requirements. The selection of a pair of courses in one of the following fields of concentration provides a focus for the minor: medieval art history (two ARH courses from an approved list); medieval history (two EUH courses from an approved list); and medieval texts and cultures (one ENL and one modern languages course from an approved list). Having established a concentration in one medieval field, the student then chooses three more courses from an approved list. These courses are to be distributed over two or three departments other than that of his/her concentration. Additional courses are certified on a term-by-term basis. Qualified students also may enroll in certified graduate-level courses for minor credit, with permission of the instructor.

Minor in Museum Studies

A minor in museum studies requires 15 credit hours. Of these, six credit hours are in museum studies courses, three hours are in a related elective, three hours are taken in a supervised internship, and the remaining three hours can be taken either as a second approved elective course or as additional internship hours. Students with a minor in museum studies may not apply any internship hours towards the major in Art History. ARH 2000 is not eligible for the minor, beginning with students entering the minor in the 2023–24 academic year.