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.
BARNARD ART HISTORY | VISUAL ARTS
LIMITED ENROLLMENT COURSE INFORMATION & INSTRUCTIONS
Fall 2025 BC Art History seminars and Visual Arts studio courses are limited enrollment and require the professor’s approval via an application process. For further information on Fall 2025 courses, visit the Columbia Online Directory, and Virgil.
- PLEASE NOTE VERY IMPORTANT LIMITED ENROLLMENT COURSE PROTOCOLS-
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 you have been accepted into a course, you are still required to 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.
BC ART HISTORY SEMINAR APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
Art History Seminar Courses Requiring a Google Form Online Application due 4/9
Rosters will be announced to those who have applied the week of April 14th in time to make registration decisions. Below are the BC AH seminar courses requiring an application via a Google Form application. Note CU AH seminar application are also due on 4/9.
See the CU AH Department website for application links.
AHIS BC3968 Art Criticism
Instructor: John Miller
Day/Time Offered: Tuesday 10:10am-12pm, 4 credits
Link to Google Application Form
AHIS BC3984 Curatorial Positions 1969-Present
Instructor: Valerie Smith
Day/Time Offered: Thursday 10:10am-12pm, 4 credits
Link to Google Application Form
BARNARD VISUAL ARTS APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
The following BC Visual Arts studio courses are limited to 18 and require the instructor’s permission to enroll. When registering for BC Visual Arts courses, you will be required to fill out an online application right in Virgil in order to be added to the waitlist. Include in your application how many visual arts or related courses you have taken and the reasons for wanting to take this course (please be specific)
AHIS BC2001 Drawing
Instructor: Jozefina Chetko
Day/Time Offered: Tuesday 10:10-2, 3 credits
AHIS BC2006 and AHIS BC2008 Painting
Instructor: Joan Snitzer
Day/Time Offered: Wednesday 2:10-6pm, 3 credits
AHIS BC2015 Mixed Media Studio
Instructor: Jozefina Chetko
Day/Time Offered: Wednesday 10:10-2pm, 3 points
AHIS BC2017 Cell Phone Photography: Exploring Digital Media
Instructor: Jozefina Chetko
Day/Time Offered: Tuesday 2:10-6, 3 credits
AHIS BC2990 Sculpting in Time
Instructor: Irena Haiduk
Day/Time Offered: Friday 10:10-2pm, 4 points
AHIS BC3842 Introduction to Design
Instructor: Irena Haiduk
Day/Time Offered: Thursday 10:10-2pm, 4 points