UCR History of Art Department has a unique disciplinary position between the humanities, arts and social sciences. Our research and instruction encompass the history of such diverse realms as the fine arts, architecture, visual culture, material culture, ideology, engineering, decorative arts, political economy, theology, and philosophy.

The discipline of Art History analyzes critically how art and architecture have been used in the past and are used in the present through an understanding of their visual, contextual, and ideological bases. Art and architecture are among the most powerful means of social interaction and communication. Today, the visual dominates our society, perhaps more than ever before.