Art

The Tourist View: Grand Tours to Tramps Abroad, Denison Museum, September 2006, Curated by Joy Sperling and Jacqueline Marie Musacchio (photographed by Jacqueline Pelasky)

THE ART HISTORY PROGRAM at DENISON offers courses for the bachelor of arts degree (B.A.). The program in the art history discipline 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.

The department has an extensive visual resources collection including both digital images and slides for use in art history classes. Art history courses include African art and visual culture, arts of the Western World, history of Asian art, history of photography, Byzantine Art, 19th Century Art and New Art.

Requirements for the Art History Major

Art history offers a major for students interested in pursuing further study in graduate school, as well as for students interested in pursuing careers that require research, critical analysis and inter-cultural understanding in an ever-globalizing world. For the B.A. degree in art history, the following must be completed:

    •    Ten art history courses   •    One studio art course
    •    Senior thesis
    •    Participation in Junior Day
    •    Presentation of thesis at Senior Symposium.

For an art history minor, the following must be completed:

    •    Five art history courses
    •    One studio art course.

What do art history majors do after Denison?

Art History Program graduates use intellectual abilities and communication skills to pursue careers in education, media, publishing, fashion or business. In addition, some continue into careers in graphic design, museum and conservation work and professional development as working artists.

Who are our professors?

Associate Professor Karl Sandin is Chair of the Art History Program.  He joined the faculty at Denison in 1989. He earned his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. from Rutgers University, focusing in art history and Byzantine studies. His research focus is the religious and political art of antiquity.

Associate Professor Joanna Grabski joined the faculty at Denison in 2000. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in the History of Art and African Studies at Indiana University. Her research focuses on modern and contemporary art in Africa, especially Senegal and Congo, where she has worked with artists, collectors and critics.

Associate Professor L. Joy Sperling joined the faculty at Denison in 1989. She earned her M.A. and M.F.A. at Edinburgh University and her Ph.D. from the University of California - Santa Barbara. She specializes in art history, particularly American art, modern art and the history of photography. She has published in the areas of 19th century, modern and New Art.

Visiting Assistant Professor Mayu Tsuruya earned her Ph.D. in Art History at the University of Pittsburgh, PA in 2005.  Her M.A. in Art History is from the University of Oregon.  Her area of specialization is Japanese art with a focus on the modern period and its interaction with the West.