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AP® Art History

This Advanced Placement Art History course is equivalent to a two-semester introductory college or university art history survey course. The rigor of this course is consistent with colleges and universities and will prepare students for the Advanced Placement exam in May. Upon successful completion of the exam, students may receive college credit and will be well-prepared for advanced art history coursework. Additional details on this course from the College Board can be found here: AP Art History.

What is art? How is it made? What inspires art styles and revolutions? How do we describe our thinking about art? How can we respond and describe our own reactions to art? In this course, students will explore three big ideas:

(1) Artists manipulate materials and ideas to create an aesthetic object, act, or event

(2) Artmaking is shaped by tradition and change

(3) Interpretations of art are variable

Advanced Placement Art History builds the visual literacy and critical thinking skills needed to effectively analyze art across time and place. The framework of the AP Art History course encourages students to develop a deep understanding of representative artworks from diverse cultures, including the fundamental knowledge that places these works in context and articulates the relationships among them. Students will acquire a comprehensive knowledge of historically significant artists, movements, aesthetic theories, and practices, ranging from prehistoric times to significant contributions in the 21st Century. Art production of all cultures will be studied in relative proportion to their representation on the Advanced Placement Art History Exam.

Students will explore the development of artistic trends, movements, and events and how they reflected and affected the times in which they occurred, gaining insight into typically misunderstood topics pertaining to the visual arts. Students will research, write, and present knowledgeably on a number of art history topics, reflecting and synthesizing their own theories on the many works they will see in virtual museums and collections. They will be expected, through carefully structured assignments, to exhibit a clear understanding of the context, form, function, and content of art, as well as the impact of that art.

Students will be expected to enroll in My AP Classroom through their VHS Learning AP course and will be guided to complete review work in My AP Classroom throughout the year. My AP Classroom resources include AP Daily Videos and unit-based Personal Progress Checks, which include AP-style multiple-choice and free-response questions.

Students enrolled in VHS Learning Advanced Placement courses with a passing grade are expected to take the AP Exam. Students register for AP exams through their local school or testing site as “Exam Only” students. AP exam scores will be reported to VHS Learning through My AP Classroom; exam results will not affect the student's VHS Learning grade or future enrollment in VHS Learning courses.

This AP course has a required summer assignment. The summer assignment is a review of prerequisite content and critical concepts students must be comfortable with before beginning the course. Students are expected to complete their summer assignment before the course begins and submit their work by the end of Week 1. Students who register on or after September 1 will receive an extension to complete the summer assignment by the end of Week 3.

In this AP-level course, students are expected to invest approximately 10 hours per week on their coursework.

Acknowledgements

  • Students must be able to read a college-level textbook and write clearly and concisely.
  • In addition to the enrollment fee, this course has an Additional Course Fee of $80.
  • The required summer assignment for AP Art History can be found in our AP Summer Work Directory.

Course Objectives

Course Essential Questions:

  • What is art and how is it made?
  • Why and how does art change?
  • How do we describe our thinking about art?

Course Learning Objectives:

  • Differentiate form, function, content, and/or the context of a work of art.
  • Explain how artistic decisions about art making impact art.
  • Describe how artistic and historical context influences artistic decisions involved in creating a work of art.
  • Analyze the form, function, content, and/or context to explain or determine the artist’s intentions during the creation of the work.
  • Describe features of an artistic tradition and/or change in a single work of art or a group of related works.
  • Explain how and why specific traditions and/or changes are demonstrated in one or more works of art.
  • Analyze the influence of a single work of art or group of related works on works of art produced around the same time or later.
  • Identify a work of art with key identifiers, including artist or culture, date, and material.
  • Analyze how formal qualities of the work and/or content of a work of art bring about a response from the viewer.
  • Consider how contextual factors lead to different interpretations of art.
  • Justify the attribution of an unknown work of art, using formal qualities and comparisons to other works.
  • Analyze relationships between different works of art based on their similarities and differences.

Additional Requirements

  • Accessibility Note: Although every effort has been made to make this course accessible to all students, some resources or activities in this course, such as audio files, images of visual art pieces, or hands-on activities, may present accessibility challenges.
  • This AP course has a required summer assignment. The summer assignment is a review of prerequisite content and critical concepts students must be comfortable with before beginning the course. Students are expected to complete their summer assignment before the course begins and submit their work by the end of Week 1. Students who register on or after September 1 will receive an extension to complete the summer assignment by the end of Week 3.