Ontario College of Art & Design

Course Calendar

COURSE DESCRIPTION

VISA 3B42
Critical Issues & Ideas in Contemporary First Nations Art
0.50 Credit(s)
Academic Course
Prerequisite: 7.5 credits, including all first-year requirements (5.0 credits), and 1.0 credit of second-year liberal arts & sciences (including 0.5 credit in VISA/VISC/VISD/VISM).
The purpose of this course is to provide students with an overview of the major political and social discourses currently informing contemporary First Nations art. The class will contextualize specific contemporary art practices within the historical and cultural critiques they articulate. Our discussions will emphasize but not be limited to the visual arts. Emerging expressions in new media, theatre and literature will also be examined. Lectures will be supplemented by slide presentations, video and visiting artists.

Some topics and artists to be covered include:
Land, the Indian Act, treaties, reservations and urban spaces
Carl Beam, Nadia Myre, Rebecca Belmore.
Conflict, Beaver Wars, Oka, Ipperwash and Saskatoon
Alanis Obomsawin, Robert Houle, Rick River.
Language, assimilation and nationhood
Norval Morrisseau, Zacharias Kunuk, Tom Hill.
Anti-requisite: Students who have taken VISC 3B91 Special Topic in Visual Culture: Critical Issues in Contemporary First Nations Art or VISC 3B42 may not take this course for further credit.
Notes: Priority registration for Criticism and Curatorial Practice majors.

Priority registration for this course will be lifted on Tuesday, July 24, 2012.

Course code change 2011-12
Course was last updated June 20, 2012 - 3:10 PM