Art History (BAArtHist)
Art history is a discipline that works to deepen and expand our understanding of art and visual expression from a variety of perspectives, from an initial context of making and reception to an ensuing circulation, including collection and display. Students in art history become proficient in visual and cultural analyses, core components of critical thinking and writing, as well as historical interpretation. The art history program is among the nation’s largest and most distinguished, with over 20 full-time faculty who are leading scholars in their respective fields and represent a diversity of critical and methodological outlooks. Our objects of inquiry include all media, historical periods, and geographical areas: from sculpture to digital art, from pre-history to the present, and from every part of the world.
Total Hours Required: 120
Plan of Study
The Plan of Study is a suggested four-year course sequence to support academic planning and serves as a helpful guide. Currently enrolled students should meet with their academic advisor to tailor their course selections and timelines to their individual goals and circumstances.
| Year 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Semester 1 | Hours | |
| ARH 302 | Survey of Ancient through Medieval Art | 3 |
| ARH 304 | Issues in Visual Culture | 3 |
| First-Year Signature Course (090) | 3 | |
| Communication (010) | 3 | |
| F A 101F | Steer Your Future in the Arts | 1 |
| Hours | 13 | |
| Semester 2 | ||
| ARH 303 | Survey of Renaissance through Modern Art | 3 |
| ART 311C | Core Studio: Drawing | 3 |
| Mathematics (020) | 3 | |
| Social and Behavioral Sciences (080) | 3 | |
| Additional Humanities (040) | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Year 2 | ||
| Semester 1 | ||
| Hours chosen from: Upper-division ARH geographical area | 3 | |
| Hours chosen from: Upper-division ARH | 3 | |
| U.S. History (060) | 3 | |
| Foreign Language - Fine Arts | 6 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 2 | ||
| ARH 321 | Problems in Art Historical Research | 3 |
| Hours chosen from: Upper-division ARH geographical area | 3 | |
| U.S. History (060) | 3 | |
| Foreign Language - Fine Arts | 6 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Year 3 | ||
| Semester 1 | ||
| Hours chosen from: Upper-division ARH | 3 | |
| American and Texas Government (070) | 3 | |
| Natural Science and Technology, Part I (030) | 3 | |
| Additional Social and Behavioral Sciences (080) | 3 | |
| Hours chosen from: Upper-division ARH gepgraphical area | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 2 | ||
| ARH 375 | Theories and Methods in the History of Art | 3 |
| Hours chosen from: Upper-division ARH | 3 | |
| American and Texas Government (070) | 3 | |
| Natural Science and Technology, Part I (030) | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Year 4 | ||
| Semester 1 | ||
| Hours chosen from: Upper-division ARH | 3 | |
| Humanities (040) | 3 | |
| Natural Science and Technology, Part II (093) | 3 | |
| Additional Visual and Performing Arts (050) | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Semester 2 | ||
| Communication (010) | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 14 | |
| Hours | 17 | |
| Total Hours | 120 | |
Requirements
All requirements are listed below, starting with the most specialized moving to the most general. Additional requirements may follow the table, so be sure to read the entire page. Some required courses listed below may also satisfy General Education requirements, including Core Curriculum.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Degree | ||
| Foreign Language - Fine Arts | 6 | |
| Humanities Hours chosen from: AFR, AMS, AHC, AAS, ANS, C C, C L, E, EUS, HIS, J S, LAS, MAS, MES, PHL, R S, REE, RHE, or WGS | 3 | |
| Social and Behavioral Sciences Hours chosen from: ANT, CIV, CMS, ECO, EDP, GRG, GOV, HDF, LIN, PSY, SOC | 3 | |
| Visual, Performing, and Applied Arts Hours chosen from: ADV, ARI, ARC, AET, CRW, DES, ENS, F A, ITD, LAR, MUS, RTF, ART, T D | 3 | |
| F A 101F | Steer Your Future in the Arts | 1 |
| Subtotal | 16 | |
| Major | ||
| ART 311C | Core Studio: Drawing | 3 |
| or ART 312C | Core Studio: 2D | |
| Art History | ||
| ARH 302 | Survey of Ancient through Medieval Art | 3 |
| ARH 303 | Survey of Renaissance through Modern Art | 3 |
| ARH 304 | Issues in Visual Culture | 3 |
| ARH 321 | Problems in Art Historical Research | 3 |
| ARH 375 | Theories and Methods in the History of Art | 3 |
| Upper-division Hours chosen from: Four geographical areas below (see course list tab) | 9 | |
Africa | ||
Asia & Pacific | ||
Europe | ||
Middle East | ||
The Americas | ||
Overlapping Geographies | ||
| Hours chosen from: Upper-division art history | 12 | |
| Electives | ||
| Free electives: Additional coursework to reach total hours required. | 23 | |
| Subtotal | 62 | |
| General Education | ||
| Core Curriculum | 42 | |
| Foreign Language - Fine Arts (Note: this requirement may already be fulfilled by high school coursework) | ||
| Subtotal | 42 | |
| College Requirements - Fine Arts | ||
| General University Requirements | ||
| Total Hours | 120 | |
Course List
Geographical Area- Africa
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ARH 346K | Introduction to African Art | 3 |
| ARH 346L | Africana Women's Art | 3 |
| ARH 346M | Visual Cultures of Africa | 3 |
| ARH 373C | Topics in Africana Art | 3 |
Geographical Area-Asia & Pacific
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ARH 335H | Buddhist Traditions and Nineteenth-Century Art | 3 |
| ARH 348K | Formation of Indian Art | 3 |
| ARH 348L | Later Indian Art | 3 |
| ARH 348M | The Taj Mahal and the Diversity of Indian Art | 3 |
| ARH 348N | Buddhist Art | 3 |
| ARH 348P | Art in the Himalayas | 3 |
| ARH 349L | Contemporary Chinese Art | 3 |
| ARH 372 | Topics in the Art of Asia | 3 |
Geographic Area- Europe
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ARH 326L | Visual Cultures of the Mediterranean Islands | 3 |
| ARH 327N | Art and Politics in Imperial Rome | 3 |
| ARH 327R | Art in the Lives of Ordinary Romans | 3 |
| ARH 327S | Art and Politics in Republican Rome | 3 |
| ARH 327T | Art in the Age of Hadrian | 3 |
| ARH 327U | Love, Beauty, and Protection | 3 |
| ARH 329J | Byzantine Art | 3 |
| ARH 329N | Art and Architecture of Late Antiquity | 3 |
| ARH 329R | Romanesque Art and Architecture | 3 |
| ARH 329T | Art in the Age of Dante and Giotto | 3 |
| ARH 330G | Art at Court: The Gothic Period | 3 |
| ARH 330J | Gothic Cathedral: Amiens | 3 |
| ARH 331J | Art and Experience in Central Italy | 3 |
| ARH 331K | Early Italian Renaissance Art to 1470 | 3 |
| ARH 331N | Later Quattrocento Art, 1470-1500 | 3 |
| ARH 331P | Art and the City in Renaissance Italy | 3 |
| ARH 331Q | Art in Medici Florence | 3 |
| ARH 331R | Michelangelo and His World | 3 |
| ARH 331S | Art, Geology, and Place in Italy | 3 |
| ARH 331S | Art, Geology, and Place in Italy | 3 |
| ARH 332K | Northern Renaissance Art, 1350-1500 | 3 |
| ARH 332L | Northern Renaissance Art, 1500-1600 | 3 |
| ARH 333K | Italian Baroque Art | 3 |
| ARH 333L | The Age of Rembrandt and Rubens: Northern Baroque Art | 3 |
| ARH 333M | Rembrandt and Vermeer | 3 |
| ARH 335F | Art and the Moral Law | 3 |
| ARH 335G | Art and Landscape 1778-1908 | 3 |
| ARH 335N | European Art, 1789-1848 | 3 |
| ARH 335R | Burne-Jones and Friends | 3 |
| ARH 335T | Goya in Context | 3 |
| ARH 336D | Derek Jarman: Art and Film | 3 |
| ARH 345K | Contemporary British Artists of the African Diaspora | 3 |
Geographic Area-Middle East
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ARH 328J | Arts of Islam, 650-1500 | 3 |
| ARH 328K | Arts of Islam 1500-Present | 3 |
| ARH 328L | Medieval Middle East History in One Hundred Objects | 3 |
| ARH 328M | Modern Middle East History in One Hundred Objects | 3 |
| ARH 328N | Arabs and Vikings: Art and Culture | 3 |
Geographic Area- The Americas
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ARH 322C | Textile Arts of the Indigenous Americas | 3 |
| ARH 322D | Collecting Latin America | 3 |
| ARH 322E | Collecting Contemporary Art | 3 |
| ARH 338V | Magazine as Archive: View Magazine 1940-1947 | 3 |
| ARH 339J | American Art: Colonial Era to the Civil War | 3 |
| ARH 339K | American Art: Civil War to the Armory Show | 3 |
| ARH 339L | Twentieth-Century American Art to the 1950s | 3 |
| ARH 339M | American Art, 1958-1985 | 3 |
| ARH 339N | Painting in America to 1860 | 3 |
| ARH 339P | Painting in the United States, 1860-1913 | 3 |
| ARH 339Q | Modernism in American Design and Architecture | 3 |
| ARH 341D | Contemporary Latinx Visual and Performance Art | 3 |
| ARH 341D | Contemporary Latinx Visual and Performance Art | 3 |
| ARH 341J | Nineteenth-Century Latin American Art | 3 |
| ARH 341K | Modern Art of Mexico | 3 |
| ARH 341L | Chicano Art Histories and Futures | 3 |
| ARH 341M | Contemporary Mexican Art | 3 |
| ARH 341N | Other Modernities: Latin American Art | 3 |
| ARH 341P | Contemporary Latin American Art | 3 |
| ARH 341Q | Women in Latin American Art | 3 |
| ARH 341R | Apertures: Film and Photography Through Greater Mexico | 3 |
| ARH 341S | Art Cinemas of the Americas | 3 |
| ARH 341T | Pop Art Americas | 3 |
| ARH 342J | Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies in the Fine Arts | 3 |
| ARH 344J | Twentieth-Century African American Art | 3 |
| ARH 344L | Art of the Harlem Renaissance | 3 |
| ARH 344M | Photographs and Blackness in the United States | 3 |
| ARH 347J | Preclassic Mesoamerican Art and Civilization | 3 |
| ARH 347K | Art and Archaeology of Ancient Peru | 3 |
| ARH 347L | Mesoamerican Art and Culture | 3 |
| ARH 347M | Maya Art and Architecture | 3 |
| ARH 347N | Aztec Art and Civilization | 3 |
| ARH 347P | Mesoamerican Writing Systems | 3 |
| ARH 347R | Architecture and Sculpture in the Maya World | 3 |
| ARH 361 | Topics in Latin American and Latinx Art | 3 |
| ARH 367 | Topics in the Art of North America | 3 |
| ARH 370 | Topics in Pre-Columbian Art | 3 |
| ARH 370J | Topics in Study in Guatemala | 3 |
| ARH 373E | Topics in African American Art | 3 |
Overlapping Geographies
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ARH 325 | Art and Archaeology of the Ancient Near East | 3 |
| ARH 326J | The Parthenon Through the Ages | 3 |
| ARH 326K | Myth and Images in the Greek and Roman Mediterranean | 3 |
| ARH 326M | Art and Archaeology of Greek Sanctuaries | 3 |
| ARH 328C | Mosques of the Islamic Worlds | 3 |
| ARH 328D | Material Cultures of Coexistence | 3 |
| ARH 335J | Nineteenth-Century Art | 3 |
| ARH 337K | Twentieth-Century European Art to 1940 | 3 |
| ARH 338J | Performing Art History | 3 |
| ARH 338L | Art since 1930: Modernism and Mass Modernity | 3 |
| ARH 338M | Art and Culture: 1968 and After | 3 |
| ARH 338N | Sculpture as Model in the Twentieth Century | 3 |
| ARH 339R | Art, Art History, and Medicine | 3 |
| ARH 340L | History of Photography | 3 |
| ARH 345J | Contemporary Artists of the African Diaspora | 3 |
| ARH 345L | Diaspora Visions | 3 |
| ARH 345M | Visual Arts of the Caribbean | 3 |
| ARH 345N | Cinema of the African Diaspora | 3 |
| ARH 349M | Art at the Crossroads: A View from South China | 3 |
| ARH 361L | Topics in Ancient Near Eastern Art | 3 |
| ARH 362 | Topics in Greek and Roman Art | 3 |
| ARH 362R | Topics in the Art of Late Antiquity | 3 |
| ARH 363 | Topics in Medieval Art | 3 |
| ARH 366N | Topics in Twentieth-Century Art | 3 |
| ARH 366P | Topics in Modernism | 3 |
| ARH 373D | Topics in Diaspora Art | 3 |