What Do We Know about the Future of Art History?

[...]CAA’s dissertation roster was first compiled at a time when the organization’s membership worried that there were not enough qualified art historians to fill the rising need for such professionals in North American universities. Fig. 3 “Doctoral Dissertations in Art History,” Art Journal 27, no. 4 (Summer 1968): 398 (published under fair use) In three years yet another update appeared, entitled “Doctoral Dissertations in Art: A Recent Survey,” which had been gathered by John R. Spencer, vice president of CAA.8 Indeed, during this time, academic programs were solicited directly and the responsibility for generating the list rotated among the officials and members of the organization.9 The autumn 1971 roster was similar in length to the previous one, while its scope was much wider, with twenty-four doctoral institutions listed. Since its beginnings, The Art Bulletin has served as the publication of record for CAA, presenting scholarly research essays in art history, an identity that it still maintains.17 Widely regarded as the organization’s “second journal,” Art Journal had a mission and purview that were, by contrast, “revamped, rehauled, and repackaged numerous times” in its history, as described by Craig Houser.18 It was first named Parnassus (1929–41) and then College Art Journal (1941–60) before being rebranded and relaunched under its current title in 1960. In its earliest stage, the content of Art Journal was mixed, including scholarly articles and book reviews that addressed art and architecture of various subfields and periods; features about pedagogy and issues of professional concern for artists and art historians; obituaries; and official news about the organization, such as the annual meeting program (now the CAA Annual Conference).