Art and Design History (Minor)

Overview

The Art and Design History minor is offered through Parsons School of Design and Parsons Paris.

Art history is one of the broadest fields in the humanities, concerned not only with the nature of works of art—their form, style, and content—but also with the social, political, and cultural circumstances that shape them. This minor encourages a lifelong understanding and appreciation of art and design, with opportunities to cultivate more advanced and specialized knowledge.

The Art and Design History minor requires successful completion of 18 credits across five subject areas, as outlined in the chart below.

Course availability may vary from semester to semester. Some courses may be in development and offered at a later time. Students seeking to pursue alternative coursework to fulfill the minor should consult with their advisors.

Curriculum

The table below shows courses offered on the Parsons campus in New York City. Visit the Parsons Paris website to view course offerings in Paris that fulfill the requirements of the Art and Design History minor.  

Subject Area	Sample Courses	Credits
Art and Design Survey	PLDS 2190/2191 History of Design: 1850–Present: Lecture/Recitation PLAH 2600/2601 History of Modern and Contemporary Art: Lecture/Recitation	3
2000 level	Any PLAH 2000-level course LVIS 3250 Practicing Curating LVIS 2010 Exhibitions as History LINA 2002 Aesthetics Across the Arts NARH 2102 Museum Studies: Intro NARH 2200 The Arts and Social Engagement PLDS 2009 Art and Design as Storytelling PLDS 2072 Art as Art, Design as Design PLDS 2012 Sick Woman Theories: Making Disabled Feminist Spaces—Ammann, Erica PLVS 2017 A History of Typography	3–6
3000 level	Any PLAH 3000-level course NARH 3010 New York Art Scene LVIS 3001 Methods of Art History PLVS 3025 Animality and Visuality PLVS 3022 Curating as Artistic Practice PLDS 3123 Art and Feminism in a Global Context PLSD 3039 Spatial Politics of NYC PLVS 3027 Transregional Art of East Asia	3–6
4000 level	Any PLAH 4000-level course PLDS 4013 Curating Public Narrative PLVS 4037 NYC Performance and Participatory Art PLDS 4079 Advertising Consumerism PLDS 4075 Design for Aging Populations	3–6
Studio Practice	Any course with subject codes beginning with PS or PU	3–6

*ADHT faculty advisor permission required.

Learning Outcomes

A student who has completed this minor should be able to demonstrate:

• Competence in thinking, speaking, and writing clearly and effectively and communicating with precision, cogency, and rhetorical force
• In-depth knowledge of the tools and techniques of scholarship. Active research and the writing of analytical and critical essays should continue throughout the program
• Understanding of the social, cultural, and political dimensions of art and design throughout history through assigned readings and lectures
• Understanding of the key issues and debates of recent scholarship in art and design history and theory through exams, research papers, and literature reviews
• Competence in articulating a critical awareness of the potential of art and design as agents of social and political change throughout history, including the relationship between the production and consumption of art and issues such as gender, race, and class
• Understanding of world history, reflected in the ability to address culture and history from a variety of perspectives
• In-depth understanding of the practice of art criticism, reflected in the ability to read and write in a variety of expository and creative modes
• Understanding of the relevance of fields related to art and design history, such as visual culture studies, material culture studies, philosophy, anthropology, and sociology
• Study in greater depth and precision of a specific culture and period in the history of art and/or design concentration in at least one area to the advanced seminar level

Eligibility

Minors are available to all undergraduate students across The New School. For questions regarding this minor's curriculum, including requests for course substitutions, please contact Lingling Ma at mal@newschool.edu.