The disciplinary identity spans a broad spectrum, ranging from art historical research to the study of contemporary visual cultures, where “visual” should be understood in a broad sense to include architecture, built and shaped environments, and all types of aesthetically designed artifacts and visual expressions, and where the exploration itself encompasses both the study of concrete objects and reflection at a highly advanced theoretical level.
The education sharpens the student’s analytical skills in critically examining, interpreting, and conveying the current and past expressions of aesthetic environmental design and artistic communication.
At Linnaeus University, research is currently conducted on modernism and contemporary art; visual culture and contemporary image practices; crafts and design; art education and art criticism; art theory with a particular focus on gender; medieval art and material religious culture; and historiography and art institutions.
As part of the doctoral education, there are also opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations with other environments at Linnaeus University, such as art education, literary studies, film studies, gender studies, design, and media and communication – to name a few – and with interdisciplinary research centres such as Intermedial & Multimodal Studies and Concurrences in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies.
