Art History
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Art History Summer Courses
Explore how art reflects the ideas, cultures and societies that produced it with Atlas Summer Courses. Our two-week Art History summer courses, available for students aged 16–17 and 18–24, give you the opportunity to examine works of art in greater depth and develop your understanding of their historical and cultural significance.
Through seminars, tutorials and independent study, you'll explore different approaches to interpreting art while developing your ability to analyse visual evidence, consider different perspectives and construct well-supported arguments of your own.
What's Included?
Your residential Art History summer course includes academic teaching, accommodation, meals, a certificate on completion, airport transfer from Heathrow and insurance.
Choose from Plus, Superior and Premier packages, with accommodation and additional benefits varying by package.
What Is Art History?
Art History is the study of art and visual culture within their historical, social and cultural contexts.
Rather than simply looking at whether a work of art is aesthetically appealing, art historians ask questions about how and why it was created. This can involve examining its subject, style, materials and techniques alongside the beliefs, politics and society of the period in which it was produced.
Studying Art History also involves interpretation. The meaning of an artwork may not be straightforward, and different scholars can reach different conclusions depending on the evidence and approaches they use.
An Art History summer course gives you the opportunity to explore these questions and develop a more analytical way of looking at and understanding art.
What Will You Study on an Art History Summer Course?
There is no prescribed syllabus that every student follows. Atlas Summer Courses tutors create their own syllabi, drawing on their expertise while taking the interests and learning needs of their students into account.
Depending on your course, you could explore particular artists, artistic movements, historical periods or themes, as well as different approaches to interpreting visual culture.
You might consider questions such as:
- How can we interpret the meaning of a work of art?
- How do historical and cultural contexts influence artistic production?
- Why do artistic styles change over time?
- What can art reveal about the society in which it was created?
- How do artists communicate ideas through composition, materials and technique?
- Why can the same artwork support different interpretations?
This flexible approach allows tutors to explore their specialist areas while responding to the interests and progress of the group. Any syllabus shown on our website is an example from a previous course rather than a guarantee of the exact artists, artworks, periods or topics you'll study.
How You'll Learn on an Art History Summer Course
The Atlas Summer Courses Art History summer course combines small-group seminars, tutorials and private study across the two-week programme.
18 hours of small-group seminars
You'll take part in six three-hour seminars, exploring art and visual culture through discussion, close analysis, case studies and activities. You'll be encouraged to examine visual evidence, compare interpretations and develop well-supported arguments of your own.
2 hours of tutorials
You'll have one tutorial each week, providing a focused environment in which to discuss the essay or other academic work you've been developing and receive detailed feedback.
Around 20 hours of private study
You'll complete reading in preparation for seminars and work independently on an essay or other academic work for each tutorial.
Together, these give you experience of a more independent approach to studying Art History, where close observation, research, discussion and developing your own interpretations all play an important role.
Who Are Our Art History Summer Courses For?
Our Art History summer courses are designed for students who are curious about art, history and culture and want to understand artworks beyond what they see at first glance.
You don't need to have studied Art History before or be a practising artist. The course may particularly appeal to you if you enjoy art, history or the humanities, like analysing visual material or are interested in understanding how creative works connect with the societies that produced them.
You'll develop transferable skills including visual analysis, critical thinking, evaluating evidence, constructing arguments, independent research and communicating complex ideas clearly.
Learn from Expert Tutors
Atlas Summer Courses tutors are experienced educators and subject specialists active across academia, industry and education.
They bring their own academic expertise and interests into their teaching and have the freedom to shape their syllabus around both their specialism and the students in their group. This allows each Art History summer course to explore different artists, periods and approaches while maintaining an appropriate level of academic challenge.
Tutors are confirmed closer to the summer, so profiles on our website are examples of tutors who have previously taught with us rather than confirmation of who will teach your course.
Where Can Art History Take You?
Art History connects with a wide range of subjects across the humanities, arts and cultural disciplines.
Students interested in the field may go on to study Art History itself or related subjects such as history, archaeology, classics, architecture, visual culture or other humanities disciplines.
The research, analytical and communication skills associated with Art History can also support future paths across museums, galleries, heritage, curation, publishing, research, education and the wider cultural sector.
An Art History summer course gives you the opportunity to explore the subject before making longer-term academic decisions and discover which periods, artists and areas of visual culture interest you most.
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FAQs about Our Summer Courses
No. You don't usually need to have studied your chosen subject before joining an Atlas Summer Courses summer course. Courses are designed for the relevant age group, and tutors can adapt their approach to the abilities, interests and experience of the students in their group.
There is no fixed curriculum that every student follows. Our tutors create their own syllabi based on their academic expertise and the interests and learning needs of their students.
This means the exact topics can vary between courses and years. Any syllabus or topics shown on our website are examples from previous courses and shouldn't be taken as a guarantee of exactly what you'll study.
Teaching depends on your age group. Students aged 9–12 and Scholars aged 12–14 learn through structured, interactive small-group classes. Students aged 13–15 combine small-group seminars with private study, while students aged 16–17 and 18–24 experience seminars, tutorials and independent study.
Across our programmes, teaching is designed to encourage active participation, questioning and independent thinking rather than simply listening to lectures.
Your course includes your academic programme, accommodation, meals and a certificate on completion, alongside the activities and experiences included within your programme.
What's included can vary depending on the programme, age group and package you choose, so we recommend checking the individual course details for the full inclusions before applying.
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