Courses
The art history curriculum focuses on the history of human artistic expression and the ways in which that history has been written and interpreted. Since many students have never taken an art history course prior to entering the University of Richmond, it's fairly typical for students to discover the subject for the first time in an introductory course that spans pre-Western or Western civilization. Introductory courses are typically broad in nature and primarily lecture based that encourage student questions and discussions.
Intermediate courses focus on narrower time periods, perhaps emphasizing a particular century or artistic period, such as 19th century American art or the Renaissance court artist. Advanced classes are often presented in seminar format, and adopt very specific focuses with the professor and students spending the entire semester discussing a particular artist or movement, such as Michelangelo or Surrealism. These courses prepare students to undertake successfully undergraduate research on a similarly in-depth topic.