Art History
Available as a major or minor
Sail up the Nile. Worship in Rome. Stroll the boulevards of Paris. Study art history and archaeology to explore the rich visual and material legacy of cultures from ancient Egypt, Renaissance Italy and modern France. Whether in the classroom, on May Term, or studying abroad, travel to different places and times as you discover some of the most spectacular contributions to the history of civilization.

Curriculum & Courses
Sample Course Offerings
ARTH 151: Art, Culture & Society
ARTH 256: Baroque: Popes, Kings & Busin
ARTH 391: Ancient Egyptian Arts

Learn By Doing
Pouring Themselves into Interesting Work

Art History major Jacob Friedrich received a Jones scholarship to learn how to excavate at an archaeological field school at Cahokia, IL. Cahokia is an urban settlement of the 13th century AD - the largest settlement north of Mexico. It's one of only 23 UNESCO Word Heritage sites in the US.

Brieanah Gouveia's was awarded a travel scholarship to study the ancient Greek collection at the Met. Her project "Slaves, Foreigners, Barbarians: Class and Ethnicity in Athenian Law and Life" looked at how different types of foreigners were depicted on pottery and in sculpture.

Brieanah Gouveia's was awarded a travel scholarship to study the ancient Greek collection at the Met. Her project "Slaves, Foreigners, Barbarians: Class and Ethnicity in Athenian Law and Life" looked at how different types of foreigners were depicted on pottery and in sculpture.

Caitlin Wright interned for the Castletown Foundation in Dublin, Ireland. "Hosted by the Irish Architectural Archives, I worked directly with a conservator to surface clean and assess the condition of Castletown House's paper collection. One of the documents in the collection dated to 1598 and held the seal of Queen Elizabeth the First. I didn't clean that document, of course, but I did get to hold it!"

Caitlin Wright interned for the Castletown Foundation in Dublin, Ireland. "Hosted by the Irish Architectural Archives, I worked directly with a conservator to surface clean and assess the condition of Castletown House's paper collection. One of the documents in the collection dated to 1598 and held the seal of Queen Elizabeth the First. I didn't clean that document, of course, but I did get to hold it!"

Caitlin Wright interned for the Castletown Foundation in Dublin, Ireland. "Hosted by the Irish Architectural Archives, I worked directly with a conservator to surface clean and assess the condition of Castletown House's paper collection. One of the documents in the collection dated to 1598 and held the seal of Queen Elizabeth the First. I didn't clean that document, of course, but I did get to hold it!"
Roanoke students join professor on archeological dig in Egypt
Several Roanoke students have gone digging for ancient artifacts in Egypt alongside Art History Professor Leslie Warden, a leader of archeological digs in this part of the world. Warden is one of few Egyptologists in Virginia. In Egypt, she has unearthed pottery and stone tools that reveal the presence of an ancient industrial zone. She hopes that during an archeological dig, Roanoke students gain experience in the field and an appreciation for studying small clues of life left behind from ancient civilizations.
Study Abroad
Art historians learn through travel

Roanoke students experience great art firsthand in a May Term trip to Turkey.

Roanoke students experience great art firsthand in a May Term trip to Turkey.

Roanoke students experience great art firsthand in a May Term trip to Turkey.

Roanoke students experience great art firsthand in a May Term trip to Turkey.

Brieanah Gouveia visiting the palace of Frederick the Great in Germany and getting a full dose of Rococo art and architecture.

Roanoke students experience great art firsthand in a May Term trip to Turkey.

Brieanah Gouveia visiting the palace of Frederick the Great in Germany and getting a full dose of Rococo art and architecture.

Roanoke students experience great art firsthand in a May Term trip to Turkey.

Brieanah Gouveia visiting the Bauhaus in Germany.

Roanoke students experience great art firsthand in a May Term trip to Turkey.

Roanoke students experience great art firsthand in a May Term trip to Turkey.
Careers & Outcomes
Our grads land exciting jobs after Roanoke

Faculty
News
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Simone Paterson premieres exhibit at Olin Hall Galleries and shares the importance of meditation, self-reflection and expressing oneself through art.
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Retiring faculty in 2023 have dedicated a combined 206 years of service to Roanoke College.
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The Feb. 7 event was hosted by the Brussels Institute for Advanced Studies in Belgium.
Sail up the Nile. Worship in Rome. Stroll the boulevards of Paris.
Study art history and archaeology to explore the rich visual and material legacy of cultures from ancient Egypt, Renaissance Italy and modern France. Whether in the classroom, on May Term, or studying abroad, travel to different places and times as you discover some of the most spectacular contributions to the history of civilization.
Did you know that art history and archaeology investigate art and material objects as ways to express cultural ideas, values and histories? These disciplines forge connections to people's lives through the objects they've left behind. Learn to be a savvy interpreter of the visual and material record. We'll teach you how to question the deceptively obvious and explain the ambiguous.
Art history can prepare you for careers in teaching, museums, commercial galleries, auction houses, historic preservation, publishing, filmmaking, fashion, advertising, law or the corporate world.
We offer both a major and a minor in Art History.