Starting next year, Yale University will no longer offer “Introduction to Art History: Renaissance to Present,” a once-renowned survey course of art through Western Civilization, because it has been deemed insufficiently inclusive of non-European artwork.
The news agency notes that while the course was once considered “quintessential,” the decision is the “latest response to student uneasiness over an idealized Western ‘canon’ – a product of an overwhelmingly white, straight European and male cadre of artists.”While the course will still be offered for the duration of the term, the news agency notes that the topics in the course have changed significantly over time. Now, the curriculum will emphasize the relationship between works from Western and non-Western countries, and students will be encouraged to consider the ways the artwork relates to race, gender, class, capitalism, and climate change.