Art history encompasses the study of images, objects, and buildings from a broad range of historical periods and geographical regions, providing a doorway into many rich and diverse cultures throughout the world. It is about vision in the broadest sense, how people saw themselves in the past, and how we see ourselves in the present and future. Art history understands art as an instrument of power and recognizes its potential for influencing contemporary social issues.
By honing skills of careful observation, critical analysis, historical research, and written communication, a degree in art history provides students with tools to interpret the past in a wide variety of cultural contexts and teaches them how to be more critical participants within our media-saturated world. Through the close study of objects, art history cultivates a greater aesthetic awareness by considering questions of beauty, quality, and value across time and space.
The teaching and research of our faculty cover the arts of Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas, and the Islamic world, from ancient to contemporary times. Professors actively participate in interdisciplinary collaboration through co-teaching, joint research projects, workshops, conferences, and museum curation. Students are encouraged to think across geographic and disciplinary boundaries by studying the visual cultures of multiple regions and by taking courses in complementary fields, such as studio art, philosophy, sociology, history, and religion.
Art history courses make use of the rich collections of Boston College’s McMullen Museum of Art and numerous other cultural institutions across the city, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Institute of Contemporary Art, and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, as well as the built environment of historic Boston. Students frequently engage in summer internships and study abroad, enhancing traditional classroom learning through first-hand experience.
The skills of observing, reading, and writing offered through an art history degree not only enrich life, but are fundamental to many future career paths. Alumni of the department have gone on to work in academia, art criticism, architecture, museums, art conservation, cultural preservation, intellectual property law, and at commercial galleries and auction houses. Because art history contributes to the broad intellectual foundation that constitutes a liberal arts education, the skills acquired are also transferable to many areas outside the discipline.
Art history courses make use of the rich collections of Boston College’s McMullen Museum of Art and numerous other cultural institutions across the city, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Institute of Contemporary Art, and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, as well as the built environment of historic Boston.
Art, Art History, and Film Department
Devlin Hall 434
617-552-4295
