GRAD602 Graduate Seminar II 3cr

Seminar I and II are required courses that bookend the MFA student experience. These courses bring together students from the graduate fine arts departments (2D, 3D, Film/Video, and Photography) to consider contemporary art and professional practice from a variety of perspectives. Students interact with arts professionals including critics, curators and artists, and explore the relationship between creative practice and theory, with the goal of understanding social and global contexts and articulating the conceptual framework of their own work. Many of the artists and topics discussed in the seminar sequence possess interdisciplinary relevance, incorporating concepts from a range of fields and different methodologies of art criticism. In addition, these courses provide an opportunity for collaboration, for the development of creative community, and for discussion of contemporary issues that have a discernible impact on art practice. In Seminar I, students develop the tools required to be successful in their graduate work. They gain fluency in speaking and writing about contemporary art, as well as with key historical models of art criticism. The course incorporates local, national, and global currents and perspectives. Seminar II is a culminating course requirement, taken in an MFA student’s final semester. Students claim their artistic genealogy and write a final paper, in which they discuss their thesis work and the pathways that led them to it, while placing the work in the context of contemporary art. The course also prepares students for their public artist talk, one of the thesis requirements. Seminar II includes significant work in professional development, as students develop strategies for a sustainable practice and career post-graduation. Students acquire skills in curation, exhibition preparation, and installation, as well as an introduction to the art of teaching. [Formerly Titled Graduate Seminar - MFA Dept]

Prerequisites: GRAD601

Spring