Department of Art History

Hello, I am Adem SEVİM. I am working as a research assistant at Yozgat Bozok University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Art History. At the same time, I am doing my PhD at Erzurum Atatürk University, Institute of Social Sciences, Department of Art History.
I am from Gaziantep.
Our department was established in 2009 within Yozgat Bozok University Faculty of Arts and Sciences. In the 2018-2019 academic year, the department started to receive students. In the 2021-2022 academic year, the department had its first graduates.
In the scope of Bachelor's degree programme in History of Art, compulsory courses, professional elective courses and non-field elective courses are given to our students for 4 years, but our compulsory courses are very important. These compulsory courses, such as Seljuk art, Ottoman art, Byzantine art, European art, mythology and iconography, Ottoman language, scientific research and excavation techniques, methodology and terminology, introduction to art history, are given to our students for four years.
Since our department is a department related to the field of social sciences, laboratory studies such as science are of course not available. However, our workshop studies, technical drawing and surveying class fills a big gap in our students in this field with the presence of both the rectorate and the dean of the faculty. In this workshop, technical drawing and surveying courses are taught in a healthy way. In addition, we have a digital and book collection connected to our department. Our students also take and benefit from the courses they deem necessary in this library.
In our department, art history is taught for four years and successful students write a thesis. At the same time, in recent years we had the opportunity to do internships in museums in Yozgat and in the cities where our students were living.
In terms of education and training abroad AS Erasmus, and student exchange programmes in our country, such as Mevlana, Farabi, all applications are made to students in our department. Students who meet the necessary requirements benefit from the student exchange programmes.
Workshop studies are carried out in our department. In our course called technical drawing and surveying, all the facilities of our students in the appropriate special class were met by our rectorate and faculty deans, and these courses are taught in these special classes.
Graduation projects are included in our department. In particular, our students who are successful in all courses for 4 years, do a graduation thesis project and seminar projects in the fourth year and if they are successful in these, they will graduate from our department.
In our department, student exchange programmes are available as international opportunities. Especially ERASMUS international exchange programme; exchange programmes are available with the universities we have agreements with. Farabi and Mevlana programmes are used by our students who fulfil the conditions.
Almost all faculty members and professors in our department are involved in excavation and study projects. Some of our professors also have their own study projects. Of course, the students of the department are the main stakeholders in these projects. We take the students of our department to the excavation sites during the summer months to show them in a practical way the theoretical knowledge that we teach them in class. Some of our professors are assigned to the excavations at Uşaklıhöyük and Çadırhöyük in Yozgat. I am myself a member of the committee for the excavations of the Ani Örenyeri and the Kalehisar at Çorum Alaca, and we take our students to these excavations during the summer months to ensure that they do not fall behind.
When our students are successful in the courses they take here for four years, they graduate with the title of historian of art. Our students who receive the title of art historian, of course, have more job opportunities when they fulfil the necessary conditions. Especially when they get a sufficient score from the public personnel selection exam, our students work in museums affiliated to the ministries of culture, Ottoman archives, Republican archives, municipalities, offices of inspection of cultural assets affiliated to municipalities, general directorate of foundations, offices of protection of cultural assets. In addition, our students who are successful in APEE (Academic Personnel and Postgraduate Education Entrance Examination) and English exams, work as academicians in universities.
Our art history department is a department that works with different disciplines. Of course, our students have difficulty in some courses during their four years. We do our best to resolve these difficulties. Especially since we are a department close to visual arts, our teachers explain the subjects to our students through photographs and visuals. For this reason, in courses such as Ottoman Art, Seljuk Art, the art of principalities, we organise technical trips because we think that our students learn better when they see some structures in place. Along with these technical trips, there are important historical buildings especially in Yozgat centre. For example, Yozgat Çapanoğlu Mosque, Çapanoğlu bath, clock tower, muşalikalesi in Akdağmadeni; in other words, there are many historical monuments of different types in our city. We take our students to these historical artefacts at the beginning of the term and show plan and architectural features, ornamentation features on site, teach them to the students, and establish a connection with them in relation to the lessons.
For students who will choose our department, it would be very useful for them if they know at least one foreign language. Because in Turkey, we have a newly developing art history department. In these departments, of course, there is a new generation of students who will take part in the academic staff. Of course, it is beneficial for these students to know, at least one foreign language, in order to work here, and if they improve this language skill during 4 years and achieve a high average score from the courses in the department in the ALES (Academic Personnel and Graduate Education Entrance Exam) exam, they will be able to work here as academicians. In other words, before coming to the department, it will definitely contribute to them to do research about the department and to set goals about what they want to be in the future.
Our university is a newly developing university. In this respect, most of the buildings on our campus are newly constructed and new classrooms are available. In these classrooms, all the facilities suitable for teaching are provided to our students by both our rectorate and the deanships of the faculties to which they are affiliated. At the same time, we think that our university is better than the surrounding universities in terms of cultural and sportive activities. Because in addition to the spring festivals, sports festivals are also held at our university. Thus, for our students studying here, both the spring festival and the sports festival will be able to develop themselves in the relevant sports fields and have a pleasant time with the competitions they will have. I wish success to the students who will attend the university exam. We are waiting for everyone to Yozgat Bozok University, Faculty of Science and Literature, Department of Art History.