|
|
The
Comprehensive Examination process consists of the following components
for art history and museum studies students:
1)
ART HISTORY SEMINAR:
The art history seminar, offered every fall, is required of senior majors,
is strongly recommended for junior majors, and may also be taken by any
student (major, minor, or otherwise) who has had a previous art history
course. To clarify: a student who took the seminar in the junior year
has not yet fulfilled the senior seminar requirement; it must be taken
by every senior major. Since the material will change every year, it will
be possible for a student to take the seminar in both the junior and senior
years. This
seminar will provide important preparation for the senior project, since
students will begin work on their senior research paper in this course.
All other students will be writing research papers that are directly related
to the topic of the seminar and that must be completed in full by the
end of the semester.
2)
RESEARCH PAPER:
You will write an art history paper of about 20-25 pages (begun during
the seminar) on any well-focused topic, and will present it to the faculty
of the art department, to other art majors, and to any interested students
or family members. You'll also answer questions after your presentation,
and will actively participate in the discussion following the presentation
of papers by your peers. The discussion after each presentation will center
around the ideas and art works analyzed in the paper, the possible influence
of earlier art, and relevant contextual issues. These papers will be presented
early in the spring semester of your senior year, before spring break.
The presentation of your paper should last about 30-35 minutes, which
means that you will almost certainly need to streamline and revise your
research paper to make it an appropriate length and style for your presentation.The
final paper, which will be developed through a number of revisions, should
be clearly focused on a particular issue or question. In other words,
the paper should have a point to make, and as a result you should be able
to answer the question, "What is your thesis in this paper?"
It should be properly researched, documented, and illustrated following
art historical standards. Check Tips
for Writing Art History Papers for more detailed information.
Your
grade for the seminar in the fall will be based in part on the state of
your senior paper in December. That paper will also serve as part of the
department's evaluation of your work during comprehensive exams.
You'll
be responsible, with the guidance of the faculty advisor, for learning
how to use ARTstor and the Offline Image Viewer and for gathering any
additional images not available in ARTstor (e.g., by finding good quality,
large images on the web, by scanning slides from the Art Department collection,
by scanning images from books, or by taking digital images on the copy-stand).
For more information see Tips
for Giving Senior Art History Presentations.
Students
working toward a concentration in Museum Studies can either write
an art history research paper, as described above, or can do a senior
project that is more closely connected to the field. Possibilities include:
- Design an exhibition
(virtual or actual) centered around a significant theme, choose your works,
and write the accompanying labels and an exhibition catalogue that includes
an introductory essay as well as catalogue entries for each work of art.
An actual exhibition could perhaps be arranged in the Lewis Art Gallery
or even a local gallery, but since museums and galleries determine their
schedules a year or more in advance this would probably require making
initial contacts in the fall of your junior year. A virtual exhibition
could be displayed in the form of a web site or on a CD/DVD. An exhibition
could also be displayed in the form of color photocopies of the images,
mounted in some way, and hung in one of the art spaces.
- Write a research
paper based on a comparison of several similar exhibitions, on the same
artist(s) or theme. What were some of the significant differences in approach?
What were some of the controversial issues raised? This would include
art historical research as well as research of the reviews of each exhibition
and the choices made by the museums about the works to be included, the
layout, the catalogue, etc.
- Write a research
paper based on a significant museum issue or controversy.
- Base your paper
on a sociological study of museum practices, either from the perspective
of museum visitors or museum personnel. Your research would entail surveys,
questionnaires, or interviews, as well as research into similar museum
studies done elsewhere.
3)
WRITTEN EXAM:
You'll
take a comprehensive examination during the spring comps period (usually
the first two weeks in April) that tests your ability to identify major
works of art and to write analytical essays. There will be two sections
to this exam. You'll be able to take them at different times during the
comps period, whenever is most convenient for you.
a)
Identification of major monuments. You will be shown 30 works of art
(paintings, sculpture, and architecture that are generally considered
of particular significance to the development of art) and you'll be asked
to identify 25 as fully as possible by giving the name of the artist (if
known), the title, the period, and the date by century. For each work,
you'll also add a short explanation (a brief paragraph) about its significance.
The works you need to know are in ARTstor (go to 'SMITH E. Senior Comps'
and you'll find four image groups: Ancient-Medieval, Renaissance-Baroque,
Rococo-Contemporary, and World).
b)
Focused Analysis. You'll submit by the beginning of spring semester
a list of fifteen major works of art from at least seven different categories
(see list of categories below). Two pairs of works from this list will
be shown, and you'll choose one from each pair to analyze as fully as
possible in well-organized essays. You'll want to discuss issues of style
and iconography as well as relevant contextual material dealing with the
artist's biography, religious ideas, socio-political factors, and/or theoretical
questions.
List
of Categories (for purposes of this comprehensive examination):
Prehistoric, Mesopotamian, and Egyptian
Greek (including Minoan and Mycenean)
Roman
Early Christian, Byzantine, and Medieval
Italian Renaissance
Northern Renaissance
Baroque
18th-19th Century
20th Century (up to 1970)
Contemporary Art (1970 to the present)
Non-Western
Schedule
of Due Dates:
End of junior year: Prospectus for senior paper
Last week, fall semester: Mock oral with art department faculty
First week of spring semester: List of 15 art works for Written Comprehensive
1st week of February: Final revision of your paper
Mid-February: ARTstor presentation in the Offline Image Viewer prepared
Spring Break: All presentations will be given before spring break
Early April: Written Comprehensive Exam
In
summary:
Your presentation, along with the questions and discussion
afterward, will comprise the oral component of the senior comprehensive.
The written component will consist of two parts: the completed research
paper and the examination during the comps period in April.
The
purpose of these comprehensives is two-fold:
1)
to help you synthesize your work in the art major over the previous few
years by refreshing your knowledge of a broad range of images so that
you gain a new perspective on the major ideas and developments.
2)
to help prepare you for graduate school or professional advancement by
giving you the experience of writing a mature, carefully focused paper
and presenting that paper to an audience, as well as the experience of
writing analytical essays incorporating multiple perspectives on selected
works of art.
|
|
