Art Histories, Ecologies, Industries
The Art Histories, Ecologies, Industries major explores the quintessential ties that connect artistic production with the world we live in; it investigates the manner through which social, economic, and political forces affect art worlds, and how in turn artistic form, research, and engagement inform and alter societies. The major places particular emphasis on studying the plurality of voices shaping present art historical perspectives; on understanding artistic ecosystems and art practices engaging with planetary ecologies past and present; and on identifying key actors and acquiring skills needed to thrive and succeed in the cultural and creative industries today. All required courses inherently comprise designated components that address art histories, ecologies, and industries; it is in the interdisciplinary electives that students shape the concentration of their major.
The Art Histories concentration brings students to engage with the diversity of perspectives and narratives that inform art historical studies today. Courses offered introduce students to a plurality of voices, which aim to counterbalance and revisit historiographies in the discipline, through a decentering of the focal lens, from Neapolitan and Venetian art histories in the context of European studies, feminist art histories, to a range of non-Western artistic traditions in pre-modern and modern eras. Students learn to combine iconological approaches with an attention to material cultures, while developing an awareness to the importance of our situated points of view, and in turn how these inform the object of art historical enquiry and their meaning in the present. Students graduating in the area are equipped to pursue graduate studies in art history and adjacent fields, as well as embrace art education pathways.
The Art Ecologies concentration encourages students to approach artworks and art practices in relation to their environments, social and non-human. In contrast to founding art historical approaches in the Western tradition that looked at the figure of the artist through individual gestures, 20th century art historical schools progressively shifted the attention to socio-political and economic contexts. In the 20th century contemporary artistic practices pushed this attention further by questioning the role of the artist as a social agent, the terms through which art was produced and consumed in societies, in parallel to a growing concern and engagement with socio-environmental pressure, sustainability and social justice in the planetary age. Students are thus to gain awareness of issues at the crossroads of art, science, and society, and to build interdisciplinary skills that mirror epistemological interlacings evident in both contemporary art historical and artistic practices today. Students graduating in the area are equipped to pursue graduate studies in art history and material studies, as well as pursue careers in art mediation and the contemporary arts.
The Art Industries concentration in the major invites students to focus on the entrepreneurial and trade aspects of art. In their studies they acquire a differentiated understanding of the broad scope of the creative industries, including fine arts, architecture design, publishing, and performing and music arts. They learn how to apply research methods in professional settings and how to formulate goal-oriented proposals. Once graduated, they have acquired an understanding of the dynamics of the collecting of art and of global art markets; are able to put to work curatorial skills and to address topical questions related to art and cultural heritage laws. Students graduating in this area are equipped to continue their academic studies pursuing MA and PhD degrees or to directly enter career paths in museums and galleries, auction houses and art advisory firms, cultural departments of corporations, and further sectors in the creative industries.
Graduating with this major, students will be ready to embark on career paths in both academia and the professional industry. Curatorial and research skills, as well as visual, cultural and media literacy and contextual intelligence are some of the workplace skills that students acquire in AHEI-related courses. They will also know how to creatively solve problems, take initiative and collaborate in team projects, and produce original work in the field.
Major Requirements (42 Credits)
Required Courses (15 credits)
| AHT 102 | Introduction to Art History and Visual Culture I: Antiquity to Early Renaissance | 3 |
| AHT 103 | Introduction to Art History and Visual Culture II: High Renaissance to Contemporary Art | 3 |
| AHT 270 | Theories and Methods in Art History and Visual Culture | 3 |
| AHT 320 | Anthropologies of Art | 3 |
| VCA 212 | Design Thinking for Academic and Entrepreneurial Minds | 3 |
Major Electives (12 credits)
Four of the following courses:
at least one course at the
300-level
| AHT 208T | Art now! | 3 |
| AHT 211 | Collecting Art and Art Law | 3 |
| AHT 213 | Art and Ideas: Exploring Vision | 3 |
| AHT 215T | Art and Industry in England: 1800-2000 | 3 |
| AHT 216 | Introduction to the History of Photography | 3 |
| AHT 218T | Harbor Cities: Architecture, Vision, and Experience | 3 |
| AHT 219 | Art of Curating | 3 |
| AHT 222T | Design Studies | 3 |
| AHT 225T | Naples and the Sea | 3 |
| AHT 226T | Gardens and Art (Rome) | 3 |
| AHT 230T | Art, Politics, Landscape: Ireland | 3 |
| AHT 234 | Painting in France in the 19th Century: Reality, Impressions, Simultaneity | 3 |
| AHT 257T | Architecture: History, Theory, Ecology, Design | 3 |
| AHT 262T | The Biennial: Signature Exhibition of a Global Art World? | 3 |
| AHT 263T | Art and Food | 3 |
| AHT 280 | Contemporary Art: From the New York School to the Present | 3 |
| AHT 285T | Technology in Art, Visual Communication, and Fashion | 3 |
| AHT 322 | Art and Ecology | 3 |
| AHT 327 | Activist Art | 3 |
| AHT 330T | Crossroads: Arts and Cultural Heritage of Taiwan | 3 |
| AHT 334 | Artists in Film | 3 |
| AHT 338 | The City and Its Representation in the 20th Century | 3 |
| AHT 350 | Museums and Art Galleries: Theory, History and Practice | 3 |
| AHT 357 | Art Market Studies: From Renaissance Commissions to Online Auctions | 3 |
| AHT 361 | Art and Trauma Studies: The Visual Culture of Disaster | 3 |
| AHT 362 | Visual Semiotics: Signs and Symbols in Art, Architecture, Film, and Fashion | 3 |
| AHT 371 | Topics in Art Histories, Ecologies, Industries | 3 |
| AHT 375 | Nature City Post-1960 | 3 |
| VCA 200 | Creative Publishing | 3 |
Interdisciplinary Electives (9 credits)
Choose one of the three specification tracks by taking three courses from the list of respective interdisciplinary electives.
Art Histories
Three of the following courses (prerequisites may
apply,
for specification within interdisciplinary electives, please consult with the Program Director in the respective area,
i.e.
CLCS, HIS, MUS, etc.)
| CLCS 200 | Gender and Sexuality in a Global Context | 3 |
| CLCS 206 | Reading Film: Visual Storytelling | 3 |
| CLCS 238T | Reading the Postcolonial City: Berlin and Hamburg | 3 |
| CLCS 241 | Forbidden Acts: Queer Studies and Performance | 3 |
| CLCS 251T | Reading Moroccan Culture | 3 |
| CLCS 253T | On Refugees: Representations, Politics and Realities of Forced Migration: Greece | 3 |
| CLCS 315 | Slavery and Its Cultural Legacies | 3 |
| CLCS 330 | The Politics of Mobility: Exile and Immigration | 3 |
| CLCS 350 | Culture and Human Rights | 3 |
| CLCS 360 | Critical Race Studies in a Global Context | 3 |
| COM 302 | Intercultural Communication: Theory, Research, and Practice | 3 |
| FRE 324 | Postcolonial Franco-Maghrebi Literature: Exile, Margins, and Re-Territorialization | 3 |
| FRE 376 | French Cinema: The New Wave | 3 |
| GER 374 | Strangers in Paradise?: Historical and Cultural Texts on Immigration into Switzerland | 3 |
| HIS 243 | Worlds of Islam | 3 |
| HIS 245 | Worlds of Judaism | 3 |
| HIS 330 | East Asia, 1900 to the Present | 3 |
| HIS 345 | Propaganda: A Modern History | 3 |
| HIS 355 | The World and the West in the Long 19th Century | 3 |
| HIS 357 | Weimar Germany: Crisis or Crucible of Modernity? | 3 |
| IS 278 | Italian Genre Crossings, Transmedia, and Hybridity | 3 |
| ITA 373 | Italian Film and Society | 3 |
| ITA 375 | Italian Film Adaptation: From the Page to the Screen | 3 |
| MUS 213 | Classical Music in Film | 3 |
| MUS 218 | Music and Politics: From the French Revolution to Communism | 3 |
| POL 300 | Comparative Politics | 3 |
| PSY 220 | Multicultural Psychology | 3 |
Art Ecologies
Three of the following courses (prerequisites may
apply,
for specification within interdisciplinary electives, please consult with the Program Director in the respective area,
i.e.
CLCS
, ENV, PSY, STA
, etc.)
| BIO 310 | Ecology | 3 |
| CLCS 248T | European Food Systems: You Are Where You Eat | 3 |
| CLCS 250 | Ecocritical Approaches to Film | 3 |
| CLCS 320 | Culture, Class, Cuisine: Questions of Taste | 3 |
| CLCS 331 | Narrative Ecologies: The Uses of Environmental Humanities | 3 |
| CLCS 372 | Tales of Catastrophe | 3 |
| COM 235T | Pizza, Spaghetti and Other Stories: Food Journalism and Culture | 3 |
| ENV 200 | Understanding Environmental Issues | 3 |
| ENV 210 | Natural Disasters, Catastrophes, and the Environment | 3 |
| ENV 240 | Environment and Health | 3 |
| ENV 372 | Sustainability Science | 3 |
| PSY 315 | Environmental Psychology | 3 |
| SJS 100 | Sustainability and Social Justice: Ethics, Equality, and Environments | 3 |
| STA 235 | Sustainability and the Studio | 3 |
| STA 331T | Umbria: Sustaining Art in the Heart of Italy | 3 |
Art Industries
Three of the following courses (prerequisites may
apply,
for specification within interdisciplinary electives, please consult with the Program Director in the respective area,
i.e.
BUS, COM,
CLCS
, etc.
)
| BUS 108T | Arts, Luxury, and Experiences (Paris) | 3 |
| BUS 135 | International Business | 3 |
| BUS 136 | Marketing in a Global Context | 3 |
| BUS 235T | Corporate Social Responsibility | 3 |
| BUS 236T | Marketing for Movies | 3 |
| BUS 251 | Sustainable Luxury Management | 3 |
| BUS 274 | Brand Management | 3 |
| BUS 285 | Integrated Marketing Communications | 3 |
| BUS 383 | Digital Marketing and Web Analytics | 3 |
| COM 201 | Fundamentals of Media Studies and Criticism | 3 |
| COM 211 | Producing Non-Fiction Short Films: Communication and Media in Practice | 3 |
| COM 225T | Technologized Bodies: Mobile ICTs in the City | 3 |
| COM 230T | Communication, Fashion, and the Formation of Taste (Italy) | 3 |
| COM 255 | The Culture of Made in Italy | 3 |
| COM 295 | Media Consumption, Fashion, and Identity | 3 |
| COM 304 | The Industrialization of Creativity from Mass Media to Platform Economy | 3 |
| COM 330 | The Digital Innovation and Media Strategies for a New Consumer Culture | 3 |
| FAS 100 | Introduction to Fashion Studies | 3 |
| MUS 216 | A History of Opera: From Orpheus to West Side Story | 3 |
| STA 107 | Introduction to Digital Photography | 3 |
| STA 117 | Introduction to Digital Video Production | 3 |
| STA 200 | Computer Graphics in Advertising | 3 |
| STA 207 | Intermediate Digital Photography | 3 |
| STA 217 | Intermediate Digital Video Production | 3 |
| STA 300 | Computer Graphics in Advertising, Advanced | 3 |
| STA 307 | Advanced Digital Photography | 3 |
| STA 317 | Advanced Digital Video Production | 3 |
Senior Seminar (3 credits)
| AHT 495 | Senior Seminar in Art Histories, Ecologies, Industries | 3 |
Capstone Requirement (3 credits)
One of the following:
| AHT 497 | Art Histories, Ecologies, Industries Senior Project | 3 |
| AHT 498 | Art Histories, Ecologies, Industries Internship | 3 |
| AHT 499 | Art Histories, Ecologies, Industries Thesis | 3 |