Art History Without Survey

1. Andrea E. Allen, How Hi(stories) Shape Value, University of Houston, aeallen@CougarNet.UH.EDU,

2. Stephanie Chadwick, Pedagogy and Perspectives: Local and Global Art Histories,

3. Leo Costello, Rice University, lcostell@rice.edu, and Graham Bader, Rice University, Graham.P.Bader@rice.edu, Reflecting on the Departmental and Institutional Challenges of Pedagogical Change in Introductory Art History Classes

4. Cindy Persinger, Art History Today: Beyond the Survey, persinger@calu.edu

Introducing Art History without the Survey. Chairs Beth Merfish and Sarah Costello (University of Houston/Clear Lake)

Andrea Allen

How Hi(stories) Shape Value

Gaps in the teaching of art history impact how value is applied to knowledge and art. From the undisputed adoption of master narratives, White European ideals persist in the teaching of art/history and in turn shape how People of Color come to understand their worth in the art world.

This session is a call for the inclusion of stories that have historically been ignored or marginalized in the teaching of art history. Inquiry into these hidden hi(stories) is needed to provide entry points for emerging artists, arts leaders, educators, and scholars of Color. Reimagining how we teach and learn about art history is one step toward changing how People of Color see their voices, art, and knowledge valued in a space that has been overwhelmingly White.

Stephanie Chadwick

Pedagogy and Perspectives: Local and Global Art Histories

As universities strive to engage diverse student bodies, introduce students to globally produced art, and create meaningful learning environments in both virtual and real life spaces, new and experimental pedagogical strategies seem imperative. Equally important, for many, is the need to provide foundational knowledge of the canons that informed western art for centuries through pedagogy or its negation. This paper highlights case studies in art history pedagogy that demonstrate the relevance of both canonical and recovered histories to twenty-first century students, many of whom have chosen to focus on wider issues in visual art and culture in their research. This paper also explores strategies to make connections between local and global practices and demonstrate the relevance of art and its histories to social practices and concerns.

Leo Costello and Graham Bader

Reflecting on the Departmental and Institutional Challenges of Pedagogical Change in Introductory Art History Classes

As Art History has reexamined its own disciplinary bases in colonialist, Western and racist discourses, it is natural that many scholars have sought to examine how an awareness of these bases, and a desire to move away from them may affect their work in the classroom. But while individual faculty may take account of this in upper-level classes, introductory courses often present a different set of challenges for departments. This presentation will take a long view of the perhaps too-long process of addressing the need for pedagogical change in introductory art historical coursework. How is a desire to create pedagogical innovation at the 100 level affected by broader departmental issues like faculty hiring and retention? How can we present narratives undergraduates can make sense of while still calling into question the ideologies that necessarily undergird such accounts? What practical and ideological considerations come into play when thinking about these changes and how are they negotiated with broader institutional prerogatives? We will reflect on these questions while describing some of the successes and continuing challenges we have seen.

Cindy Persinger

Art History Today: Beyond the Survey

Anyone who teaches a one-semester survey course intended to introduce students to art history has likely wondered how to accomplish this in a way that addresses our changing understanding of the discipline while providing a synthetic and comprehensive overview of the history of art. Why does the history of art matter? What is the art historical canon? Why has it been challenged? Why do people speak of decolonizing it? Frustration with the inadequate ways in which I was able to deal with important questions such as these in my 100-level introductory course led me to design an alternative that would allow me to address such questions by framing my content in a discussion of the contemporary status of the discipline. The course, Art History Today, is an introduction to the study of art history that emphasizes the global context in which art historians understand and study art history today. As such, we discuss works from prehistory to the present from around the world. The class structure allows us to focus on issues of current significance thereby further emphasizing for the students the relevance of art history beyond the classroom setting. This paper explores the approach and design of this course.