AP Art History

Terms: 3
Grades: 12, PG
Prerequisite: Permission of the Department

This colorful and dynamic approach to history allows us to learn about the past by looking at the most awe-inspiring creations of humankind across the millennia.  We study major forms of artistic expression (painting, drawing, architecture, sculpture, printmaking, photography, etc.) from the prehistoric world to the present day, with units on the Ancient Mediterranean; Early Europe and the Colonial Americas; Later Europe and the Americas; the Indigenous Americas; Africa; West and Central Asia; South, East and Southeast Asia; and the Pacific. We learn to analyze works of art within their historical context, considering the ways that such factors as politics, religion, patronage, economics, gender, race, and ethnicity impact artists and the work they make.  As we gain a foundational knowledge about artmaking around the globe, the conversation broadens further.  Contemplating such themes as images of power, definitions of beauty, humanity’s relationship to nature, or narratives about the afterlife, for example, we explore differences and similarities across cultures and time.

All students are required to take the AP Art History exam.