Art and Art History

Associate Professor Cristelle Baskins, Chair, Director of Graduate Program, Italian Renaissance Art, Secular Painting and Narrative, and Gender and Women's Studies
Professor Madeline H. Caviness, Mary Richardson Professor; Medieval art and architecture, Stained Glass, and Gender and Women's Studies
Professor Judith Wechsler, National Endowment for the Humanities Professor of Art History; French Art-Realism to Post-Impressionism, History of Drawing, and Art on Film
Associate Professor Daniel M. Abramson, Architecture, Renaissance-Contemporary, Architectural Theory, and Architecture and Urbanism of Boston
Associate Professor/Coordinator Eva Hoffman, Islamic art, Portable Arts, and Theories and Methods
Associate Professor Ikumi Kaminishi, Asian art and Architecture, Buddhist Painting, and Narrative Studies
Associate Professor Andrew McClellan, Baroque-Rococo Art, History of  Museum, and Sculpture; museum studies
Associate Professor Peter Probst, Contemporary African art, critical theory, visual culture, globalization
Associate Professor Eric Rosenberg, American Art, Modern and Contemporary Art, and Theories and Methods
Assistant Professor Adriana Zavala, Modern and contemporary Latin American art
Lecturer Amy Ingrid Schlegel, Director of Tufts University Art Gallery; Curatorial studies
Lecturer Karyn Esielonis, Nineteenth and Twentieth century European and American art, Theories and Methods of Art History
Lecturer Deborah Lewittes, Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow; Twentieth century European and American art and architecture
Adjunct Research Professor Lucy DerManuelian, Dadian/Oztemel Chair of Armenian Art/Medieval Armenian Architecture, Sculpture, Illuminated Manuscripts.

Associated Faculty/Administrators, School of the Museum of Fine Arts
Susan Lush, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs
Patrick Carter, Coordinator, Tufts studio courses

What is Art History?
Every human culture has produced art, and the study of visual imagery affords unique insights into our own culture and those of other nations which make up our "global village"

The history of art is the study of form and meaning in the the visual arts from their beginnings to the present. The wide range of courses offered by the department aims to familiarize students with important artists, traditions, and themes in world art and visual culture. Some courses will focus on individual achievements, great artists and schools, while others will explore significant "periods," such as the Renaissance or the 1960s, or themes that cut across time and cultures, for example, the treatment of nature or the fear and destruction of images (Inconoclasm and Iconophobia).

As a humanistic discipline, the history of art emphasizes scholarly investigation and critical analysis over technical training. However, majors are encouraged to take studio courses as part of their program and to take advantage of Tufts' affiliation with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts.

Significant portions of the western visual tradition are covered by our courses, on the introductory and advanced level, as are the arts of Africa, Asia, Islam and the Middle East. In recent years the discipline of art history has been shifting away from the study of "great" artists and their works toward a more contextual appreciation of how works of art function and are valued in society.

In addition to courses on individual figures, you will find courses offered on a range of thematic, often interdisciplinary subjects, such as iconoclasm, mentioned above, or colonialism, gender, monuments, museums, pop culture, and the role of art critics. We also offer regular courses on film and film history.

Studio courses given on the Tufts campus and at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (230 The Fenway, Boston) enable the student to become acquainted with one or more of the creative disciplines. Tufts University students are admitted free to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts through a special institutional membership. Field trips to museums, sites, and collections are regularly scheduled.
 
Undergraduate Program
The department offers the bachelor of arts degree in art history. There  is no studio art major, but two programs offered in cooperation with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts are available to students with a strong preparation in this area. Both require admission to the Museum School and have an academic component. One is the B.F.A. degree program available through the College of Special Studies; the other is the combined five-year B.F.A. and B.A. or B.S. degrees program. Interested students may contact Susan Lush at the Museum School, 617-369-3610.
 
Undergraduate Concentration Requirements
For the bachelor of arts degree in art history, ten courses are required for the major: Art History 1, 2, and 100; one non-Western course (Asian, African, Islamic, or Latin American); one course in each of the periods ancient/medieval,  Renaissance/Baroque, 19th-21st centuries; and three electives, two of which may be approved courses in a related field (e.g., history, literature, studio art). Besides Art History 100, two other departmental courses must be at the 100 level. Concentrators are strongly encouraged to take an upper-level seminar (Art History 200-290) as one of their required 100-level courses, and a studio art class as a related field course.
 
Undergraduate Minor Program
The Department of Art and Art History offers minors in studio art, in art history, and in architectural studies, each requiring the completion of five courses. Details are available from the departmental office.
 
Architectural Studies Program
The Department of Art and Art History offers an interdisciplinary major and minor in architectural studies for students interested in the study of architecture's history, theory, and social practice. The major's core curriculum provides a foundation in art and architectural history and theory, in engineering and design, and in the humanistic and social science aspects of architecture. Architectural studies majors then design their own elective program of upper-level study from designated courses in architectural history, studio art, civil engineering, the humanities, and the social sciences. In spring of the senior year, all majors complete an integrative project, either as individual or honors study, or through an internship.
 
For the minor in architectural studies, students take five designated courses from the major's core curriculum, which provide a basic foundation to architecture's interdisciplinary aspects.
 
The architectural studies program is designed specifically to provide a broad-based liberal arts education in architecture. It may also help students prepare for graduate study and careers in architecture and other allied disciplines, such as landscape architecture, urban planning, and historic preservation. For details, see full description under Architectural Studies. The faculty adviser for architectural studies is Professor Daniel Abramson.
 
Graduate Program
The Department of Art and Art History offers the master of arts degree in art history, and in art history and museum studies; the master of fine arts degree in studio art; and the M.A./M.F.A. combined-degrees program.

Master of Arts: Art History
M.A. in History of Art Applicants for the masters of arts degree are expected to offer for admission the equivalent of a Tufts bachelor of arts degree (usually with a major in art history), demonstrated reading knowledge of one foreign language, Graduate Record Examination results of 500 minimum, and a writing sample.

The course of study leading to the masters of arts degree normally includes eight semester courses in the history of art, a comprehensive examination, and a thesis or two qualifying papers. The courses must be taken at the intermediate or advanced level (numbered 100-290) and should include Historiography and Methodology 101; a minimum of three courses should be seminars. In the comprehensive examination given at the completion of course work, students must demonstrate general
knowledge of the history of art as well as competence in a particular field. The written thesis involves original research and is defended before a committee of graduate faculty.

Most students in the masters of arts program serve wherever possible as teaching assistants, research assistants, or in related activities for at least one semester. Stipends will be paid, but no academic credit will be given.

Master of Arts: Art History and Museum Studies
The student will take six semester courses at the graduate level in the history of art, including Historiography and Methodology 101, and five courses in museum studies; write a graduate thesis; fulfill the foreign language requirement; take the comprehensive examination; and serve as teaching or research assistants wherever possible as currently stipulated in the
program requirements for the master's degree. Two qualifying papers may be substituted for the thesis. Please see certificate in Museum Studies if your primary goal is vocational training.
 
Master of Fine Arts: Studio Art
The master of fine arts degree offers students concentration in the visual arts. Students may concentrate in a single medium or may work in an interdisciplinary manner, drawing on Tufts' diverse studio offerings  to expand upon their particular area of concentration.
 
The requirements include two years of studio work, two year-long graduate seminars at the Museum School, a master's exhibition, and four academic courses at Tufts University. The original creative work in the master's exhibition is held at Tufts University Gallery and presented to a jury of the joint faculty.
 
At least two of the academic courses must be chosen from the series of intermediate and advanced courses in art history (numbered 100 to 199); two may be chosen from graduate courses in related fields, subject to approval of the department.
 
Applicants for admission to the master of fine arts program must complete the graduate school admissions packet. The applicant should have the equivalent of a bachelor of fine arts degree. A slide portfolio should be submitted, consisting of no more than twenty two-by-two thin plastic-mounted slides (boxed, not in a plastic sleeve) and, if submitting video, no more than ten minutes of video. The application packet and portfolio should be sent to the Graduate Admissions Committee, Admissions Office, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, 230 The Fenway, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, by January 15. Finalists will be  contacted approximately by the second week in February to arrange an interview at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. All applicants are notified by the second week in March. For more information, write to the admissions office at the Museum School at the above address.
 
M.A./M.F.A. Combined-Degrees Program
Students who wish to pursue both the master of arts degree in art history and master of fine arts degree must complete separate applications for each program. Combined-degrees students complete all studio requirements, including a master's exhibition, and all art history requirements, including a written thesis. The art history courses for the master of arts degree fulfill the academic requirements for the M.F.A. degree as well. As in all combined master's degrees programs, two tuitions are charged, and the student is eligible for scholarship aid within each program.
 
Studio Courses
Through a cooperative agreement between Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (the Museum School) at 230 The Fenway in Boston, students may elect courses in studio art for credit at Tufts. Two studio courses may be taken to fulfill the arts distribution requirement. Classes are taught both on the Tufts campus, in studios located in Lane Hall and Jackson Gymnasium, and at the Museum School in Boston. More than eighty studio credits are offered to Tufts students each semester. They range from foundation- through advanced-levels and are distributed throughout the following media and areas: art
foundations, calligraphy, clay/ceramics, computer art, design, drawing, film, graphic design, metals/silversmithing, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, sound, stained glass, and video.
 
A listing of the specific studio art courses that are being taught during the current school year are available at http://www.smfa.edu/tuftscourses. These classes are coded as follows: FAM - Medford/Somerville campus; FAMB - Museum School, night; FAMD - Museum School, day. Registration for FAM and FAMB courses takes place through the regular registration process at Tufts. FAMD courses must be registered for at the Museum School during its registration period.
 
Students who have questions about studio courses or need help in planning a comprehensive program of study should contact Patrick Carter, Studio Coordinator at Tufts, Fine Arts Department, 11 Talbot Avenue. Phone: 617-627-2014.
 
Questions regarding registration procedures can be directed to the Museum School’s Office of the Registrar. Phone: 617-369-3099.
 
For more detailed information, please visit the website http://ase.tufts.edu/art.

To view Course Descriptions, please go to:  http://webcenter.studentservices.tufts.edu/courses/main.asp.