Welcome to the History of Art Department at UC Berkeley. The department is among the smallest of the top dozen art history programs in the country with 16 faculty members, about 50 graduate students, and 100 or so undergraduate majors. Over the last 30 years, the National Research Council (NRC) has consistently ranked UC Berkeley's program among the top three. In the most recent NRC ranking, it appeared in first place, tied with another program. The department’s traditional strengths are in European and Asian Art, but in the past five years, we have expanded our coverage of the art of the Americas to include Pre-Columbian and Latin American as well as the full range of modern and contemporary American art.
The department’s offices are located in Doe Library on the Berkeley campus on the fourth floor of the finest humanities research library on the West Coast. We are situated in close proximity to both the department’s Visual Resources Center, which curates a substantial and growing body of digital images, and to the Art History/Classics Library. Many of the History of Art graduate seminars are held in the Jean Bony Seminar Room of this noncirculating library. Some further examples of the Berkeley program’s special resources are the annual Judith K. Stronach Travel Seminar, the annual Mary C. Stoddard Lecture in the History of Art, and the Curatorial Preparedness Initiative (funded over six years from the Mellon Foundation for a total of $1,250,000).
The Visual Resources Center (VRC) supports the History of Art department in the areas of digital teaching, image research, and audiovisual support. The VRC builds and maintains a collection of images for instructional and research purposes. The collection encompasses images of art and architecture of the world, ranging from prehistory to contemporary art. The VRC adds approximately 5,000 images per year to the collection, based largely on faculty requests. The facility is located in 307 Doe Library, situated within the Art History/Classics Library on the third floor of Doe Library. For further information, see the History of Art Department website.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018
An introduction to the fundamentals of art history, including traditional and innovative perspectives designed for candidates for higher degrees. Offerings vary from year to year. Students should consult the department's "Announcement of Classes" for offerings before the beginning of the semester. Graduate Proseminar in the Interpretation of Art Historical Materials: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Graduate standing and consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of seminar per week
Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2014, Spring 2012
This seminar looks at both material culture theory and the practice of interpreting objects in the West and in Asia. It draws on the practices and inquiries of multiple disciplines including archaeology, anthropology, cultural geography, and art history . We will consider the variety of ways and contexts in which objects have been understood to "speak" as aesthetic vehicles and as cultural texts. Taught by two faculty members who have extensive experience as museum curators--one of American Art, the other of Asian Art, this class will combine theory with hands-on learning. Seminar in Material Culture: The Interpretation of Objects: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Terms offered: Spring 2019, Fall 2015, Spring 2012
This seminar is intended to introduce graduate students--both archaeologists and non-archaeologists--to the discipline of classical archaeology, history, and evolution, and its research tools and bibliography. Since it is both impossible and undesirable to attempt to cover the entire discipline in one semester, after two introductory lectures on the history of the field, we will address a selection of topics that seems representative of its concerns. Proseminar in Classical Archaeology and Ancient Art: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Working knowledge of Latin, Greek, and German or French or Italian
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Terms offered: Fall 2012
Seminar on critical aspects of Near Eastern art requiring intensive study and presentation of a research paper. Topics vary from semester to semester. Seminar in Near Eastern Art: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Terms offered: Spring 2014
Mimesis, Greek for "imitation" is a key term in recent debates in a number of disciplines. However, what is at its core is often astonishingly undefined, open and ambivalent. Starting with antique and medieval works addressing key moments of mimesis we will also explore modern theories of mimesis. Crossing the threshold between pre-modern and modern examples will help us to understand the premises for the visual culture involving the rise of naturalism, and more generally the nature of representation in medieval and early modern culture. Seminar in European Art: Mimesis: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Graduate standing and consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of seminar per week
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Spring 2020, Spring 2019
Topics explore themes and problems, often reflect current research interests of the instructor, and supplement regular curricular offerings. Detailed descriptions of current and future offerings available in 416 Doe Library. Special Topics in Fields of Art History: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Graduate standing and consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: History of Art/Graduate
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Terms offered: Spring 2019, Spring 2017, Spring 2015
This course explores site-specific themes, topics, and problems, reflects current research interests of the instructor(s), and suppplements regular curricular offerings. Detailed descriptions of current and (where known) future offerings available in 416 Doe Library. Judith Stronach Graduate Travel Seminar in Art History: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Graduate standing and consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017
Independent study open to qualified students directly engaged upon the doctoral dissertation. Directed Dissertation Research: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 1-5 hours of independent study per week 8 weeks - 1-4 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: History of Art/Graduate
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019
Directed group discussion for graduate students, focused on selected books, articles, problems, primary sources, and/or works of art. Usually but not necessarily offered as preparation for a travel seminar or other supervised fieldwork. Group Study for Graduate Students in the History of Art: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Graduate standing and consent of instructor, and possibly courses in the history of art
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of directed group study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: History of Art/Graduate
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2019
Weekly meetings with the instructor to discuss the methods and aims of the course, to plan the content and presentation of the material for the discussion sections, and to set standards and criteria for grading and commenting upon papers and exams. In addition, after visiting sections early in the semester, the instructor will discuss with each GSI individually his or her performance and make any necessary recommendations for improvement. Supervised Teaching of History of Art: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Graduate standing and concurrent appointment as a graduate student instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0-0 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: History of Art/Professional course for teachers or prospective teachers
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018
This pedagogical seminar introduces graduate students to methods and theories of teaching history of art. The course has two primary goals: (1) to train new graduate student instructors to assist in teaching History of Art classes at UCB; and (2) to introduce students to techniques of designing and teaching their own classes. The seminar may be taken concurrently with the first teaching assignment or in the semester before beginning teaching. Seminar in History of Art Teaching: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Graduate standing and consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: History of Art/Professional course for teachers or prospective teachers
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Fall 2018
Individual study, in consultation with the graduate adviser, intended to provide an opportunity for qualified students to prepare themselves for the various examinations required of candidates for the Ph.D. degree. Individual Study for Doctoral Students in the History of Art: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: For candidates for doctoral degree
Credit Restrictions: Course does not satisfy unit or residence requirements for doctoral degree.
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: History of Art/Graduate examination preparation
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
+ Indicates this faculty member is the recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award.
Faculty
Diliana Angelova, Assistant Professor. Gender, early Christian art, Byzantine art, late antique art, the Virgin Mary, early Christian empresses, imperial iconography, power and material culture, the empress Helena, the relic of the True Cross, urban development of Constantinople, textiles, ivories, mythology in Byzantine art, myth and genre in Archaic and Classical Greek art, romantic love in ancient and medieval art. Research Profile
Patricia Berger, Professor. China, buddhist art, East Asian studies, history of art, Asian architecture and art. Research Profile
Julia Q. Bryan-Wilson, Professor. Contemporary art, feminist theory, queer theory. Research Profile
Whitney Davis, Professor. History of Art.
Beate Fricke, Associate Professor. Medieval art and architecture, idolatry, iconoclasm, history of allegory, formation of communities, incest, anthropophagy, animation, emergence of life and procreation, theories and practices in use of images and relics, visual and material culture, Carolingian Art, Gothic Art, Ottonian Art. Research Profile
+ Darcy Grimaldo Grigsby, Professor.
Christopher Hallett, Professor. Classics, Roman art, visual culture, portraiture, Hellenistic art, Roman Asia Minor, Hellenistic and Roman Egypt. Research Profile
Imogen Hart, Assistant Adjunct Professor.
Elizabeth A. Honig, Associate Professor. Painting, Rome, baroque, Renaissance, Antwerp, digital humanities, Brueghel, Rubens. Research Profile
Lauren Kroiz, Associate Professor. History and theory of photography and new media, race and ethnic studies, the relationships between regionalism, nationalism and globalism.
Henrike Lange, Assistant Professor.
Anneka Lenssen, Assistant Professor. Global modern art.
Gregory Levine, Associate Professor. East Asian studies, history of art, Japanese art and architecture, histories of collecting, history of museums, Buddhist art and architecture, Buddhist visual culture. Research Profile
Margaretta M. Lovell, Professor. Architecture, design, American art. Research Profile
Sabrina Sonia Maras, Assistant Adjunct Professor.
Todd Olson, Professor.
Sugata Ray, Assistant Professor. Early modern, visual culture, Hinduism, Islam, architecture, Urban cultures, environmental studies, ecology, aesthetics, globalization, postcolonial studies, colonialism, museums, historiography, art history, India, South Asia. Research Profile
+ Andrew F. Stewart, Professor. Archaeology, classics, Greek sculpture, ancient art and architecture, the Hellenistic east after Alexander, the Renaissance reception of antiquity. Research Profile
Lisa Trever, Assistant Professor. Pre-Columbian Art History, Latin American Art History, archaeology, visual studies, historiography, Illustration. Research Profile
Lecturers
Ivy Mills, Lecturer.
Catherine Mary Telfair, Lecturer.
Emeritus Faculty
+ Svetlana Alpers, Professor Emeritus.
Timothy J. Clark, Professor Emeritus.
Jacques De Caso, Professor Emeritus. History of European art of the XVIIIIth and XIXth centuries. Research Profile
Loren Partridge, Professor Emeritus. Urbanism, architecture, Italian Renaissance painting, sculpture, Rome, Florence, Venice, Italian courts, churches, palaces, villas, fresco decoration. Research Profile
Peter Selz, Professor Emeritus.
Anne Wagner, Professor Emeritus.
David H. Wright, Professor Emeritus. Art from Augustus to Charlemagne, palaeography and codicology, late Roman numismatics. Research Profile
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