Art History

  • Students

    OPEN TO JUNIORS AND SENIORS
    1.0 MAJOR CREDIT AT LEVELS 9 & 4

    Art History is a year-long survey course covering art and culture from prehistoric through contemporary times. Although this is not an AP course, the content is closely aligned with the AP College Board curriculum. To that end, approximately 70% of the content is on art from the European/Western traditions, and approximately 30% of the content is on Asian, African, Indigenous America, and the Pacific. This course is designed to acquaint students with our rich and varied heritage in the visual arts. As visible and tangible evidence of past human events and artistic achievement, students learn to appreciate art history as a continuum that exists into the present. Students examine the motivations that brought people together to create. They identify patterns and make connections that enrich their understanding and appreciation of our world today. Architecture, painting, sculpture, and other art forms are introduced through slides, films, the Internet, and books. Discussions, lectures, group and individual projects, and field trips to galleries and museums are all integral components of the course. Students taking this course have the option of taking the Advanced Placement History of Art Examination. Students may elect to take this course for either Art Department or Social Studies Department credit. If taken for Art Department credit, the course may be used to meet the fine and/or practical arts graduation requirement.

    History of Art at levels 9 and 4 requires regular reading, analytical and expository writing, and occasional research projects. A student in this course can expect 3-4 hours of homework per week.