Program in Art History

Students pursuing the Art History Sequence benefit from a varied menu of course offerings, which reflects the broad range of expertise and interests of the Art History faculty.

The study of Art History examines specific works of sculpture, painting, architecture, and other art forms, both as expressions of human creativity and as uniquely informative historical documents. Through such investigations students gain a greater aesthetic appreciation of art and a deeper understanding of its purposes in different times and places.

The Art History Sequence provides students a solid grounding in the history of art on both introductory and advanced levels.

In addition, the sequence includes exposure to related disciplines outside the visual arts, training in foreign language, and experience in advanced research and writing skills. Together, these requirements prepare students for effective graduate work in Art History or other fields and for positions in a variety of art- and non-art-related fields.

Features and program resources

Facilities

Internships :
Students may earn credit hours in art history and gain valuable work experience through internships offered at various institutions in the area. Art History Sequence students have done summer or one semester internships locally at the McLean County Art Center and the McLean County Historical Society, and at Lakeview Museum in nearby Peoria.

Special Topics Seminars :
Topics for Art History seminars, which may be taken for three hours of credit, change from semester to semester. Surrealism, Impressionism, "Mainstream Artists and Non-Mainstream Sources", Nineteenth-Century Photography, Andy Warhol, and "The Artist as Social Activist" are some of the topics focused on in past seminars.

Fine Arts Computer Lab :
Located adjacent to Art History classrooms in the CVA building, this well-equipped facility enriches the art history program by offering
students easy access to art-history-related CD-ROMs and other course review programs, Internet resources, and Milner Library's on-line catalog for research.

Scholarships :
Students in the Art History Major Sequence are eligible for School of Art scholarships and tuition waivers which are available annually on a competitive basis.

The Robert Small Award for Writing in Art History
This annual competition offers cash awards to undergraduate or graduate students whose Art History papers demonstrate outstanding research and writing skills.

For more detailed information about these programs including program requirements, course descriptions and prerequisites, please refer to the Undergraduate Catalog (pdf).

For more information on applying for the Art History sequence, see the Art History Sequence Guidelines.pdf

Faculty
Susan Appel
William Archer
Barry Blinderman
Janet Connelly
Maggie Duncan-Flowers
Arthur Iorio
Melissa Johnson
Annette Lermack