Art history is the study of the visual world, both past and present. It looks closely at a wide array of images, objects, buildings, and sites in order to better understand human societies. Art history operates with the understanding that visual/material artifacts may speak more directly and deeply about a culture than its written record. Put another way, if a picture is worth a thousand words, then art history equips students to read it. This is called visual literacy and it is an invaluable skill in our increasingly visual world.