Art History is the study of the visual arts in civilization. It
examines changing values in all fields of visual culture,
including painting, sculpture, graphics, photography,
architecture, film, the mass media, and forms of popular
expression. Its interdisciplinary reach encompasses literature,
history, anthropology, sociology, philosophy, gender studies,
critical theory, and cultural studies. Art History emphasizes
visual as well as verbal and written literacy, providing more
than the standard advantages to a liberal arts education.
Students majoring in Art History will engage with the
wide-ranging opportunities its curriculum presents for learning
and research. Studying Art History develops visual
literacy, communication skills, critical/creative thinking and an
understanding of diversity.
The UC Davis Humanities
Institute’s Book
Chat series opens with Professor Talinn Grigor in
conversation with Dr. Wendy DeSouza. Grigor will discuss her
latest book, The Persian Revival: The Imperialism of the
Copy in Iranian and Parsi Architecture (2021) and her
research on 19th-20th-century art and architectural histories
through postcolonial and critical theories grounded in Iran,
Armenio-Iran, and Parsi India.
Congratulations to Emily Szasz (M.A., ‘22) whose
paper ”Denaturalizing Center Modalities of Making: Reading
Yoko Ono’s Grapefruit” has been accepted for the College
Arts Association’s111th conference.
Professor Katharine Burnett has been invited to present a
keynote lecture at the 5th International Symposium on
Humanistic Foundations and Intercultural Understanding of Sino-US
Relations (HFCUSUR).
Xu Bing is a visual
artist internationally recognized for his experiments with
written script. Xu garnered international attention in the late
1980s for his experiments with the Chinese written script created
using woodblock carving and printing to produce a series of
nonsensical characters. Since then, Xu has explored the ways in
which the written script bridges different systems of writing and
engages audiences across different cultures.
