Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Examines aspects of critical writing associated with the fine and performing arts and encourages students to participate as writers in the artistic and cultural debates of their day. Forms examined will include but not be limited to reviews, articles, descriptive synopses for exhibition and festival programs, curatorial essays, project proposals and artists' statements. Students with credit for CA (or FPA) 319 may not take this course for further credit. Students with credit for FPA 319W may not take this course for further credit. Writing.

COURSE DETAILS:

This class will provide students with the opportunity to develop critical writing and editing skills across a range of formats. The coursework is designed to allow students to write within their own field of interest, be it curatorial, dance, theatre, music, film or visual arts, and will involve short projects akin to real-world writing opportunities for artists and cultural workers. In this class, writing exercises will include critical reviews, interviews, artist statements, press releases, and will culminate in a final, peer-edited print publication, co-produced by Decoy Magazine. Emphasis will be placed on the sustained development of ideas and writing techniques as students will be asked to participate in workshops, field trips, presentations, and group projects to consider the production of critical writing as a process that runs parallel to a creative practice. In this class, we will research and compare a variety of styles and methods, using writing examples from a multitude of publications.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

This class will prepare students to approach their individual practices through writing while reflecting on the importance of a community-driven critical dialogue both in the classroom and beyond. Upon completion of the course, students will have gained experience in written production within the field of contemporary arts, will be knowledgeable about arts-based writing resources, will have developed their writing skills within the scope of their artistic interests, and will walk away with a publication they can call their own.

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