Art, Art History, and Film
The department offers three majors: Art History, Film Studies, and Studio Art. Minors are offered in each area as well. Internships are available in local museums and galleries. For details, inquire at the Art, Art History, and Film department office.
Major Requirements: Art History
Art history encompasses the study of images, objects, and buildings from a broad range of historical periods and geographical regions, providing a doorway into many rich and diverse cultures throughout the world. It is about vision in the broadest sense, how people saw themselves in the past, and how we see ourselves in the present and future. Art history understands art as an instrument of power and recognizes its potential for influencing contemporary social issues.
By honing skills of careful observation, critical analysis, historical research, and written communication, a degree in art history provides students with tools to interpret the past in a wide variety of cultural contexts and teaches them how to be more critical participants within our media-saturated world. Through the close study of objects, art history cultivates a greater aesthetic awareness by considering questions of beauty, quality, and value across time and space.
The teaching and research of our faculty cover the arts of Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas, and the Islamic world, from ancient to contemporary times. Professors actively participate in interdisciplinary collaboration through co-teaching, joint research projects, workshops, conferences, and museum curation. Students are encouraged to think across geographic and disciplinary boundaries by studying the visual cultures of multiple regions and by taking courses in complementary fields, such as studio art, philosophy, sociology, history, and religion.
Art history courses make use of the rich collections of Boston College’s McMullen Museum of Art and numerous other cultural institutions across the city, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Institute of Contemporary Art, and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, as well as the built environment of historic Boston. Students frequently engage in summer internships and study abroad, enhancing traditional classroom learning through first-hand experience.
The skills of observing, reading, and writing offered through an art history degree not only enrich life, but are fundamental to many future career paths. Alumni of the department have gone on to work in academia, art criticism, architecture, museums, art conservation, cultural preservation, intellectual property law, and at commercial galleries and auction houses. Because art history contributes to the broad intellectual foundation that constitutes a liberal arts education, the skills acquired are also transferable to many areas outside the discipline.
The Art History major requires 11 courses (33 credits):
- ARTH1101 Intro to Art History I: Prehistory to Middle Ages
- ARTH1102 Intro to Art History II: Renaissance to Modern
- Two of the following three courses: ARTH2212 East Asian Art and Architecture, ARTH2213 Islamic Art and Architecture, ARTH2250 Introduction to African Art and Visual Culture
- One Studio Art (ARTS) course or ARTH4314 The Materials of Art and their Conservation
- Elective 1 (2000 or 3000 level)
- Elective 2 (2000 or 3000 level)
- Elective 3 (3000 or 4000 level)
- Elective 4 (3000 or 4000 level)
- Elective 5 (3000 or 4000 level)
- ARTH4401 Seminar in Art Historical Research (must be taken in the fall semester of junior or senior year)
- OPTIONAL Thesis: Students sign up for an Independent Study with a faculty advisor in the spring semester of their senior year. Students who write a senior thesis are eligible for departmental honors.
The Art History major can also be completed with a concentration in Museum Studies, which requires a minimum of 12 courses (36 credits):
- ARTH1101 Intro to Art History I: Prehistory to Middle Ages
- ARTH1102 Intro to Art History II: Renaissance to Modern
- Two of the following three courses: ARTH2212 East Asian Art and Architecture, ARTH2213 Islamic Art and Architecture, ARTH2250 Introduction to African Art and Visual Culture
- ARTH4314 The Materials of Art and Their Conservation
- ARTH4370 Museum of Art: History, Philosophy, and Practice Course
- One of the following courses: MGMT1021 Organizational Behavior, MGMT2123 Negotiation, MGMT2127 Leadership, MGMT2132 Managing Change, MGMT2133 Leading High Performance Teams, MGMT2265 Globalization, Culture, and Ethics
- Elective 1 (2000 or 3000 level)
- Elective 2 (2000 or 3000 level)
- Elective 3 (3000 or 4000 level)
- Elective 4 (3000 or 4000 level)
- ARTH4401 Seminar in Art Historical Research (must be taken in the fall semester of junior or senior year)
Major Requirements: Film Studies
The Film Studies major applies the liberal arts tradition to the present-day culture of images and technologies. Courses in film history, theory, and criticism enable students to become active, selective, and ethical participants in a world progressively more dominated by the media of visual communication.
Research-based studies in American and world cinema explore the mutual influence of the films and their respective diverse cultures and historic periods. Familiarity with several of the great films and filmmakers provides a basis for understanding the relationship between contemporary artists and industrial society. Each student will have an opportunity to apply this theoretical knowledge to the experience of film making and exhibition both through programs in scripting, photography, production, and digital editing, and through an extensive internship program in the Boston area.
Students are encouraged to widen and deepen their understanding of the medium through additional courses in Art History, Studio Art, Theater, and Communication. While this Film Studies major provides a solid foundation for further studies and professional involvement in the industry, it also offers the liberal arts student a broad-based preparation for other career options.
For more information, contact Prof. John Michalczyk, Director, Film Studies major Coordinator, Devlin Hall 420, 617-552-3895, john.michalczyk@bc.edu.
For the major in Film Studies there is a requirement of twelve courses, eight of which must be at the 2000 level or above:
- FILM2202 Introduction to Film Art
At least two production courses:
- FILM1171 Filmmaking I
- FILM2230 Video Art
- FILM2273 Filmmaking II
- FILM2274 Digital Non-Linear Editing
- FILM2285 Adobe Premier Editing
- FILM3301 Screenwriter
- FILM3303 Advanced Screenwriting
- FILM3396 Advanced Screenwriting II
- FILM3310 Working Cinematographer
- FILM2287 Creative Web Design
- FILM3390 Sound Design
- ARTS1155 Introduction to Digital Arts
- ARTS1161 Photography I
- ARTS2261 Intermediate Photography
- ARTS2276 Art and Digital Technology
Two film history courses and six electives from this selection:
- FILM2220 Holocaust and the Arts
- FILM2277 Russian Cinema
- FILM2280 American Film Early Years
- FILM2281 American Studio Era
- FILM2282 Political Fiction Cinema
- FILM2283 History of European Cinema
- FILM3304 From Script to Screen
- FILM3305 Italian Cinema: Passion, Politics, and Pain
- FILM3306 Social Issues in Film
- FILM3307 German Cinema: Light and Shadows
- FILM3308 Autobiography in Film
- FILM3309 Nazi Film, Nazi Art: The Power of Propaganda
- FILM3312 World Cinema
- FILM3314 Cinema of the Greater Middle East
- FILM3325 Comic Film
- FILM3331 Independent American Film
- FILM3332 Maverick Hollywood Directors
- FILM3333 War is Hell: The Combat Film
- FILM3336 Cold War Revisited in Film
- FILM3343 Genocide and Film
- FILM3380 Latin American Cinema
- FILM3381 Propaganda Film
- FILM3382 Documentary Film
- FILM3383 Film Criticism and Theory
- FILM3389 American Directors Series
- FILM3391 American Film Genres
- FILM3392 Post-Classical Period
- FILM3393 Hollywood’s Golden Age
Senior year: One course from the following:
- FILM3394 Documentary Film Production
- FILM3396 Advanced Screenwriter II
- FILM4400+ Senior Project: Thesis, Script, or Film
- FILM4461 Filmmaking III
Major Requirements: Studio Art
The Studio Art major provides students with an opportunity to develop the techniques, visual sensibility, and historical understanding necessary for working with various materials. An exploration of the meanings and ideas generated by the things we make and an awareness of the process of making are essential parts of the program.
An integral part of the Studio Art major’s undergraduate education is the senior project. Focused in their area of concentration, senior projects are exhibited on campus at the end of the academic year.
Students interested in majoring in Studio Art should contact Prof. Sheila Gallagher (sheila.gallagher.2@bc.edu).
The Studio Art major requires 11 courses (33 credits):
Students must have taken at least four semesters of course work in Studio Art prior to their senior year. It is strongly recommended to take Issues and Approaches in the sophomore year.
TWO of the following introductory courses:
- ARTS1101 Drawing I
- ARTS1102 Painting I
- ARTS1104 Design: Seeing is Believing or ARTS1107 Design 1: Foundations
- ARTS1105 Making Prints/Making Books: An Introduction to Printmaking and Book Arts
- ARTS1141 Ceramics I
- ARTS1155 Introduction to Digital Arts (Note: course has been renamed Introduction to Photoshop and Illustrator and course # on Eagle Apps is ARTS1156)
- ARTS1161 Photography I
- ARTS1163 Intro to Digital Photography
- ARTS1701 Art of Creativity
ONE of the following courses:
- ARTH2204 Postwar: Art After 1945
- ARTS2211 Ideas in Contemporary Art
- ARTH3356 Art Since 1945
All Majors and Minors are required to take
- ARTS1103 Issues and Approaches to Studio Art
Electives
- Elective 1 (2000 or 3000 level)
- Elective 2 (2000 or 3000 level)
- Elective 3 (2000 or 3000 level)
- Elective 4 (3000 or 4000 level) (not including Senior Project)
- Elective 5 (3000 or 4000 level) (not including Senior Project)
Senior Project
Senior Project is a required year-long course for senior majors taught on Wednesday afternoons.
- ARTS4498 Senior Project I
- ARTS4473 Senior Project II
In addition to the required courses, the following courses are recommended:
- ARTH1101 Intro to Art History: Pre-History to Middle Ages
- ARTH1102 Intro to Art History: Renaissance to Modern
- ARTH2257 Nineteenth-Century Art
- ARTH2258 Modern Art: Nineteenth-Twentieth Century II
- Summer course for enrichment
Additional Stipulations for the Studio Art Major
- No more than two independent studies in the field of concentration.
- No more than two courses taken during the junior year abroad or at another institution may count toward the major. Transfer students should work out credits with the department major advisor.
- Courses to be counted in the major must be taken for a grade (no pass/fail grades).
- For inquiries about exceptions to these stipulations, please contact the Studio Art Major Coordinator, Prof. Sheila Gallagher (sheila.gallagher.2@bc.edu).
Art History Minor
The Art History minor requires 6 courses (18 credits):
- ARTH1101 Intro to Art History I: Pre-History to Middle Ages
- ARTH1102 Intro to Art History II: Renaissance to Modern
- One of the following three courses: ARTH2212 East Asian Art and Architecture, ARTH2213 Islamic Art and Architecture, ARTH2250 Introduction to African Art and Visual Culture
- Elective 1
- Elective 2
- Elective 3
At least two of these electives must be at or above the 3000 level, and at least two must come from one of the following categories:
- Ancient/Medieval
- Renaissance/Baroque
- Nineteenth/Twentieth Century
- Asian
- African
- Islamic
- Museum Studies
The Art History minor also requires a copy of a research paper written in one of the Art History elective courses. To satisfy the requirement, the paper must have received a grade of B or above. Please submit the paper to Professor Aurelia Campbell.
Courses counted for the minor must be taken for a grade, not pass/fail. At least 15 credits (five courses) in the minor program must not be used to fulfill any other major or minor.
Film Studies Minor
The Film Studies minor enables students to develop a basic awareness of film as a contemporary medium of communication.
Requirements include FILM2202 Introduction to Film Art, then one production course, and one course in history or criticism. A selection of three additional courses as electives from the offerings of the Film Studies Program allows the student to pursue individual interests and develop a level of competence in one particular area, such as filmmaking, digital editing, scriptwriting, photography, history of film, or film criticism.
Students interested in the Film Studies minor may contact the Director, Professor John Michalczyk, Film Studies minor Coordinator, Devlin Hall 420, 617-552-3895, john.michalczyk@bc.edu.
Studio Art Minor
The minor in Studio Art offers students the opportunity to pursue a course of study in ceramics, design, digital arts, drawing, mixed media, painting, or photography. There are features of the minor program that resemble, in an abbreviated way, successful aspects of our majors' studio art program. The required Senior Minor Projects class, for example, will function analogously to our Senior Project. This curriculum of six courses is designed to encourage an in-depth investigation of one medium, rather than a generalized sampling of many. The course structure aims at having the individual student develop the artistic techniques and conceptual visual sensibility necessary for working as an artist today. It should be noted students will not be permitted to begin the Studio minor after their junior year. Students who are interested in declaring a minor can contact Professor Hartmut Austen, Studio Art minor Coordinator, Devlin Hall 414, hartmut.austen@bc.edu.
Information for First-Year Majors
First-Year Art History majors should take ARTH1101 Art from Prehistoric Times to the High Middle Ages with ARTH1103 Art History Workshop. First-Year Studio Art majors are advised to select two studio courses from ARTS1101, ARTS1102, ARTS1104, ARTS1107, ARTS1150, ARTS1155, or ARTS1161 before taking ARTS1103. First-Year Film Studies majors should take FILM2202 Introduction to Film, a required foundation course to ground the student in film language, history, and criticism.
Information for Study Abroad
The Boston College Art, Art History, and Film Department offers study abroad options for Art History, Film Studies, and Studio Art majors. The department assists students with their options under close supervision, as well as providing encouragement.
The Art, Art History, and Film Department believes strongly that study abroad is worthwhile, exposing students to not only other cultures but other forms and traditions of artistic expression. At the same time, it cautions students to consider their growth and development in their specific major and to integrate study abroad with their chosen area of concentration in consultation with their department advisor.
For further information, contact:
- Director of Undergraduate Studies for Studio Art, Prof. Mark Cooper, mark.cooper@bc.edu
- Director of Undergraduate Studies for Art History, Prof. Aurelia Campbell, aurelia.campbell@bc.edu
- Director of Undergraduate Studies for Film, Prof. John Michalczyk, john.michalczyk.1@bc.edu