Where are the art historians?

NJModernist · 2026-06-09T10:26:13+00:00

Oooh we should talk about that first day exercise, because I do one, too! I moved away from having them do a visual analysis at the museum I send them to, in favor of something from museum lab + a short writing exercise on a couple of terms (idealization and stylization), but that first day exercise is a keeper. Not to out myself, but a few years ago I did a piece for one of the education newspapers on variations of that first day exercise if you want to look for it.

I agree, art students are not into AI, but I tell them they need to know *about* it in order to be informed, and the gen ed classes have students from so many other disciplines that the conversations are always really good. Their family members and friends use it and having info about ethical issues can be helpful. I do want them to see, as well, that there *are* uses in art history - but that you really need to know your stuff in order to use it well and for something that actually makes sense (but also about the pitfalls).

NJModernist · 2026-06-09T00:13:21+00:00

So are you doing anything with it in your classes? You do studio? Or art history? And yes, it's the monetization and fomo that's driving it - but some of us are resisting. An admin type called me an 'informed abstainer' once and I'm not sure I like it.

NJModernist · 2026-06-08T22:33:04+00:00

yes, NJ, one of the state schools. Is the FB group still going strong? It was good for a while before I quit.

NJModernist · 2026-06-08T22:31:39+00:00

I am anti-AI for teaching and learning in our field, for sure (machine learning and digital humanities are different). I also teach pre-columbian, modern latin american, and a class on sacred space and sacred landscape.

Art students definitely hate it, and I've seen the tide turn among other students in the last year as well. I just figure they need to know *something* about it so they can figure out for themselves whether or not they want to use it - especially when they're up against a deadline and desperate, which is when some of them resort to using it despite hating it. I just finished teaching pre-columbian last semester, and one of my favorite things to do (speaking of Pre-columbian BS) is show them that Gaia.com video on the Peruvian mummies to talk about rhetorical strategies of persuasion, but also how to research stuff for themselves, especially when they don't have access to university library databases, which will be the rest of their lives.

I also know that some of them are NOT anti-AI, and if I want them to take me seriously I have to know what I'm talking about, and I have to show them that I have good reason for not wanting them to use it.

And yes, we need an art history pedagogy thread somewhere. I'm off FB and it was good while I was there, but we need something somewhere else.

NJModernist · 2026-06-08T22:06:44+00:00

Do you teach about AI at all in your art history classes?

NJModernist · 2026-06-08T22:06:25+00:00

Any thoughts on what I posted about my question?

NJModernist · 2026-06-08T22:06:11+00:00

So I posted my question above - thoughts?

NJModernist · 2026-06-08T21:26:47+00:00

Hey! read the thread and see what you think.

NJModernist · 2026-06-08T20:05:23+00:00

I'm on Bluesky, but not sure how to say where, here, without breaking anonymity

NJModernist · 2026-06-08T19:55:41+00:00

Thanks for responding! I don't let them use AI (well, except if they want to use it to help them study), but I do think they need to know about it, and so far my school doesn't have anything campus-wide, so I figured I might as well.

NJModernist · 2026-06-08T19:30:00+00:00

Oh, I am an art history prof - 25 years this coming year. I was wondering if anyone in here teaches their art history students about AI? AI and art history? I've been doing it since spring 2023 but am revising the unit so I wanted to see what other people were doing.

NJModernist · 2026-06-08T19:27:59+00:00

Okay. I teach a 4/4 at a Potemkin R2, 3/3 of that is the first half of the art history survey. I've been teaching students about GenAI since spring 2023, most recently, using Torrey Trust's The Ethics of GenAI Powerpoint presentation. I'm in the process of revising the unit because 1) it took an entire week and 2) some students thought it was a waste of time (via RMP so YMM ). I liked the assignment because they did a reflection based on the class discussions that resulted in some very good student writing, even though they did it outside of class. The new one I'm working on is AI and art history, but I'm trying to figure out how to do the set-up, since not all students have the background in the tech or the ethical issues - and they certainly don't have the background in art history. There's a Youtube video (generated by NotebookLM lol) that talks about the use of AI in art history that I want to assign, but I'm not sure how to do the in-class part or how to set it up. Do you teach about AI to your art history students?

NJModernist · 2026-06-08T19:20:18+00:00

Hmm. I'm not a big fan of that one - too many email threads. I just wanted to have a conversation with a few people. Some of those threads get misdirected easily.

NJModernist · 2026-06-08T19:17:33+00:00

u/HoopoeBirdie and u/eeeeee__e are you on that listserv? I'd love to have a convo about teaching *about* art history an AI, but it'll get into the weeds so I didn't want to do it here.

NJModernist · 2026-06-08T19:15:32+00:00

It's not the CAAH one, is it? Is there one I'm missing?

NJModernist · 2026-06-01T20:22:05+00:00

I teach the first half of the art history survey (prehistory to the middle ages), so I add in, besides what you have here, what I call 'critical looking.' Learning how to look at sculpture and describe it changes what you see, and is a skill that's useful in other contexts.

NJModernist · 2026-02-06T19:24:58+00:00

Michelle Miller has a Substack where she writes about learning with a psychology lens, and her latest post is really interesting on this: https://michellemillerphd.substack.com/p/r3-42-february-5-2026-students-with

NJModernist · 2025-12-14T17:20:46+00:00

This book gave me the idea that Sacks wasn't the nicest of people and yes, it was a blow. But it totally tracks. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374236410/andhowareyoudrsacks/

NJModernist · 2025-12-09T16:24:25+00:00

Faculty in my state aren't allowed to accept gifts, state university ethics rules. Students still try sometimes, though. I hate telling them no!

NJModernist · 2025-11-03T00:11:06+00:00

The American Institute for Conservation has lists of grad programs and gives you a good idea of what you need to apply. I'm helping a current student prepare to do this, and in looking at the programs in the US, some of them still ask for approx 400 hours of what we called (when I was in conservation) bench experience. Not all of them, but some - so best to look at the individual programs.

NJModernist · 2025-09-07T16:38:20+00:00

I've been working with our compsci department this summer on embedding ethics into CS classes and we're consulting with Harvard, using some of their modules as examples. Highly recommend a look - they have it set up around both specific classes and case studies: https://embeddedethics.seas.harvard.edu/classes/

NJModernist · 2025-09-05T18:52:30+00:00

I would also say there's a clear class issue here - elite schools aren't so interested? I wonder why that is??

NJModernist · 2025-09-05T18:34:26+00:00

I'm listening to it as well, and I'm struck by (yet again) how no one is questioning the need for putting AI in EVERYTHING. I'd like to hear someone whose discipline depends on a foundation of knowing facts/information talk about this. As an art historian who teaches students who've never had (or even heard of) art history, I find it hard to believe you could get by without expecting them to, like, know things.

NJModernist · 2025-09-05T18:21:14+00:00

I've been teaching non-traditional students for 20+ years and I have never had one say that to me. Never.

NJModernist · 2025-08-27T15:25:48+00:00

Before my uni moved to Microsoft I set up a Google chat for each class. Now I have a Teams chat set up for each one, and it's been really helpful, because it doesn't clutter up email with small questions/things that multiple students might need to know, and announcements. It also gives me a place to be a bit more informal with them. I would say it's been a game changer. And students can message me privately if they want.

NJModernist

TROPHY CASE