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DEPARTMENT OF ART, ART HISTORY & VISUAL STUDIES
Mission Statement and Goals & Objectives

The mission of the undergraduate program in the Department of Art, Art History & Visual Studies is to provide students with an historical and interdisciplinary understanding of art works, visual experience, and material objects, drawing on models from the humanities, social sciences, and the sciences that provide varied means of assessing the production, circulation, and reception of the visual in past and present cultures. Our mission is to offer students a dynamic model for critical, interdisciplinary analysis of a broad field of images, enabling them to interpret social and cultural constructs that shape and are shaped by the visual, to consider global shifts in visual codes, and to be aware of how symbolic constructions organize how one sees, understands, and participates in the natural, cultural, and built environments.

Students can pursue training in four Majors – Art; Art History; Art/Art History; and Visual Studies. We offer one Concentration in Architecture and four Minors: Art; Art History; Visual Studies; and Photography. We provide studio practice, lectures, small group formats, and one-on-one independent study experiences, all of which encourage the development and application of critical and technical skills in real-world settings.

Goals and Objectives:

The Department of Art, Art History & Visual Studies at Duke University offers a range of interdisciplinary approaches to artistic practice and to the historical and critical analysis of visual imagery across time, media, and cultures. Its goals are consistent with those promoted by the College Art Association, and are pursued through a range of Majors, Minors and Concentrations, which parallel the intellectual scope and ambition of the affiliated disciplines represented within the Department. To this end, the Department sets itself the following goals:

Goal 1.

Art History majors will show an historical and critical understanding of traditional and non-traditional art forms and visual practices in survey courses and seminars. They will 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.

Art History majors with a Concentration in Architecture will develop foundations that allow them to pursue careers in architecture or urban planning through a selection of historical and theoretical courses enriched by experience in math, engineering, and other disciplines.

Art History/Visual Art majors will show an historical and critical understanding of traditional and non-traditional art forms and visual practices in survey courses and seminars. They will 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; and will develop skills in critical analysis across all visual fields from the humanities to the social sciences and natural sciences, learning how the visual permeates all aspects of representing and interpreting the world.

Visual Art majors will demonstrate competence and technical skill in the use and application of a variety of media, and critical judgment.

Goal 2.

Art History majors will demonstrate an interdisciplinary grasp of the study of visual art. They will use innovative theoretical and methodological approaches to generate new approaches to the history of representation understood within broader socio-cultural perspectives.

Concentration in Architecture majors will display a broad-based understanding of space and the built environment through courses in art history, architecture, visual studies, math, engineering and other ancillary disciplines.

Visual Studies majors will demonstrate an understanding of the visual world from mental conceptualizations to macro and micro imaging, from everyday images to the cultures of photography, and from various disciplinary approaches to perception and the psychology of vision.

Art History/ Visual Art majors will demonstrate an interdisciplinary grasp of the study of visual art. They will use innovative theoretical and methodological approaches to generate new approaches to the history of representation understood within broader socio-cultural perspectives; will demonstrate an interdisciplinary approach to learning, working across traditional and new media, and exploring interactions among forms and subjects. They will develop skills necessary for effective preparation of artwork for public presentation, using a variety of materials and techniques.

Students in Visual Art will demonstrate an interdisciplinary approach to learning, working across traditional and new media, and exploring interactions among forms and subjects. They will develop skills necessary for effective preparation of artwork for public presentation, using a variety of materials and techniques.

Goal 3.

Students in all majors will develop skills for basic analyses of works of art from structural, historical, cultural, and aesthetic perspectives, and will be able to deploy these proficiencies comprehensibly and succinctly. These skills include an effective knowledge of visual vocabulary appropriate for careers in the visual arts, architecture, visual studies, and the media.

Goal 4.

Students in all majors will display independent critical judgment, analytical insight, research methods, writing, and presentation skills through verbal, written, and constructive exercises.

Assessment Plan

All students will accumulate a portfolio of seven papers/and or art projects. Each faculty will be responsible for evaluating the individual works. A committee selected in the Department of Art, Art History & Visual Studies will tally and offer the final assessment in the student’s senior year. Guidelines for the major are as follows:

• Art History and Visual Studies students will keep a portfolio comprised of one paper from 69/70/ or 71; one from each of the five fields for a total of five papers; and one 200-level course.
• Concentration in Architecture students will keep a portfolio comprised of six papers from Art History 104,110,111,130,145,182,189A/D, 189B/D; and one a 200-level course.
• Art History/Visual Art combined major students will keep a portfolio comprised of one paper from ARTHIST 69, 70, or 71; one project from VISTARTS 100; two papers from at two different fields in art history; two projects from two different media in the visual arts; and one 200-level art history seminar or visual art project.
• Visual Art students will keep a portfolio of seven works of art or visual projects from the following courses: one from 54; one each from the thee different media for a total of three; and two from the student’s choice of two additional 100-level courses; one 200-level course.

In the beginning of each fall term, a committee of three (not including the Chair, DGS, or DUS) in the department will tabulate the rubric totals for each of the majors in the graduating class, and report. The success in attaining our goals will be determined after base-line information from the 2009 graduating class is gathered.