Art doesn't exist in a bubble ... In my courses, students learn about art's relation to society, to economy, to politics.
Dorothea von Hantelmann, Professor of Art and Society
The Art and Aesthetics concentration encompasses the study of art in all of its aspects: philosophical, practical, and historical. Courses in the concentration are rooted in Berlin as an artist’s space, featuring internationally renowned guest faculty, the ‘factory’ arts building on campus, and site visits to artists’ collectives and galleries. The study of art history draws extensively on direct encounter with Berlin’s museums and collections.
Curriculum Overview
The Art and Aesthetics modules cover three primary and interweaving touchstones: art history, art theory, and art practice. Students begin the program with foundational practicing arts and theory courses, before using this basis to undertake and develop a more advanced mode of thinking about, discussing, and making art. For any given module listed in the overview above, several courses may be offered that allow students to fulfill the requirement.
Foundational modules introduce the methods and traditions of art history, the disciplines of the studio and performing arts (photography, sculpture, painting, filmmaking, theater), and concepts of art and aesthetic experience, including film theory and interpretation. Advanced study in this concentration invites you to focus more closely on individual artists and movements, to refine skills and knowledge in your chosen area of artistic practice or scholarly investigation, and explore central debates and controversies concerning the development of art and its relationship to politics and society.
Students in this concentration may with the requisite preparation choose to pursue a thesis project that involves a practicing arts component.
Sample Courses
Study Abroad Opportunities
Leiden University, Academy Building (image by Rudolphous)
In their third year, Art and Aesthetics students can opt to spend one or two semesters abroad. Many of them choose to study at one of the Dutch University Colleges in Amsterdam, Leiden, or Utrecht, or at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, which offers a rich variety of both practical and theoretical arts courses.
For a full list of options visit the Study Abroad page.
Art and Aesthetics Faculty
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Art and Society
Germany
PhD in Art History
Freie Universität Berlin -
Art History
USA
PhD in Art History
Columbia University -
Philosophy
Hungary/Canada
PhD in Philosophy
Harvard University -
Art History
Germany
PhD in Art History
University of Cambridge -
Theater and Performance
Germany
PhD in Theater Studies
Freie Universität Berlin
Art and Aesthetics Alumni/ae
Students who graduated from the Art and Aesthetics HAST BA program have gone on to:
Flora Keene
BA in Humanities, the Arts, and Social Thought '22
Concentration: Arts & Aesthetics
Currently: MA in Fashion and Textile Studies at the Fashion Institute of Technology
“In my third year, I took a class called Contemporary Art and The Anthropocene taught by visiting professor Laura López. I was so inspired by the philosophers we studied that I went on to write my bachelor's thesis based on the theories we learned, and I continue to think about these themes today.”