Beyond the West: Barriers to Globalizing Art History

Abstract

This article provides an empirical measure of progress toward global inclusiveness in introductory art history textbooks. Using both qualitative and quantitative content analysis, we find that although the discourse of art history has shifted toward global definitions of art, the incorporation of Non-Western artists into introductory textbooks has occurred slowly, making up only 23% of modern and contemporary artists featured in recent editions. There is greater editorial agreement about the canonical significance of Western modern and contemporary artists than about Non-Western artists. Drawing on qualitative interviews with textbook authors, editors, publishers, and reviewers, we identify the epistemological, economic, and institutional factors that have limited movement toward greater global inclusion in survey textbooks.