SIN FRASER UNIVERSITY

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I

Summer Semester 1998

EDUC 456 - 4

Models of the Contemporary Arts

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M. Ling

in Education

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Office: TBA

Eo1 00

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Tel: ?

291-3395/739-4562

E-mail: mlinga@sfu.ca

PREREQUISITE

60 hours of credit

COURSE DESCRIPTION

"Without tradition art is a flock of sheep without a shepherd. Without innovation it is a corpse."

(Winston Churchill, watercolourist)

"We have made art into a box: 'this is art', 'this is not'. We should throw it all out. Maybe save one example."

(Jean-Luc Godard, filmmaker)

This course will be devoted to asking and considering a number of questions concerning the arts in education, namely, in a

changing society, indeed a changing world, where constant increases in the range & sophistication of technology are the

order of the day, where we might say general themes of interactivity, interdependence, plurality and uncertainty are at

play, what counts as art and what place do the arts have in society? What are the roles of the artist in society? What

are the roles of the art educator? What should we be concerned with as art educators? And, how do we go about teaching

art?

We'll be casting the net as wide as we can, looking at as many examples and contexts of artistic expression as possible

(i.e. not just visual art) in order to come to our own conclusions about 'what counts as art'. For example, can we look at the

design of a toaster as art? How should we consider advertising, the built environment, graffiti, hip-hop music, film, tv,

comics and such? As 'Art', or as something else?

As a general guide we will be taking a socio-cultural approach to the arts, that is, looking at the social context in which

art gets made, and what meaning it has for its makers and its audience. We will also be doing some hands-on work in an

attempt to explore ways of bringing art into the classroom.

TOPICS: The Art & Aesthetics of Everyday Life; Style & Design; Censorship; Notions of High and Low Culture;

Globalization; Gender & Art; Multiculturalism & Pluralism.

REQUIREMENTS

1. Scrapbook/ Sketchbook - 20%

2. In-class presentation on 'artistic expression' - 20%

3.

Small Group Presentation - 20%

4.

Essay or Curriculum /Lesson Plan Prospectus - 40%

REQUIRED TEXTS

John Storey (1993) An Introductory Guide to Cultural Theory & Popular Culture. Athens: University of Georgia Press.

(softcover, ISBN: 0-8203-1591-5).

Susan Cahan & Zoya Kocur, eds. (1996) Contemporary Art & Multicultural Education. New York: Routledge.

(softcover, ISBN: 0-415-91190-7).

There will also be occasional, additional readings available in a box in the CET, and certain books will be put on reserve

in the library.

PRE-READING ASSIGNMENT:

For the first class, please read the article by Maxine Greene, "The Art of Being Present: Educating for

Aesthetic Encounters", which will be available in a box in the CET in April, and come with a question

or a comment about what she has to say.