
Art History
Art history at Oberlin examines the arts of Africa and the Black Atlantic, East Asia, Islamic cultures, and the West. Students analyze visual and written material, which opens onto understandings of broader social, political, and historical structures of race, class, sexuality, and gender. Art history refines skills in analysis, critical thinking, logic, writing, and other forms of communication. Majors are well placed to pursue any career in which strong communication and analytical skills are necessary.
Why Study Art History at Oberlin?



Curating Art History
Erik Inglis ’89, professor of medieval art history, describes some of the art in the campus-based Allen Memorial Art Museum. The Allen and its diverse collection of original works serve as a teaching resource for faculty. Inglis describes how students are involved in expanding and enhancing the museum’s collection.

Exploring Art History
Associate Professor Christina Neilson discusses the range of curricular and extracurricular opportunities that await students who decide to study art history at Oberlin. Neilson, chair of art history, specializes in the art history of early modern Europe and Latin America, and teaches such courses as Gender and the Visual Arts in Europe 1450-1700 and the Arts of Conquest and Resistance in Seventeenth-Century Europe and Latin America.
About art history with Professor Christina Neilson
Professor Matt Rarey discusses his course, Vodou and Santería
Sample Courses
- ARTH 150 - Approaches to Western Art 4 credits
- ARTH 299 - Methods of Art History 4 credits
- ARTH 310 - Word and Image in Medieval Art 4 credits
- ARTH 327 - Image/Object: Material and Mediation in Chinese Art 4 credits
Art History Faculty
Art history faculty members are both scholars and teachers whose focus is on undergraduate education. Their specialties include Africa and the Black Atlantic, East Asia, Islamic culture, medieval art and history, and contemporary art history.
Explore Faculty within Art HistoryArt History Faculty
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Bonnie Cheng
Associate Professor of Art History and East Asian Studies -
Ahmad Emrage
Fulbright Teaching Fellow -
Charles Eppley
Visiting Assistant Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art History -
Erik Inglis ’89
Professor of Medieval Art History -
Christina Neilson
Associate Professor of Renaissance and Baroque Art History -
Matthew Rarey
Assistant Professor of Art History