http://arthistory.uoregon.edu
Charles H. Lachman, Department Head
541-346-3675
251B Lawrence Hall
5229 University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon 97403-5229
The Department of the History of Art and Architecture offers study in the principal art and architectural traditions of Europe, Asia, the Americas, and the Pacific. Courses are appropriate for students interested in history, art, and the larger cultural context of society. They are also suitable for students intending to concentrate on the practice of art or environmental design. The undergraduate program prepares students for graduate studies in art history; it also leads to opportunities in the business world, art museums, and galleries. The graduate program emphasizes both breadth and depth, and it is characterized by close working relationships between students and faculty.
Preparation
When possible, students expecting to transfer to the art history program from two-year colleges should include in their program the equivalent of the history of Western art surveys—History of Western Art I (ARH 204), History of Western Art II (ARH 205), History of Western Art III (ARH 206)—or the history of Asian art surveys—History of Indian Art (ARH 207), History of Chinese Art (ARH 208), History of Japanese Art (ARH 209), Contemporary Asian Art and Architecture (ARH 210)—and two years of a foreign language. They should also complete as many of the university general-education requirements as possible.
Careers
The undergraduate program in art history leads to opportunities in the business world, art museums, and galleries. Students with graduate degrees in art history can pursue opportunities in teaching at all levels. The department provides career advising; information on career, internship, and fellowship opportunities; and current information on graduate programs.
Financial Assistance
The department offers a number of awards and scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students in art history, including:
- Mr. and Mrs. Eric G. Clarke Scholarship in Oriental Art
- Marian C. Donnelly Book Prize
- Ellen Johnston-Laing Award in Chinese and Japanese Art History
- Kari Fund
- Gloria T. Lee Graduate Scholarship in Art History
- Gloria T. Lee Scholarship in Art History
- Ina McClung Art Scholarship Award
- Sponenburgh Endowment for the History of Aesthetics of Sculpture.
Support for travel is available through the Marian C. Donnelly Student Award, the Graduate Travel Award, the Alice Wingwall Award, and Amy and Ross Kari Travel Grant. Students may also seek scholarship aid through the School of Architecture and Allied Arts and the university’s financial aid office.
Faculty
Nina Amstutz, assistant professor (18th- and 19th-century art). BA, 2004, MA 2008, PhD, 2013, Toronto. (2014)
Joyce Cheng, associate professor (modern art). BA, 2001, Northwestern; MA, 2003, PhD, 2009, Chicago. (2009)
Keith Eggener, Marion Dean Ross Distinguished Professor in Architectural History (architectural history). BA, 1985, Portland State; MA, 1989, Washington (Seattle); MA, 1993, Stanford; PhD, 1995, Stanford. (2013)
James Harper, associate professor (Renaissance and baroque art). BA, 1987, Trinity; PhD, 1998, Pennsylvania. (2000)
Ocean Howell, assistant professor (history and architectural history). See Robert Donald Clark Honors College.
Jeffrey M. Hurwit, Philip H. Knight Professor of Art History and Classics (ancient art, Greek and Roman archaeology). AB, MA, 1971, Brown; MPhil, 1972, PhD, 1975, Yale. (1980)
Maile Hutterer, assistant professor (medieval art and architecture). BA, 2004, California, Santa Barbara; PhD, 2011, New York University. (2014)
Charles H. Lachman, associate professor (Asian art). AB, 1971, Temple; MA, 1974, McMaster; PhD, 1985, Toronto. (1992)
Jenny Lin, assistant professor (contemporary Asian art). BA, 2003, MA, 2007, Brown; PhD, 2012, California, Los Angeles. (2012)
Kate Mondloch, associate professor (contemporary art); associate director, new media and culture certificate. BA, 1994, Georgetown; MA, 2000, PhD, 2005, California, Los Angeles. (2005)
Kristen Seaman, assistant professor. MA, 2009, PhD, 2009, California, Berkeley. (2015)
Richard A. Sundt, associate professor (history of ancient and medieval architecture). BA, 1967, Indiana; MA, 1973, PhD, 1981, Wisconsin, Madison. (1982)
Akiko Walley, Maude I. Kerns Assistant Professor of Asian Art (Japanese art). BA, 1998, MA, 2001, Aoyama Gakuin; AM, 2004, PhD, 2009, Harvard. (2009)
Emeriti
Esther Jacobson-Tepfer, professor emerita. BA, 1962, MA, 1964, PhD, 1970, Chicago. (1966)
Ellen Johnston Laing, professor emerita. BA, 1954, Missouri; MA, 1956, Wisconsin, Madison; PhD, 1967, Michigan. (1979)
A. Dean McKenzie, professor emeritus. BA, 1952, San Jose State; MA, 1955, California, Berkeley; PhD, 1965, New York University. (1966)
Andrew Morrogh, associate professor emeritus. BA, 1966, Jesus College, Oxford; MA, 1973, PhD, 1983, Courtauld Institute, University of London. (1993)
Kathleen D. Nicholson, professor emerita. BA, 1969, Connecticut; MA, 1971, PhD, 1977, Pennsylvania. (1995)
Leland M. Roth, professor emeritus. BArch, 1966, Illinois; MPhil, 1970, PhD, 1973, Yale. (1978)
W. Sherwin Simmons, professor emeritus. BA, 1967, Yale; MA, 1975, PhD, 1979, Johns Hopkins. (1973)
The date in parentheses at the end of each entry is the first year on the University of Oregon faculty.
Participating
Jill Hartz, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
Kenneth I. Helphand, landscape architecture
The major combines the study of art history with liberal and fine arts and leads to the bachelor of arts (BA) degree. The program provides a broad perspective for understanding art, history, and culture as well as a basis for critical judgment of individual works. The department regularly offers courses on art and architecture in the following areas or traditions:
- ancient (Greek and Roman)
- medieval
- Renaissance-baroque
- modern and contemporary
- American
- East Asian (Chinese and Japanese)
- Courses that treat other areas are also taught from time to time; recent offerings have focused on Latin American, Indian, Korean, African, and Islamic traditions
Bachelor of Arts Degree Requirements
Students wanting to major in art history must file an application form with the department, consult with a faculty advisor, and maintain an up-to-date academic record in the department office.
Foreign Language Guidelines
Majors are required to complete the language requirement as described under the university’s bachelor of arts requirements
.
French, German, and Italian are the most commonly used languages in Western art history research; Chinese and Japanese are essential for most areas of East Asian art history. Because these languages are required for advanced research and graduate study in art history as well as other humanistic disciplines, majors are urged to choose one of them to satisfy the BA requirement. Substitution of other languages may be appropriate to a field of interest. Students are urged to consult with their advisors when selecting a language for study.
| 4 |
| 27 |
| ARH 300 | Critical Approaches to Art-Historical Study | 4 |
| 1,2,3,4 | 32 |
| History of Western Art I-III | |
| History of Indian Art | |
| History of Chinese Art |
| History of Japanese Art |
| Contemporary Asian Art and Architecture |
| History of Western Art I | |
| History of Western Art II |
| History of Western Art III |
| History of Indian Art | |
| Contemporary Asian Art and Architecture |
| History of Chinese Art | |
| History of Japanese Art | |
| ARH 314–315 | History of Western Architecture I-II | 8 |
| 8 |
| Global Masterpieces: Monuments in Context | |
| History of Western Art I | |
| History of Western Art II | |
| History of Western Art III | |
| History of Indian Art | |
| History of Chinese Art | |
| History of Japanese Art | |
| Contemporary Asian Art and Architecture | |
| History of Design | |
Course Areas
- ancient (Aegean, Greek, Roman)
- medieval (early Christian, Byzantine, early medieval, Romanesque, Gothic)
- Renaissance and baroque1
- modern (18th century through contemporary)1
- Asian (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian)
Minor Requirements
Students who want a minor in art history must file an application form with the department, consult with the faculty advisor about their minor option, and maintain an up-to-date academic record in the Department of Art History office. The art history minor is offered in three options.
Western Art Minor
| ARH 204–206 | History of Western Art I-III | 12 |
| 1 | 16 |
| Total Credits | 28 |
Asian or Other Non-Western Art Minor
| ARH 207 | History of Indian Art | 4 |
| ARH 208 | History of Chinese Art | 4 |
| ARH 209 | History of Japanese Art | 4 |
| 1 | 16 |
| Total Credits | 28 |
Architectural History Minor
| ARH 314–315 | History of Western Architecture I-II | 8 |
| 4 |
| History of Western Art I-III | |
| History of Indian Art | |
| History of Chinese Art | |
| History of Japanese Art | |
| 1 | 14-16 |
| Total Credits | 26-28 |
Nonmajors, subject to general university requirements, may take any department course either for a letter grade or pass/no pass (P/N).
Honors Program
In the senior year, an art history major may apply to the chair of the undergraduate committee for the department's honors program if he or she has
- completed at least 40 credits in history of art and architecture courses with a 3.75 GPA
- completed Critical Approaches to Art-Historical Study (ARH 300) with a grade of A– or better
- completed the last term of the second year of the second-language requirement with a grade of A– or better
The applicant must have a departmental faculty member agree to supervise research on a topic related to the faculty member's interest and to serve as director of the student's honors essay.
The applicant who satisfies all of the above requirements and presents the undergraduate committee chair with a faculty member's written agreement to serve as honors advisor is admitted to the honors program, typically at the beginning of winter term.
The honors candidate typically registers for 3 to 6 credits of Research: [Topic] (ARH 401) during winter term of the senior year to undertake research in preparation for writing the honors essay, and 4 credits of Thesis (ARH 403) in spring term, when writing the essay.
Students are urged to present a first draft of the essay to the faculty adviser six weeks before the end of the term, and a final draft must be submitted two weeks before the end of the same term.
The honors essay must demonstrate the student's ability to formulate a significant research problem and to handle sources in at least one foreign language, if relevant. The essay should have twenty to twenty-five pages of text, not including notes in text, endnotes, bibliography, and illustrations. A copy of the honors essay is deposited in departmental files. The candidate whose essay is approved by the faculty adviser and who maintains a 3.75 GPA in all history of art and architecture courses required for the major is awarded departmental honors.
The Department of the History of Art and Architecture offers programs leading to the master of arts (MA) and the doctor of philosophy (PhD) degrees in art history with specialization in architectural history and ancient, medieval, Renaissance-baroque, modern, and Asian art. The department offers Oregon’s only graduate degree program in art history. It is tailored to meet the needs and objectives of two kinds of students: those who seek careers in the academic, art-related business, or museum worlds immediately upon completion of the MA degree, and those who want to acquire a solid foundation in the field before pursuing studies leading to a PhD degree.
Applications to the graduate program are considered once a year on January 15 for the following fall term. Applications and supporting documents, including Graduate Record Examinations scores, must be received by January 15.
Master of Arts
Students who have successfully completed undergraduate programs in art history, history, or languages and literature are particularly encouraged to consider graduate studies in art history.
Requirements
Candidates for the MA degree must complete 45 credits in courses approved by the student's advisor, as well as satisfy the general requirements of the Graduate School for residence. Of the 45 credits, a minimum of 36 must be graduate credits in research-based courses, taken for a letter grade.
- Thesis (ARH 503), 9 credits
- Of the 36 graduate credits required, 16 must be in graduate seminars, including 4 credits in Graduate Studies in Art History (ARH 611) and 8 credits in Seminar: [Topic] (ARH 607)
- Electives. A minimum of 12 credits of elective courses; a maximum of 8 credits may be taken outside of the department with an advisor's permission
- Distribution Requirement. Students must undertake course work in three of four historic areas: prehistoric-ancient, medieval, early modern, and modern-contemporary. Students may petition to apply a thematic or nonperiod-specific course toward the distribution requirement by demonstrating substantial work in the appropriate area. Students are strongly recommended to pursue both Western and non-Western courses to fulfill their distribution and elective requirements
- First-year students are required to enroll in the following:
- Seminar series (three courses, 4 credits each, graded): Graduate Studies in Art History (ARH 611) (fall), Seminar: [Topic] (ARH 607) (winter), Seminar: [Topic] (ARH 607) (spring)
- Foreign Language Requirement. The department recommends that degree candidates demonstrate reading proficiency in at least one foreign language by the end of their first year in the program (typically in French or German, or in Chinese or Japanese where appropriate). The language must be approved by the student's advisor and should be relevant to the student's scholarly interests. The proficiency is demonstrated in one of three ways:
- Passing the written language examination given by the department
- Presenting satisfactory passing results (above the 50th percentile) on the standardized, national Graduate School Foreign Language Test (GSFLT) or the equivalent
- Providing an official transcript that shows a passing grade in third-year language course work
Further details about requirements for the MA degree are available from the department office.
Doctor of Philosophy
Students are not usually admitted to the PhD program unless they have successfully completed a master’s degree in art history or a closely related field. Course work for the degree consists of 48 post-MA credits, selected with the advice and consent of the student’s advisor.
Foreign Language Requirement
Students should acquire a research capability in a second foreign language appropriate to the student’s area of study as soon as possible in their academic program.
Advancement to Candidacy
Students are officially advanced to candidacy in the PhD program upon completion of comprehensive examinations in three areas of art history: two related areas, in one of which the dissertation is written, and a third unrelated area. These areas are selected from an established list in the department. The comprehensive examinations should be taken before completion of the 48 credits beyond the MA. More information is available from the Department of the History of Art and Architecture.
