When it comes to creating art, context is key. The department of Critical Studies is devoted to preparing student artists to understand the cultural, social, and historical contexts from which enduring art springs. Critical Studies courses are designed to foster clear thinking, effective writing, and the development of the informed, flexible minds that make art possible.

All students at Massachusetts College of Art take one-third or more of their classes from among the offerings of the department of Critical Studies, including required-by-name courses in art history, American history, writing, and literature. Distribution credits are required in all the above areas.

The department’s Writing Center, accessible either in-person or online, is available to help students with basic skills or specific written projects throughout their college careers. For students who are especially interested in writing, the center sponsors a writers’ group and a series of poetry, fiction and play readings, which are open to all members of the MassArt community.

In addition to offering required and elective courses for all MassArt students, the department of Critical Studies also offers a major in Art History that is distinguished by its large studio component. Here, art history students are both creators and scholars of art.

The Department of Critical Studies has an outstanding and vibrant faculty who make vital contributions to the life of the college. As an example, department Chairman and Professor of Art History John Russell, a prominent expert on Middle Eastern Art, is a prolific author and associate director of excavations at Nineveh, Iraq. Professor Russell was in Iraq in 2003/4, where, as Deputy Senior Advisor to the Iraqi Minister of Culture, he helped to reconstruct the Iraq Museum. All of the Critical Studies faculty are active scholars, artists, playwrights, poets, historians, authors, and scientists who publish widely and are the recipients of many prestigious grants and awards.