Student in art studio

Art Major and Minor

The Art Major and Minor at Davidson

The Art Department is designed around two principal areas: creative practice and critical studies.

Students can pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree with an emphasis on either art history or studio art, which are closely interconnected. As part of the broader liberal arts curriculum, we aim to foster creative, inclusive, and innovative learning approaches.

Courses You Might Take

ART 320

This seminar will examine various forms of photography from the mid-19th century to the contemporary period. We will begin by examining how photography played a key role in colonial constructions of racial, ethnic, and gender stereotypes of Asian people (stereotypes that persist to this day), then move on to examine how Asian artists have appropriated these constructions and the medium itself. 

ART 124

How do you create a visual arts culture in America?  Whose America is it?  What kinds of contributions and encounters does it include from Native Americans to the Digital Age?  What did the so-called Founding Fathers think about the role of art in the new nation?  How does it shape and is shaped by nationhood?  How does it relate to Europe?  How does it relate to a global world? This course will delve into these questions.

ART 220

Architecture and Environmental Studies are natural companions. Unfortunately developments in the history of modern architecture until the final third of the twentieth century rarely acknowledged their companionship. This course will familiarize the participants with the leading theorists in the field of sustainable architecture, and enable them to design a private dwelling that is both modern and sustainable.

Related Programs

Interested in Studying Art at Davidson?