MA Art History and Visual Studies at SK Somaiya College, Somaiya Vidyavihar University, Mumbai Offline Course

Bringing together art history, aesthetics, philosophy, criticism, curation, and contemporary visual culture, MA in Art History and Visual Studies is conceived as an interdisciplinary postgraduate programme. Designed for students from diverse academic backgrounds, the programme encourages critical thinking, research, writing, and experiential engagement with art across historical and contemporary contexts.

The curriculum begins with foundational studies in visual language, the grammar of art, aesthetics, and global art histories, while introducing students to major artistic movements from pre-modern traditions to contemporary practices. Through courses on modernism, postcolonial thought, photography, performance art, installation, cinema, and immersive media, students explore how images shape culture, politics, memory, and identity.

A strong emphasis is placed on Indian and South Asian artistic traditions alongside global perspectives. Students engage with key thinkers such as Walter Benjamin, Susan Sontag, Roland Barthes, Karl Marx, Abhinavagupta, Coomaraswamy, and Homi Bhabha, while examining themes of colonialism, modernity, spectatorship, aesthetics, and contemporary visual practices.