ARTH 494(S) Honor's Thesis Seminar
To graduate with honors in art history, students are to enroll in the Senior Honors Seminar during the Spring semester of their senior year, where they will develop an original research paper based on prior research. Under the guidance of the instructor, students will present and defend their own work in both written and oral form, as well as respond to, and critique, the work of their peers. As students work toward transforming their existing paper into an honor's thesis, they will also be trained in skills necessary to analyze an argument effectively, and strategies of constructive critique.
Format: seminar. Once in the seminar, students will revise, refine and expand on previous research and produce a paper of approximately 25 pages and present a shortened version of the paper to the faculty and public at the Williams College Museum of Art.
Prerequisites: to be admitted to the seminar, students must have completed ArtH 301 in their Junior year. To enter the class, students must either be nominated by a faculty member, or apply independently to the Department Honors Committee for admission. Students who have been nominated, as well as students who wish to apply for admission to the Honors Seminar, must submit an original research paper that was completed in a prior art history class. The paper must be properly formatted and include illustrations, a bibliography, and an abstract of not more than 250 words. These documents are to be turned in to the Department Secretary no later than the end of the exam period of the Fall semester. The Department Honors Committee will invite students (no more than 10) to enroll in the Honors Seminar Based on the quality of the original research, the student's GPA within the major, and the willingness and availability of appropriate faculty advisors. Notification of admission to the seminar will be sent to students by early January. Since enrollment is by invitation only, students should pre-register for four classes and, if invited, add the Honors Seminar during drop-add period. The Honors Seminar is to be taken in addition to the required courses for the major. Enrollment limit: 10 (expected: 6). Permission of instructor required.
Does not satisfy the seminar requirement.
Hour: SOLUM