Many students who take my classes are not Art or Art History majors. If you are wondering why you should study art history, even if it doesn't relate to your major, I have many long-winded and enthusiastic answers for you, but I'll try to restrain myself and just make a little "top 5" list instead đŸ˜€
So here goes! The Top 5 Reasons (according to me, at least) that you should study Art History
It helps you develop your "slow looking" skills (your ability to carefully observe and interpret images).
This is a skill that will help you better interpret advertisements, social media posts, really any visual representations, not just art.
It helps you build and practice your ability to empathize.
When you look at and interpret artworks, part of what you are doing is trying to put yourselves in the shoes of someone different than you, to understand, through their artwork, what their lives were like, their circumstances, their cultural contexts. When you practice and build that skill by studying art it will end up crossing over into other parts of your life as well.
It helps you understand more cultural references
Before you know it, you'll be recognizing artists and styles referenced in ads, hanging in the background in TV shows, or name-checked in song lyrics. And everyone will want to go to the museum with you since you will have so many interesting observations to share.
It is a great way to learn about history
Studying art is also a way to study history: we can come to understand a time period and the lives of the people who lived it by looking at the art they produced, and looking at how the rest of their society responded to their art. If you don't think of yourself as a "history person" try art history, it might end up being a great way for you to engage with and understand the past.
It can help build your confidence as a creative person.
The more art you look at and learn about, the more you will feel confident diving into some creative pursuits of you own! And in my art history classes, you will always have opportunities to make artworks for some of your assignments, and that can be a great, low-stakes way to explore your creative side.