Course Description
For education majors and related fields, this course probes intersections of visual culture, diversity, contemporary art, and pedagogy. Students investigate the pedagogical implications of visual culture studies grounded in critical theories of diversity, addressing race, ethnicity, gender, sex, disability, and class in the U.S. Relevant contemporary art is explored for educational significance.
Athena Title
Visual Culture and Diversity
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Students will: • Explore the role of visual culture studies in art education and its significance for various educational contexts, such as schools, museums, and communities. • Investigate critically the role of visual culture in relation to issues of diversity in historical and contemporary society. • Understand the ways power works through visual images to construct limited, stereotypical representations of historically oppressed and marginalized groups of people in the United States. • Examine the work of contemporary artists who work with and through visual culture toward social justice. • Examine and use appropriately terms central to the course, such as diversity, culture, visual culture, race, ethnicity, gender, sex, ability, difference, privilege, power, contemporary art, activist art, pedagogy, critical pedagogy, and social justice. • Develop the ability to critically analyze visual culture artifacts in relation to issues of diversity and relations of power in society past and present. • Examine pedagogical issues related to visual culture, diversity, and contemporary art. • Explore examples of and possibilities for applying visual culture studies grounded in critical theories of diversity in various educational settings and contexts. • Generate arts-based responses to issues raised by the course. • Design and create educative experiences that provoke the intersections of visual culture, diversity, and contemporary art practice.
Topical Outline
Students will explore the following key topics in relation to art education: visual culture, diversity, contemporary art practice, and pedagogy. The overarching framework for the course is grounded in intensive reading, writing, dialogue, and artistic response. The course is mainly taught in a seminar format involving discussion of course texts, analysis of visual culture artifacts in relation to issues of diversity, exploration of relevant contemporary artists and art practices, and investigation of pedagogical implications of course content. Students explore the topics of this course through (for example) written reflections, identity mapping, interviews, written interpretations/analyses, presentations (digital/video), and arts-based responses grounded in contemporary art practices. A key, culminating component of the course is designing and leading an educative visual culture experience grounded in critical theories of diversity and contemporary art practice in a context beyond the classroom. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the course and students enrolled, students are encouraged to explore and enact connections between this course and their area of study.
Syllabus