Prerequisites:

There are no course prerequisites for HUMA1315: The Arts in Contemporary Society. A passing score or the equivalent on the reading portion of the TSI is required.

Student Responsibilities and Final Grade Breakdown:

• Completion of assigned homework prior to due dates.
• Orientation (Pass/Fail - required "Pass" to continue in course).
• Contributions to online course Discussion Forums (4 Forums x 12.5% each = 50%).
• Response Papers (2 Response Papers x 15% each = 30%).
• Journal Entries (5 x 1% each = 5%).
• Final Project (15%).

Required textbooks:

Ways of Curating
Hans Ulrich Obrist
ISBN-13: 978-0374535698 or ebook equivalent

Curatorial Activism: Towards an Ethics of Curating
Maura Reilly
ISBN-13: 978-0500239704

Behind the Screens: Programmers Reveal How Film Festivals Really Work
Jon Gann
ISBN-13: 978-1477692516 or ebook equivalent

Additional readings and videos:

Additional readings and videos will be assigned as needed throughout the semester and will be available in Blackboard.

Course Description:

An introductory course designed to enhance a student's understanding and appreciation of the modes of communicating ideas and emotions through the visual and performing arts.

This is a Liberal Arts Gateway Course with the special topic “Strategies for Diversifying Exhibition.” This particular section focuses on how contemporary museums, festivals, and archives engage the public in arts and culture.

Course Outline:

Course Orientation

Units One through Four

• Unit One: An Introduction to a Life in Curation
• Unit Two: Contesting the Status Quo: Inclusion, Representation, Activism
• Unit Three: Getting into the Biz: Film Festivals, Industry, Audiences
• Unit Four: Archives, Digital Curation, and More!

Final Project

Course Rationale:

The study of the humanities from a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective affords the student the opportunity not only to acquire a deeper appreciation of particular works of art but also to gain a larger perspective on the work of art as an expression of the human spirit in a particular time and place.

Departmental Course Student Learning Outcomes:

After successful completion of this course a student should be able to:

• Identify a variety of significant contemporary works of art from various places in the world.
• Analyze works of art with their cultural context.
• Evaluate the relationship between the arts and human values.

Course Level Outcomes:

As a result of having taken this course, students will be able to:

• Discuss the relationship between the arts and human nature and values.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the relationship between intercultural experience and the arts.
• Demonstrate an understanding of technology and digital media and how it impacts contemporary arts.
• Apply current methods in the Humanities to analyze issues in contemporary preservation and audience engagement (museums, festivals, archives, and the like).

General Education Objectives/Outcomes:

1. Communication Skills Develop, interpret, and express ideas and information through written, oral and visual communication that is adapted to purpose, structure, audience, and medium.
2. Critical Thinking Skills: Gather, analyze, synthesize, evaluate and apply information for the purposes of innovation, inquiry, and creative thinking.
3. Personal Responsibility: Identify and apply ethical principles and practices to decision-making by connecting choices, actions and consequences.
4. Social Responsibility (Civic and Cultural Awareness): Analyze differences and commonalities among peoples, ideas, aesthetic traditions, and cultural practices to include intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities.

Professor Course Objectives and Philosophy:

This course is designed to help you systematically, analytically, and creatively explore works of art as products of socio-historical contexts. As a special topics course, HUMA 1315 provides an opportunity to explore critical analysis of cultural production with a relatively narrow focus.

Throughout the semester, I encourage you 1) to enthusiastically engage in an examination of cultures that may or may not be quite different from your own and 2) to be willing to examine your relationship to your own cultural formation, including the contemporary arts that you are most connected to personally and those with which you are not.

My first and foremost goal as an instructor is to develop a positive working relationship with the students in my classes. By this I mean that, despite the evident need to teach you (the student) skills or to share knowledge with you, I will attempt to work with you through the process such that you learn not only from me, but also from yourselves and from each other. As an instructor, I enjoy learning environments in which there is ongoing communication between the instructor and students regarding individual and group progress in the given area of study.

To sum up: If you're interested in these topics, let's dig in! I look forward to getting to know each of you through your participation in this course.

Distance learning requires a unique set of knowledge, skills and attitudes in order for students to be successful. Even students who excel in a face-to-face setting may struggle in a distance learning course if they are not prepared or do not know what to expect. As a faculty member, I take training and review best practices continually, so that I am as prepared as possible to teach you and mentor students through distance learning courses.

Students must also be prepared and know their responsibilities and best practices for success. The personal traits and characteristics that contribute to success in distance learning courses, as identified by ACC's Instructional Development Series, are listed below:

Personal Qualities:

    •    Sets goals and deadlines
    •    Remains on track and on time
    •    Completes projects
    •    Seeks assistance (from instructor and/or classmates) when needed
    •    Possesses strong reading and writing skills
    •    Communicates comfortably via email and other online platforms
    •    Possesses strong problem solving skills
    •    Plans in advance to provide adequate time for completing readings and assignments
    •    Learns from things they hear, like lectures, audio recordings and podcasts
    •    Has a designated, distraction-free place to work on assignments
    •    Focuses on reading/studying despite distractions
    •    Willing to spend 10-20 hours a week on the online course **
    •    Keeps a record of assignments and due dates
    •    Plans to login to the online class daily
    •    Students with disabilities know whom to contact for assistance

** this refers to a 16-wk ONL section, and the time commitment should be adjusted accordingly considering that this session is 12 weeks long.

... be sure to log into the course Blackboard site for any updates: https://acconline.austincc.edu.

All content on this page is prepared prior to the beginning of the semester. Course schedule and content may be changed during the semester to accommodate the needs of this particular class.