Art History

University of California, Berkeley

Overview

Welcome to the History of Art Department at UC Berkeley. We are a vibrant learning community of researchers committed to advancing the study of visual arts, material culture, and built environment through interdisciplinary scholarship, teaching, and public engagement.

Our internationally recognized faculty and lecturers, outstanding graduate students, talented undergraduate students, and exceptional group of department staff all contribute to making us one of the world’s leading art history departments. Our teaching encompasses a broad range of questions and specializations, spanning the globe and traversing cross-regional zones of contact. Employing diverse methodologies, including formal analysis, social and cultural history, gender and sexuality studies, critical race theory, eco art history, and digital humanities, our faculty and students investigate the production, circulation, reception, and meaning of visual forms across different media, genres, geographies, and regimes of perception. We seek to cultivate critical thinking, visual literacy, and cultural awareness in our teaching and to promote diverse perspectives, inclusivity, and social justice in our scholarship and pedagogy.

Program Overview

The UC Berkeley Department of History of Art offers undergraduate and graduate programs that explore the history, theory, and practice of the visual arts in their cultural and historical contexts. 

Undergraduate majors and minors develop programs of study that combine foundational skills related to the study of visual-material cultures with focused inquiry in particular areas. We encourage students to shape their programs in ways that prepare them to respond to the intensified visual turn in our society and to develop careers in scholarship, teaching, curation, arts management, and non-profit and community-based work. Department majors are recognized and supported through the student-organized undergraduate association, H.Art.

Our PhD program prepares students for academic and curatorial careers as well as leadership in a broad array of professional, critical, and creative communities and contexts. We emphasize interdisciplinary training, professional development, and pedagogical skills. Our students benefit from close mentorship and collaboration with faculty within the department and across the campus as they research and write dissertations involving deep object, site, archive, and community-based research.

In addition to our academic programs, the Department of History of Art sponsors lectures, symposia, and exhibitions that bring together scholars, artists, and the public to engage with critical issues and debates in our fields.

We are located in Doe Library with the administrative office, faculty offices, and seminar rooms on the 4th floor and the department’s Visualization Lab for Digital Art History and event and seminar rooms on the 3rd.

For information regarding department events, see the Events page on the department's website.

For information regarding faculty books, see the Books by Faculty page on the department's website.

Visual Resources Center

The Visual Resources Center (VRC) supports the History of Art department in the areas of digital teaching, image research, and audio visual support. The VRC builds and maintains a collection images for instructional and research purposes. The collection encompasses images of art and architecture of the world ranging from prehistory to contemporary art. The VRC adds approximately 5,000 images per year to the collection, based largely on faculty requests. Our facility is located in 307 Doe Library, situated within the Art History/Classics Library on the third floor of Doe Library. For further information, see the History of Art Department website.

Other Department Resources

Art History/Classics Library, located on the fourth floor of Doe Library
Berkeley Art Museum
Phoebe A. Hearst Museum

Undergraduate Programs

History of Art: BA, Minor

Graduate Program

History of Art: PhD

Visit Department Website

Courses

Art History

Contact Information

Department of History of Art

406 Doe Library #6020

Phone: 510-642-5511

Fax: 510-643-2185

art_history@berkeley.edu

Visit Department Website

Department Chair

Shannon Jackson

415 Doe Library

shjacks@berkeley.edu

Department Manager

Faith Enemark

417 Doe Library

Phone: 510-672-2765

faith@berkeley.edu

Undergraduate Student Services Advisor

Amy Tamayo

416 Doe Library

Phone: 510-643-7290

atamayo@berkeley.edu

Graduate Student Services Advisor

Clay Hall

416 Doe Library

Phone: 510-642-5510

clayh@berkeley.edu

Head Graduate Advisor

Anneka Lenssen

421 Doe Library

anneka@berkeley.edu

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