Objectives and competences

Training goals

The general goals of the Degree in Art History are as follows:

To teach students to use artistic language rationally and critically to appraise artistic output throughout history and its manifestations in different cultures.

To provide students with specific training in different fields and for different activities common to the field of work of art historians.
To teach students how to make the best of the professional skills they acquire to meet the demands of society, especially those related to the labour market.

The general goals of the Degree in Art History are set out under the following specific subdivisions:

Knowledge:

Students must be acquainted with the characteristics and functions of art in all its manifestations throughout history and in the context of different cultures, as well as with the main reasons for these characteristics and functions. They must likewise be familiar with how works of art have evolved in the social, economic, political, ideological, religious and individual contexts in which they were made, in addition to how they tie with other forms of cultural expression.

Students must be acquainted with different formal and visual languages, as well as with the artistic techniques used by human beings throughout history, so that they can better understand the way in which the past affects the final result of a work of art.

Students must be acquainted with the movements of art theory and aesthetic thought in different historical, cultural, social, economic, political, ideological and religious contexts, and how they have affected the expression, aesthetics, functions, techniques and language of art.

Students must be acquainted with the approaches and methodologies that help understand a work of art.

Students must be acquainted with the procedures involved in artistic creation, as well as with the techniques for the preservation, guardianship and dissemination of historical, artistic and cultural heritage.

Abilities:

Students must develop analytic and critical skills and an artistic sensitivity so that they are able to contemplate and interpret a work of art. Students must be familiar with language and its forms. They must learn to appreciate aesthetic values and to infer information about a culture from a work of art. Besides its intrinsic value, a work of art is an excellent tool for understanding and appreciating the past.

Students must form the habit of having direct contact with works of art by visiting historical monuments, museums or exhibitions.

Aptitudes:

Students must learn the need to devise a scientific methodology in any intervention and decision related to their knowledge of art history.

Students must be professionally answerable to society in all matters related to the defence and conservation of historical and artistic heritage.

Students must be aware of the need to acquire training in other fields, such as mastering oral and written expression in their mother tongue, and gaining command of foreign languages so that they can use IT tools to establish online contacts nationally and internationally.

Students must be aware of the importance of developing their ability for leadership and self-criticism.

Competences

Specific competences

Personal competences

Knowledge of the universal history of art and general diachronic comprehension .

Knowledge of artistic phenomena in different fields: (architecture and urbanism, sculpture, painting, the decorative arts, photography, cinema, etc.), and of the procedures, materials and techniques used in artistic production throughout history.

Knowledge of the materials and techniques used in the production of artistic products.

Knowledge of the disciplines in the humanities: history of thought, ancient languages, history of literature, history of the scenic arts, history of music, mythology, history of religions, sociology and anthropology.

Systemic competences

Knowledge of the methodologies of the history of art and their historical evolution.
Ability to detect and process the main sources of documentation and general information that are significant in the history of art.
Ability to critically assess synchronic and diachronic interrelationships and their effect on the main events in the history of art.
Ability to conduct basic research into the history of art to a rigorous standard and to divulge the results.

Instrumental competences

Knowledge of the history of the conservation of monuments and of the main criteria applied to restoration, and of the recovery and management of cultural heritage, as well as the ability to intervene in these fields.
Knowledge of museology and museography.
Ability to manage art collections: stock lists, documentation, catalogues, exhibitions and dissemination.
Knowledge and ability to deal with the art market: antiques, galleries, valuations and sponsorships.
Knowledge specific to the history of art: graphics, drawing, photography, film archives and audiovisual materials.

General competences

Personal competences

Systemic competences

Instrumental competences

Ability to learn autonomously.
Ability to organise and plan.
Ability to put theoretical knowledge into practice.
Ability to communicate orally an in writing in one's mother tongue, both with experts and laypeople.
Knowledge of a foreign language.
Knowledge of applied computing.
Ability to manage information.

Other competences