ART HISTORY PROGRAM
The Art History major is an interdisciplinary program that exposes students to works of art and other visual productions, both past and present, and helps to prepare students for future challenges.
The Art History Program provides students with the tools to understand, interpret, and evaluate art from the perspectives of different societies across time. We encourage students to approach art as a dynamic force that has shaped, and continues to shape, the complex interaction of social, political and economic processes both in the past and in the present day.
In harmony with the University’s Augustinian mission and unique identity, the Art History Program emphasizes the benefits of a broader, liberal arts education. More particularly, Art History students can expect to leave Villanova as “sophisticated viewers,” having obtained vital skills that will help them become critical consumers of the visual imagery that surrounds us.
WHY ART HISTORY?
Art History students—sophisticated viewers of visual culture—have a distinct advantage in today’s world where the relentless proliferation of images has an ever-increasing influence on our cultural, economic, and political lives, from art to advertising, and from film to fashion. By learning how to assess and read images through analysis and interpretation, students will leave Villanova as critical members of contemporary visual society. Learn more about how the major prepares our students for a variety of careers.
A key strength of Art History is its interdisciplinary focus. Building upon their own expertise in the history of art, our faculty members incorporate the latest theories and ideas from a variety of disciplines, in order to place art history in a broader scholarly context and to expose students to art and to visual and material culture, both past to present. Learn more about our faculty.
Art History fosters a better understanding of how art communicates historically and in the present. Art History faculty members are dedicated to creating an exciting, challenging and rewarding academic experience, helping to prepare our students for future challenges. The major also provides opportunities for travel and study abroad and fosters cross-cultural understanding. Learn more about the major.
One cannot understand the past without examining its diverse peoples. We also recognize that our disciplines have histories that have repressed and concealed that diversity. Therefore, the History Department and Art History Program vigorously affirm our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Read the History Department's full diversity statement.
