Art History, BA
Wayne Franits, Chair
Suite 308 Bowne Hall
315-443-4184
Romita Ray, Undergraduate Director
Suite 308 Bowne Hall
315-443-4184
Faculty
Molly Bourne (Florence), Sally Cornelison, Clare Fitzgerald, Wayne Franits, Margaret Innes, Samuel Johnson, Jonathan Nelson (Florence), Sean Nelson (Florence), Romita Ray, Sascha Scott, Jane Zaloga (Florence)
The Department of Art and Music Histories offers courses in most major periods of the history of arts and architecture from antiquity to the present. The research and teaching specialties of the art history faculty include Greek art and architecture, Byzantine and medieval art and architecture, early modern European art and architecture, 19th- and 20th-century European art, American and Indigenous art and architecture, South Asian art and architecture, Medievalism, and History of Photography.
Studies in the history of architecture are offered in association with the faculty in the School of Architecture (see program description under “History of Architecture” in this section of the catalog).
Art history majors can apply to an exciting array of internships at the Syracuse University Art Museum, the University’s Special Collections Research Center, and the Everson Museum of Art. Art history majors are strongly encouraged to take a foreign language and to study abroad.
Student Learning Outcomes
- Observe and interpret key formal aspects of works of art in historical contexts.
- Identify and analyze key works of art from different eras and traditions across the globe.
- Recognize and explain the relationship of artists and art to broad cultural, intellectual, and historical developments.
- Analyze central issues and apply scholarly methodologies in the field.
- Formulate a research question, synthesize and appraise scholarly information in support of a thesis, and express ideas clearly and persuasively in writing.
- Express ideas clearly and persuasively in oral presentations.
- Gain direct hands-on experience working with art objects and archives.
- Demonstrate knowledge of visual language pertinent to careers in the visual arts, architecture, visual studies, and the media.
Major Requirements
The major in art history requires 30 art history credits: 6 of those credits must be satisfied by lower division courses, and the remaining 24 credits must be completed at the 300 level or above. No course can fulfill more than two degree requirements. Below is an explanation of the other requirements for the major with a list of the courses that fulfill them. Please note that the list of courses provided here is incomplete and does not include special topics courses, which can be accessed through faculty advisors and the department website. Students are expected to consult with their art history faculty advisors during registration periods to ensure they fulfill their requirements. Students should also bear in mind that some courses that count toward the major are offered at Syracuse Abroad centers.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Lower-Division Requirement | ||
| Students are required to take 6 credits of lower-division coursework. These courses must be taken on the Syracuse campus (or be approved by petition). The following courses are among those that can count toward the lower-division requirement: | 6 | |
| Arts and Ideas I | ||
| Arts and Ideas II | ||
| The Visual Arts of the Americas | ||
| Senior Seminar Requirement | ||
| During the fall semester of their senior year, art history majors are required to successfully complete a senior seminar (3 credits). This seminar explores the practical aspects of the discipline, paying particular attention to potential careers and professional research writing. | ||
| HOA 498 | Senior Seminar: Research and Professional Practice | 3 |
| 500-level Course Requirement | ||
| Art history majors are required to take at least one course at the 500 level or above. 500-level courses are customarily open to advanced undergraduate majors as well as to graduate students in the MA program in Art History. Such courses offer more advanced study of particular art historical topics than those numbered at the 300 and 400 levels. | 3 | |
| Chronological Distribution Requirement | ||
| Art history majors must fulfill a chronological distribution requirement to ensure an adequate breadth of historical knowledge. Students are required to take two courses at any level in each of the following periods: Ancient/Medieval (pre-1450); Early Modern (1450-1750); and Modern/Contemporary (post 1750). These courses are among those that can also satisfy the lower-division and 500-level course requirements. Each course can count toward only one of the three chronological periods. | ||
| Ancient/Medieval (pre-1450) courses | ||
| Select two courses at any level of the following: | 6 | |
| Arts and Ideas I | ||
| Origins of Western Art | ||
| Greek Art and Architecture | ||
| Etruscans and Romans: Ancient Art and Society in Italy | ||
| Roman Art & Architecture | ||
| Italian Medieval Art | ||
| Art, Architecture and the Supernatural in 11th-12th Century Europe | ||
| Gothic Art | ||
| Art and Ideology in Medieval Spain | ||
| The Black Death and Medieval Art: Catastrophes and Cultural Change | ||
| From Gothic to Goth | ||
| Art, Faith, & Power in Late Medieval Italy | ||
| Topics in Ancient Art | ||
| Topics in Medieval Art | ||
| Early Modern (1450-1750) courses | ||
| Select two courses at any level of the following: | 6 | |
| Arts and Ideas II | ||
| Italian Renaissance Art | ||
| Studies in Baroque Art | ||
| Fifteenth-Century Italian Art: Inventing the Renaissance | ||
| Sixteenth-Century Italian Art and Identity | ||
| Leonardo da Vinci: Artist and Engineer | ||
| Research Problems in Italian Art | ||
| Northern Renaissance Art: 15th Century | ||
| Northern Renaissance Art: 16th Century | ||
| French Architecture, Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries | ||
| Baroque Art in Southern Europe | ||
| Baroque Art in Northern Europe | ||
| Italian Baroque Art and Architecture | ||
| The Architecture of Revolutions | ||
| Early Modern Architecture | ||
| Italian Urbanism: 100 Cities | ||
| Michelangelo | ||
HOA 522 | ||
| The Italian Renaissance Home | ||
| History of Printmaking | ||
| Paper Arts in the Low Countries | ||
| 17th Century Dutch Painting | ||
| Arts and Ideas in the 17th Century | ||
| Modern/Contemporary (post 1750) courses | ||
| Select two courses at any level of the following: | 6 | |
| Arts and Ideas II | ||
| The Visual Arts of the Americas | ||
| Art in Eighteenth Century Europe | ||
| Art in France from Impressionism to Surrealism | ||
| Nineteenth & Twentieth Century Italian Art | ||
| Photography & the Fine Arts | ||
| American Architecture, Settlement to 1860 | ||
| American Architecture, 1860 - World War I | ||
| Nineteenth-Century American Art | ||
| Twentieth-Century American Art | ||
| Art of the Black World | ||
| Native North American Art | ||
| From Gothic to Goth | ||
| Art of Romanticism | ||
| Realism to Symbolism: European Art, 1850-1900 | ||
| Early 20th Century Art | ||
| European Art Between the Wars | ||
| Modernism & Postmodernism | ||
| Modern Spanish Art | ||
| Modern Architecture: The International Style to Present | ||
| Art and Environment in American Culture Since 1800 | ||
| Arts and Ideas in the Nineteenth Century | ||
| Topics in History of Photography | ||
| Arts and Ideas in Contemporary Culture | ||
| Topics in American Art | ||
| Topics in Native North American Art | ||
| Topics in Global Modernisms | ||
| Cultural Distribution Requirement | ||
| Art history majors must fulfill a cultural distribution requirement in order to ensure an understanding of art history across geographical areas, and across or between cultures. Students are required to take two courses in global perspectives and/or intercultural perspectives. These courses can also satisfy a chronological distribution requirement. | 6 | |
| The Visual Arts of the Americas | ||
| Art of the Black World | ||
| Native North American Art | ||
| Islamic Architecture | ||
| Survey of Asian Art | ||
| The Arts of China | ||
| Art and Architecture of India | ||
| The Mediterranean City: Architecture, Ritual and Power | ||
| Art and Ideology in Medieval Spain | ||
| From Gothic to Goth | ||
| History of Japanese Design: Studies in Material Culture | ||
| Islamic Palaces of Spain: from Past to Present | ||
| Topics in Native North American Art | ||
| Topics in Global Modernisms | ||
| Total Credits | 36 | |
In Addition
Students may petition to include 3 credits of studio art coursework at any level in the required 30 credits. Students may also petition to have up to 3 credits of appropriate courses in art history (non-HOA courses) count toward the required 30 credits.
Distinction in Art History
Art history majors who have earned a GPA of at least 3.4 by the end of their junior year and a cumulative departmental GPA of at least 3.7, are eligible for distinction. An announcement about the distinction in art history will be made during the first week of Senior Seminar (HOA 498 Senior Seminar: Research and Professional Practice), so that all graduating seniors are aware of it. Qualified students can approach a faculty member regarding pursuing distinction, or individual faculty members can invite students to do so. Candidates for distinction must take the Senior Seminar. In addition, they must submit either a Capstone Project (Honor’s Thesis), or a 15-20 page-long art history research paper from an upper division HOA class (excluding bibliography and end/footnotes) that has earned at least an A-. Alternatively, students can develop a shorter writing sample into a longer research paper worthy of being submitted for distinction, through a 1-credit HOA 490 Independent Study supervised by a faculty member in the department (the Independent Study project must earn at least an A- to be considered for distinction).
College of Arts and Sciences Requirements
For all Arts and Sciences|Maxwell students, successful completion of a bachelor’s degree in this major requires a minimum of 120 credits, 96 of which must be Arts and Sciences|Maxwell credits, completion of the Liberal Arts Core requirements, and the requirements for this major (30 credits) that are listed above.
Dual Enrollments:
Students dually enrolled in Newhouse* and Arts and Sciences|Maxwell will complete a minimum of 122 credits, with at least 90 credits in Arts and Sciences|Maxwell coursework and an Arts and Sciences|Maxwell major.
*Students dually enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences|Maxwell as first year students must complete the Liberal Arts Core. Students who transfer to the dual program after their first year as singly enrolled students in the Newhouse School will satisfy general requirements for the dual degree program by completing the Newhouse Core Requirements.
Undergraduate University Requirements
The following requirements and experiences apply to all Syracuse University Undergraduate matriculated degree programs.