Art History: Beyond the Classroom

Reported By: Shelby McCormick

Photographed By: Kelly North

        In the spring of 2021, students approached Britney Bailey, adjunct professor of art history at George Fox University (GFU), to find a way to continue the discussions they had in their 20th-Century Art class beyond the classroom. What started as an informal discussion group after class has now transformed into the official Art History Club.  

        The club meets weekly and discusses art and pop culture that they “can’t stop thinking about,” said Emily Cody, the club’s current president.

        “For me, it has been a real privilege to see the level of intellectual enthusiasm that we encounter in the club,” said Bailey. “It gives space for students to make connections between classes and between real lived experience and their academic experience that I don’t know that they get in other spaces.”

        As is the trend with many fields of the humanities in higher education, art history  tends to receive less funding in many universities as the “intrinsic value of subjects like art history are harder to quantify,” said Bailey.

        While the value of the subject may be harder to measure, those involved in the club speak highly of the benefit of studying art history. As a studio arts major here at GFU, Cody said that “it’s really important to make art that is engaging in a conversation with other art, and realize that nothing is really original, so it is important to know what context you are coming at a piece with.”

        However, art history is not solely for artists. As a discipline, it promotes and teaches “visual literacy,” said Bailey.

        Cody believes art history is relevant to everyone, even if it isn’t always apparent. “I have learned that art and visual culture affects everything that you experience, so learning about art history is giving you the tools to face everything in the world,” said Cody.

        Both Cody and Bailey emphasize that the club has become a safe place for students to engage with art and with each other. “Hopefully it can just become a place for community on campus because that’s what it has been for me. Yes, it’s academic, but also a place to find people that are as passionate as you,” said Cody.

        This is the club’s first semester as an officially sponsored club. With funding from the University, the club is hoping to organize a field trip to the Seattle Art Museum. If the trip is successful, Cody hopes it will be an annual event.