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Fashion Design I builds the skills and talents required to achieve creative fashion. This class teaches the design fundamentals of the integrated core fashion design curriculum. Students will engage multiple skills to create individual, visionary, unconventional garments, and later, collections. Through a series of projects, students explore form, silhouette, volume, and research in design to arrive at a personal point-of-view in fashion. This course will specifically ask students to work conceptually and to develop research methodologies in their design work. Based on this inquiry, students generate sketches and surface treatments to refine their unique silhouettes and material manipulations. No prerequisite.

During this intensive studio seminar, students will learn hands-on skills in making, animating and creating performance with masks, puppets and other sculptural objects. Students will have opportunities on-campus and at several of Chicago's great art spaces to interface with local, national and international puppetry artists and scholars, including attending live performances, building workshops, seminars and artist talks in conjunction with Chicago's International Puppetry Festival. The class begins exploring historic and contemporary mask performance, Students will learn basic performance exercises with masks and develop their own unique masks characters. Students will then explore the world of miniature objects and storytelling through toy theatre creating their own short stories. Finally, we will learn with international visiting artists to build large scale spectacle puppets and view their site specific performance. The schedule for this course will accommodate attendance at events related to the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival and will be as follows. Week 1 (Jan 2-5): 9am-3pm Week 2 (Jan 8-10): 9am-3pm NO CLASS Jan 11-15 Week 3 – Day/Times will vary as follows Jan 16: 10am-5pm Jan 17: 3pm-8pm Jan 18: 7pm-8pm Jan 19: 1:30pm-6:30pm January 20: 10am-6:30pm January 21st 10am-3pm January 22nd 4-7pm January 23rd 9-12pm

Students are introduced to the fundamental principles and practices of woodworking through lectures, demonstrations, and projects.

This course develops drawing skills with an emphasis on figure gesture and proportion along with a wide range of media. Students are taught to sketch from a live model while communicating design concepts in clothing with style and expression.

Artists’ Books is a beginning/intermediate level course that focuses on the fundamental techniques of bookbinding so as to be able to design and produce one or an edition of artists’ books and boxes. The class begins by learning a range of traditional binding techniques, discussing material choices, and learning about the history of artists’ books. Later on breaking out of the box to take risks, explore concepts and unconventional materials will be strongly encouraged for individual projects. In addition, the intention of this class is to meld your own studio work and personal expression with the form of artists’ books.

This course is an introduction to draping for fashion design and construction. Our focus is on draping blocks, and the creation of slopers; the master patterns of the bodice, skirt, torso, and sleeve from which most designs are developed in flat pattern making.

This drawing studio serves as a broad introduction to historical and contemporary drawing practices. This course presents drawing as an organizer of thought, experience, and image. Students will investigate a full range of drawing materials and supports. Lectures and exercises introduce various concepts of drawing, possibly including illusionistic form and space, gesture and expressive mark-making, or collage and found imagery, depending on the instructor?s emphasis. Designed to accommodate many skill levels, students can explore various creative strategies through technical drawing exercises, material explorations, and individual projects. Structured classroom critiques will bring drawing concepts into personal student work.

This course examines neon techniques used in both traditional and current sign making and their application in creating artworks. Contemporary technical developments are explored.

This is a 0 credit study trip placeholder course. Specific credit courses will be applied to your enrollment for the term based on your Study Trip Preregistration information.

This is a 0 credit study trip placeholder course. Specific credit courses will be applied to your enrollment for the term based on your Study Trip Preregistration information.

This is a 0 credit study trip placeholder course. Specific credit courses will be applied to your enrollment for the term based on your Study Trip Preregistration information.

This is a 0 credit study trip placeholder course. Specific credit courses will be applied to your enrollment for the term based on your Study Trip Preregistration information.

This is a 0 credit study trip placeholder course. Specific credit courses will be applied to your enrollment for the term based on your Study Trip Preregistration information.

This is a 0 credit study trip placeholder course. Specific credit courses will be applied to your enrollment for the term based on your Study Trip Preregistration information.

This course investigates strategies to develop and maintain a painting practice within the context of a home or off-campus studio. Painting materials, application, color, form, and contemporary and traditional methodologies will all be examined. Focus will be given to the development of safe home studio practices. Designed to accommodate many skill levels, students will explore various creative strategies through a skill-based curriculum as well as individual projects Lectures and assignments will focus on developing a home studio practice, as well as contemporary painting in general. Students will review a wide variety of current and past painters, with emphasis placed on diversity and recontextualization of the traditional canon. PTDW/StudioLab-developed content for a safe home studio practice, including readings and video tutorials, will be shared and explored. Other critical readings may be assigned at the discretion of the faculty. The course leaves room for differing approaches by section and faculty, much like a Multi-level Painting course, but with an added focus on home studio practice. Course work will vary by section, but will typically include a mixture of short, focused studio assignments, in combination with longer, individually driven projects. Critiques and one-on-one discussion will occur throughout the semester, culminating in a final critique, based on work created throughout the semester, or on a culminating independent project. Readings and tutorials on home studio practice will be assigned throughout the semester as needed.

The adage 'you are what you eat' presents both a biological fact and statement of cultural and individual identity. As consumers in the most literal sense, our understanding of nutrition, global agriculture, food safety, and desires to embrace 'fast' or 'slow' food all demand a working literacy in the biology of the organisms that make up our food ecology. We will learn about the basic ecology and evolutionary history of food, examine the economics of food, food sovereignty, as well as the rise of GM foods and the unprecedented global agriculture system that characterizes our food-lives today. Given how personal our interests (and tastes) in food are, the second half of the semester will focus on researching innovation in food production and use from a sustainability perspective — synthesizing information, forming insights, and creating text and image to be combined into an collaborative all-class food zine project.

This course provides an introduction to the UI / UX principles, issues, methods of user-centered responsive web design (mobile, tablet, and laptop). Students hand-code HTML / CSS; and various software to generate Javascript and post fully functioning responsive websites. This course is for students from all departments who may have no previous coding or web design experience. All necessary coding and software skills will be taught in class. Readings focus on Non-Linear User Interaction, and the Relationship between Print and Digital Experiences, with others as necessary. Students should anticipate exercises focusing on the following: usability principles, content organization, strategy, user diagramming, audience analysis. Students will be asked to review and identify both strengths and weaknesses of these concepts across retail, experimental, promotional, and educational websites. There will be one technical study (1 week intensive in hand-coding and XD), and one user-centered project (2 weeks - hand-coding or Figma). There are no prerequisites for this course.

This furniture studio will critically engage the chair as an archetype. Chairs have long been a fascination of designers as they require a developed understanding of structure, material, and form. Importantly, chairs represent the cultural mores of the time in which they are produced and are inextricably linked to larger systems of power, technology, and economy. This course will explore the chair as a fluid, dynamic furniture category that is in a reciprocal relationship with culture, technology, and politics and will emphasize a hands-on approach to design and production.

This furniture studio will critically engage the chair as an archetype. Chairs have long been a fascination of designers as they require a developed understanding of structure, material, and form. Importantly, chairs represent the cultural mores of the time in which they are produced and are inextricably linked to larger systems of power, technology, and economy. This course will explore the chair as a fluid, dynamic furniture category that is in a reciprocal relationship with culture, technology, and politics and will emphasize a hands-on approach to design and production.

What does it mean to think well? In this course we will explore classical logic from a modern formal point of view as a prerequisite for investigating this question. Topics covered will include propositional logic, truth tables, validity and soundness of arguments, inductive vs. deductive logical systems. There will be significant emphasis on natural deduction as a type of game that features its own particular set of permissible moves?much like chess or checkers. This is not a course focused on rhetoric or debate, but rather on the experimental creative process of constructing logically sound arguments and the way in which abstract information can be organized visually. In our exploration of these subjects, collaborative learning techniques will be utilized extensively. This will include in-class group work, regular homework assignments, a two-stage collaborative midterm. The final will be a self-directed project. A familiarity with any kind of mathematics, such as a high-school-level understanding of algebra, would be helpful, but it is not required.

In this course, we will explore the music of dance, opera, and concert stage created in Europe in the first half of the 20th century. These music-based art forms emerged in the midst of two massively destructive and disruptive world wars, a deadly worldwide pandemic, and a multitude of revolutionary artistic, political, and social movements. The radical music forms share space with the visual arts of the era. Impressionism, primitivism, historic nationalism, neo-classicism, futurism are terms used to categorize both music and art. We will investigate how these movements bring to life the underlying currents, stresses, and archetypal impulses at play in aspects of this dynamic European cultural context. Our screenings will include performances of orchestral works by Claude Debussy, Anton Webern, and Olivier Messiaen, operas by Giacomo Puccini and Johann Strauss, ballets by Igor Stravinsky and Eric Satie and performances of pieces created for experimental electronic and mechanical instruments. We will read primary sources such as A Futurist Manifesto by Luigi Russolo and writing by composers of the music we study such as The Poetics of Music by Igor Stravinksy. Our assignments consist of graphic musical analyses, first person writing on your musical experiences, at home screening, listening and reading, and a final essay on the nature of Western music.

A film is a composition of moving images and (usually) sounds that constructs a world, a world typically animated or pervaded by some sort of tension or problem. A film can be said to imagine this problem-filled world, to think through it, and to offer it to us, its spectators, to imagine and to think through as well. Often, the worlds and problems imagined in cinema are philosophically rich: they present metaphysical paradoxes, ethical dilemmas, existential conundrums, socio-political impasses, and aesthetic provocations. In such cases, to imagine and think through a cinematic world entails a kind of cross-pollination of philosophy and film, in which we approach film philosophically and philosophy cinematically. In this course we will pursue this bi-directional approach to cinema and philosophy, exploring the ways in which philosophical concepts and arguments clarify and deepen our understanding of films and the ways in which films think through and give a kind of sensuous flesh to philosophical problems. We will read excerpts from four philosophical texts covering topics in film aesthetics, metaphysics, ethics, and political philosophy: Susanne Langer’s “A Note on the Film,” Bertrand Russell’s The Problems of Philosophy, Albert Camus’s The Myth of Sisyphus, and Iris Marion Young’s Justice and the Politics of Difference. We will watch ten films drawn from across film history and around the world, including Agnès Varda’s Cléo from 5 to 7, Duncan Jones’s Source Code, Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon, Steve McQueen’s Mangrove, Lucrecia Martel’s Zama, Mathieu Kassovitz’s Hate, Abbas Kiarostami’s Where Is the Friend’s House?, and Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. You will be required to watch most of these movies outside of class, but in two or three instances we will have in-class screenings. Coursework will include short Canvas Discussion Board posts, one in-class presentation, and a final paper.

This course is an introduction to the principles of ecology, emphasizing detailed field investigations of natural communities. Natural History studies allow for many aspects of knowledge to be applied to the understanding of a Biological concept. Among the topics explored are the dynamics of lake ecosystems, forest succession, trophic structure in streams, dune ecology, and territorial behavior in breeding birds and mammals. Lecture/Discussions examine major themes in modern ecology, including energy flow, nutrient cycling, and species diversity. Selections from nineteenth- and twentieth-century American naturalists (Thoreau, Muir, Burroughs, and Leopold) provide perspective on the relationship of humanity to nature. Global warming and pollution dynamics are explored. Lab activities at the Field Museum of Natural History, Lincoln Park Zoo, and the Shedd Aquarium strengthen the understanding of these concepts.

This course will introduce students to the ways in which colonialism in the Atlantic World(s) made the modern Americas. Emphasizing the long-term cross-cultural interactions and exchanges between Africa, the Americas, and Europe, we will explore the dynamics of conquest, enslavement, and colonialism and their reciprocal relationships to consumption, resistance/revolt, and freedom. We will use a combination of primary documents, images, relevant news articles, documentaries, music, podcasts, and academic readings to explore the comparative historical experiences of Indigenous peoples, Africans, Creoles, and Europeans from the 1440s-1800s. Evaluation will be based on in-class participation, writing assignments, and short reflection papers.

This course will incorporate field observations in the natural environment surrounding Saugatuck, Michigan into the study of animal behavior. Students will formulate and test hypotheses through the acquisition of data in the field. Topics covered include classical learning and instinct, reproductive behaviors, and interactions between and within species. Note: SCIENCE 3521 Animal Behavior is a separate course and may be taken for credit in addition to this one.

It is the purpose of this course to examine the many theories that fall into the psychodynamic paradigm. This will include examining the work of Freud and those who have branched off from his basic ideas? such as Adler, Jung, Reich, Klein, Fairbairn, Kohut, Guntrip, Winnicott, Erikson, Mahler, Stern, Sullivan, Jacobson, Bion and Lacan, to name but a few. Students can expect a required final paper, and additional quizzes and shorter writing assignments.

Freud's psychotherapeutic practice and analytic theory of the complex nature of the human psyche, for instance his 'discovery' of unconscious mental processes, were profoundly influential for a variety of thinkers and practitioners, including Frantz Fanon, and critical theorists of the Frankfurt School such as Theodor W. Adorno. In this course, we read widely from Freud's writings and those he influenced, including the above authors, with attention to the societal implications of Freud's approach to subjectivity.

In this course, students will explore and create their own definitions of success, starting with their preconceived notions of what it means to be a successful artist. We will break down outdated expectations and myths and will rebuild unique, personal, and fulfilling plans for a creative life. Through writing, mentoring, and research students will explore career paths and what it means to live the flexible and nuanced life of an artist. We will investigate a number of topics and tools that support a career in the arts, including: mind-mapping, goal-setting, creating professional materials (CV, statement, bio), applying to professional opportunities such as grants and residencies, studio visits, and working with galleries. Course material will include artists’ personal accounts of leading a creative life and tools they use to make projects more rich. This course involves numerous written assignments; students must be prepared to write and edit their work. Students will choose from a vast menu of short projects in order to tailor their experience in the class to their career goals. Final assignments will include 1) a clear personal vision of success; 2) steps for achieving short and long-term goals, and 3) refined professional materials suitable for application.

This course is designed to provide students an opportunity to gain experience as interns in professional arts and design environments and prepare for professional life after SAIC. During the semester, faculty provide in-depth mentorship and act as liaison with the internship site supporting students meet their learning goals as outlined for the semester. Through group meetings and online discussions, students engage with a peer cohort of students participating in a variety of internships. Students work on-site at internships for a total of 140 hours (approx 14 hours per week) for the term. In addition to successfully completing the internship, students will conduct an informational interview with their employer, attend 4 class meetings and an onsite meeting with the faculty and supervisor, complete an internship supervisor evaluation, revise their resume, and update their online portfolio, website, or professional profile. Students are required to secure an internship prior to the start of the semester. Internships must be approved by the Career and Professional Experience (CAPX) office. Students are encouraged to meet with a CAPX advisor for assistance with researching and applying for internships. In order to begin the internship approval process students should go to https://bit.ly/35vmTTM. Upon approval, course registration is managed by CAPX. Note that international students must receive CPT authorization prior to participating in an off-campus internship. Internships may be in-person, hybrid, or virtual; however all four class meetings are virtual. Class meeting day and time are determined by the faculty.

Topics vary by semester. Please see individual topic descriptions.

These courses draw on the instructor's particular expertise and are pertinent to an understanding of the social influences on and consequences of the production and dissemination of visual images. Topics vary depending on the individual instructor. Please see individual topic descriptions.

We focus on the representation of urban phenomena at the nexus of artistic production, built environment and discursive practice. We will discuss aesthetically, theoretically, and historically significant aspects of this correlation in a global setting, seen through the visual arts, urban theories, photography, and film. A central concern is the relation between urban space and its representation, in other words, the pictoriality and mediality of space, but just as basic is the concept of the urban as a social field that intersects with public art, performance, community- based projects, and art that interfaces with the city via new technologies and social media.