Chair’s Welcome

Welcome to the History of Art and Architecture Department at Vanderbilt!

We are a department that believes looking closely at art, visual culture, architecture, and the built environment changes how you understand the world. We are a lively community of scholar-teachers, undergraduate and MA students committed to critical looking practices, archival research, and the sustained engagement with urban, social, and cultural histories. As you explore our departmental website you will find the varied ways in which these skills are acquired and put into practice. The multi-faceted research and teaching areas of award-winning and internationally recognized faculty means that we are able to offer students the opportunity to study a wide range of cultural expressions—from paintings to prints and film, from buildings to landscapes and cities—representing diverse cultures from Antiquity through the present day. We think this work is essential to being an informed citizen in our challenging and ever-changing world.

The Department of History of Art and Architecture offers course work leading to several degrees. Students can pursue major and minor concentrations in the History of Art and in Architecture and the Built Environment, both as part of the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree. Last year a landmark $2.5 million gift established our new minor and graduate certificate in Museums and Markets, preparing students for careers at the intersection of art, commerce, and public culture. At the graduate level, we offer  Master of Arts degrees in the History of Art and Architecture, and Architecture and the Built Environment, as well as a Certificate in Museums and Markets that graduate students from across the university can pursue. At both the undergraduate and graduate levels, students work closely with faculty in seminars, independent studies, and one-on-one tutorials that culminate in an honors thesis. Students can select from lecture courses, seminars, and independent study programs. The department awards competitive grants to support student research in the United States and abroad.

We provide frequent opportunities for students to engage directly with original works of art, both in Nashville and beyond. On campus, we use the collections of the Vanderbilt University Museum of Art in our teaching, and our students have regular direct access to Nashville’s

outstanding institutions, including the Frist Art Museum and Fisk University’s Carl Van Vechten Gallery. Our connection to Vanderbilt’s New York City campus gives students recurring access to the world’s most dynamic art ecosystem. We also organize student trips to collections and historic sites elsewhere in the United States; recent department-funded trips have gone to Asheville, North Carolina; Newport, Rhode Island; and New Haven, Connecticut.

Our graduates go on to graduate study in art history, archaeology, and architecture, as well as to careers in museums, law, medicine, finance, and beyond. Whatever path students choose, the skills developed here—close looking, careful research, and clear argument—travel with them. I hope you will explore our website, reach out with questions, and come find us.

Warmly,

Rebecca Keegan VanDiver

Chair, History of Art and Architecture

Associate Professor of African American Art