Rice University, BA, Art History

Upon completing the BA degree with a major in Art History, students will be able to: Understand the historical, social, cultural and political contexts and traditions of art. Students will develop an understanding of the multiple contexts of art, including its relationship to religion, politics, gender and sexuality, urbanism, history, culture, and other domains of human social experience. Demonstrate effective use of specialized disciplinary vocabulary and appropriate methodologies to analyze works of art and communicate their form, function, and meaning orally and in writing. Demonstrate ability to perform comparative analyses of art works based on differences or similarities in cultural context, form, content, artist, materials, and time and place of production. Demonstrate specialized knowledge about, and be able to identify, art from specific geographical locations, periods, artists, and/or artistic movements. Evaluate and use primary and secondary sources to generate and answer original research questions and produce independent research. Understand major artistic movements, common themes, trends, and the styles of major artists. They will demonstrate generalized knowledge of major figures in art history, major art movements and traditions, and major artistic styles.