The following statement was developed by the faculty of the Division of Art History and may be revised as our pedagogical approaches and conversations around AI continue to evolve.

The faculty in the University of Washington's Division of Art History are paying attention to how Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools are changing student learning, the workforce, and the educational needs of students enrolled in arts and humanities courses. Art History faculty understand that certain AI tools may be useful to student learning in particular contexts, and our syllabi include specific guidance on the use of AI for each course. Our approach to guiding students on when and how to use AI is informed by the commitments and values outlined below. These commitments reflect Art History’s identity as a highly qualitative discipline, where strong scholarship is built on visual observation, narrative voice, and a deep understanding of local and global historical context.

1. We are committed to close engagement with the visual, and to showing students how the visual creates meaning in ways that are different from language. We seek to help students get beyond surface or predictable readings of images, to marshal concrete, specific visual evidence to support arguments.
2. We are creative about using class time and assessment time in ways that create meaningful learning and feedback for students. Through a range of assessments from oral exams to on-paper writing to group work and beyond, we keep assessment and class activities diverse and engaging.  
3. We organize site-specific, hands-on learning experiences that let students learn together, generate concepts independently, and understand the role of material artworks and objects in knowledge creation.
4. We meet students at their existing level of knowledge as opposed to expecting them to bring extensive expertise or polished skills to the table, expectations which can lead students to an overreliance on AI tools.
5. In evaluating student work, Art History faculty, instructors, and teaching assistants provide human assessments based in our own perspectives and expertise.