ART 391 •Civic Studio Course Proposal
Prerequisites:
Art and Design Majors: completion of Foundations and permission of instructor.
Non-Art and Design Majors: Junior Standing and permission of instructor.
10. Rationale for adding this course to the curriculum:
- 10 a. Explain how this course will strengthen and improve the curriculum.
This proposal is part of a larger Program Change Request for a new emphasis in the Department of Art and Design called
Visual Studies. The change in program addresses two broad areas: 1. the incorporation of new technologies into contemporary visual art studio, 2. expanded contexts for studio practice. These areas are described more fully in the
Visual Studies Proposal sections: Description, Justification/Need, and Explanation of Comparable Areas.
Civic Studio increases the curriculum’s capacity to represent established practices in contemporary art exploring situated projects, community engagement, public art, presentational practices and the theoretical discourse specific to such practices within a studio context.
Civic studio adds important new capabilities of art practice to the existing curriculum. These include the creation, organization, and presentation of art in specific situated contexts. "Situated" is a term used to refer to a project in which the site is taken up as part of the work. It refers to the site (space), but also its inhabitants, economies, exchanges. In this practice the built, human, and social environments are all considered culturally. In such practice the creation and production of projects is considered a part of studio production along with the creation of images and objects. This opens new options for art practice by giving students the insights and skills to create their own contexts for future practice rather than waiting on limited traditional gallery or museum opportunities. These insights and skills enhance student understanding of institutional presentation of art, and develops project, organization, and leadership skills that transfer to many other enterprises. These understandings enrich understanding of traditional and contemporary art practice by illuminating the process of encounter and engagement with audience/community. They also connect art practice directly to citizenship.
Projects in the course are focused on aspects of the site. They are informed by history research, citizen interviews, and methodologies that extend from urban planning, material culture among others. Results include exhibitions, web sites, books, publications, images and objects that are publicly presented at the project site and collected in a studio archive.
See
http://civicstudio.org for documentation of past projects.
In addition to the cultural contributions of generating projects in a public context, the course includes a direct service component at social or cultural service agencies in the vicinity of the project.
- 10 b. Which student population(s) is this course designed to serve? Explain how and where this course fits into the unit’s existing curriculum.
1. Art and Design students
2. Students from other majors. In particular students whose courses of study involve the consideration of the cultural aspects of various fields, public space and planning, public administration, social sciences and humanities.
Most studio courses are organized by discipline (medium) and focus primarily on the production of art as an individual act done in isolation and then presented in standard presentational formats. Civic studio is organized around a consideration of site and context of presentation and includes a significant amount of collaboration among other students and at times with community members (neighborhood residents, businesspeople, and personnel from area schools and non-profits). This approach complements the existing curriculum by focusing on important considerations of art practice not primary in other studios.
The course may be repeated once for credit. The nature and pedagogy of studio learning is student-centered. It is standard pedagogy and practice to structure a studio course to accommodate a range of students engaged in a range of projects. The course is structured to facilitate and assess this. Each implementation of a studio course has the same framework, but the primary "content" is not prescribed by the curriculum. Within contexts of historic and contemporary history and practice the student develops their studio work. There are technical and production aspects to every project. These too are largely variable and determined by the nature of the studio inquiry. It is standard pedagogical practice in studio courses to require students to not repeat work (content and form) that they've already done. However, we encourage students to progress work in beneficial ways and to see and extend connections among their various courses. Ambition, risk-taking, and progress in studio learning are encouraged, supported and evaluated favorably as are the quality and completeness of the finished product.
In particular with Civic Studio the project situation is different each time. This includes the site, the circumstance and the studio group. It is variable in the way that a theater course is variable because of a different play and different roles the student can take up in the project.
- 10 c. Explain the reasons the proposed prerequisites are necessary. If the proposed course duplicates material covered in existing courses in the unit, specify the nature and degree of the overlap, and explain why it is necessary to add this course rather than to reconfigure existing program offerings.
Prerequisites assure that students enroll in Civic Studio at an appropriate point in their studies. Because the Art and Design Department requires completion of foundations (6 courses and a portfolio review) prior to enrolling in any 200 or higher-level studio course, enrolling in this course follows that policy. Non-majors are not subject to this departmental policy. Permission of instructor is granted to non-majors after completion of an interview with instructor. The primary purpose of the interview is to inform the student of the unique expectations and challenges of this off-campus project. The dual prerequisite is consistent with current practices in Art and Design.
The course does not overlap other courses in the department. This is substantiated by the support of this proposal by the department faculty. It was supported with a 12-3 vote and signed off on by the Department Chair.
- 10 d. Will this course increase the total number of credits required for students in any major or minor? If so, explain why that is both necessary. Could existing required courses be dropped or modified to accommodate the addition of this material?
The course will not increase total credits required. It is however part of a new emphasis proposed in Art and Design. No existing course could be modified to adequately accommodate this additional material.
11. Course / content overlap with other units:
- Identify any overlap between this course and courses offered by any programs or units. Indicate the degree of overlap and explain why your students should not take the existing course(s) instead. Submit a copy of this proposal to those units with a request that comments be sent promptly to you and to your C/SCC for consideration and attachment to this proposal. Copies of inter-departmental communication regarding this course must be attached to the proposal.
Civic studio does not overlap any other course in any program or unit. It comes closest in content and structure to the Community Working Classics courses (Philosophy 374 and 375) but is significantly different. Similarities include service learning in an off-campus situation in which programming is designed and presented to sectors of the public. The courses differ in the contexts of presentation, subject matters engaged, and generally the nature of the learning products.
12.
Syllabus of Record: •ART 391 Civic Studio -attached
13.
Curriculum Resource Statement: ART 391 Civic Studio -attached
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