PERSONAL AND CULTURAL INTRICACY IN ART HISTORY CLASSROOMS
Open Access
- Author:
- Kim-Bossard, MinSoo
- Area of Honors:
- Art Education
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Kimberely Anne Powell, Ph D, Thesis Supervisor
Kimberely Anne Powell, Ph D, Thesis Supervisor
Christine M Thompson, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- art history
art history education
postmodernism
multiculturalism
aesthetics - Abstract:
- The field of art history in the United States, as well as the teaching of the subject in American universities, rapidly developed during and after World War II, with immigrating scholars from Europe as the catalyst for the discipline. In contrast to the fast development of the field of art history over the years, little has been investigated about teaching and learning beyond the delivery of information in the discipline and the implications of engagement and disengagement in art history classrooms. This thesis examines through class observations and interviews the teaching of art history in a large lecture setting, supplemented by weekly classes in small groups, at a Big Ten university. The interviews of educators and students reveal student needs for interactive engagement through participation, the positive and negative impacts of technology in teaching art history, and the effects of non-verbal factors, such as class content and the pace of the course. The survey textbook of the class is examined under the theoretical framework of postmodern multiculturalism. The goal of this thesis is to obtain a new perspective on verbal and non-verbal narratives in art history classrooms on an individual and cultural level. Through the examination for the current scholarship and interviews with instructors and students, I hope to contribute to envisioning a new perspective on art history education.