Minor in Art History

About

Students in a variety of majors find they benefit from an Art History minor. Because upper-division courses in Art History have no prerequisites, our minor conveniently fits into many academic plans. Art History is both visually-oriented and analytical, and because it is a writing discipline, the minor has also provided an interesting and useful source of core GE credits (AH, VL, WC, ACGH, WE).

Five upper-division Art History courses (20 units) constitute the minor. Select four courses from any four of these six areas: 

1. the ancient world, 
2. Asian art, 
3. the Middle Ages to 1700, 
4. Western art 1700 to 1900, 
5. World art from 1900 to the present, 
6. art and issues across chronologies. 

Any fifth upper-division Art History course completes the minor. Online courses, internships, independent study, and courses in other disciplines are not applicable to the AHI minor.

• There are no hidden course requirements. Upper-division Art History courses have no prerequisites.
• Undergraduate Seminar courses are recommended as electives, AHI 190A–H.
• If architecture is an interest, you can easily create a minor entirely of architecture-related courses. Consult the architectural emphasis in the course catalog for a list.
• UC Davis summer session upper division courses all count toward the minor. In summer session we offer some of our most interesting courses, not available during the regular academic year. They are taught by dedicated, experienced faculty who are experts in their fields.
• Study Abroad courses in Art History can be applied toward the Art History minor after they are reviewed by the undergraduate and faculty advisors, who determine the distribution area most suited to the course.

Checklist

The Art History minor requires five upper-division courses in Art History: four courses chosen from four different Distribution Areas, plus any fifth upper-division Art History course as an elective. Online courses, internships, independent study, and courses in other disciplines do not apply to the minor. Courses marked “(Architectural History)” below are related to Architectural History.

Four Distribution Area Courses (16 Units)

Choose four courses from four different Distribution Areas.

Distribution Area 1: The Ancient World

• AHI 151, Arts of the Ancient New World (4) – Architectural History
• AHI 172A, Early Greek Art and Architecture (4) – Architectural History
• AHI 172B, Later Greek Art and Architecture (4) – Architectural History
• AHI 173, Roman Art and Architecture (4) – Architectural History
• AHI 175, Architecture and Urbanism in Mediterranean Antiquity (4) – Architectural History

Distribution Area 2: Asia

• AHI 154, The Hindu Temple (4) – Architectural History
• AHI 157, Buddhist Art (4)
• AHI 163A, Early Chinese Art (4) – Architectural History
• AHI 163B, Chinese Painting (4)
• AHI 163C, Early Modern Chinese Painting (4)
• AHI 163D, Art from China 1900 to the Present (4)
• AHI 164, Arts of Japan (4)

Distribution Area 3: The Middle Ages to 1700

• AHI 155, The Islamic City (4) – Architectural History
• AHI 156, Arts of the Islamic Book (4)
• AHI 176A, Art of the Middle Ages: Early Christian and Byzantine Art (4) – Architectural History
• AHI 176D, Art and Architecture in the Medieval Mediterranean (4) – Architectural History
• AHI 178B, Italian (Early) Renaissance (4) – Architectural History
• AHI 178C, Italian (High) Renaissance (4) – Architectural History
• AHI 179B, Baroque Art (4)

Distribution Area 4: Western Art 1700 to 1900

• AHI 130, Landscape, Nature, and Art (4)
• AHI 168, Great Cities (4) – Architectural History
• AHI 180, Arts of the Rococo (4)
• AHI 182, British Art and Culture 1750–1900 (4)
• AHI 183A, Art in the Age of Revolution 1750–1850 (4)
• AHI 183B, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism (4)
• AHI 188C, American Art to 1910 (4)

Distribution Area 5: World Art, 20th Century to the Present

• AHI 122, Sex and Space (4) – Architectural History
• AHI 163D, Art from China 1900 to the Present (4)
• AHI 183C, Modernism in France (4)
• AHI 184, Twentieth-Century Architecture (4) – Architectural History
• AHI 185, Avant-Gardism and its Aftermath, 1917–1960 (4)
• AHI 186, Contemporary Art 1960 to Present (4)
• AHI 189, Photography in History (4)

Distribution Area 6: Art and Issues across Chronologies

• AHI 110, Cultural History of Museums (4) – Architectural History
• AHI 120A, Art, Architecture and Human Rights (4) – Architectural History
• AHI 121, Politics of Public Art (4)
• AHI 123, Museums in the Age of Spectacle (4) – Architectural History
• AHI 181, Latin American Art and Architecture (4) – Architectural History
• AHI 188A, The American Home (4) – Architectural History

One Upper-Division Elective (4 Units)

Almost any additional upper-division AHI course; see below for some recommendations.

• AHI _____, _____________________________________ (4)

Recommended Additional Courses

• AHI 101, Understanding Museum Practices (4)
• AHI 148, Theory and Criticism: Painting and Sculpture (4)
• AHI 150, Arts of Sub-Saharan Africa (4)
• AHI 176B, Romanesque Art (4) – Architectural History
• AHI 176C, Gothic Art (4) – Architectural History
• AHI 177, Northern Renaissance Art (4)
• AHI 187, Contemporary Architecture (4) – Architectural History
• AHI 188B, Architecture in the United States (4) – Architectural History
• AHI 198, Directed Group Study (4)
• AHI 199, Individual Study (4)
• Additional seminar, AHI 190 (A–L) (4)
• CLA 101D, Topics in Classical Receptions (4)
• CLA 104, Death and Dying in the Ancient Mediterranean (4)
• CLA 111, Forms of Knowledge in the Ancient World (4)