The Department of History of Art Self-Evaluation Report December

The Department of History of Art Self-Evaluation Report December 2012 1 Contents Executive Summary Chapter 1 – The Institution Chapter 2 – The Parent Unit Operating the Study Programs Under Evaluation Chapter 3 – The Evaluated Study Program Chapter 4 – Research (with appendices 1-5) Chapter 5 – The Self-Evaluation Process, Summary and Conclusions Requested Appendices (tables are included in the chapters) 2 Executive Summary The foundation for the study of the history of art in Israel was laid by the late Professor Moshe Barasch at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1960 and was approved by the Senate in 1964. Since its very beginning, the Department of History of Art has endeavored to pursue excellence. Its graduates have been serving in many positions in the other four Israeli universities, major museums, and research institutions. The department's faculty members, many of whom have received international academic recognition, are an integral part of the worldwide scholarly community. Three members have been awarded the prestigious Israel Prize. Currently, the department's third generation of art historians continues to perform excellent research and dedicates itself to high pedagogical missions, in spite of the struggles with severe budget cuts. It trains students in a diverse curriculum comprised of six fields of expertise (rather than the basic four offered by the parallel departments at the other four Israeli universities). Despite the current decline of interest among youngsters in our country and elsewhere in the humanities, including the field of art history, our department at the Hebrew University remains the largest in the country and attracts students who are eager to pursue this humanistic discipline. In the B.A. program, the department's mission is to acquaint the student with the visual arts in complex historical and cultural contexts. Students come to understand how images, monuments, and objects alike function as invaluable historical documents, reflecting religious and cultural dialogues and conflicts as well as aesthetic aspirations of the societies that produced them to beauty and virtue. We consider the interpretation of the language of art crucial within this learning process. In the M.A. and the Ph.D. programs, the aim is to train professional art historians to conduct independent research, based on the study of primary sources and on the critical evaluation of secondary sources and of the methods that they describe. Both B.A. and M.A. studies encourage critical thinking, creativity, and originality. In recent years, the B.A. and M.A. curricula have been revised in order to incorporate the new methodologies in the field and the need to confront historiographical and interdisciplinary challenges. While the department has advanced considerably in its academic objectives it has been suffering from serious problems. The first and foremost issue concerns the number of its tenured and tenure-track faculty members, which has declined by almost half in a single decade. At the same time, the "soft" budget, allocated for adjunct teachers, has been cut by two-thirds. The significance of this unfortunate development is that the department faces great difficulties in achieving its desired goals. In more concrete terms, the results include the paucity of elective courses and a blurred distinction between M.A. and B.A. seminars. In addition, the funds at our disposal have declined significantly. As a consequence, the department cannot provide enough scholarships to students. The major challenge facing the department at present, therefore, is how to reconcile its stated goals with the reality of declining resources. Whether there is any possibility of this reconciliation remains to be seen. 3 Chapter 1 - The Institution 1.1 The proposal to establish a Jewish institution for higher education was first raised as far back as 1882, yet the cornerstone of the Hebrew University was only laid in Jerusalem in 1918. On April 1, 1925, the University was officially opened on Mount Scopus. The academic life of the University (courses and research) took place on Mount Scopus until 1948, the year of the establishment of the State of Israel. During the War of Independence, the road to Mount Scopus was blocked and the University was forced into exile; it continued its activities thereafter in rented facilities scattered throughout various parts of Jerusalem. In 1955, the government of Israel allocated land in the Givat Ram neighborhood for a new Hebrew University campus. In 1967, the road to Mount Scopus was reopened, and in the early 1970s, academic activities were restored on the Mount Scopus campus. The University has since continued to grow, with the addition of new buildings, the establishment of new programs, and the recruitment of outstanding scholars, researchers and students, fulfilling its commitment to excellence. The Hebrew University in Jerusalem was accredited as an institution of higher education by the President of Israel, Mr. Itzhak Ben-Zvi, in accordance with the Law of the Council of Higher Education, 1958, on the 23rd of August 1962. The Hebrew University operates on five campuses: Mount Scopus campus, site of the Faculty of Humanities and the School of Education, the Faculty of Social Sciences, the School of Business Administration, the Faculty of Law and the Institute of Criminology, the School of Occupational Therapy, the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, the Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace, the Center for Pre-Academic Studies, the Rothberg International School, and the Buber Center for Adult Education. Edmond J. Safra campus in Givat Ram, site of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, The Rachel and Selim Benin School of Engineering and 4 Computer Sciences, The Center for the Study of Rationality, The Institute for Advanced Studies, and the Edmond and Lity Safra Center for Brain Sciences. Ein Kerem campus, site of the Faculty of Medicine (The Hebrew University– Hadassah Medical School, Braun School of Public Health and Community Medicine, School of Pharmacy, and the School of Nursing) and the Faculty of Dental Medicine. Rehovot campus, site of the Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment (The School of Nutritional Sciences and The Koret School of Veterinary Medicine). An additional site is the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Science in Eilat, operated by the Hebrew University for the benefit of all institutions of higher learning in Israel. Below is the over-all number of students studying towards academic degrees in the institution according to degree: Students of the Hebrew University (2011) 1st degree 2nd degree Ph.D Total 11258 6742 2573 20573 1.2 Mission statement of the institution, its aims and goals As the first research university in Israel, The Hebrew University's mission is to develop cutting edge research, and to educate the future generations of leading scientists and scholars in all fields of learning. The Hebrew University is part of the international scientific and scholarly network: we measure ourselves by international standards and we strive to be counted among the best research universities worldwide. The Hebrew University is a pluralistic institution, where science and knowledge are developed for the benefit of humankind. At the same time, the study of Jewish culture and heritage are a foremost legacy of the Hebrew University, as indicated by both its history and its name. 5 The goal of the Hebrew University is to be a vibrant academic community, committed to rigorous scientific approach and characterized by its intellectual effervescence. These will both radiate and enlighten the University's surrounding society. 1.3 Description of Institution's organizational structure 6 1.4 Names of holder of senior academic and administrative positions (2011) Chairman of the Board of Governors: Michael Federmann President: Prof. Menahem Ben Sasson Rector: Prof. Sarah Stroumsa Vice-President and Director-General: Billy Shapira Vice-President for Research and Development: Prof. Shai Arkin Vice-President for External Relations: Carmi Gillon Vice-Rector: Prof. Yaacov Schul Vice-Rector Prof. Oded Navon Comptroller: Yair Hurwitz Deans: Faculty of Humanities: Prof. Reuven Amitai Faculty of Social Sciences: Prof. Avner de Shalit Faculty of Law: Prof. Barak Medina Faculty of Mathematics & Natural Science: Prof. Gad Marom Faculty of Agriculture, Food & Environment: Prof. Aharon Friedman Faculty of Medicine: Prof. Eran Leitersdorf Faculty of Dental Medicine: Prof. Adam Stabholtz School of Business Administration: Prof. Dan Galai School of Social Work: Prof. John Gal Dean of Students: Prof. Nurit Yirmiya 7 Chapter 2 - The Parent Unit Operating the Study Programs Under Evaluation 2.1. The name of the parent unit and a brief summary of its "history", its activities and development in the period of its existence The Faculty of Humanities was founded in 1928 and originally consisted of three divisions: The Institutes of Jewish Studies, Oriental Studies, and General Humanities. For two decades the Faculty conferred only the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy, the earliest M.A. degrees being awarded in 1931 and the first Doctorate in 1936. In 1949, courses leading to the bachelor's degree were introduced and the first of these were awarded in 1953. In 2006 the Gager Committee was appointed to evaluated the structure and the mission of the Faculty. The Gager Report resulted in a number of reforms, which are in the process of being implemented. Enclosed is the executive summary of the report. Implementation of the recommendation proceeds in three stages, the first dealing with broad introductory courses to be taken by all students of the faculty; the second treating the creation of wider disciplinary units, which transcend the individual departments; and, the last stage addressing research students and special programs to support academic excellence. Two effects on the life of the Faculty were 1) the number of departments was reduced by about a third through consolidation and rationalization; and 2) the primary connection between departments was now disciplinary and not cultural-regional.

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