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History of Art and Visual Culture

2011-12 General Catalog

D-201 Porter College
(831) 459-4564
havc@ucsc.edu
http://havc.ucsc.edu

Faculty | Course Descriptions

Program Description

The study of visual culture encompasses the production, use, form, and reception of images past and present. It incorporates the painting, sculpture, and architecture traditionally defined by art history, and extends throughout the fields of visual imagery beyond the conventional boundaries formerly drawn by the academy. The History of Art and Visual Culture (HAVC) Department offers courses covering a wide variety of representations from the cultures of Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Pacific Islands, including areas as diverse as ritual, performative expression, bodily adornment, landscape painting, installation art, and video games.

Students of visual culture at UC Santa Cruz (UCSC) investigate complex questions concerning the social, political, economic, religious, and psychological impact of images from the perspective of their producers, users, and viewers. Images play a central role in the formation of values and beliefs, including the perception of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, race, and class. Through attentive historical study and close analysis, students are taught to recognize and assess these systems of value, and are introduced to theoretical and methodological frameworks for future research.

The history of art and visual culture curriculum guides students in acquiring skill in critical thinking about visual culture, leading to a bachelor of arts (B.A.) degree. Each student who chooses to major or minor in visual culture devises an individual study plan with a faculty adviser. The lower-division courses, numbered 1–99, intended for general education students and prospective majors, provide an introduction to the field of visual culture according to geographic areas and visual traditions within those areas. Upper-division courses numbered 100-189 cover a broad range of issues in various aspects of world culture from earliest times to the present. Advanced upper-division courses focus on selected fields, topics, and methods. The most advanced courses, numbered 190 and 191, are taught in seminar format.

Declaring the Major

To declare the major, students must complete two of the required four lower-division history of art and visual culture courses chosen from two different geographical regions:

10s Africa and its Diaspora;

20s Asia and its Diaspora;

30s-40s Europe and the Americas;

50s Mediterranean;

60s Native Americas;

70s Oceana and its Diaspora

Students considering this major are encouraged to complete these courses early in their studies and consult with the history of art and visual culture undergraduate adviser to develop a plan of study. Transfer students should consult the Transfer Student/Transfer Credit section.

Program of Study

The history of art and visual culture major requires four lower-division and nine upper-division courses including the satisfactory completion of the senior comprehensive requirement. Students must take courses in each of the different cultural settings to ensure methodological and disciplinary breadth.

HAVC majors are also strongly encouraged to take at least one thematic or cross-regional course. (Courses in 80s, 180s, and most 191s.)

Lower-Division Requirements

Four courses, each from a different geographical region listed above.

HAVC 80 may be used to fulfill the lower-division regional breadth requirement for regions 10 (Africa), 60 (Native Americas), or 70 (Oceania).

Upper-Division Requirements

Nine courses, as follows:

100A recommended during sophomore year, must be completed before senior year

101-191: eight courses required, including a seminar (190s and 191s) to satisfy the senior comprehensive (see Comprehensive Requirement below).

In completing upper-division course work, students must complete three upper-division courses (courses 101-191) from three different regions. Two of those regions must be a geographical area not studied at the lower-division level.

Disciplinary Communication (DC) Requirement

Students of every major must satisfy that major's upper-division Disciplinary Communication (DC) requirement. Students in history of art and visual culture meet the DC requirement by completing course 100A.  

Senior Comprehensive Requirement

All seniors must complete one seminar, 190–191, as their “senior exit” course to satisfy the senior comprehensive requirement. Seminars can be taken for senior exit credit only by permission of the instructor. Within the context of this advanced seminar, students will produce carefully supervised work culminating in the completion of a written project that meets the standards of the senior level of achievement in the major. Students whose performance is outstanding are eligible for honors in the senior comprehensive.

Concentration in Religion and Visual Culture

This program is for students who wish to pursue the study of religion in conjunction with studies of visual culture. It consists of an individually planned sequence of courses, including a core set of lower-division courses to provide grounding in issues, methods, and a general history of visual culture; upper-division courses from within the department; and at least four upper-division courses from other departments that focus on the study of religion.

A student enters the concentration by proposing, in consultation with their faculty adviser, a sequence of upper-division courses to fulfill the religion and visual culture requirements. The declaration of major requirements for the religion and visual culture concentration are the same as listed in the Declaration of Major section. The faculty adviser for the religion and visual culture concentration is Raoul Birnbaum.

Languages

All majors are encouraged to study at least one foreign language. Graduate programs in visual culture, art history, and other related disciplines generally require competence in another language besides English. Students are encouraged to consult with their faculty adviser to discuss an appropriate course of language study.

Requirements for the Religion and Visual Culture Concentration

The 15-course curriculum of the religion and visual culture concentration is pedagogically distinct from that of history of art and visual culture. Students are required to take four lower-division classes (each from a different geographical area) and eleven upper-division courses, seven from within history of art and visual culture and four relevant upper-division courses taken from other departments.

Students in the religion and visual studies concentration complete the following required upper-division curriculum listed below.

Eleven courses, as follows:

  • 100A recommended in sophomore must be completed before senior year.
  • 101-191: six courses required, including a seminar (190s and 191s) to satisfy the senior comprehensive (see Comprehensive Requirement above).
  • Four relevant upper-division courses in the study of religion from programs on campus such as anthropology, history, literature, and philosophy. (The department maintains a current list of approved courses that focus on the study of religion.)

Minor Requirements

Nine courses, as follows:

  • lower-division: three courses from three different geographical regions;
  • upper-division: six courses planned in consultation with a faculty adviser.

Department Advising

Undergraduate Adviser

The undergraduate adviser offers specific information about navigating through the program and the curriculum and assists students with requirements, prerequisites, policies and procedures, learning support, scholarships, and special opportunities for undergraduate research.

Faculty Advisers

Faculty are the best resource for learning about the philosophies and foundations of history of art and visual culture. Faculty advisers work individually with students to develop a specific course of study, recommend additional courses of interest, and discuss long-term career goals including education beyond the baccalaureate. A faculty adviser is assigned to each student by the undergraduate adviser during the declaration of major meeting.

Transfer Students and Transfer Credit

As preparation, transfer students are encouraged to fulfill at least three of the lower-division history of art and visual culture requirements prior to transfer. Refer to the ASSIST articulation agreements at www.assist.org for approved lower-division courses. A student may transfer up to six art history courses toward the major, only three of which may be upper division. Upper-division transfer credit is evaluated on a case-by-case basis and must be approved by the student’s faculty adviser. Transfer students are strongly encouraged to contact the History of Art and Visual Culture Department before enrolling at UCSC.

Study Abroad

The University of California’s  International Office of Education offers numerous programs abroad in countries throughout the world. Students may receive transfer credit for a maximum of three upper-division art history courses taken through the EAP program (see Transfer Student/Transfer Credit above). Many EAP programs require competency in a language besides English (see Languages above). Students should make every effort to consult with a faculty member about their course of study before going abroad.

Careers

The preparation students receive from the baccalaureate of arts degree in history of art and visual culture provides skills that can lead to successful careers in law, business, and social services, in addition to a more specific focus on museum curating, art restoration, studies in architecture, and studies in art history leading to a graduate degree.

Graduate Study

There are many graduate programs of visual culture that lead to the master of arts (M.A.) and doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in fields such as art history, cultural history, semiotics, rhetoric, history of religions, comparative arts, theory and criticism of art, and so forth. Most graduate programs require a reading knowledge of one or two languages other than English (see Languages above). Students who are contemplating graduate study should consult with their undergraduate and faculty advisers as early as possible in their undergraduate career.

Graduate Program

The History of Art and Visual Culture Department offers a course of study leading to the Ph.D. in visual studies. The Ph.D. is designed to steep our graduates in the most theoretically relevant methodologies for understanding the significance of visual artifacts and the social and cultural qualities of human vision (termed visuality); provide students with exposure to a range of cultural perspectives and visual artifacts drawn from around the world; and cultivate in our graduates the necessary skills and knowledge to secure and excel in academic and curatorial positions. The program is both interdisciplinary and flexible. Students work closely with their advisers and the director of graduate studies to craft personalized courses of study that advance their intellectual and professional goals.

The program employs a wide range of visual evidence for examination, without being constrained by traditional hierarchies of art. Fine arts, architecture, photography, film, performances, utilitarian objects, and popular entertainments all are primary source material for scholars in the field. The program at UCSC is particularly adept at illustrating significant differences in how disparate cultural groups interpret their visual worlds, given the breadth of cultural perspectives taught by our faculty. With scholars focusing on cultures in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Pacific Islands, visual studies at UCSC offers students an unparalleled opportunity to consider the role of social and cultural forces in guiding how and what their members see.

Graduate Program Requirements

Students entering with a B.A. take a total of twelve, 5-credit graduate courses during their first two years of study. Prior to being advanced to candidacy (normally by the start of their fourth year), students must enroll in a minimum of two graduate courses per quarter. Those entering with an M.A. may receive advanced standing based on the evaluation of the visual studies graduate committee.  In no case will students entering with an M.A. have more than a year’s worth of course work waived.

All students entering with a B.A. (or with an M.A. that is not in visual studies) must take four 5-credit core courses within their first two years: HAVC 201, Introduction to Visual Studies (fall); HAVC 202, Critical Theory (fall); and HAVC 203, Theories and Histories of Seeing (winter, taken twice). Students entering with an M.A. in visual studies will meet their core courses requirements after taking Theories and Histories of Seeing once.

Field Clusters/Field Specialties

Appreciating that most of our graduates will be required to fit themselves back into traditional disciplinary structures once they enter the academic job market, the program is designed to provide students with both new means of interpreting visual evidence and suitable depth of understanding in older disciplinary traditions. While all graduates will acquire a shared foundation in theories of visuality (attained through our core course requirements), individual student programs vary considerably depending on the type of department in which the student hopes to secure employment after graduation. In addition to completion of the core courses required of all students, each student will develop a cluster of individualized field courses in consultation with their adviser based on her/his particular professional goals.

Each student is required to take a minimum of four, 5-credit courses in a disciplinary cluster (beyond the core course requirements). This requirement pertains both to students entering with a B.A. and an M.A. Acceptable field cluster courses might center around a medium (i.e., painting or architecture), a temporal/stylistic category (i.e., Early Modern or Postmodernism), a cultural, national, or social group (i.e., Pacific Islanders or China), or a disciplinary approach (i.e., cultural anthropology or gender studies). Field clusters are developed in consultation with the student’s adviser and, ideally, help lay the foundations for dissertation work. To count toward the degree, field clusters must receive prior approval from the visual studies graduate committee. Beyond the core and field courses, students admitted with a B.A. must complete an additional four 5-credit elective courses.

Students entering with a B.A. take four courses to complete the field cluster requirement and another four to meet their elective requirement. Of these eight courses, at least four have a visual studies designation, and at least three courses must be drawn from departments outside of visual studies. Students admitted with a non-visual studies M.A. must take as many as four elective courses beyond those designated core and field (depending on the determination of the visual studies graduate committee based on a review of previous graduate course work), while students admitted with a visual studies M.A. must take a minimum of one course.

Students entering the program with an M.A. in visual studies meet the same distribution requirements as those students entering with a B.A. Of the eight courses making up the field cluster requirements and elective courses, at least four must have a visual studies designation, and at least two courses must be drawn from departments outside of visual studies. Students entering with an M.A. that is not in visual studies meet their distribution requirement by selecting at least five courses with a visual studies designation and at least two courses drawn from departments outside of visual studies.

Language Requirement

Students must demonstrate reading knowledge of one foreign language prior to the start of their second year (either through attainment of a score of 550 or higher on the Educational Testing Service Graduate Student Foreign Language Test or through passage of a reading examination administered by the department).

Students are encouraged to master a second foreign language. Based on a student’s area of interest, and the joint assessment of the student’s adviser and the director of graduate studies, proof of proficiency in an additional language or languages may be required prior to the student being admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. Should proficiency in additional languages be required, it must be demonstrated prior to the close of the student’s third year of study.

Qualifying Examinations

After completing all course work and passing one language examination, students are required to pass a qualifying examination prior to the close of the fall quarter of their third year, unless a petition for an extension, demonstrating reasonable cause, is approved by the visual studies graduate program committee. The qualifying examination is divided into three topic areas, with each one including a written and an oral component. Each topic area should display historical breadth and variety of media. Two of the topic areas should ideally relate to the future dissertation topic, while one of the remaining must constitute an outside area, examining a topic that is chronologically, geographically, and/or methodologically distinct from the other two.
Prior to the end of his/her second year, a student who entered the program with a B.A. should consult with his/her adviser to assemble a group of three faculty members who will serve as examiners and aid the student in assembling the necessary topic areas, compiling the needed reading lists, and preparing for the written and oral components of the examination in each area. The examination will have two parts. In part one, each student will respond in writing to three general questions, one posed by each of their three examiners in the pre-arranged topic areas. In part two, each student will gather together with his/her examiners to field questions probing and clarifying the previously submitted written component of the qualifying examination. In order to pass the qualifying examinations, the student must receive the unanimous endorsement of the committee members.

Advancing to Candidacy

Advancement to candidacy follows and is contingent upon passing the qualifying examinations, all needed language examinations, and the subsequent appointment of a dissertation reading committee of at least three members.

Dissertation

After advancing to candidacy, a student must complete an approved dissertation prospectus, a colloquium, and dissertation, and pass an oral defense of the thesis. A written dissertation prospectus is due no later than the end of the second quarter following the student’s completion of the qualifying examinations. The prospectus is a brief, concise essay (with bibliography) that defines the scope, methodology, and rationale for the proposed dissertation. It is prepared in consultation with the student’s dissertation director, who must approve of the document prior to scheduling the colloquium.

The dissertation director, in consultation with the student and director of graduate studies, will invite four to five faculty members, in appropriate fields, to attend the colloquium and provide input on the prospectus and assess the student’s preparedness to begin researching and writing the dissertation. Faculty participating in the colloquium need not be members of the dissertation committee, but should represent faculty whose expertise has bearing on the student’s project. A student will pass the colloquium after having demonstrated to the satisfaction of all colloquium committee members adequate preparation to begin researching and writing the dissertation. The dissertation itself must make a significant and original contribution to the field of visual studies, as judged by each dissertation committee member.

Final Examination

An oral defense of the dissertation is the only final examination requirement, unless a petition to waive the oral defense, demonstrating reasonable cause, is approved by the student’s primary adviser and the visual studies graduate program committee. The student’s dissertation committee, under the supervision of the director of graduate studies, will conduct the examination. In the event that the director of graduate studies serves on the dissertation committee, the chair of History of Art and Visual Culture will oversee the defense. Interested faculty and students in the visual studies program will have the opportunity to observe the defense.

Designated Emphasis

Graduate students enrolled in doctoral programs at Santa Cruz may obtain a Designated Emphasis in visual studies on their Ph.D. degree by meeting the following requirements:

  • Secure approval from a core member of the visual studies faculty to serve as an adviser for their Designated Emphasis.
  • Have at least one core member of visual studies serve on either their qualifying exam or dissertation committee.
  • Submit a significant piece of writing that demonstrates competency in the field. The writing could take the form of a seminar paper or dissertation chapter. The essay must meet the approval of the student's visual studies adviser.
  • Successfully complete four graduate courses taught by either core or affiliated members of the visual studies program. The courses must form a coherent cluster in visual studies and be pre-approved by the student's Designated Emphasis adviser.

Normative Time from Matriculation to Degree

The visual studies Ph.D. program at UCSC is designed to require six years for students matriculating with a B.A. and five to six years (depending on advanced standing granted) for those entering with an M.A. The pre-candidacy period is two years for students entering with a B.A. and a minimum of one year for those arriving with an M.A. in visual studies. During this period students will devote themselves to coursework, completion of the language examination, some teaching, and, ideally, our teaching-related independent study course. Students will show competency in one foreign language prior to the start of their second year, and show competency in additional foreign language(s), as required, by the close of their third year, pass their qualifying examinations during the fall quarter of their third year, complete an approved version of their prospectus and schedule their colloquium for a date prior to the close of the spring quarter of their third year, and finish their dissertation and successfully defend it before the end of their sixth year.

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Revised: 8/13/12