Department of History of Art
Name: Tabbetha
Pathway: MA in the History of Art (taught programme)
Why did you choose this programme/pathway to study?
When I finished my undergraduate degree in History, I started looking for a way to further my education that would give me the most variety, and this programme just fit.
Why History of Art, and why York?
I chose History of Art when I realised that, even as a history undergrad, I kept sneaking art into my essays. Have to write on life in Renaissance Florence? I wrote on how the church influenced artistic patronage. Have to write on medicine in the Netherlands? I wrote on how paintings of medical examinations and lectures espoused Dutch Golden Age ideals. I just kept doing it, and started to think that perhaps I was in the wrong area of study. My passions keep returning to the middle ages, and combining a love of art and a love of all things Medieval drew me to York.
What skills have your postgraduate studies allowed you to develop?
For the first time in my academic career I am not shying away from trying to read untranslated versions of primary sources (often with hilarious results), and have been able to bring history, anthropology, and theology skills into my History of Art study. My critical thinking and visual analysis skills have also become sharper. I love being able to look at something unfamiliar now and try to work out a way to understand it.
How do you plan to use your History of Art MA and the skills you've learned in the future?
I already work in the museum/heritage education industry, but I feel there is so much more I could do. Working in a museum, educating children...I'm still working on a way to combine all the things I love!