Requirements: Art and Art History

Fine Arts Division

The goal of the Department of Art and Art History is to provide instruction in and experience with the visual arts in the context of the liberal arts. The department offers two majors: studio art and the history of art. A major in studio art is intended to make the student particularly qualified to communicate ideas in visual form. A major in the history of art is intended to prepare the student to interpret and contextualize ideas presented in visual form throughout the past.

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Studio Art

Introductory Courses

In each course, students confront the intellectual and aesthetic components that go into making personally meaningful artwork, guided by demonstrations, slide examples, lectures and critiques. Course content and approach differ among the sections and courses, but in each the goal is to introduce students to the ideas, techniques and vocabularies of contemporary artistic practice.

Requirements for the Studio Art Major

Students majoring in studio art must complete:

  • Three courses of introductory work (ARTS 101–108), which should be completed by the end of the sophomore year
  • Four courses of intermediate work (ARTS 200–391)
  • Two courses of advanced work (ARTS 480–481) with two different members of the studio art faculty, one each semester of the senior year
  • Two courses of art history, which should be taken by the end of the sophomore year, if possible.

Students majoring in studio art may not take a required course as pass/D/fail or as an individual study.

The Senior Capstone in Studio Art

The Senior Capstone in studio art consists of a public exhibition of a cohesive body of work in Kenyon College's Gund Gallery, a written artist's statement and an oral defense and presentation with each member of the studio faculty. Detailed guidelines are available to download on the studio art department website.

Requirements for the Studio Art Minor

Students minoring in studio art must complete:

  • Two courses of introductory work (ARTS 101–108)
  • Three courses of intermediate work (ARTS 210–381)
  • One course of art history 

Students minoring in studio art may not take a required course as pass/D/fail or as an individual study.

Transfer and Off-Campus Study Credit Policy

A maximum of two studio art courses taken off-campus may be applied to the major. A maximum of one studio art course taken off-campus may be applied to the minor.

Art History

Courses

The discipline of art history encourages critical thought about visual culture in a liberal arts framework. Art history students draw from an interdisciplinary base, exploring a wide range of art and architecture within a broad cultural and historical context. 100-level introductory courses are designed for students who have had little or no art history. These courses may be taken in any sequence; all introduce students to the concepts, vocabulary and methods of the discipline. Most intermediate courses and seminars require ARHS 110 and/or ARHS 111 as a prerequisite; therefore, students pursuing the major or minor in ARHS are encouraged to take ARHS 110 and ARHS 111. No AP credit or advanced placement is offered through art history. AP credit cannot be used to satisfy any requirements of the art history major or minor.

Requirements for the Art History Major

Students majoring in art history must take:

  • ARHS 110 and 111
  • Six ARHS intermediate courses at the 200 level
  • One advanced ARHS seminar at the 300 level
  • Two ARTS courses
  • ARHS 480 (Senior Seminar) which is offered only during fall semester

Alternatively, an art history major may take:

  • Three ARHS introductory courses at the 100 level
  • Five ARHS intermediate courses at the 200 level
  • One ARHS advanced seminar at the 300 level
  • Two ARTS art courses
  • ARHS 480 (Senior Seminar), which is offered only during fall semester

Other substitutions:

  • One seminar may be substituted for an intermediate-level course in the same area, with the permission of the department.
  • The intermediate course requirement in the ancient area may be fulfilled with one of the following courses: CLAS 121, 122, 220 or 221.

Majors must complete at least one course at the intermediate or advanced level in each of the following art historical areas:

  • Ancient
  • Medieval
  • Renaissance/Baroque
  • Modern/Contemporary

One seminar may be substituted for an intermediate-level course in the same area, with the permission of the department. The one course requirement in the ancient area may be fulfilled with one of the following courses: CLAS 121, 122, 220 or 221.

Art History Cross-listed Courses

The following course is cross listed in the art history department and can satisfy the 200-level intermediate modern/contemporary requirement when taught by a member of the art history faculty: AMST 209 (American Visual Culture).

Transfer Credit Policy

Students who want to transfer credit to count toward the major or minor in the art history department must petition the department with a copy of the syllabus of the course. The department will decide on a case-by-case basis whether transfer credit will be counted towards the major or minor.

Off-Campus Credit Policy

With pre-approval, students studying abroad may count up to three courses of coursework for each semester of the OCS program. Art history is a global discipline and competence, including reading, in foreign languages is highly encouraged, as is study abroad. For the joint major in art history and Asian and Middle East studies, please see the Asian and Middle East studies web page. 

The Senior Capstone in Art History

The Senior Capstone requires students to deliver a research-based oral presentation, complete with slides, followed by a question-and-answer session. This public event, normally scheduled for a Saturday in mid-February, requires students to demonstrate their knowledge of a specific area of art history. Honors students will use this exercise to highlight a specific component of their larger project.

Process for the Senior Capstone

Students identify a preliminary thesis topic during the fall of their senior year. This process requires the preparation of a proposal, due in mid-September, that includes a two- to three-page (double-spaced) prospectus outlining the goals of the project. This text must address which methodologies the student intends to use, the primary objects under investigation and how the project relates to current scholarship. This document will also include a bibliography and a list of courses (ARHS and otherwise) that have contributed to the proposal’s formation. It is expected, though not necessarily required, that the proposal will have originated in a 200- or 300-level course.

Students submit their proposal to the department chair, who collects and distributes each document to the faculty. Faculty will approve or reject each proposal based on whether the topic is reasonable in scope and clear in methodology. A student whose proposal is rejected must resubmit the document based on faculty recommendations. Students who receive faculty approval expand the project over the course of the fall semester and during winter break. Students are encouraged to consult with appropriate faculty to develop the project. 

The Public Presentation

By fall break, the faculty announces a date for the public presentations, normally a Saturday in mid-February. Each presentation is a 15-minute, conference-style presentation delivered to a public audience. Students are placed into thematic panels of three or four students each to facilitate a spirited discussion after each group of talks. These question-and-answer sessions last 10–15 minutes per panel. Honors students are required to participate with the same level of engagement as their peers. Faculty will serve as moderators for each panel.

Evaluating the Presentations

Faculty evaluate each presentation based on the following criteria. A successful presentation must:

  • Defend a clear, substantive thesis
  • Effectively use appropriate evidence (primary and secondary sources)
  • Show an awareness of current trends in the field
  • Demonstrate a high level of preparedness (i.e., the talk does not exceed the time limit; slides are used strategically to support the thesis; questions are answered thoughtfully, etc.)

Faculty assign a score of high pass, pass or fail to each presentation based on thesis criteria. These scores are delivered to students in writing by the department chair. Students who demonstrate excellence in each of the criteria listed above may be awarded distinction. This designation requires a unanimous “high pass” evaluation from all permanent members of the art history faculty.

Students may fail the presentation if their talk is: a) exceptionally short or shows an effort that is lacking; b) an obvious regurgitation of a previously delivered presentation that shows no development of the earlier thesis; c) characterized by obvious plagiarism; d) far beyond the scope of the original proposal; or e) clearly beyond the boundaries of art historical practice/methods.

Students who fail, work with at least one art history faculty member — likely their advisor — to compose a research essay based on their original topic. That essay includes 12–15 pages of text plus notes, images and a bibliography. The deadline for this essay is 5 p.m. on the second Friday after the return from spring break. Faculty then read this essay and agree to either pass or fail the student. A student who fails a second time revises and re-submits the paper until it is deemed acceptable by the faculty.

Honors

The Honors Program is an opportunity for students with demonstrated ability to work on a research project under the supervision of a faculty member. Permission of the art history faculty is required. To qualify for the Honors Program, the following are required:

  • A minimum 3.33 cumulative GPA for all courses
  • A minimum 3.5 GPA for all art history courses
  • At least one (and preferably two) intermediate or advanced courses at Kenyon in the topic area
  • Endorsement of the project by the proposed thesis advisor is mandatory before submitting an application for honors

Previous completion of a research paper in art history (preferably in the area of honors specialization) is essential. Meeting the minimum GPA does not automatically qualify a student for the Honors Program. Typically, if a student has written an exceptionally well-researched and well-written art history paper and meets the other criteria for acceptance into the Honors Program, a professor might suggest that the student undertake a related topic as an honors thesis. Alternately, students can discuss pursuing an honors thesis with their academic advisor and a potential thesis advisor. The project must be supervised by an art history professor who agrees and is available to serve as the honors thesis advisor, and whose interests and expertise coincide with the proposed project. In either case, the student then works closely with the thesis advisor to develop a project proposal to be submitted to the art history faculty. Departmental approval must be obtained during the spring semester preceding work on the thesis. Please see the art history departmental webpage for more information.

Requirements for the Art History Minor

Art history offers a departmental minor with four options, each totaling six courses.

The broad minor gives students an overview of the field. Requirements:

  • Two courses at the introductory 100 level
  • Three courses at the intermediate 200 level in two or more areas. One course may be fulfilled with one of the following courses: CLAS 121, 122, 220 or 221.
  • Advanced seminar at the 300 level

Minors may take ARHS 480 but are not required to do so. Three options for a focused minor give students a deeper knowledge of one field within art history. These are:

Ancient art — requirements:

  • ARHS 110 plus one other course at the introductory 100 level
  • Two courses at the intermediate 200 level in ancient art. One course may be fulfilled with one of the following courses: CLAS 121, 122, 220 or 221.
  • One course of advanced work in ancient art at the 300 level
  • One course above the introductory 100 level in another area

Renaissance and baroque art — requirements:

  • ARHS 111 plus another course at the introductory 100 level
  • Two courses at the intermediate 200 level in Renaissance and Baroque art
  • One course at the advanced 300 level in Renaissance and Baroque art
  • One course above the introductory 100 level in another area

Modern/contemporary art — requirements:

  • ARHS 111 plus another course at the introductory 100 level
  • Two courses at the intermediate 200 level in modern art
  • One course at the advanced 300 level in modern art
  • One course above the introductory 100 level in another area