Undergraduate programs

Cultural History of the Arts - B.A./B.S.

This innovative flexible degree allows students to study the histories of music and art across cultures and time. We explore the important ways cultural history both reflects and shapes society, and by incorporating both musical and art history these connections can be made even more deeper and more nuanced ways.

The B.A. or B.S. in Cultural History requires 60 credit hours total, of which:

minimum 20 credit hours in Art History, Music History, or Theater History

minimum 52 credit hours need to be upper level courses (300-level or higher)

ArH 401 Advanced Research Workshop and additional research-intensive courses such as a seminar are strongly recommended for all students in this program, and would be taken as part of your upper level course requirement.

Students should note when planning their coursework both that some of the upper level courses they are considering have prerequisites. Due to the general education requirements, you will not be able to use any of  the cluster courses that could be applied towards this major to satisfy the University Studies cluster requirement.

Course Offerings:

Ar 360Arab Cinema

4

ArH 106Introduction to Visual Literacy

2

ArH 204Art History: The Ancient World

4

ArH 205Art History: The Medieval World

4

ArH 206Art History: The Modern World

4

ArH 329Islamic Art: Major Themes and Periods:

4

ArH 337UNature into Art

4

ArH 355UMedieval Monsters

4

ArH 356UEarly Medieval Art and Architecture

4

ArH 357UByzantine Art and Architecture

4

ArH 358URepresenting Medicine and Magic in Medieval Art

4

ArH 359UGothic Art and Architecture

4

ArH 360UThe Art of War: Representing the Crusades

4

ArH 381U19th Century Art

4

ArH 382U19th Century Art

4

ArH 383Western Art in the 20th Century

4

ArH 384Western Art in the 20th Century

4

ArH 385Western Art in the 20th Century

4

ArH 392History and Contemporary Issues in Photography

4

ArH 398Contemporary Art

4

ArH 401Research

0-12

ArH 415UIssues in Asian Art

4

ArH 426UAfrican Art

4

ArH 431U/WS 431UWomen in the Visual Arts

4

ArH 432UIssues in Gender and Art

4

Art 322U/TA 322UHistory of Dress I

4

Art 323U/TA 323UHistory of Dress II

4

BSt 353UAfrican Women in Film

4

BSt 356UCuban Film: Politics and Culture

4

BSt 363UAfrican Cinema and African Cultures

4

Des 290Histories of Graphic Design

4

Eng 383U/WLL 383UTopics in Comparative Literature, Film, and Comics

4

Fr 105French Film

1

Fr 305Topics in French Film

4

Fr 445Representations of War in French Cinema

4

Heb 361Israel through Film

4

Hst 297History through Film

4

Hst 497Film and History

4

Jpn 361UJapanese Literature Through Film

4

Mus 105Introduction to Music Theory

3

Mus 203Music in the Western World

4

Mus 205Listening

1

Mus 231Survey of Popular Music Since 1950

4

Mus 274Introduction to World Music

4

Mus 355UJazz History

4

Mus 356UJazz And American Culture: How History Shaped Our Music, Then and Now

4

Mus 360UThe Guitar: its History and Music

4

Mus 361UHistory of Rock Music I (1950-1970)

4

Mus 362UHistory of Rock Music II (1970-Present)

4

Mus 363UThe Music of the Beatles

4

Mus 365UFilm Music

4

Mus 366UNew Orleans: Jazz and Culture in the Storyville Era

4

Mus 367UThe Music of Nashville: From Honky Tonk to Hip-Hop

4

Mus 368UMotown: Detroit’s History and Music

4

Mus 369UMusic and Social Change

4

Mus 374UWorld Music: Africa and the Middle East

4

Mus 376UAmerican Musical Traditions

4

Mus 377UWorld Music: Latin America and the Caribbean

4

Rus 331URussian Film Topics

4

Soc 456Sociology of Horror Films

4

Span 430Major Topics: Ibero-American Film

4

TA 101Theater Appreciation

4

TA 369UWomen, Theater, and Society

4

TA 471Theater History: Periods and Topics

1-4

TA 472Theater History: Major Figures

1-4

Tur 361UTurkey through Film

4

Note that other upper level  architectural, art, film and music history classes offered at PSU might be applied to this degree, if you get  prior approval from the Cultural History of the Arts program coordinator.

Total Credit Hours: 60