The concentration in History of Art and Architecture (HIAA) introduces students to the history of art, architecture, and material culture. Students in HIAA explore a wide range of artistic traditions from around the world, and develop the skills necessary to analyze artworks, artifacts, and the built environment dating from the paleolithic to the contemporary. Concentrators are encouraged to develop familiarity with the distinctive periods, regions, sub-fields, and theoretical approaches that collectively inform the discipline, while at the same time developing an individualized program. Concentrators will receive essential training in perceptual, historical, and critical analysis.
History of Art and Architecture Requirements
To complete the concentration, students are expected to take a minimum of ten courses. These include 3 lecture courses that engage three different geographies, relating to Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, or a course that engages the Islamic world, or multiple regions; and 2 lecture courses that engage two different periods, from ancient-medieval to early modern, modern-contemporary, or a course that engages multiple periods. In addition to these five lecture courses, students will take three seminar courses to engage in smaller, often thematic conversations. They will identify one elective course that they can choose in HIAA or a course related to the arts in a different department. To conclude their concentration, students will take a HIAA course that they designate as their one-term Capstone or apply to do a two-term Honors thesis.
Our goal in setting out these requirements is to welcome students into a lively and diverse department that also shares a cohesive and strong commitment to the field. We as a faculty want students to cultivate their special interests and also to venture into areas that may not be so familiar but that will open new and exciting possibilities for them. Ten courses are only the minimum requirement. Beyond that students are encouraged to take courses at RISD, participate in study abroad programs, and take courses in other Brown departments. As we are a truly interdisciplinary department, you will also find that our faculty collaborates with members of other departments to teach courses that bring together the strengths of different disciplines. We encourage both experimentation and concentration.
Since the history of art and architecture addresses issues of practice within specific historical contexts, concentrators are encouraged to take at least one studio art course. Courses in history also train students in methods and approaches that are highly relevant to the history of art and architecture. Study abroad can be a valuable enrichment of the academic work available on campus, in that it offers opportunities for first-hand knowledge of works of art and monuments as well as providing exposure to foreign languages and cultures. Study abroad should be planned in consultation with the concentration advisor in order to make sure that coursework will relate meaningfully to the concentrator's program of study.
| 3 Lecture Courses, numbered HIAA 0001–HIAA 0999. These courses should engage three different geographies (Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, the Islamic World, Multiple Regions) 2 Lecture Courses, numbered HIAA 0001–HIAA 0999. These courses should engage two different periods (Ancient-Medieval, Early Modern, Modern-Contemporary, Multiple Periods) | 5 | |
| Temporal Periods | ||
Ancient/Medieval: | ||
| The Art of Enlightenment | ||
| Arts of Asia: Beginnings to 1300 | ||
| Art and Architecture of the Roman Empire | ||
| The Arts of Religion and Ritual in the Ancient World | ||
Early Modern: | ||
| Food and Art in the Early Modern World | ||
| Giotto to Watteau: Introduction to the Art of Europe from Renaissance to French Revolution | ||
Modern/Contemporary: | ||
| Introduction to American Art: The 19th Century | ||
| Introduction to American Art: The Twentieth Century | ||
| Introduction to the History of Art: Modern Photography | ||
| Revolutions, Illusions, Impressions: A History of Nineteenth-Century Art | ||
| Postwar to Postmodernism: Art Since 1945 | ||
| Contemporary Art | ||
| Contemporary Photography | ||
| The Other History of Modern Architecture | ||
| Art and Technology from Futurism to Hacktivism | ||
| Modern Architecture | ||
| Contemporary Architecture | ||
| City and Cinema | ||
Multiple Periods: | ||
| South Asian Art and Architecture | ||
| A Global History of Art and Architecture | ||
| Architecture of the House Through Space and Time | ||
| Architecture and Urbanism of Africa | ||
| Geographic Regions: | ||
Africa: | ||
| Architecture and Urbanism of Africa | ||
Americas: | ||
| Introduction to American Art: The 19th Century | ||
| Introduction to American Art: The Twentieth Century | ||
| Contemporary Photography | ||
Asia: | ||
| The Art of Enlightenment | ||
| South Asian Art and Architecture | ||
Europe: | ||
| Art and Architecture of the Roman Empire | ||
| Introduction to the History of Art: Modern Photography | ||
| Revolutions, Illusions, Impressions: A History of Nineteenth-Century Art | ||
Multiple Regions: | ||
| The Architectures of Islam | ||
| Architecture of the House Through Space and Time | ||
| Postwar to Postmodernism: Art Since 1945 | ||
| Contemporary Art | ||
| The Other History of Modern Architecture | ||
| The Arts of Religion and Ritual in the Ancient World | ||
| Art and Technology from Futurism to Hacktivism | ||
| Modern Architecture | ||
| Contemporary Architecture | ||
| 3 Seminars, numbered HIAA 1000–HIAA 1931 | 3 | |
| Prefabrication and Architecture | ||
| Brushwork: Chinese Painting in Time | ||
| Mountains and Waters: Art and Ecology in East Asia | ||
| The Pictured Text | ||
| The Bureaucracy of Hell: Envisioning Death in East Asian Art | ||
| Pre-Columbian Art + Architecture | ||
| Politics and Spectacle in the Arts of Ancient Rome | ||
| Arts of Memory in Ancient Rome | ||
| Arts Between Europe and the World: 1500-1700 | ||
| The Art of Portraiture: Pre-Histories of the Selfie | ||
| Eclectic Arts in the Global 19th Century | ||
| Contemporary Art and Activism | ||
| Possible Futures: Art and the Social Network before the Internet (1950-1979) | ||
| Abstraction in Theory and Practice | ||
| Dada and Surrealism: Anarchy, Exile, Alterity | ||
| Contemporary American Urbanism: City Design and Planning, 1945-2000 | ||
| Berlin: Architecture, Politics and Memory | ||
| Criticality and Modern Art | ||
| Exhibition as Medium | ||
| Contemporary Art of Africa and the Diaspora | ||
| Museum Interpretation Practices | ||
| Providence Architecture | ||
| The History and Methods of Art Historical Interpretation | ||
| Museums, Histories, Critiques | ||
| 1 Elective: This can include courses taught in the department, cross-listed courses from other departments, or courses in other departments approved by the concentration advisor. 1 | 1 | |
| One capstone course or two honors courses. See capstone and honors requirements below. | 1-2 | |
| Total Credits | 10-11 | |
- 1
Transferring Courses
Students may transfer 4 courses with art history and architectural history content into their HIAA concentration (and architectural design and practice content for the architecture concentration) in any of the course requirement sections, except for the Capstone or Honors. These transfers can be from other schools, from study abroad, or from other classes taken at Brown. AP/IB/A-level scores are not included. The concentration advisor and the DUS must review and approve the syllabus from the course to confirm that the course content is equivalent to that in a HIAA course. To evaluate course equivalency, they will use the following criteria: majority HIAA content; regular meetings for 10 to 14 weeks or 180 hours of work; weekly readings (50 to 100 pages) of primary and secondary sources; regular graded assignments, including a final paper, project, or exam.
Honors
Capstone Requirement
The capstone is ideally undertaken in the fourth year of study as a means of synthesizing the knowledge and understanding that students have gained in the HIAA department. Capstone projects embrace many possibilities; they are meant to allow for exploration or to pursue a subject of interest in more depth. Capstones are always attached to a HIAA course; the first three paths are one-term long, the fourth path, the Honors Thesis, is a two-term project.
One path is for a student to work closely with a professor in HIAA to develop their capstone in an independent study (HIAA 1920). On this path, a student could create their own syllabus (in conversation with their independent study advisor) and meet regularly with the advisor to discuss the readings, assignments, and final paper or project. This course could be on a research topic of interest; one that explores ways to analyze art or architectural history or architectural design; it could also be interdisciplinary and bring two fields together (this might be relevant for double-concentrators).
A second path also develops the capstone as an independent study (HIAA 1920) in relation to a hands-on work experience. Such experiences could include working as an intern in a museum, gallery, historical preservation organization, or architecture firm; or doing fieldwork at an archaeological site. If experiential, the work could be done in the term of the capstone, or in dialogue with the advisor, the term before. While accounting for the hours spent in the hands-on experience, this independent study option should include readings and assignments as in any HIAA course, including a final paper or project to conclude the course.
A third path is for a student to register for a graduate or undergraduate HIAA seminar or a HIAA lecture course, and, in consultation with the professor for the course and their concentration advisor, count this course as their capstone.
All one-term capstones include an additional four-page reflective essay that describes why the particular course or project the student pursued was meaningful to their study of art and architecture and synthesizes what the student learned during the concentration. In addition, each capstone student gives a two-minute presentation at the end of the year. This presentation must be rehearsed first with the advisor or professor of their capstone course (for time and clarity).
The fourth path is the Honors Thesis, which is a two-term project to write an in-depth research paper and present it to the department at the end of the year. Please see the full description below.
In all cases, the capstone course counts toward the total number of courses required for the concentration.
Examples, these will vary by student:
Path 1: HIAA 1920: Art and Data: Producing Three Digital Humanities “Tools” for Art History
Path 2: HIAA 1920: Museum Internship + Related Readings and Final Project (independent study course)
Path 3: HIAA 2880: “Architecture and the Making of Human Difference" (seminar course)
Path 4: HIAA 1990: Honors Thesis
Honors Requirements
During the second semester of the junior year all concentrators will be invited to apply for admission to the Honors Program in History of Art and Architecture. The honors program is an opportunity for concentrators to mobilize what they have learned to make an original research contribution to the field.
Students wishing to write an honors thesis should have produced consistently excellent work and maintained a high level of achievement (i.e. a majority of “A” or “S with distinction” grades) in all concentration courses. It is advisable for them to have taken at least one seminar in the department and written a research paper before choosing to undertake a thesis. Acceptance into the Honors program depends on the persuasiveness of the thesis topic and the availability of relevant faculty to advise the thesis. No honors student may take more than four courses either semester of their senior year—with the honors seminar being considered one of the four courses. Students interested in honors who are expecting to graduate in the middle of the year should contact the concentration advisor no later than the beginning of their junior year.
During both fall and spring semesters you will participate in the monthly meetings of the Honors cohort, in which honors students in both HIAA concentrations share their work-in-progress with each other and with the faculty member who supervises the seminar. These monthly meetings, usually three per semester, are mandatory. Students must enroll in HIAA 1990 (Honors Thesis) in both semesters. Students are also expected to meet separately and regularly with their own thesis advisor.
Finished drafts of the thesis, which will generally be no more than 30–35 pages in length (exceptions to be determined in consultation with the instructor), not counting bibliography and visual materials, will be due to the advisor and second reader by March 1 of the Spring semester or by November 1 of the Fall semester if you plan on graduating in December. Comments will be returned to the students for final corrections at that point. There will be a public presentation of Honors work at the end of the Spring semester.