Overview
Graphic Radicals @ The Legacy Art Gallery
What do art historians do?
Art historians study art. We don't make art but we figure it out. We try to understand when something was made, what it was made of, how it reflects the time or place in which it was made. We talk about individuals and their life stories but we also talk about audiences, patrons, and the social groups who might have used particular objects or buildings. We also think that 'art' should be a flexible inclusive category and we look at all sorts of different things that are made creatively from an analytical point of view.
Why is art history important?
Over the years, our students tell us that learning about art history teaches them to think differently. You learn to anlayze visually and see visual images in a more nuanced way. We also value critical analysis and our students learn to talk about and write clearly and effectively. Graduates from the BA programme find that their skills are in demand from employers in a wide range of careers.
Research in art history.
Above all, students in art history at any level, undergraduate and higher, learn to do complex research projects. If you want to study the past, you need visual skills to be able to gain an idea of what it looked like way back then. Or, if you want to travel the globe, you can use your art historical training to become a researcher-on-the-spot, knowing how to ask the right questions (and find the answer) to understand visual cultures everywhere.
Dr. Catherine Harding
Chair, History in Art
Important Events
Feb 4 — 25th Annual Medieval Workshop
Magicians, Seers and Sages
25th Annual Medieval Workshop • Saturday, February 4, 2012
UVic Campus, The Bob Wright Centre (Ocean, Earth and Atmospheric Science Building),
B150
Faculty Coordinator: Dr. Marcus Milwright, Director, Medieval Studies Program
Magician, shaman, seer, witch, sage, wizard, sorcerer, sibyl: many words have been used to describe the charismatic individuals believed to be able to glimpse future events and penetrate the barriers between the physical world and the spiritual realm. They are the possessors of arcane wisdom and the performers of magic, both benevolent and malignant. Such skills might generate veneration in some, fear and revulsion in others. Confrontation with established religions could lead to brutal results including the torture and burning of women alleged to be witches. The twentyfi fth annual Medieval Workshop explores the enduring fascination—both in the Medieval period and in our own time —with magicians and the magic they claimed to be able to create. The talks will take us from the beliefs and legends of the Celts, Saxons and Vikings in Northern Europe to the practice of Jewish magic in the Medieval Mediterranean.
The poster with details of the workshop program
Courses
Class Posters 2011 - 2012
Summer 2012
HA 355A:
The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt: Old and Middle Kingdom
A thorough survey of Dynastic Egypt from 3200 BCE to about 1750 BCE. Through the examination of artifacts, monuments and texts, investigates the influence of social and religious thought upon Egyptian art.
Dennine Dudley
May 14 – June 6, 2012
Monday to Friday
10:30-12:20 FIA 103
_______________________________
HA 355B:
The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt: New Kingdom and Late Period
A thorough survey of Dynastic Egypt from about 1550 BCE to 30 BCE. Through the examination of artifacts, monuments and texts, investigates the influence of social and religious thought upon Egyptian art.
Dennine Dudley
June 7 – June 29, 2012
Monday to Friday
10:30-12:20 CLE A303
_______________________________
HA 363:
The Cinema and Modern Art Movements
An examination of the history of film in relationship to the major art movements of the 20th century. Students will view and analyze films by such directors as Lang, Eisenstein, Bunuel, Brakhage, and Snow; these films will be discussed in the light of their connection to such influential modern art movements as German Expressionism, Russian Constructivism, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism and Conceptual Art.
Mitchell Parry
May 14 – June 6, 2012
Monday to Friday
14:30-16:20 FIA 103
_______________________________
HA 368B:
History of 20th Century Canadian Art
A history of the visual arts, especially painting and sculpture, from the end of World War I to the 1970s. Begins with the mature work of the Group of Seven and their contemporaries and ends with a treatment of the "postmodernist" reactions to international modernism in the late sixties and seventies.
Christopher Thomas
June 6 – June 29, 2012
Monday to Friday
12:30-14:20 FIA 103
_______________________________
HA 392 A01:
Special Topics in History in Art: The Body: Spiritual and Erotic in Indian Art
An investigation of a special aspect or area of History in Art. Specific topics may vary from year to year. Note: May be taken more than once for credit in different topics with permission of the Chair of the department, to a maximum of 6 units. Detailed course description to follow.
Astri Wright
May 14 – June 6, 2012
Monday to Friday
12:30-14:20 FIA 103
_______________________________
HA 392 A02:
Special Topics in History in Art: Apocalypse in Film
An investigation of a special aspect or area of History in Art. Specific topics may vary from year to year. Note: May be taken more than once for credit in different topics with permission of the Chair of the department, to a maximum of 6 units. Detailed course description to follow.
Mitchell Parry
June 7 – June 29, 2012
Monday to Friday
14:30-16:20 FIA 103
_______________________________
HA 392 A03:
Special Topics in History in Art: From Versailles to Victoria: A History of Gardens
An investigation of a special aspect or area of History in Art. Specific topics may vary from year to year. Note: May be taken more than once for credit in different topics with permission of the Chair of the department, to a maximum of 6 units. Detailed course description to follow.
Susan Hawkins
July 4 – July 26, 2012
Monday to Friday
10:30-12:20 FIA 103
UVic Calendar
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The University of Victoria is an equity employer and encourages applications from women, persons with disabilities, visible minorities, Aboriginal Peoples, people of all sexual orientations and genders, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of the University.
All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, in accordance with Canadian Immigration requirements, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.
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