AP® Art History

Uncover the Story of Humanity Through Art: From ancient cave paintings to contemporary genre-spanning installations, art reveals how people across time and cultures have seen themselves and their world. Through this course, you’ll take a global journey through 250 works spanning different eras, regions, and styles, while preparing for the AP® Exam and meeting all College Board requirements. You’ll examine how artists’ use of materials, response to audiences, and cross-cultural influences shape artistic expression. You’ll also trace continuity and change across traditions and media, interpret works in their broader cultural context, and consider diverse perspectives on what art means—all while sharpening your skills in art historical thinking, including visual and contextual analysis, comparison, attribution, interpretation, and argumentation. 

Why Take This Course? Perfect for students interested in history, culture, or the humanities, this course will help you see the world through the lens of art and understand why art history matters. By deeply engaging with such a kaleidoscopic range of works, you’ll ultimately be able to articulate the significance of art history in shaping how humans understand themselves and the world. As you learn to decode the meaning behind influential works and connect art’s past to its impact on human identity today, you’ll also strengthen your critical thinking and writing skills that will serve you well in any field.

This is a yearlong course. Students may enroll in a GOA AP® course only if their member school offers AP® courses as part of its academic program. For schools that do not offer AP®, the site director may not approve requests for GOA AP® courses.

Students in GOA courses will need reliable access to a computer with webcam/microphone connections, an email address (preferably school-based), a Web-conferencing app (GOA courses use Zoom), and a Word processing app (GOA courses use Google’s G Suite). When necessary, alternative arrangements may be made. Some courses require additional materials which can be found in the Course Outline. 

We are an approved online publisher for the University of California.

NCAA-approved course

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