The Department offers both a major in Art History and a major in Art History with a concentration in the Visual Arts. In each case, the student chooses a faculty advisor who assists her in planning a program incorporating personal interests while meeting departmental requirements.
For further information about Barnard College and the Barnard Art History Major please visit the Barnard Online Catalog at http://barnard.edu/catalog
Art History Major
A minimum of 12 Art History courses is required for the major including:
1. BC1001 and 1002 Introduction to Art History. This two-course sequence is required.
2. BC3970 Methods and Theories of Art History. To be taken during the junior or senior year.
3. BC3959 and BC3960 Senior Research Seminar. Either both semesters or the second semester depending on which Senior Thesis Project option you decide to do.
4. Seven elective courses, with the following requirements:
- Two of these courses must be seminars. None of the seminars listed above may count toward this requirement.
- At least one Western and one Nonwestern art history course. BC1001 and 1002 may not count toward this requirement.
- Four of these must cover a broad range of disciplinary areas. Students concentrating on Western art must have at least one course each in four of the following five periods: Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Modern.
- Students concentrating on non-Western art must work out a similarly comprehensive course of study in consultation with their advisers. Lecture classes or seminars can be used to fulfill this requirement. BC1001 and 1002 or any other broad survey cannot be used to fulfill this requirement.
- Courses in film are accepted toward the major requirements; studio courses are not.
Recommended: One or two studio courses should be taken by Art History students. Students who plan to undertake graduate work should acquire a reading knowledge of at least two foreign languages in which the major contributions to the history of art have been made. Most graduate schools require a reading knowledge of French, German, or Italian. The department strongly recommends a student's taking one of these languages while at Barnard.
Art History Minor
The minor in Art History consists of five lecture courses, including BC 1001, BC 1002, and three courses in the following areas, of which one must be non-European:
European and American: Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and Modern
Non-European: Chinese, Japanese, Indian, African, Mesoamerican, and Native American
Requirements for the major in the History and Theory of Architecture
See Architecture Program offerings.
