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ART AND ART HISTORY
2008–2009
Professors of Art: Jeffrey Schiff; David Schorr; J. Seeley, Chair; Tula Telfair
Professors of Art History: Jonathan Best, Clark Maines, Peter
A. Mark, Elizabeth L. Milroy, John Paoletti, Joseph M. Siry,
Phillip B. Wagoner
Assistant Professors of Art: Elijah
Huge, Julia Randall
Assistant Professors of Art History: Nadja Aksamija, Katherine Kuenzli
Adjunct
Assistant Professor of Art History: Clare Rogan,
Curator, Davison Art Center
Adjunct Lecturer in Art History: Nina Felshin, Curator, Zilkha Gallery
Artist-in-Residence, Art: Keiji Shinohara
Departmental Advising Experts
Art History 2008–2009: Nadja Aksamija
(Renaissance Art History), Jonathan Best (East
Asian Art History), Katherine Kuenzli (Modern
European Art History), Clark Maines (Medieval Art
History and Archaeology), Peter Mark (African and
African American Art History), Elizabeth Milroy
(American Art History and Feminist, Gender and Sexuality
Studies), John Paoletti (Contemporary Art
History), Clare Rogan (History of Prints and
Photography, Museum and Curatorial Studies), Joseph
Siry (Modern Architectural History), Phillip
Wagoner (South Asian and Islamic Art History)
Art Studio 2008–2009:
Elijha Huge, Architecture; Jeffrey Schiff,
Sculpture and Design; David Schorr, Printmaking and Graphics; J. Seeley,
Photography; Tula Telfair, Painting
Department/Program
Home Page
The Department of Art and Art History is the administrative
umbrella for two distinct major programs: art studio and art
history. Majors within the department can be pursued in both
areas. Students majoring in one area are allowed to count
toward the 32 courses required for graduation up to 18
courses in the department. (University regulations regarding
the maximum number of courses allowed in a department should
be applied to the major itself: art history or art studio.
Thus, majors in either program may count toward their
graduation requirements no more than 14 credits in their
major program [of which no more than 4 may be 100-level
courses, and no more than 12 may be 200-level and above],
and no more than 18 courses in the department as a whole.)
Exceptions are made in the case of (a) students standing for
honors, who may additionally count toward the courses
required for graduation the credits for their honors
tutorials (1 credit, if a one-semester senior essay; 2
credits if a yearlong senior thesis project), and (b)
students double-majoring in both programs of the department
are permitted to take up to 20 credits in the department,
providing that 2 of these credits are for senior thesis
tutorials. In addition to listed courses, a limited number
of tutorials, internships, and teaching apprenticeships are
available under specific conditions. Prior approval must be
obtained to transfer credit from another institution. Review
and approval by a faculty member in the area of study must
also be made after completion of such course work.
Art History Program
The discipline of
art history is object-based cultural history. It is founded
on the premise that artifacts embody and reflect the beliefs
and values of the persons who made, commissioned, and used
them. Unlike text-based historical disciplines, the history
of art documents and interprets changes in human society by
taking works of art and other objects of material culture as
its primary sources. The history of art further requires the
critical analysis and interpretation of written texts to
help document and illuminate the contexts--social, economic,
political, religious--in which artifacts are produced and
used. Art history, therefore, is inherently
interdisciplinary.
Major Requirements
:
The art history major has two distinct
programs of concentration: (1) the histories of European,
American, and African art, and (2) the histories of
different traditions in Asian art. All majors are required
to take one 100-level course as an introduction to the
discipline and nine semester-length courses numbered 200 or
above, including a minimum of two seminars (i.e., courses
numbered 300-399). Majors must take at least five of their
nine upper-level courses in the history of art at Wesleyan.
One or two of the required nine upper-level courses may be
relevant courses taught at Wesleyan outside the art history
program in such departments as history, religion, classics,
or anthropology. Majors who wish to transfer course credits
from other universities or who wish to have other Wesleyan
courses count toward their major in art history must have
prior written approval of their faculty advisor for
inclusion in their major program. All art history majors are
encouraged to take at least one course in archaeology as
part of the major.
Concentration in
the history of European, American, or African art: The nine
upper-level courses required of the major must include at
least one course in each of the following historical
periods: classical, medieval, Renaissance, and modern. In
addition, majors must take at least one course in the areas
of Asian or African art; this course may be a 100-level
course.
Concentration
in the history of Asian art: Students must take at least
five Asian art history courses, at least one of which
should be a departmental seminar treating Asian art, and two
courses in the European, American, or African traditions.
With the permission of the faculty advisor, Great Traditions
of Asian Art (ARHA180) may be counted as one of the five
required Asian courses. Students who concentrate in the
history of Asian art are strongly urged to take at least one
course outside the department dealing with the history or
culture of premodern Asia.
Language
requirement: Proficiency is required in at least one
foreign language for completion of the major in the history
of art. Proficiency is normally defined as successful
completion of the Wesleyan intermediate-level course in the
language. German, French, and Italian are normally
considered the most valuable for study in the history of
art. Generally speaking, Spanish is not recommended as a
means of satisfying the language requirement, since Iberian
and Latin American art are not represented in the
curriculum. Students concentrating in the history of Asian
art may use a relevant Asian language to satisfy the
language requirement. Majors considering graduate study in
art history should plan to acquire a reading knowledge of
German and French before entering graduate school. Students
planning to pursue graduate study in Asian art should begin
the study of an Asian language as soon as possible.
Honors: The Honors Program in
art history is designed to meet the
needs of students who wish to pursue a long-term scholarly
research project in an area of particular interest. The
research project can take the form of either a yearlong
senior thesis or a one-semester senior essay (see below),
but in either case, candidates for honors are also required
to earn a minimum GPA of B+ for their major course work and
to be compliant with the University's General Education
Expectations (through Stage II). Students wishing to
consider an honors project must discuss their research
interests with a member of the art history faculty and
secure the professor's agreement to serve as tutor for the
project by the last day of classes of the student's junior
year. After consulting with the tutor, the student is
expected to carry out preliminary research during the course
of the summer and is required to submit a detailed proposal
and preliminary bibliography for the project by the first
day of classes of the fall term of the senior year. No one
who fails to meet these minimal requirements will be allowed
to pursue honors. The two options for honors projects are:
1.
A senior thesis: A two-term project involving substantial
research and writing on a topic agreed upon by the student
in consultation with a faculty member who will serve as
tutor for the thesis. The senior thesis courses in the major
are ARHA409 (fall) and ARHA410 (spring).
2.
A senior essay: A single-semester essay project may be undertaken
for honors in lieu of a yearlong thesis project, but it must
be based on a research paper on the same topic, written by
the candidate in the context of earlier course work. This
will ensure that preliminary research has been completed
before the essay tutorial has begun. The essay must
represent a considerable expansion and refinement of the
earlier work, involving additional research and new
argumentation, and not just revision of the earlier paper.
Essay projects may only be undertaken in the fall semester
and must be completed by the last day of the reading period
of the fall semester to be considered for honors. The senior
essay course in the major is ARHA401 (fall).
Both senior
theses and senior essays must conform to the University's
general requirements and deadlines for honors in the senior
year, as administered through the Honors Coordinator. Each
year's honors candidates will present 20-minute public talks
based on their theses or essays. These talks will normally
be held in April of the senior year and will be developed in
consultation with the students' faculty tutors. For more
information and an application form, see the document
"Honors in Art History: Regulations and Procedures,"
available in the department office.
Courses taken
outside of Wesleyan: Students who are unusually well
prepared seek reputable foreign study as an adjunct to the
major. All study abroad must be preapproved by the Office
of International Studies and by the student's major
advisor. Study at other educational institutions in the
United States must also be preapproved by the student's
major advisor. In the case of non-Wesleyan-affiliated
programs, transfer of major credit will be awarded only if
the student submits an example of a substantial written
assignment for each course for which s/he desires credit.
This should be submitted to the faculty member who teaches
in the most closely related field. In the case of study-abroad programs focusing on cultural areas beyond the major
advisor's expertise, the student will be expected to consult
with an appropriate member of the art history faculty.
Requirements
for acceptance to the major: Students interested in the
art history major should consult with the faculty person
they would like to have serve as their advisor or with the
director of the art history program if their prospective
advisor is on sabbatical or leave. Students must complete an
application (available from the faculty or the
administrative assistant in the program) for major status in
the art history program and present it with a recent
transcript to the prospective advisor or to the director of
the program. By the end of the sophomore year, a prospective
major should plan to have taken one 100-level introductory
course and at least two other courses in art history. For
admission to the major, the student must have a B average in
courses taken in the history of art and a B average overall.
Advanced
Placement credit: A student
who has completed an Advanced Placement art history course
or its equivalent while in secondary school and has
achieved a grade of 5 in the Art History AP examination will
be granted one AP course credit, but only after completing
an intermediate-level course in art history at Wesleyan and
receiving a grade of B+ or higher. Credit is not awarded for
a score of less than 5. (The awarding of AP credit does not
exempt a student from the introductory art history course
requirement).
Art
Studio Program
Architecture, Drawing, Painting, Photography, Printmaking,
Sculpture, and Typography
The Art Studio
Program enables students to become fluent in visual language—its analytical and critical vocabulary and the rigors of
its technique and method—as a means to explore
intellectual issues and human experience. To this end,
students learn technique while searching for a personal
vision, beginning with basic studies in drawing and
introductory art history, proceeding through study of
various media, and working toward the successful completion
of the major's comprehensive requirement—the presentation
of a one-person exhibition in the spring of their senior
year. The program seeks to reflect the diversity of
technical and intellectual approaches practiced in the field
of visual art and is open to interdisciplinary
experimentation as well as traditionally focused studies.
Major requirements.
Students
majoring in art studio must satisfactorily complete 11
courses in the department:
That breaks down
to five art studio courses, four art history courses, and two
semesters of thesis. Further course study in art studio and
art history is recommended. On occasion, 100-level art
history courses may be substituted for the requirement of
200-level courses. Majors are expected to fulfill their
general education requirements as described by the
University guidelines, since all are required to complete a
senior thesis for honors.
In the final year
of study, each student will develop a focused body of work
and mount a solo exhibition. That exhibition is the
culmination of a two-semester thesis tutorial and is
developed in close critical dialogue with a faculty advisor.
The exhibition is critiqued by the faculty advisor and a
second critic and must be passed by a vote of the faculty of
the Art Studio Program. The senior thesis exhibition
provides a rare opportunity for the student to engage in a
rigorous, self-directed, creative investigation and in a
public dialogue about his/her work.
At the time of
application for major status, a student is expected to have
completed Drawing I and one art history course, and,
preferably, another art studio course. The prospective major
must consult with an art studio faculty member (usually in
the proposed area of study) who is willing to serve as
advisor. Some faculty may expect the student to have
completed outstanding work in a second-level course within a
particular medium (for example, Photo II or Painting II)
before agreeing to support a major applicant. Together,
student and major advisor devise a program of study for the
final two years. Admission to the major requires a review by
the art studio faculty and a minimum academic average of B
and an average of B+ for at least three courses in the
department, two of which must be in the art studio program.
A major is
obliged to consult with his/her advisor and receive approval
for off-campus study, leaves, or addition of a second major.
Off-campus study in the senior year is not encouraged and
requires additional approval of the program director.
Students should also consult carefully when planning
off-campus study before they have been accepted to the
major. An art studio faculty member must approve course work
taken outside of Wesleyan by a matriculated student in
advance, and a portfolio review is required after the course
is completed to transfer credit toward the major.
Transfer of course credit toward the major is not automatic,
even from a Wesleyan-approved program. A student may count
no more than three art studio and art history courses taken
outside the Wesleyan department toward the major without
specific permission of the faculty. Students transferring to
Wesleyan who wish to receive credit toward the major for art
studio courses taken at another institution should seek
approval from the department prior to enrollment. Portfolio
review is required; transfer of course credit is not
automatic.
Advanced
Placement credits in art studio are not accepted.
*In the rare case
students finish all graduation requirements in
January, they may complete the major with only one semester of
thesis tutorial, still exhibiting in the spring.
Last updated:
May 30, 2008.
Contact
wesmaps@wesleyan.edu to submit comments or suggestions.
Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459
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