ART HISTORY CURRICULUM
The degree requirements for students majoring in art history consist of eleven full courses (forty-four hours) and a comprehensive examination to be taken during the final semester of the senior year. In order to receive departmental honors, a student must have a departmental GPA of 3.5 at the end of the final semester and have passed the comprehensive examination with distinction, that is, with an overall score of 88 on a 100-point scale.
Eight of the 11 required courses must be in art history and must include the following seven, all of which must be taken at Sewanee: a) two art history surveys (ArtH 103 and ArtH 104); b) the Junior Seminar (ArtH 317); c) one additional upper-division art history course of the student's own choosing; and d) at least one upper-division lecture or seminar course from each of the following three groups:
Ancient and Medieval: includes Greek and Roman Art [ArtH 312], Spanish Medieval Art [ArtH 318], Medieval Art [ArtH 320]
Renaissance and Baroque: includes Italian Renaissance Art [ArtH 325], Northern Renaissance Art [ArtH 326], 17th and 18th Century Art [ArtH 332]
Modern and American: includes 19th Century Art [ArtH 335], British Art [ ArtH 338], American Art [ArtH 340], Modern Art [ArtH 345], and Contemporary Art [ArtH 346].
In addition, art history majors are required to complete three full courses in three different fields related to their Area of Special Interest. Areas of Special Interest include: Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque/18th Century, 19th Century, American, British, Modern, Contemporary, and Asian. Majors must inform their advisors of their Area of Special Interest before the end of their sophomore year, ideally prior to registration for Advent semester courses. Once the Area of Special Interest is chosen, majors must provide their advisors with a list of at least three complementary courses outside art history. These three complementary courses may be taken at Sewanee, at another institution, or in a study-abroad program and may be taken on a pass-fail basis.
For example, a student who pursues Medieval Art as his or her Area of Special Interest might take the following three complementary courses: Medieval Philosophy (Philosophy 302), Medieval Latin (Classics 405), and Medieval Europe (History 303 or 304). Of course, other relevant courses may be proposed. Approval of complementary courses is at the advisor's discretion.
NOTE: Courses taken in art as part of the requirements for a degree in art history will not count toward a major in art.
Subject to approval by the art history faculty, the department will accept up to two courses (eight hours) in art history from other institutions. Exceptions to this limit will be decided by the chair. Students interested in advanced placement into upper-division art history courses should consult the department.
Minor in Art History: Students may minor in art history by passing both halves of the art-history survey (ArtH 103 and ArtH 104), four upper-division (200-level and above) art history courses, and Part I (slide identification) and Part II (art-historical terms and concepts) of the art history comprehensive examination. Subject to approval by the art history faculty, the department will accept up to two courses (eight hours) in art history from other institutions, two of which may be beyond the introductory level. Exceptions to this limit will be decided upon by the chair. Students minoring in art history are urged to be mindful of the comprehensive examination when choosing courses: the comp concerns material covered in the surveys and the 300-level courses taught at Sewanee only.
