Art History

Program Head: Mathew Simms

The CSULB Art History program invites students to pursue an interdisciplinary and historical understanding of visual art in global contexts. Our diverse curriculum explores visual culture across time and space, drawing broadly from the humanities, sciences, and social sciences. Offering both discussion-based lectures and small seminar courses, our accomplished faculty encourage critical thinking and innovative scholarship rooted in rigorous methodologies and inclusive practices. We offer a Bachelor of Art and Master of Art degree as well as training in Museum and Curatorial Studies. As part of the School of Art, our students participate in a vibrant creative culture and benefit from courses in studio art practice.

Students can choose from a broad range of courses focusing on

• African
• Ancient Mediterranean
• Asian
• Contemporary
• Early Modern European
• Islamic
• Latin American
• Medieval
• Modern
• Native American

art and architectural history as well as Museum and Curatorial Studies. Additional areas of strength across disciplines include gender and sexuality studies, critical theory, colonial and post-colonial studies, critical race theory, materiality, empirical and archival research, reception theory, global art studies, the history of emotions, and Marxist and post-Marxist methodologies.