History of Art/Politics

History of art and politics form an intellectually rewarding combination, connecting the discipline that asks how and why visual objects look the way they do with the field that examines how power is organised, exercised and contested. The connection is closer than it might initially appear: art has always been entangled with politics, serving as propaganda, critique, commemoration and protest, and the history of art cannot be fully understood without attention to the political contexts in which works were made, displayed and received. At the same time, political analysis gains depth from attention to the visual and cultural dimensions of power that a purely text-based approach can miss.

At the University of Glasgow this four-year programme develops your ability to engage critically with visual objects, paintings, sculpture, architecture, photography and design, analysing them in their historical, social and political contexts, alongside the study of political theory, comparative politics and international relations. A year abroad embedded in the programme gives you the opportunity to encounter both artistic and political traditions in a different national context, which is one of the most effective ways of developing the comparative perspective that both disciplines require. Glasgow's own extraordinary collections and cultural institutions provide a rich environment for the art history dimension of your studies.

Graduates pursue careers in galleries, museums and cultural institutions, including curatorial and arts management roles. Cultural policy, arts advocacy and roles in arts funding bodies draw those with both artistic and political interests. Politics opens paths into the civil service, policy research, think tanks, journalism, international organisations and public affairs consultancy.

Teaching, publishing and academic research are further destinations. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in art history, politics, museum studies, cultural policy or international relations.