Art & Social Engagement: How Do the Arts Impact the World?

Catalog description

Whether visual art, performance art, music, film, dance, or theater — art surrounds our lives daily and mirrors our interactions as social beings. The arts are one of the principal drivers of social change, while social engagement also forms a fundamental motive for artistic expression. This course will examine the socio-political implications of art production. To approach the cultural settings of art and social engagement, students will consider (through readings, discussion, written essays, audience involvement, and personal projects) how art histories (i.e. essays/reviews/criticism, and the academic disciplines of art history, musicology, theatre history, etc.), art receivers (viewers/audience/ participants), and art producers (artists), interact in creating and experiencing works of art that address social and political events. Applied real-world opportunities: Students will reflect on the production of socially engaged art and on themselves as primary actor/audience via discussion, audience involvement (attending/experiencing), lecture/ presentations, and group and/or personal projects.