The Art History Program at Denison offers courses for a Bachelor of Arts Degree (B.A). The program is designed to identify and develop critical awareness, in accordance with the general aim of a liberal education. This program provides students with the opportunity for instruction and practice in the visual arts as preparation for graduate studies and professional pursuits in this field.

Art History majors will build a multi-dimensional body of knowledge about the discipline. This includes developing expertise in the analysis of visual expression and processes, artistic producers, and art-related institutions of a wide range of global (western and non-western) societies and cultures. In keeping with the goals of a liberal arts education, our pedagogy and curriculum encourage students to move beyond a narration of what they read, and instead engage in inquiry, critical evaluation, and autonomous thinking.

In addition to learning about the operations of artistic expression, material/visual culture, and the built environment from historical, socio-cultural, discursive, and aesthetic platforms, our majors will develop a well-stocked “tool kit” of significant issues and debates, theoretical frameworks, discursive traditions/historiography, and various methodologies central to conducting art historical research.

Students shall be actively conversant with the critical terms of art history. The emphasis placed on active scholarly production by faculty is carried through in our curricular goals, including research papers and especially the senior thesis, which represents the capstone experience for all senior majors. Our program also encourages an integrative approach to learning by emphasizing connections across areas of study in art history and complementary disciplines, as well as other sites for learning such as internships and study abroad programs.