History of Art
Explore the unconventional minds of the past and of today — and build upon their creative heritage.
Your Options
Art History and Museum Professions Major
Our faculty of practicing professionals will give you an insider perspective on the art world and the chance to network with curators, museum educators, archivists, and artists.
History of Art Minor
This minor will introduce you to the history of art, architecture, and visual culture in world civilizations from prehistory to the present. Courses emphasize the interrelation between art and the cultures that produced it, with special attention to social, economic, political, religious, and philosophical contexts.
General Courses
Choose from courses on the arts of Europe, Asia, the Americas, Africa, and the Pacific islands. Study the art of diverse cultures from the prehistoric to the postmodern, as well as the specific histories of architecture, costume and fashion, industrial design, photography, and textiles. Many of our classes satisfy interdisciplinary Liberal Arts minors, such as Fashion History, Theory and Culture; Asian Studies; Ethics and Sustainability; LGBTQIA Studies; African American and Africana Studies; and Middle East and North African Studies.
Our Work
Art, design, communication, and business overlap today more than ever. In the History of Art Department, our faculty uncover the social, political, and cultural meaning of those connections.
History of Art Chair Justine De Young wrote a catalog essay for the James Tissot: Fashion and Faith exhibition in San Francisco, along with a peer-reviewed article on art history pedagogy.
A hub for fashion research containing hundreds of essays, the Fashion History Timeline equips students and scholars with essential facts and links to digitized primary and secondary sources.
Anna Blume, along with the Gladys Marcus Library, has launched the Archaic Bannerstone Project, a resource for the study of the aesthetically complex, anomalous ancient Native American lithics.
Amy Werbel follows the history—and ultimate failure—of censorship in America through her book Lust on Trial: Censorship and the Rise of American Obscenity in the Age of Anthony Comstock.
Outside the Classroom
Many professional opportunities are open to those who study art history. Visual literacy and critical and analytical skills are essential for arts marketing and publicity, advertising, arts journalism, art law, art education, fine art digital and online archiving, the science of art conservation, art librarianship, and work in costume and set design for theater, film, and television. Whatever direction you take in your career, your knowledge of art history will inspire, enlighten, and empower you.
Visual Resources
The Visual Resources (VR) division of the History of Art department assists faculty with research and teaching. VR staff also update the Art History Collection on FITDIL, FIT’s Digital Image Library. The Art History Collection is the largest collection within FITDIL, with 60,000 images ranging from ancient to contemporary art.
Related Minors
- African American and Africana Studies
- American Studies
- Asian Studies
- Caribbean Studies
- Ethics and Sustainability
- Ethnic Dress in a Global Context
- Fashion History, Theory and Culture
- Film and Media Studies
- Italian Studies
- Latin American Studies
- LGBTQIA Studies
- Middle East and North African Studies
- Women and Gender Studies
Featured Courses
New Courses Add Diversity to Our Curriculum! Visit the Registrar page to register for these courses
HA 131
Global Modern Art 1750-1950
Introduces the art histories of global cultures, 1750-1950. Students think critically about the impact of cultural exchanges, modernization, and colonization, religion, politics, and societal values on art. Diverse cultural definitions of art and artists are explored, with focus on perspectives from Eurasia, Africa, the Americas, and the Pacific Islands.
HA 253
Afrofuturist Art and Visual Culture
Study of Afrofuturism through selected historical and contemporary works of art and visual culture. Students will think critically about different definitions and key themes and tropes of Afrofuturism, and explore Afrofuturist works coming from Africa and the African Diaspora.
HA 254
Modern and Contemporary Latin American Art
This course surveys Latin American art in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, studying Latin American artists as active participants in an international conversation with their contemporaries, both at home and abroad, resulting in a range of artistic styles and methods unique to the experience of Latin American modernity.
Learn From the Best
Our accomplished faculty members are active in their scholarship and committed to teaching. They will introduce you to the rise and fall of civilizations, revolutions in ideas and technology, and the forces that have changed history. Meet more History of Art faculty.
Dr. Pyun specializes in Asian and European medieval art. Her research interests include the global trade of decorative arts in pre-modern Eurasia and the Americas and the usage and reception of visual art in religious performance and liturgy. Pyun received the 2018–19 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities.
Dr. Drogin specializes in Italian Renaissance art and has lectured frequently in venues such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Italian Renaissance Sculpture Conference. Dr. Drogin has also written and lectured about contemporary art. In 2009 he was recipient of the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Art History Insider
The History of Art department newsletter
Spring 2023 Issue is now available!
Past Issues
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Business and Liberal Arts Center
Justine De Young
Jasmin Miranda
