HISTORY AND MISSION
The Graduate Program in Art History (PPGHA) was designed by members of the Art History Department of the School of Philosophy, Languages and Literature, and Human Sciences (EFLCH) of the Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). It aims to enable the continuous training of its undergraduate alumni and also to embrace candidates from all over the country, contributing to the institutionalization of Art History in the national context and its affirmation in the international field, while observing Brazilian and Latin American specificities of the debate in this area of knowledge.
We are committed to the visual education of the Brazilian population, which we consider an urgent task, whereas the understanding and the interpretation of images is fundamental in contemporary societies. There is also the commitment with the reflection on the meanings and materialities of objects, as well as on their circulation and collection. In addition, we are interested in analyzing and contextualizing discourses and institutions associated to these objects, images, and artistic practices.
PPGHA complements the founding academic project of Campus Guarulhos, which houses the UNIFESP’s Humanities courses. Since 2013 The Graduate Program holds a Master's program and from 2021 onwards, a doctoral level program. It also welcomes postdoctoral researchers and stimulates academic exchange through connections with other universities and institutions.
The Program is structured upon four research lines ranging from classical tradition to the contemporary debate on image statute, from the story of artistic systems and its structures, to artistic circulation and cultural transfers, from processes of collecting and “artification” to discourses about artistic forms and practices. One of its trademarks is valuing inter- and transdisciplinary reflections and approaches that foster the dialogue between Art History and neighboring knowledge areas such as Anthropology, Archaeology, Philosophy, Sociology, Architecture, Design, Audiovisual, Cinema, Museology, Cultural Policies, and Cultural Heritage.
Just as UNIFESP Art History undergraduate course, PPGHA comprises besides the Western arts fields, an also the study of the non-Western, non-canonical, and transcultural arts. In that way, it reflects upon arts arising from Africa, Asia, the Islamic world, and from various indigenous traditions, encompassing different chronological and geographical contexts and opening up to heterogeneous and sidelined artistic practices and narratives.
PPGHA seeks to continuously update its theoretical approaches, dialoguing with current debates and new demands proposed by the academic community and the overall society. It has encouraged its members to interact with artistical-cultural institutions and other national and international research centers, participating and contributing to consolidate networks and standing out for concrete exchange initiatives with several countries in Latin America, Portugal, United Kingdom, United States, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, France, Australia, Canada, among others.
PPGHA's teaching staff gathers researchers of varied formations, specialists dedicated to their respective fields. Thus, the Program is grounded on the diversity of theoretical-methodological options and research paths and on the openness to debate ideas extensively, which is reflected on the multifaceted character of its production.
It is worth to mention that EFLCH is in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo, one of the most complex and important educational territories of Latin America concerning the visual art production and its reception and interpretation. Besides São Paulo city and its institutions dedicated to disseminating or safeguarding various artistic productions, artistic specimens ranging from 17th century paintings, Japanese crafts, industrial architecture, and indigenous expressive forms can be found in the EFLCH surroundings. In this way, it offers a a relevant experience in living with contradictions and differences, as well as with the challenges offered by Brazilian reality regarding initiatives to democratize the artistic experience and the critical understanding of narratives related to it.
The Graduate Program in Art History promotes the Art History Research Meeting (EPHA) – an annual event created in 2013 and organized, mostly, by the program students. The program also provides a small exhibition space, which has been used for exhibit design and curatorship experiences, a large theater, and equipment for various audiovisual events. The participants are encouraged to partake in university extension activities to intensify contacts between the university and its surrounding community. Up from 2021, PPGHA will also have its own journal, IMAGEM, likewise managed by the program participants.
DEGREES
Master’s
The Master's degree in Art History was issued in 2013 and had its first class in 2014. It was decisive for deepening the research in Art History within EFLCH and the starting point for consolidating the goals established in the Art History course foundation.
Doctorate
The Doctoral program in Art History was approved on June 15, 2020 and had its first class in 2021. It embraces the same research lines and thematic specificities as the Master's program.
Postdoctorate
The postdoctoral program was created to welcome newly graduated PhD researchers in Art History and senior PhDs from correlated areas who wish to deepen their investigations along with the PPGHA. The program stimulates students to directly participate in academic life, either by organizing academic events, getting involved in the graduate program practical life, or by disclosing the achieved results in publications and national or international events.
GRADUATE ALUMNI
Besides conducting research and teaching activities, graduates of the program may actuate in the educational and cultural fields in a broad sense, including educational sectors of museums and other cultural and patrimonial institutions, cultural tourism, or various visual culture consultancies. They may also actuate in exhibition design and curatorship research and with public policies for arts and culture.
Student profile
The graduate will be qualified to act as an Art History researcher; also in cultural institutions, museums, art galleries, historical and artistic heritage organizations, documentation centers, archives, and collections; as an advisor on exhibitions, fairs, and cultural projects; developing activities inherent to Art History in exhibition and curatorial practices as well as educating the public and monitors as Art History consultants.