Byzantine art

[MAbound]

Hi everyone,

I am looking into applying to MA programs for Byzantine art (i would like to study icons specifically), but am unsure whether my credentials will gain me admittance. I could really use your thoughts!

I graduated last year from a top university with a BA in Art History and a minor in German. While i was at school, I took a number of courses in classical and medieval art as well as a few in the Russian department ( I also did a summer abroad in St. Petersburg). I can read German and French quite well and know some Russian. For the last year I have been working at a company that deals with the decorative arts (European and Asian) which has really expanded my knowledge in a variety of areas.

However, as I didn't really consider studying Byzantine art when I was in college, I never bothered to take any Greek or Latin. I am worried that my lack of knowledge of these languages will prevent my acceptance. Do you think that it will be a big problem or since I'm not going for a PhD they would be willing to give me a chance?

Any advice or guidance would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[Sparky]

(I'm not in art history, but do medieval in a discipline that fetishizes language training)

For an MA-only program, I doubt it will hurt at all. A lot of people, in fact, use MA work as a time to acquire the primary research language they lack. (I did! Zero Latin experience before I started my master's). You do have languages for secondary scholarship, which will be a bonus. The little exposure I have to scholarship on Byz art suggests that the French will be more useful than the German, FWIW, but it's awesome that you have both already! I'm not that familiar with the language requirements of art history programs themselves, so I don't know whether you'd likely be required to take Greek once you're there. If, however, you're contemplating a PhD at some point down the road, it would be a great time to get cracking on the dead language, maybe an intensive summer class or something.

I took a Byzantine art class last spring! So not my area, but *so* fascinating. (Definitely made me wish I knew Greek!) I'm kind of jealous.

[losemygrip]

You can pick this up along the way. Just make it clear in your application that you've recently decided on Byzantine and you're looking forward to learning Greek and Latin (and make sure they're available where you go, which they should be). Having the German already down helps a lot.

Byzantinists are an interesting lot. Get ready.

I think Johns Hopkins is probably the place to go for Byzantine.