Department of Art & Design

College of Fine Arts and Communication

Art History Minor

The art history program in the Department of Art and Design explores the meanings and purposes of the visual arts, including their historical development, their roles in society and their relationships to other disciplines.

Through the study of art history, students learn to think critically and communicate clearly about art objects from various cultures and time periods. To that end, art history courses at Lamar develop the following skills:

  • Knowledge acquisition
  • Understanding of various cultural traditions
  • Critical thinking
  • Analysis of visual and textual sources
  • Research and writing skills
  • Visual literacy

These skills are essential to any future career in art, art education, graphic design or related fields.

Ceramics

Art History Program Expectations

  1. Demonstrate an effective knowledge of visual vocabulary appropriate for careers in the visual arts.
  2. Recognize and understand major monuments, artists, methods, and theories, and be able to assess the qualities of works of art and architecture in their historical and cultural settings.
  3. Demonstrate an understanding of works of art and architecture from diverse genres and from a range of historical periods and geographical areas. 
  4. Demonstrate familiarity with more than one artistic culture of a particular time and place. (Course selection should be broad rather than concentrated.)
  1. Develop a familiarity with various methods of art historical analysis.
  2. Demonstrate mastery of analytical skills such as observation and inductive reasoning in interpreting works of art both as formal structures and in relation to social and cultural contexts.
  3. Locate, interpret and analyze primary and secondary sources relevant to research questions.
  4. Develop the ability to think, speak, and write clearly and effectively about works of art.

Minor Offered to Non-Majors

The minor in art history is offered to non-majors for inclusion in degree programs outside of the Department of Art and Design by earning 18 hours of credit as defined in the catalog.

Art and design majors may earn a Minor in Art History with the addition of coursework beyond degree program requirements, totaling 18 hours of earned credit in art history.

Required Classes for Art History Minor  Request Info

To qualify for a minor, a grade of no less than “C” must be obtained in each of the courses applied to the minor.

Art History Faculty

Dr. Julia Fischer, Assistant Professor

Dr. Stephanie Chadwick, Associate Professor