Georg August University Gottingen

Course Details

Art history (B.A.) (two subjects)

Course Description

The art history programme focuses on the historical development of objects from European cultural history between the Early Middle Ages and the present that are given a special aesthetic relevance as art. New objects are therefore continually being added to the field. The objects comprise works of architecture, sculpture, painting, graphics, arts and crafts as well as photographs, films and electronically produced images. At the same time, art history examines the function, distribution and reception of the objects and the cultural processes that have given them the status as works of art. The programme conveys forms of viewing objects, working methods and ways to handle the objects and examine them. In addition, all forms of communication are explored which have designated the status and the historical meaning of the object as a work of art as well as a commodity. The subject area of art history and its occupational demands require the knowledge of several foreign languages in order to comprehend and critically evaluate the basic statements of original texts and texts from secondary literature. Therefore, adequate knowledge of English and of at least one other modern language is required, as well as basic knowledge of Latin. Since art history constantly practises transforming visual sensations into words, applicants should especially also be able to express themselves in German verbally and in writing. The first year is the introductory phase, offering a methodical and terminological basis. The 2nd – 5th semesters are used to acquire knowledge and abilities through exemplary study. For this purpose, the field of art history is marked out into two paths of categorizing objects (chronologically and according to genre). In the 5th semester, the students select between two profiles: one emphasizing professional skills and one emphasizing scientific skills. The former intensively emphasizes practical skills as vocational training; for example, the students are required to search independently for an internship. The scientific profile offers the possibility to select courses more independently than was possible so far in the programme, allowing the students to create their own thematic and epochal specializations. This assures qualified preparation for the Master programme, which is much more research-oriented than the Bachelor programme. The BA programme prescribes a high percentage of course time, but the curriculum for art history is extended by two important elements requiring independent work. All reports and working papers serve this purpose, the Bachelor thesis even more so. The students are also expected to dedicate a large amount of their free time to independent study, especially for reading textbooks and making excursions. A semester abroad is not mandatory, but the predominantly international topics of the courses as well as the working languages of the subject – English, French, German and in some cases Italian and Dutch – mean an internationalization from the outset. We strongly suggest to our students to take advantage of our student mobility agreement. Almost all combinations with subjects within the Faculty of Humanities are sensible. Classical and Christian archaeology as well as pre- and early history examine areas of culture from periods which are earlier than those analyzed by art history, but which form a tradition up into the recent present. Since extensive linguistic competence is required in order to study the subject appropriately and represent it later on, it would be advisable to select a European foreign language as a subsidiary subject. This would be advantageous as regards not only the private culture sector, law or the subjects of the school of social sciences as well. The occupational field of art history includes work in museums, in the preservation of historical monuments and in the university sphere, but also in galleries, publishing companies, newspapers, corporate media, travel organizations and in all areas of cultural management. A degree in art history is intended to provide qualification for all of these fields of work, which requires a broad spectrum of courses on the one hand, but also requires a specific area of specialisation to be chosen toward the end of the programme on the other. To correspondingly strengthen the competitiveness of our students in the international job market, the amount of practice-oriented modules strongly increases in the last year of the programme. This can only take place on the basis of a continually growing scientific competence and art-historical knowledge. Here we use the advantages specific to the location of Göttingen: the expertise of our own teachers, neighbouring disciplines as well as the special advantage of the University art collection. Accordant to the traditional main focus of research at the Department of Art History in Göttingen, the research activities concentrate on 19th century art. Individual research and large projects sponsored by third-party funds (for example in the Emmy-Noether-Programme of the German Research Foundation (DFG)) complement each other to a wide extent and give the institute a special profile among German universities. Supplementing and extending this are long-term projects on the pictograms of the early modern period, the architecture and sculpture of the Middle Ages, the caricature and German contemporary art.

Course Duration

NumberDuration
3year

Career outcomes

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Art history (B.A.) (two subjects) Georg August University Gottingen