SMFA Boston - Visual and Critical Studies

Taught by Tufts faculty at the Museum School and offered for academic credit, the Visual & Critical Studies area includes courses in Art History, Literature and Writing, and multidisciplinary courses. Courses in this area introduce some of the major monuments of visual culture and introduce an overview of various critical and theoretical positions that have conditioned the way we look at and talk about art.

Some courses focus on a particular medium, such as sculpture, film, or photography, while others focus on a historical period in the Western and non-Western traditions. Several courses specifically address contemporary critical issues such as postmodernism, post-colonialism, and gender studies.

Previous Course Offerings
Below are previous course offerings in the Visual and Critical Studies area. Students must visit mySMFA to see current offerings and register.

Students in the undergraduate, graduate, Studio, and Post-Baccalaureate certificate programs may also take Continuing Education courses for credit.

Writing I / ENGS 0001

A study of principles of effective written communication as a foundation for humane learning. Intensive practice in writing various types of expository prose, especially analysis and persuasion. Essays by various authors will be examined chiefly as models of the range and versatility of standard written English. Reading will vary by instructor.

Writing II / ENGS 0002

Varying seminar topics allow the student to chose among readings and approaches to writing in fields of interest. Topic to be announced.

Visions and Voices: Colonial Gaze / ENGS 0107

Shakespeare / ENGS 0116

Deconstructing Disney / ENGS 0147

Constructions of Spirituality in Modern and Postmodern Practice / FAHS 0020

Icons of Latin America / FAHS 0037

The tempestuous history of Latin America has generated some of the most lasting historical and mythical figures in the world. From revolutionary and political figures such as Emiliano Zapata, Francisco "Pancho" Villa, Ernesto "Che" Guevara, Fidel Castro, Carlos and Evita Peron, Benito Juarez, and Salvador Allende to artistic, cultural and literary figures such as the Virgin of Guadalupe, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, Gaudalupe Posada, Frida Kahlo, and Diego Rivera the images created by, for or about these Latin Americans and their causes have become an integral part of what could be deemed a global cultural landscape. This class examines some of the popular and cultural images generated in creating Latin American icons by exploring their associated myths, histories and misconceptions.

History of Photography: The 19th Century / FAHS 010

FAHS 0010 (the nineteenth century, fall 2002) and FAHS 0011 (the twentieth century and beyond, spring 2003) are sequential one-semester courses that cover the period from photography's prehistories until the absolute present. We deal with all aspects of the medium (perhaps least of all self-expressive art photography, and the production of individuals is de-emphasized) in favor of a broader, cross-cultural sweep. Learn to look at photography as a reflection of social, cultural, technological, and political events and movements. We

consistently draw parallels between the historical period under examination and work from the present day, with direct linkages to contemporary artists. These courses may be taken separately but they are planned as a yearlong survey. Students taking either for credit must purchase a course reader, write two research papers, give a class presentation, and make a final project each semester. Participation and attendance at all classes required.

Hist of Photography / FAHS 011

A comprehensive treatment of all aspects of photography, from its inception to just last week. While holding to a basic chronological structure, we will attempt to pull together material of differing persuasions from different periods. Classes will feature slide presentations, with trips when appropriate. Each semester may be taken separately, but students should plan to take both semesters to take full advantage of material to be covered.

Contemporary Art / FAHS 013

This is a one-semester survey of the exhibitions on view in the commercail and nonprofit galleries of New York City and, at times, beyond. Instuctors visit as wide a range of venues as possible, and present slides of the work on display for viewing and discussion in a timely fashion with appropiate contextual material and information. While the sweep of the course content is broad and exhaustive, it is by no means authoritative; it reflects the instructors' preferences for what represents well on slides. Early Modern Sculpture: Rodin to 1935 or its equivalent is a prerequisite for this course.

Maya Art and Architecture from Kings and the Courtly Elite to Mod / FAHS 0133

Survey of Asian Art / FAHS 019

Issues in Japanese Art / FAHS 021

This course will examine how traditional Japanese imagery often functioned as a boundary between the physical world and that which resisted representation. Both Shinto and Zen visualizations of spiritual experiences involved the acknowledgment of the "void" as a dynamic and vital feature of their practice and the ritual environment. The particular relationship and tension between the seen and the unseen will be traced through a series of historical moments in Japanese visual culture. Although there will be an emphasis on topics in Shinto and Buddhist architecture, painting, and ritual objects, the course will also draw upon material spanning from the earliest Neolithic ceramics to the appropriation of Japanese spirituality in the West.

Art & Culture of India / FAHS 023

Altohugh the title of this course might suggest itself as a "survey" of Indian visual culture, the very complexities of the subcontinent world invariably undermine such an enterprise. Rather, this course will focus on the position of objects and imagery in the construction of India's creation narratives, the visualization of attachments to deities and "sacred spaces," the articulation of regional and cultural identities, and the experiences of colonialism. Particular attention will be paid to constructions of physicality and spirituality as they have informed both human and "divine" relationships. Topics will include the early cultural traditions of the Indus Valley, the complex exchanges betweeen Hinduism and Buddhism, the histories of four centuries of European political and cultural presence in India, the relationship between imagery and music, and the performative and spatial aspects of ritual practices.

Asian/ Painting / FAHS 025

The punctuation of this course's title is deliberate. In writing "Asian Painting" as it is here, two concepts are both identified and separated. Throughout the semester, we will address the relationship between painting, as a cultural production with the Western tradition, and the visual histories of China and Japan. How do our notions of a painting - what it is, what it looks like, and what it does - relate to the processes of mark making in East Asia? Reading from both Western and Asian sources (in translation) will offer a chance to consider these questions from a variety of perspectives.

Independent Study Paper / FAHS 098

An Independent Study Paper that is not coordinated with any of the course offerings is available ONLY to those four-year BFA students who have exhausted the regular course offerings in an area of particular interest OR to advanced BFA students who wish to combine Independent Study with one of the Crosscurrents courses taught by a member of the Visual and Critical Studies faculty. You must be prepared to submit your proposal with bibliography for a 15-page research paper to the instructor with whom you wish to work at Spring Registration. Permission of the instructor is required.

Visions and Voices / FAHS 107

Signifying the Exotic in Medieval and Renaissance Art / FAHS 112

The Medeival and Renaissance Body / FAHS 115

This course will focus upon the representation of the body during the Middle Ages and Renaissance in Europe. Areas of investigation include the scientific/medical body, the Christian body and the body of Christ, the tortured body, the pornographic, erotic and homoerotic body, and the representation of class through costume and body. We will rely on visual and textural imagery found in painting, sculpture, architecture, prints, books, and a variety of other sources. Our examination will scrutinize the often contradictory and unstable meanings attached to images of the body, and our larger project will work toward a greater understanding of how these representations operated within their cultural signifying systems.

Deconstructing Disney / FAHS 147

20th Century American Topics / FAHS 160

Back East, Out West, Down South: Conceiving America in 20th Century / FAHS 161

This course examines the changing course of national identity from 1914-1945 through scrutiny of work by twentieth-century American painters, photographers, and filmmakers from 1914-1945. Beginning with the New York Dadaists and Stieglitz Circle (Marin, Dove, O'Keeffe, Hartley, Demuth) and the communities of American artists in Harlem, Provincetown, New Mexico, and California during the 1920s-1930s. The course will end with consideration of the concerns of the WPA painters, printmakers, and muralists and the effects of American involvement in World War II. Our primary focus will be to compare the issues raised by marginalized or regional artists and filmmakers to the issues found in mainstream New York art and Hollywood cinema. Some topics include: concepts of individuality/community; nationalism and the 'foreign'; racial and sexual identity; capitalism and technology; social change, leisure, and mobility; and changing definitions of the 'new woman' from the flappers to Rosie the Riveter. Substantial reading and two short papers will be required. Highly recommended for first- or second-year students or for students planning to take Abstract Expressionism-Pop in the spring. Note: This course is offered only once every three to four years.