Graduate Viewbook 2008-2009 - The New School

history of decoratiVe arts
and design
this prestigious program is offered jointly with the cooper-hewitt,
national design Museum, and leads to a Master of arts in the
history of decorative arts and design. graduates go on to careers
as historians, curators, and scholars in museums, universities,
historic houses, publishing, auction houses, and galleries. the
curriculum focuses on european and american decorative arts
and design from the renaissance to the present, with courses on
ceramics, costume, furniture, glass, graphic design, metalwork,
textiles, and works on paper. the training goes beyond connoisseurship
to address a wide range of issues, including social, economic,
and cultural history and critical theory.
attending graduate school in a professional setting helps students
make the transition from academic training to a career. students
can work in cooper-hewitt’s curatorial departments and gain
teaching experience through assistantships in undergraduate
programs at parsons.
as the home of some of the world’s most important collections of
design and decorative arts as well as a central marketplace for
these works, new york is an ideal location for study in this field.
students in the program are encouraged to attend museum exhibitions
and presale shows and often have opportunities to meet with
museum curators, auction house specialists, and collectors of the
decorative arts. the program draws its faculty from the cooperhewitt,
national design Museum and affiliated institutions in new
york city, including leading scholars of art and design history and
curators of some of the most important collections of decorative
arts in the world.
for complete curriculum, faculty, and course information, visit
newschool.edu/parsons and go to degree programs: history of
decorative arts and design.
the partnership with
cooper-hewitt
The unique character of the program
is defined by its physical location in
the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design
Museum, the only museum in the United
States devoted exclusively to historical
and contemporary design. Courses
emphasize object-based teaching, drawing
on the museum’s collections. The
curriculum covers subjects ranging from
connoisseurship to the social meanings
of design to aesthetic theory. Students
can supplement their object-based
studies with courses in other Parsons
graduate programs.
64 HISTORY OF DECORATIVE ARTS AND DESIGN HISTORY OF DECORATIVE ARTS AND DESIGN
65
newschool.edu/parsons
newschool.edu/parsons