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History of Art and Visual Culture
D-201 Porter College
(831) 459-4564
havc@ucsc.edu
http://havc.ucsc.edu
Program Description
| Faculty | Course
Descriptions
Visual culture, as a contemporary academic field evolving from
the historical study of art, investigates the production, form,
and reception of images past and present. It incorporates the painting,
sculpture, and architecture conventionally defined by art history,
but it extends throughout the fields of visual imagery beyond the
cultural boundaries formerly drawn by academic tradition. The history
of art and visual culture program at UCSC directs its cultural and
historical investigation across a wide variety of representations
in the cultures of Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Pacific
Islands, from masks and mountains to mass media.
Students of visual culture at UC Santa Cruz encounter complex
questions raised from a variety of viewpoints. Foremost among these
are questions about the social, economic, religious, and psychological
influences on those who produce visual images as well as on those
who view them. Also considered is how images form beliefs and values,
taking into account the issues of gender, sexuality, ethnicity,
race, and class. Questions of theory and methodology are addressed
throughout the range of courses, although some courses emphasize
these more than others.
The history of art and visual culture curriculum guides students
in acquiring skill in critical thinking about visual culture. Courses
are organized in four levels, with each level providing a progressively
sophisticated study of materials and problems. The lower-division
courses, numbered 1–99 and intended for general education students
and prospective majors, provide an introduction to the field of
visual culture according to geographic areas and visual traditions
within those areas. Upper-division courses, numbered 100–149, cover
a broad range of issues in various aspects of world culture from
earliest times to the present. Advanced courses, numbered 150–189,
focus on selected fields, topics, and methods. The most advanced
courses, numbered 190 and 191, are taught in seminar format. Each
student majoring or minoring in visual culture devises an individual
study plan with a faculty adviser.
Prospective majors must complete two of the lower-division
10-series courses in history of art and visual culture before declaring
the major. All students considering this major should consult with
a member of the faculty as soon as possible. Students must complete
the work sheet for declaring the major in preparation for a meeting
with an adviser to finalize the Proposed Study Plan and Declaration
of Major/Minor petition form.
Five courses, as follows:
- courses 10D, 10E, and either 10F or 10G.
- two courses selected from the following:
additional 10-series courses
80-series courses
visual practice courses: Art 20–30, 70; Theater Arts 14, 18
(transfer courses—a total of 9 or 10 quarter credits)
(Up to two upper-division history of art and visual culture courses
may be substituted with prior approval of a faculty adviser.)
Ten 5-credit courses, as follows:
- nine upper-division history of art and visual culture courses:
course 100A recommended during sophomore or junior year
courses 101–149: two courses recommended
courses 150–189: four courses recommended
courses 190–191: two courses required, one of which must satisfy
the senior comprehensive requirement (see below)
In courses 100–191, a student must study with four different faculty
members to ensure methodological and theoretical diversity as
well as to study visual cultures in a variety of historical eras
and cultural settings (refer to the course descriptions).
- tenth course: one course from another discipline, approved by
a faculty adviser. The course taken outside of the History of
Art and Visual Culture Department to fulfill the upper-division
major requirement should complement a student’s history of art
and visual culture program focus. Courses from the following departments
are especially relevant: American studies, anthropology, film
and digital media, history, history of consciousness, Latin American
and Latino studies, literature, theater arts, and women’s studies.
Courses from other departments may be considered.
One of the two seminars, 190–191, taken to meet the requirements for
the major must be taken in the senior year to fulfill the senior comprehensive
requirement. Within the context of an advanced seminar, this course
provides supervised, culminatory work leading to the completion of
a major coherent project that meets the standards of the senior level
of achievement in the history of art and visual culture. Students
whose performance is outstanding are eligible for Honors. Students
taking the course for Pass/No Pass who do not pass will receive a
“fail” (F).
This program is for students who wish to pursue the study
of religion in conjunction with studies of visual culture. It consists
of an individually planned sequence of courses, including a core
set of lower-division courses (1–99), to provide grounding in issues,
methods, and a general history of visual culture; upper-division
courses (100–199) from within the department; and at least four
upper-division courses from other departments that focus on the
study of religion.
A student enters the concentration by petitioning the History
of Art and Visual Culture Department and proposing, in consultation
with the primary adviser, a sequence of upper-division courses to
fulfill the religion and visual culture concentration requirements.
Students must complete two 10-series lower-division courses in history
of art and visual culture before declaring the major.
Requirements
Fourteen courses are required: four lower-division and six upper-division
courses from within the department and four relevant upper-division
courses from other
departments.
Lower-Division Courses
- Courses 10D, 10E, and either 10F or 10G
- One course selected from the following: additional 10-series
courses, 80-series courses, or Art 20–30
(A lower-division course from another department or an upper-division
history of art and visual culture course may be substituted with
prior approval of a faculty adviser.)
Upper-Division Courses
- Six upper-division history of art and visual culture courses
(course 100A, two numbered 101–149, two numbered 150–189, and one
in the senior year numbered 190 or 191).
- Four upper-division courses in the study of religion from programs
on campus such as anthropology, history, literature, and philosophy.
(A current list of courses on campus that focus on the study of
religion is maintained by the History of Art and Visual Culture
Department Office.)
- Students must include at least two seminars in their program;
at least one should be taken in the History of Art and Visual Culture
Department in the senior year specifically to fulfill the senior
comprehensive requirement.
History of art and visual culture may be studied as part of a double
major. A student must fulfill all of the requirements for both majors.
Nine courses, as follows:
- lower-division: three courses (10D, 10E, and either 10F or 10G);
- upper-division: six courses planned in consultation with a faculty
adviser (one history of art and visual culture 80-series course
may be substituted for one upper-division course).
A student may transfer up to five art history courses toward the
major, only two of which may be upper division. Upper-division transfer
credit must be approved by the student’s faculty adviser. Transfer
students are invited to contact the History of Art and Visual Culture
Department before enrolling at UCSC.
The University of California’s Education Abroad Program (EAP) operates
in countries throughout the world and serves over 750 upper-division
students from the nine UC campuses annually. Students may receive
transfer credit for a maximum of three upper-division art history
courses taken through the EAP program. Credit for courses taken
at other institutions is given only with permission of the student’s
adviser. It is strongly suggested that students consult with a faculty
member about their course of study before going abroad in
order to avoid any confusion about these transfer credits.
There are many graduate programs of visual culture that
lead to the M.A. and Ph.D. in fields such as art history, cultural
history, semiotics, rhetoric, history of religions, comparative
arts, theory and criticism of art, and so forth. Most graduate programs
require a reading knowledge of one or two languages other than English.
Students who are contemplating graduate study should consult with
their adviser as early as possible in their undergraduate career.
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