Department of Art Studies

Department of Art Studies

• Key Features of the Department of Art Studies
• Program Structure
• Topics
• Admission Policy

Key Features of the Department of Art Studies

Point 01
1st year

Through introductory lectures providing overviews and general histories of music, film, visual arts, fine arts, artistic media, and theater, students develop basic skills in the arts and explore their own interests and directions.

• Requirements for each course
• Introductory lectures
• Meiji Gakuin core curriculum classes
• Participation in on- and off-campus events

Point 02
2nd year

Students select a course from among Musicology, Film Studies, Art History, Media Studies, Theatre and Performance Studies, and Comprehensive Art Studies. We also offer classes that incorporate literature and material reading in small groups, practical exercises, and seminars in which students give presentations.

• Basic seminars for each course
• Hands-on and experience-based classes

In addition to opportunities for participating in off-campus events, we provide students with authentic experiences in a variety of settings, including symposiums, lectures, concerts, and theater performances by on-campus artists and researchers.

Point 03
3rd and 4th year

Students receive closer and more careful guidance in the five specialized courses that require a graduation thesis. In the Comprehensive Art Studies Course, students can realize cross-sectional learning according to their own interests from among the subject groups offered by the five specialized courses.

• Exercises and research emphasizing specialization
• Specialized classes in a wide range of fields
• Curatorial and museum training courses (4th year)
• Varied special lectures and seminars
• Graduation seminar
• Graduation thesis

Program Structure

In the first year, students gain a broad understanding of the arts through classes in many fields and try to search the areas in which they are interested. In their second years, students choose from the six courses their area of specialization and begin in-depth studies. From the third year on, students in the five specialized courses receive closer and more detailed instruction as they prepare to write their graduation thesis, which is required in these courses. Students in the Comprehensive Art Studies Course pursue interdisciplinary studies in line with their own interests, selecting from classes offered in the five specialized courses.

Topics

General History of Western Music

All music reflects the time and society in which it was written, but we can listen to it now only with modern ears. By listening to music from various periods and considering from various angles the circumstances behind its creation, we can trace the flow of Western music through to the present.

General History of Film

Film is a relatively young artistic genre, but the world of film is very diverse. This class deepens the understanding of film by tracing its artistic and technological development, from the earliest silent films to the era of talkie movies.

Study of Japanese & Asian Art History

This class takes up and extensively examines and discusses case studies of specific artists and art works. Utilizing the expertise of department faculty, it explores the appeal of a wide variety of artists, from Edo-period painters to Meiji-period craftsmen.

Seminar on Western Art History

To understand a painting, we must start from the sensory experience of “how it looks to me,” then deepen our knowledge from historical perspectives of the culture, society, and thinking in the era in which the artist lived. Through class discussions, students will discover their own perspectives for seeing and thinking.