SHARE WITH STUDENTS: Classes on Museums and Activism- MUSE 400 open to all students for Fall 2019!
There are two courses on museums and activism that are open this Fall 2019:
MUSE 400: Worldview: Museums Addressing Social Issues Across the Globe
Thursdays – 11:00am-1:30pm
Anthony D. Stepter CRN: 43540
This course examines connections between Chicago and sites across the globe by exploring how museums and cultural institutions are addressing social issues. Through visits to museums, guest lectures, skype sessions, and research, this course will make visible the ways that Chicago is connected to international issues including migration, immigration, emerging feminisms, anti-colonialism, racism/reparations, accessibility, technology, and labor. The class is geared toward upper-level undergrads, but open to graduate students as well.
This class is designed to help students explore the ways that museums address social issues by looking at how those issues are dealt with in the United States as compared to examples and practices in other parts of the world. For example, we will look at how museums are being forced to consider their colonial pasts by studying protests in the US, attempts to address colonial pasts in Belgium, and strategies being employed by indigenous curators in Canada. We will not only read about these international variations, but also visit sites in Chicago, and hear from local professionals working around these issues in order to connect these global concerns back to our commutes here in Illinois.
MUSE 400: Showcasing Movement Graphics
Tuesdays – 11:00am-1:30pm
Aaron Hughes CRN: 43535
Showcasing Movement Graphics is a seminar focused on the development and execution of an exhibition of political graphics by members of the Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative, a decentralized network of thirty artists from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico committed to social, environmental, and political engagement. Over the past decade Justseeds has produce thousands of political graphics with and for grassroots movements. Through the course students will learn about the history of movement graphics, explore novel ways to exhibit political prints, and gain first hand experience of working with artists/activists, installing an exhibition, developing educational materials, and hosting public programs.
This course will take advantage of Justseeds’ powerful archive along with the rich history of political art in Chicago and primary source materials to expose students to a diverse history of movement graphics. Throughout the course students will use an array of strategies and techniques in program development and execution. This course will focus on giving students hands-on experience of working on exhibition development including research, design, installation, promotion, and programing. Furthermore, the course will expose students to working with contemporary artists committed to social justice.
An emphasis will be placed on teamwork in exhibition development and execution. This course will employ readings, lectures, class discussions, guest speakers, and field trips to enable a discourse around the history of movement graphics and its meaning in a contemporary context. The class will be taught by artist, activist, curator, veteran, and Justseeds member Aaron Hughes.