School of Art and Art History
Important Note: This is the archived version of the 2013–2015 Undergraduate Catalog. The information on these pages was archived on August 6, 2013 and will not be updated as requirement and/or program changes are approved. Please see www.uic.edu/ucat for the most up-to-date requirements.
Department of Art History
BA in Art History
The School of Art and Art History unites the theory, practice and history of the visual arts into an interwoven curriculum designed to produce practitioners who have a strong knowledge of the historical and theoretical underpinnings of their art, alongside historians and theorists who have an equally strong understanding of visual culture and the creative practice that produces significant work.
Within the school, the Department of Art offers the BFA in Art and the Minor in Art. The Department of Art History offers the BA in Art History and the Minor in Art History.
106 Jefferson Hall
(312) 996-3337
http://www.uic.edu/aa/artd
Administration: Director, Lisa Lee
Department of Art:
Director of Undergraduate Studies: Faheem Majeed
The Department of Art develops artists whose practices are relevant to the world in which we live. The contemporary artist must have a firm understanding of art’s profound history, a meaningful perspective on current culture and a commitment to personal discovery.
The Department of Art provides an intensive art education within a major research university in the diverse, cosmopolitan city of Chicago. The department’s faculty are among the leading artists working today exhibiting both nationally and internationally, while receiving the most prestigious awards in their fields. The unique program of study that is offered in the Department of Art is the result of the diverse creative and intellectual concerns of this highly influential faculty.
The Department of Art focuses on contemporary art practice and theory, which increasingly requires trans-disciplinary modes of thinking and discourse. Contemporary art practice has been steadily becoming more interdisciplinary since the 1960’s. Conceptual art, for example, was the most important art movement since cubism. Since then the practice of the arts has rapidly moved away from a clear distinction among media. The Department of Art, with its BFA in Art degree, enables students to push the boundaries of their chosen medium and to reach across disciplines. The BFA in Art program allows the interweaving of theory, practice, and historical/cultural context. The transdisciplinary curriculum enables students to prepare a professional portfolio upon completion of the degree.
Degree Requirements—BFA in Art
To earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art degree from UIC, students need to complete University, college, and school degree requirements. The Art Degree requirements are outlined below. Students should consult the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts section for additional degree requirements and college academic policies.
A portfolio review is required prior to acceptance as an Art major.
| BFA in Art Requirements | Hours |
| First Year Program | 24 |
| General Education and Foundation Courses | 33 |
| Art Major Requirements | 61 |
| Electives outside the Department of Art | 10–11 |
| CC 120—UIC First Year Dialogue Seminar (Required of new freshmen only) |
1* |
| Total Hours—BFA in Art | 129 |
*New freshmen are required to complete CC 120—First Year Dialogue Seminar for one hour. These students will complete 10 hours of electives for the BFA in Art. All other students complete 11 hours of electives for the BFA in Art.
First Year Program
Students are required to take ART 101—Signifying Practice and choose five 100-level, studio-based courses from the six that are offered for a total of 24 hours.
| Courses | Hours |
| ART 101—Signifying Practices | 4 |
| Five courses selected from the following: | 20 |
| ART 112—Introduction to Drawing (4) | |
| ART 130—Introduction to Painting and Color (4) | |
| ART 140—Introduction to Sculpture (4) | |
| ART 150—Introduction to New Media Arts (4) | |
| ART 160—Introduction to Digital Photography (4) | |
| ART 170—Introduction to Moving Image (4) | |
| Total Hours—First Year Program | 24 |
General Education and Foundation Courses for Art Degree Program
| Coursesa | Hours |
| ENGL 160—Academic Writing I: Writing for Academic and Public Contexts | 3 |
| ENGL 161—Academic Writing II: Writing for Inquiry and Research | 3 |
| Understanding the Individual and Society coursea | 3 |
| Understanding U.S. Society coursea | 3 |
| Analyzing the Natural World courseab | 4 |
| Understanding the Past coursea | 3 |
| Exploring World Cultures coursea | 3 |
| AH 110—Art History Ic | 4 |
| AH 111—Art History IIc | 4 |
| AH 160—Trends in International Contemporary Art since 1960 | 3 |
| Total Hours—General Education and Foundation Courses | 33 |
a Students should consult the General Education section of the catalog for a list of approved courses in this category. Students may choose a General Education course that falls below the recommended semester hour value for a particular category as long as the student reaches a total of 24 hours of General Education distributed across the six categories.
b Students who select a course worth less than 4 hours from the Analyzing the Natural World list will need to take an additional General Education Core course as part of their electives.
c This course is approved for the Understanding the Creative Arts General Education category.
Art Major Requirements
Students must consult with faculty advisors for approval of concentration and elective courses each semester.
| Courses | Hours |
| Art Concentration in one discipline (chosen from ART courses at 200-300 level) | 16 |
| Art Electives (chosen from ART courses at 200-300 level) | 24 |
| ART 401—Senior Projects: Critique | 6 |
| ART 402—Senior Projects: Thesis | 6 |
| AH 201—Reading and Writing Art Criticism | 3 |
| Art History—Advanced level | 6 |
| Total Hours—Art Major Requirements | 61 |
| Electives outside the Department of Art | 10–11a |
aNew freshmen are required to complete CC 120—First Year Dialogue Seminar for one hour. These students will complete 10 hours of electives for the BFA in Art. All other students complete 11 hours of electives for the BFA in Art.
UIC First Year Dialogue Seminar
| Courses | Hours |
| CC 120—UIC First Year Dialogue Seminar (Required of new freshmen only) |
1 |
Sample Course Schedule—BFA in Art
| Freshman Year | |
| Fall Semester | Hours |
| ENGL 160—Academic Writing I: Writing for Academic and Public Contexts | 3 |
| ART 112—Introduction to Drawing | 4 |
| ART 170—Introduction to Moving Image | 4 |
| ART 101—Signifying Practice | 4 |
Total Hours |
15 |
| Spring Semester | Hours |
| ENGL 161—Academic Writing II: Writing for Inquiry and Research | 3 |
| CC 120—UIC First Year Dialogue Seminar (Required of new freshmen only) |
1* |
| ART 160—Introduction to Digital Photography | 4 |
| ART 130—Introduction to Painting and Color | 4 |
| ART 150—Introduction to New Media Art | 4 |
Total Hours |
15–16 |
| Sophomore Year | |
| Fall Semester | Hours |
| AH 110—Art History I | 4 |
| Concentration Course | 4 |
| Concentration Course | 4 |
| Understanding U.S. Society course | 3 |
| Exploring World Cultures course | 3 |
Total Hours |
18 |
| Spring Semester | Hours |
| AH 111—Art History II | 4 |
| Art Elective | 4 |
| Concentration Course | 4 |
| Understanding the Individual and Society course | 3 |
| Understanding the Past course | 3 |
Total Hours |
18 |
| Junior Year | |
| Fall Semester | Hours |
| AH 160—Trends in International Contemporary Art since 1960 | 3 |
| Concentration Course | 4 |
| Art Elective | 4 |
| General Elective | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 |
Total Hours |
17 |
| Spring Semester | Hours |
| AH 201—Reading and Writing Art Criticism | 3 |
| Art Elective | 4 |
| Art Elective | 4 |
| Analyzing Natural World course | 4 |
Total Hours |
15 |
| Senior Year | |
| Fall Semester | Hours |
| ART 401—Senior Projects: Critique | 6 |
| AH Elective | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 |
| General Elective | 2 |
Total Hours |
14 |
| Spring Semester | |
| Courses | Hours |
| ART 402—Senior Projects: Thesis | 6 |
| AH Elective | 3 |
| Art Elective | 4 |
| Art Elective | 4 |
Total Hours |
17 |
Students from other disciplines who wish to minor in Art must complete a minimum of 16 semester hours, distributed as follows. Students must have a minimum GPA of 2.00/4.00. All students must complete a minimum of two 100-level courses along with the corresponding 200-level courses for a total of four courses.
| Required Courses—Art Minor | Hours |
| Two courses selected from: | 8 |
| ART 112—Introduction to Drawing (4) | |
| ART 130—Introduction to Painting and Color (4) | |
| ART 140—Introduction to Sculpture (4) | |
| ART 150—Introduction to New Media Arts (4) | |
| ART 160—Introduction to Digital Photography (4) | |
| ART 170—Introduction to Moving Image (4) | |
| Two additional courses at the 200-level chosen from the following and corresponding to the 100-level courses completed: | 8 |
| ART 212—Topics in Drawing I (4) | |
| ART 230—Topics in Painting I (4) | |
| ART 240—Topics in Sculpture I (4) | |
| ART 250—Topics in New Media Arts: Intermediate (4) | |
| ART 260—Topics in Digital Photography (4) | |
| ART 261—Topics in Analog Photography (4) | |
| ART 270—Topics in Film I (4) | |
| ART 272—Topics in Video I (4) | |
| ART 274—Topics in Motion Graphics I (4) | |
| Total Hours—Art Minor | 16 |
302 Henry Hall (HH)
(312) 996-3303
http://www.uic.edu/depts/arch/ah/
Administration: Chairperson, Virginia E. Miller
Student Services: Director of Undergraduate Studies, Hannah Higgins
UIC’s Department of Art History takes advantage of its location at the heart of the country. Chicago, with its vibrant and often turbulent history, its outstanding contributions to art-making and architecture, and its richly-endowed museums and libraries, offers an exceptional setting for the study of art and the urban environment.
The department is devoted to the interdisciplinary exploration of artworks, artifacts, and architecture from antiquity to the present, across the world. Beyond the chronological and geographical breadth of our fields of study, we are committed to understanding cultures through the lens of the visual. The department connects the varied creative practices of the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts, and engages the wider humanist educational mandate of the university as a whole. Art History serves the entire UIC community, with students from all over campus choosing to take our classes for General Education credit and as electives.
The department is made up of scholars, artists, architects, archaeologists, and curators. Our research has been supported by competitive fellowships from prestigious institutions such as the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Getty Research Institute. We train art history majors, future practitioners of the arts and architecture, and the wider audience for the visual arts. As a department we encourage intellectual curiosity, critical thinking and analysis, eloquent writing, and the application of visual knowledge to daily life.
Our program introduces undergraduate students to the study of the built environment and the visual arts across time and space: architecture, painting, sculpture, design, and film and media arts. The architecture of Chicago and its suburbs and the many local museums and galleries are a living part of the general curriculum and are specific components in specialized courses.
While some of our majors pursue graduate education toward scholarly careers in teaching and museum work, others have established careers in arts advocacy, galleries, with cultural foundations, an in architectural and art publication. The Art History degree is also useful in a wide variety of fields where general cultural literacy is a professional advantage, such as public programming, broadcasting, business administration, law, library science, and urban planning.
Degree Requirements—BA in Art History
To earn a Bachelor of Arts in Art History degree from UIC, students need to complete University, college, and department degree requirements. The Department of Art History degree requirements are outlined below. Students should consult the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts section for additional degree requirements and college academic policies.
| BA in Art History Degree Requirements | Hours |
| General Education and Foundation Courses | 36 |
| Foreign Language Requirement | 0–16 |
| Major Course Requirements | 36 |
| Electives | 31–48 |
| CC 120—UIC First Year Dialogue Seminar (Required of new freshmen only) |
1* |
| Total Hours—BA in Art History | 120 |
*New freshmen are required to complete CC 120—First Year Dialogue Seminar for one hour. These students will complete 31–48 hours of electives for the BA in Art History. All other students complete 32–48 hours of electives for the BA in Art History.
General Education and Foundation Courses
| Courses | Hours |
| AH 110—Art History Ia | 4 |
| AH 111—Art History IIa | 4 |
| Six hours of studio courses selected from among the offerings of the School of Architecture, the School of Design, and the Department of Art chosen with the approval of an advisor. | 6 |
| ENGL 160—Academic Writing I: Writing for Academic and Public Contexts | 3 |
| ENGL 161—Academic Writing II: Writing for Inquiry and Research | 3 |
| Understanding the Past courseb | 3 |
| Exploring World Cultures courseb | 3 |
| Analyzing the Natural World coursebc | 4 |
| Understanding the Individual and Society courseb | 3 |
| Understanding U.S. Society courseb | 3 |
| Total Hours—General Education Requirements | 36 |
a This course is approved for the Understanding the Creative Arts General Education category.
b Students should consult the General Education section of the catalog for a list of approved courses in this category. Students may choose a General Education course that falls below the recommended semester hour value for a particular category as long as the student reaches a total of 24 hours of General Education distributed across the six categories.
c Students who select a course worth fewer than 4 hours from the Analyzing the Natural World list will need to take an additional General Education Core course as part of their electives.
Foreign Language Requirement
Knowledge of a foreign language is required, most commonly French, German, Italian, or Spanish, and should usually be attained by the end of the junior year. The requirement may be met by taking four years of high school language courses, two years of college language courses, or by passing a proficiency examination.
| Courses | Hours |
| Four semesters of college language courses or the equivalent |
0–16 |
| Total Hours | 0–16 |
Major Course Requirements
A minimum of 36 semester hours in art history courses at the 200-, 300-, and 400-levels, of which at least two courses (6 semester hours) must be at the 400-level. The major includes the following specific requirements:
| Courses | Hours |
| AH 301—Theories and Methods in Art History | 3 |
| At least six semester hours at the 400-level,a of which at least 3 hours must be selected from the following courses: | 6a |
AH 404—Topics in Architecture, Art, and Design (3) |
|
AH 422—Topics in the Literature of Architecture (3) |
|
AH 430—Contemporary Photography (3) |
|
AH 432—Topics in Film and Video (3) |
|
AH 434—Women and Film (3) |
|
AH 435—Topics in Modern and Contemporary Design (3) |
|
AH 441—Topics in Medieval Art and Architecture (3) |
|
AH 450—Topics in Renaissance Art (3) |
|
AH 460—Topics in Modern and Contemporary Art (3) |
|
AH 463—Topics in North American Art and Architecture (3) |
|
AH 470—Topics in Non-Western Art and Architecture (3) |
|
AH 471—Topics in Asian Art and Architecture (3) |
|
| Six semester hours in courses in Western art covering material primarily before 1700 | 6 |
| Six semester hours of courses covering architecture and art of Africa, Asia, or the indigenous Americas | 6 |
| AH Electives | 15 |
| Total Hours—Major Course Requirements | 36 |
a 400-level courses in African/Asian/indigenous American art and architecture and 400-level courses in Western art and architecture covering material primarily before 1700 can count toward fulfilling both the 400-level requirement and the Africa/Asia/indigenous Americas and pre-1700 requirements.
Electives
| Courses | Hours |
| Total Hours—Electives | 31–48a |
aNew freshmen are required to complete CC 120—First Year Dialogue Seminar for one hour. These students will complete 31–48 hours of electives for the BA in Art History. All other students complete 32–48 hours of electives for the BA in Art History.
UIC First Year Dialogue Seminar
| Courses | Hours |
| CC 120—UIC First Year Dialogue Seminar (Required of new freshmen only) |
1 |
Sample Course Schedule—Art History
Freshman Year |
|
| Fall Semester | Hours |
| ENGL 160—Academic Writing I: Writing for Academic and Public Contexts | 3 |
| AH 110—Art History I | 4 |
| Foreign language | 4 |
| General Education Core course | 3 |
Total Hours |
14 |
| Spring Semester | Hours |
| ENGL 161—Academic Writing II: Writing for Inquiry and Research | 3 |
| CC 120—UIC First Year Dialogue Seminar (Required of new freshmen only) |
1* |
| AH 111—Art History II | 4 |
| Foreign language | 4 |
| General Education Core course | 3 |
| Total Hours | 14–15 |
Sophomore Year |
|
| Fall Semester | Hours |
| AH 301—Theories and Methods in Art History | 3 |
| Art History before 1700 | 3 |
| Foreign language | 4 |
| General Education Core course | 4 |
| Studio course | 3 |
Total Hours |
17 |
| Spring Semester | Hours |
| Art History—Africa/Asia/indigenous Americas | 3 |
| Art History before 1700 | 3 |
| Foreign language | 4 |
| General Education Core course | 6 |
Total Hours |
16 |
| Junior Year | |
| Fall Semester | Hours |
| Art History—Africa/Asia/indigenous Americas | 3 |
| Art History Elective | 3 |
| Art History 400-level | 3 |
| Studio course | 3 |
| Elective | 2 |
Total Hours |
14 |
| Spring Semester | Hours |
| Art History 400-level | 3 |
| Art History Electives | 6 |
| Electives | 6 |
Total Hours |
15 |
| Senior Year | |
| Fall Semester | Hours |
| Art History Elective | 3 |
| Electives | 12 |
Total Hours |
15 |
| Spring Semester | Hours |
| Art History Elective | 3 |
| Electives | 12 |
Total Hours |
15 |
A minimum of 20 semester hours in art history courses, of which at least 10 hours must be taken at the University of Illinois at Chicago, distributed as follows:
| Required Courses | Hours |
| AH 110—Art History I | 4 |
| AH 111—Art History II | 4 |
| Twelve hours of AH courses at the 200-, 300-, or 400-level | 12 |
| Total Hours—Art History Minor | 20 |
Except for AH 110 and 111, courses taken to fulfill the requirements in the student’s major may not be counted towards the minor. A minimum grade point average of 2.25/4.00 is required for the minor.
