What Can the Department of Art Studies Do for You?
It will use the wide diversity and unique skills of our department staff to teach our students how to acquire a broader understanding of, and deeper insight into, the variety of art forms created by mankind.
Originally, Art Studies was only one part of the Faculty of Arts and Literature that was established in 1954. In 1962, Art Studies was designated as a course. With the establishment of the departmental system in 1976, it became Department of Art Studies, and by 1977, both M.A. and Ph.D. programs had been established and have continued to the present.
Our department offers the following courses: Aesthetics, Art Studies (Musicology, Theatre Studies, Film Theory and Film History) and Art History (History of Japanese Art, History of Western Art, History of Eastern Art). We are one of the few institutions in Japan to have a department covering such diverse areas, and are renowned for our pioneering efforts to do so.
First and second year students study theory and history of various disciplines within our department. During their third and fourth years, students decide their major fields, and in seminars they are encouraged to pursue their subject of interest through detailed research. Because the study subject is art, we emphasize learning how best to experience and appreciate art. Therefore, as an important part of class work, trips are regularly scheduled to the Kansai region to see ancient art, as well as visits to musical recitals, stage performances and movies.
For high school students, our system allows them to audit two courses for one full year: Introduction to Art Studies, and Introduction to Art History.
Although our department is not intended to teach students how to acquire creative skills in art, some of our department alumni are active in the fields of art and of journalism, and our department also prepares students for careers as museum curators.
The current faculty members are as follows:
Eisuke Tsugami (Aesthetics), Yoshitake Kobayashi (Musicology), Tatsuya Kimura (Film Theory & Film History), Yoshiteru Yamashita(Theatre Studies), Masahiko Aizawa (Japanese Art History), Mitsuharu Iwasa(Eastern Art History), Nobuyuki Senzoku (Western Art History), and Masumi Ishinabe (Western Art History).