Inherently interdisciplinary, the Art History major would enhance the curriculum of the Department of Art + Design in the College of the Humanities at Central Washington University through the promotion of critical thinking skills and the celebration of diversity and inclusion.
The examination of art and architecture using a variety of analytic tools – visual analysis, iconography, and contextualization – encourages art practitioners within the department to develop deeper conceptual and theoretical underpinnings to their own studio work. In addition, knowledge of previous artistic developments allows students to contextualize their own artistic practice within the history of art. For art history students, engaging with art as physical objects creates distinctive, object-driven learning opportunities, and studio art courses offer students the opportunity to understand the technical components of art creation in a hands-on way.
The history of art invariably connects with the history of the people who communicated their cultural values through visual expressions. As such, courses offered by the departments of history, philosophy and religious studies, Africana and Black Studies, American Indian Studies, Asian Studies, Latino and Latin American Studies, World Languages and Cultures, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and Anthropology enhance art history students understanding of the art they study in their core classes. Partnerships with these departments offer the opportunity to create connections across the College of the Humanities, and promote interdisciplinary inquiry that connects to departmental and college-level goals.
As our world grows ever more connected, the study of art created across the globe from prehistory to today allows students to identify connections across borders while at the same time studying art within its own cultural context. The analysis of art from around the globe allows students from diverse populations to see their own traditions and cultures reflected in the material, and corresponds to the university’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. Art history invites all students to identify cultural congruencies that exist across time and location, and to refine their critical thinking skills inside the classroom so that they can apply these skills outside in their own worlds as global citizens. While other programs in the university similarly prepare students for enlightened and productive lives, the ability to examine cultural values and social experiences through both creative visual expression and scholarly is a unique combination of skills that art history teaches.
Peer institutions including Eastern Washington University and Western Washington University offer Art History majors, and some former students within the Department of Art + Design have transferred to these institutions because an Art History major was not offered at CWU. The Department of Art + Design has over 300 undergraduate majors and minors, all of whom take Art History courses, and some of whom have expressed interest in an Art History major. 14 students have declared an Art History minor already offered by the department. Offering an Art History major will make CWU more competitive with its peer institutions, and fulfill a need within the department that will also serve the larger CWU community.
