General Education
Art Appreciation - ART 102
Art Appreciation is the department's primary General Education course. Approximately 11 sections are offered each semester taught by the Art faculty and, on occasion, adjunct faculty from the region. The course meets two hours per week in Room 116 CFA, the department's tiered lecture hall.
Art Appreciation is designed to lead the student on a discovery of the visual world by exploring basic art principles and the fine and applied arts. The course is inquiry based and, depending on the instructor, may involve readings, quizzes, journal entries, short papers and individual and team projects. Although each section will vary some in emphasis, depending on the background of the professor, the fine and applied art areas of painting, ceramics, sculpture, art metals, printmaking, photography, film and architecture are typically explored. The course is designed to sensitize the student to the variety of arts and their importance in contemporary civilization.
A standard text, ART FORMS, by Duane Prebble is used in all sections. The text is accompanied by support slides and videos for classroom use and its own extensive web site.
Photography Survey - ART 172
Photography Survey is the department's only "discipline-specific" General Education course. It is taught in the photography classroom in Wing Communications Center and explores the history and aesthetics of photography. Lectures are richly supplemented with video and slide presentations. Activities include readings, discussions, quizzes, journal keeping, short papers and creative photography projects.
General Art Foundations - ART 160
General Art Foundation is the department's newest General Education Course, and is required for all majors and minors in Art. Designed as a more in-depth course than Art Appreciation, it offers the student opportunities to explore studio practice, writing within the discipline of art, and field trips to area museums and galleries. A companion section is offered as part of the Honors Program.
World Art - ART 301
This course will be an in-depth examination of art forms in various historical, social, and religious contexts of Africa, South and Southeast Asia, the Pacific, and the Americas. Students will explore issues, approaches and controversies in cross - cultural civilizations through art as a primary source of understanding. They will experience how, through art, the values and ideas of many cultures have evolved and new patterns of globalization have shaped the modern world. Prerequisite: junior standing. Offered Fall, Spring.
Visual Language in the Global Classroom - ART 302
This course provides a discovery of the connections between visual art and a variety of disciplines through a study of cultural values, and education as a social institution. Students will use analysis and evaluation to explore art as an inherent social and cultural behavior and its development from early childhood through adolescence. Creative processes, discussion and critiques, informed by interdisciplinary, contemporary and global issues, present an opportunity for students to consider their major in a broader context. Lect. 1, Lab 3. Prerequisite: completion of at least 45 university credits. Recommended for students in Teacher Education. Offered Fall, Spring.
"....the creative act is not performed by the artist alone; the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and interpreting its inner qualifications and thus adds his contribution to the creative act." ~ Marcel Duchamp