Art History Main Page
Art History and Visual Arts at Barnard
The Art History department teaches the history and practice of visual creativity. All people, at all times, around the world, have expressed their identities and their beliefs through visual art. From temple complexes to tea-cups, from quilts sewn with scraps to sculptures welded with tons of steel, art objects bring to us a knowledge of who we have been and how we shape our environments.
Both our history and studio courses train students to observe the world more closely and interpret what they see. In our history courses, students study how art has occurred at the intersection of personal, technical, and social forces. In our studio courses, students learn to engage those forces using media ranging from traditional drawing to digital design.
Thanks to Barnard’s location in New York City, the Art History department’s classrooms include some of the world’s most important museums and galleries. Courses are regularly taught at or with museums, and visiting artists, curators and critics frequently enrich our curriculum. Students interact with New York’s thriving art world for class assignments and independent projects and, especially during the summer, through jobs and internships. Art History majors have gone on to careers in museums, galleries, auction houses, arts administration, publishing, philanthropy, and as academics and practicing artists.
FALL 2024 PROGRAM PLANNING
Please visit the CU Directory for a full Fall 2024 Art History course list.
Fall 2024 BC Art History Seminar Courses Requiring an Application
Fall 2024 BC art history seminars and visual arts studio courses are limited enrollment and require the professor’s approval via an application process. Applications are due on April 10th, at 5pm. Note the courses and application links below. Rosters will be announced the week of April 15th in time to make registration decisions. Notice of admission will be sent by email. Please email the BC AH office ASAP if, after you have been accepted into a course, you decide not to register. This way, we can admit a student off the waitlist. If accepted into a course, you must still attend the first class meeting in September to secure your spot. If you do not attend the first class meeting in September, you will lose your spot, and the professor will assume you are not taking the course and will admit a student off the waitlist.
AHIS BC3859 Gender and Sexuality in the Contemporary Art of the Americas
LINK TO APPLICATION
Instructor: Dorota Biczel
Day/Time Offered Wednesdays, 11am-12:50pm, 4 credits
AHIS BC3968 Art Criticism
LINK TO ONLINE APPLICATION
Instructor: John Miller
Day/Time Offered: Tuesday 11am-12:50pm, 4 credits
AHIS BC3984 Curatorial Positions 1969-Present
LINK TO ONLINE APPLICATION
Instructor: Valerie Smith
Day/Time Offered: Thursday 11am-12:50pm, 4 credits
Fall 2024 BC Visual Arts Studio Courses Requiring an Application
AHIS BC2001 Drawing
Instructor: Jozefina Chetko
Day/Time Offered: Thursday 2:10-6, 3 credits
LINK TO ONLINE APPLICATION
AHIS BC2005 and AHIS BC2007 Painting I & III
Instructor: Joan Snitzer
Day/Time Offered: Wednesday 2:10-6pm 3 credits
LINK TO ONLINE APPLICATION