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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.

Through this course, students will learn techniques traditionally used in working with fur to reimagine materials from faux fur and upcycled materials, to felt, leather, suede and woven fabrics. Focused in the introduction and use of specialized industrial sewing machines specifically designed to stitch fur like materials, students will learn designing, pattern cutting, and construction for garments and accessories, and will explore the history and future of fur and fur like fabrics both as a material and an embellishment. Students will design and create one full garment.

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 introduces students to digital pattern-making for fashion. Students learn to use the CAD hardware and software, designing and modifying patterns virtually. This includes digitizing/converting hard patterns to digital files, modifying existing stock patterns, textile printing, 3-D visualization, and plotting sample patterns. Students receive a hands-on approach to developing virtual patterns through fabric testing, using body measurements, and assembling prototypes for final design approval. Other industry skills are developed, such as creating pattern cards, cutter's musts, grading, and marker making.

Neon is a medium of light, color, and atmosphere-at once iconic in commercial signage and radical in contemporary art. This course introduces students to the history and practice of neon, from early experiments to its use by contemporary makers. In the Light Lab, students will learn essential methods of tube bending, wiring, and installation, while also exploring neon's significance as both a craft tradition and a contemporary artistic medium.

We will look at how artists such as Bruce Nauman, Keith Sonnier, Joseph Kosuth, and Cerith Wyn Evans transformed neon into a language of sculpture, architecture, and experimental art. Readings on light, vision, and color theory will provide both scientific and conceptual grounding for studio practice. By the end of the semester, students will have created an original neon work that reflects their own creative vision.

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.

Siena is a hill town in Tuscany that was first settled by the Etruscans in 900 ¿ 400 BC. It reached its peak as a political, economic and artistic center in the Medieval period from 1150 ¿ 1350 AD. During those years it prospered, enjoying a ¿golden¿ era as an independent republic with a representative government, where enlightened trade and economic philosophies fostered modern banking practices and distinctive styles of painting, sculpture, and architecture developed in the service of aesthetic pleasure and civic pride. Today, Siena's historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the city's art, medieval architecture, museums, archives, university and cuisine are internationally renowned.
Living the Past in the Present will use the archival and cultural resources there to give young artists greater insight into how historical interests and study can serve as a catalyst for their own growth and work as contemporary artists and thinkers. We will be interacting with artists, historians, archivists, art and architecture conservators, scientists and ordinary Sienese to understand how the experience of growing up, living, working and creating in a place with hundreds of years of vibrant historical and cultural traditions affects contemporary identity and expression.
Our time on the study trip will primarily be used for visiting and learning about sites, collections, and the people who study and live amongst them. We will also be gathering reference information to document what we are looking at and learning about: sketches, drawings, lists, diagrams, photographs, research notes, and reflective writing. There will be two assignments (one studio, one academic) that we will work on in Siena.

Siena is a hill town in Tuscany that was first settled by the Etruscans in 900 ¿ 400 BC. It reached its peak as a political, economic and artistic center in the Medieval period from 1150 ¿ 1350 AD. During those years it prospered, enjoying a ¿golden¿ era as an independent republic with a representative government, where enlightened trade and economic philosophies fostered modern banking practices and distinctive styles of painting, sculpture, and architecture developed in the service of aesthetic pleasure and civic pride. Today, Siena's historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the city's art, medieval architecture, museums, archives, university and cuisine are internationally renowned.
Living the Past in the Present will use the archival and cultural resources there to give young artists greater insight into how historical interests and study can serve as a catalyst for their own growth and work as contemporary artists and thinkers. We will be interacting with artists, historians, archivists, art and architecture conservators, scientists and ordinary Sienese to understand how the experience of growing up, living, working and creating in a place with hundreds of years of vibrant historical and cultural traditions affects contemporary identity and expression.
Our time on the study trip will primarily be used for visiting and learning about sites, collections, and the people who study and live amongst them. We will also be gathering reference information to document what we are looking at and learning about: sketches, drawings, lists, diagrams, photographs, research notes, and reflective writing. There will be two assignments (one studio, one academic) that we will work on in Siena.

Siena is a hill town in Tuscany that was first settled by the Etruscans in 900 ¿ 400 BC. It reached its peak as a political, economic and artistic center in the Medieval period from 1150 ¿ 1350 AD. During those years it prospered, enjoying a ¿golden¿ era as an independent republic with a representative government, where enlightened trade and economic philosophies fostered modern banking practices and distinctive styles of painting, sculpture, and architecture developed in the service of aesthetic pleasure and civic pride. Today, Siena's historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the city's art, medieval architecture, museums, archives, university and cuisine are internationally renowned.
Living the Past in the Present will use the archival and cultural resources there to give young artists greater insight into how historical interests and study can serve as a catalyst for their own growth and work as contemporary artists and thinkers. We will be interacting with artists, historians, archivists, art and architecture conservators, scientists and ordinary Sienese to understand how the experience of growing up, living, working and creating in a place with hundreds of years of vibrant historical and cultural traditions affects contemporary identity and expression.
Our time on the study trip will primarily be used for visiting and learning about sites, collections, and the people who study and live amongst them. We will also be gathering reference information to document what we are looking at and learning about: sketches, drawings, lists, diagrams, photographs, research notes, and reflective writing. There will be two assignments (one studio, one academic) that we will work on in Siena.

New York City is a cultural center, and no matter where you choose to live and work as an artist or cultural producer, you will need to negotiate the economic, critical, and institutional hierarchies governing this metropolis. This trip starts to map the different art worlds that operate in this city and their intersections, making sense of NYC's complexity and energy by tracing the dynamic pathways through which art travels: the connections between artists, dealers, collectors, institutions, and critical voices. During ten intensely busy days in January, this study trip will investigate the full range of contemporary art production in the city, visiting artists' studios, non-profit spaces, residencies, commercial galleries, and major museums. The class will benefit from numerous ¿behind-the-scenes¿ opportunities to engage with parts of the NYC art world not usually open to the public. This class is essential for the ongoing practice of mapping the ever-changing cultural landscape, understanding its dominant signifiers, and critically assessing its blind spots.

New York City is a cultural center, and no matter where you choose to live and work as an artist or cultural producer, you will need to negotiate the economic, critical, and institutional hierarchies governing this metropolis. This trip starts to map the different art worlds that operate in this city and their intersections, making sense of NYC's complexity and energy by tracing the dynamic pathways through which art travels: the connections between artists, dealers, collectors, institutions, and critical voices. During ten intensely busy days in January, this study trip will investigate the full range of contemporary art production in the city, visiting artists' studios, non-profit spaces, residencies, commercial galleries, and major museums. The class will benefit from numerous ¿behind-the-scenes¿ opportunities to engage with parts of the NYC art world not usually open to the public. This class is essential for the ongoing practice of mapping the ever-changing cultural landscape, understanding its dominant signifiers, and critically assessing its blind spots.

In this class, students will explore the contemporary art and design landscapes of India, through visits to the cities of Mumbai, Jaipur, Kochi, and Varanasi. The course investigates the intersection of local and global influences, focusing on how contemporary Indian artists and designers shape art and design within India and across the world. This course blends historical exploration, hands-on workshops, and exclusive access to leading artists and designers shaping India¿s creative landscape.
Beginning in Mumbai, students will visit studios of internationally acclaimed artists, and designers. Giving further historical and political contexts throughout the trip, students will engage with cultural and historical landmarks, attend lectures by scholars, historians, and cultural revivalists. Students will then visit the 6th Edition of the internationally renowned Kochi Muziris Biennale, the largest and most significant art event in South Asia. Guided by the Biennale¿s curator, renowned artist Nikhil Chopra, students will explore site-specific projects created by leading artists from India and around the world.
From the Biennale, the class will travel to Jaipur to engage with world-renowned designers and learn historical material techniques within a global context. Hands-on workshops, led by master artisans who collaborate with the high-end fashion industry in both India and globally, will include centuries-old techniques such as block printing, resist dyeing, and the design of jewelry using precious and semi-precious stones, as well as paper making. The final destination is Varanasi, where students will be hosted by the international recognized Kriti Gallery and Residency. Here, as artists-in-residence, students will have the opportunity to reflect on the art, culture, history, and politics they experienced throughout the trip. They will create works that deepen their studio practices, collaborating with traditional craftspeople and materials to produce individually led studio projects.

In this class, students will explore the contemporary art and design landscapes of India, through visits to the cities of Mumbai, Jaipur, Kochi, and Varanasi. The course investigates the intersection of local and global influences, focusing on how contemporary Indian artists and designers shape art and design within India and across the world. This course blends historical exploration, hands-on workshops, and exclusive access to leading artists and designers shaping India¿s creative landscape.
Beginning in Mumbai, students will visit studios of internationally acclaimed artists, and designers. Giving further historical and political contexts throughout the trip, students will engage with cultural and historical landmarks, attend lectures by scholars, historians, and cultural revivalists. Students will then visit the 6th Edition of the internationally renowned Kochi Muziris Biennale, the largest and most significant art event in South Asia. Guided by the Biennale¿s curator, renowned artist Nikhil Chopra, students will explore site-specific projects created by leading artists from India and around the world.
From the Biennale, the class will travel to Jaipur to engage with world-renowned designers and learn historical material techniques within a global context. Hands-on workshops, led by master artisans who collaborate with the high-end fashion industry in both India and globally, will include centuries-old techniques such as block printing, resist dyeing, and the design of jewelry using precious and semi-precious stones, as well as paper making. The final destination is Varanasi, where students will be hosted by the international recognized Kriti Gallery and Residency. Here, as artists-in-residence, students will have the opportunity to reflect on the art, culture, history, and politics they experienced throughout the trip. They will create works that deepen their studio practices, collaborating with traditional craftspeople and materials to produce individually led studio projects.

This three-week study trip combines the presentation of a student-generated exhibition in Venice with an exploration of the city itself as a unique cultural, historical, and ecological location. During the study trip, students will install and maintain an exhibition developed in the prior fall 2025 Venice Exhibition Seminar at the gallery of the Czok Foundation in Venice, Italy, providing a concrete outcome to the research, curation, and production undertaken during the previous semester. This includes installing and de-installing the exhibition, presenting public programs, and interfacing with the Venetian public and the city¿s cultural practitioners. The program provides a rare opportunity for students to collaborate with the socially-minded Marta Czok Foundation and its gallery staff to present their work in an international setting. Concurrently, students will visit important cultural and ecological sites in and around Venice, including museums, churches, historic neighborhoods, and artisan work spaces. Students taking the study trip for studio credit are encouraged to integrate their on-site practice with the exhibition, and those taking art history credit are invited to direct their research and writing towards the interaction of the exhibition with the city of Venice.

This three-week study trip combines the presentation of a student-generated exhibition in Venice with an exploration of the city itself as a unique cultural, historical, and ecological location. During the study trip, students will install and maintain an exhibition developed in the prior fall 2025 Venice Exhibition Seminar at the gallery of the Czok Foundation in Venice, Italy, providing a concrete outcome to the research, curation, and production undertaken during the previous semester. This includes installing and de-installing the exhibition, presenting public programs, and interfacing with the Venetian public and the city¿s cultural practitioners. The program provides a rare opportunity for students to collaborate with the socially-minded Marta Czok Foundation and its gallery staff to present their work in an international setting. Concurrently, students will visit important cultural and ecological sites in and around Venice, including museums, churches, historic neighborhoods, and artisan work spaces. Students taking the study trip for studio credit are encouraged to integrate their on-site practice with the exhibition, and those taking art history credit are invited to direct their research and writing towards the interaction of the exhibition with the city of Venice.

This course investigates painting materials, application, color, form, and ideas through contemporary and traditional methodologies. Designed to accommodate many skill levels, students can explore various creative strategies through a skill-based curriculum as well as individual projects. This course serves as a requirement and preparation for topic-based Painting Studio Multi-Level B classes.

Symbiosis describes the relationships that bind organisms in a life together. Symbioses can be between species or within species¿bee to flower, mother to child, and even parasite to host. Drawing from ecological, evolutionary, and behavioral research, we will carefully consider the dynamics of cooperation and dependency across cells, food webs, and even urban neighborhood. Studying symbiosis is not only a window into a myriad of extraordinary biological relations, it is also fundamental to systems thinking in the context of sustainability. Weekly readings, in-class exercises, small collaborative projects will be integral to our study, leading to an understanding of how observation and experiment can help us unpack the many complexities of living together.
We will consider the work by Lynn Margulis, Robin Wall-Kimmerer, Charles Darwin,Suzanne Simard, Harry Harlow, Thomas Schelling, Vi Hart, and many others.
Weekly readings, in-class and out-of-class exercises, small collaborative projects.

This course is an introduction to the User Interface (UI) / User Experience (UX) principles, issues, and methods of user-centered responsive web design (mobile, tablet, and laptop).
Students design a website of their choice, in two ways. The first way is making the website with Figma (2 weeks), and the second way translates the Figma website into a simplified HTML/ CSS website made with Dreamweaver (1 week).
Principles, issues and methods explored include: problem-solving processes, content organization / wireframes, navigation strategies, usability principles, interface look and feel, interface design elements, user requirements /specifications, audience analysis, and professional best practices.
This course is for students from all departments who may have no previous web design experience, as well as those with some experience who want to explore web design in new ways. There are no prerequisites for this course, and all necessary software skills will be taught in class.

HTML defines the structure of a web page, while CSS lends style by controlling the presentation of elements. This online course caters to students with little or no prior coding experience. Through hands-on coding modules, students will use a text editing program to acquire proficiency in standards-compliant HTML and CSS. A strong emphasis on redundancy will ensure that coding concepts are fully understood and best practices reinforced. Students will undertake research, design, and coding tasks to create a fully functional, responsive website. With a solid understanding of HTML and CSS, students will explore opportunities to develop dynamic web pages that adapt seamlessly to different devices and screen sizes. Additionally, students will investigate interface possibilities, evaluate site navigation opportunities, and analyze the effectiveness of various page structures in communicating information effectively and efficiently. There are no prerequisites for this course.

New York City is a cultural center, and no matter where you choose to live and work as an artist or cultural producer, you will need to negotiate the economic, critical, and institutional hierarchies governing this metropolis. This trip starts to map the different art worlds that operate in this city and their intersections, making sense of NYC's complexity and energy by tracing the dynamic pathways through which art travels: the connections between artists, dealers, collectors, institutions, and critical voices. During ten intensely busy days in January, this study trip will investigate the full range of contemporary art production in the city, visiting artists' studios, non-profit spaces, residencies, commercial galleries, and major museums. The class will benefit from numerous ¿behind-the-scenes¿ opportunities to engage with parts of the NYC art world not usually open to the public. This class is essential for the ongoing practice of mapping the ever-changing cultural landscape, understanding its dominant signifiers, and critically assessing its blind spots.

New York City is a cultural center, and no matter where you choose to live and work as an artist or cultural producer, you will need to negotiate the economic, critical, and institutional hierarchies governing this metropolis. This trip starts to map the different art worlds that operate in this city and their intersections, making sense of NYC's complexity and energy by tracing the dynamic pathways through which art travels: the connections between artists, dealers, collectors, institutions, and critical voices. During ten intensely busy days in January, this study trip will investigate the full range of contemporary art production in the city, visiting artists' studios, non-profit spaces, residencies, commercial galleries, and major museums. The class will benefit from numerous ¿behind-the-scenes¿ opportunities to engage with parts of the NYC art world not usually open to the public. This class is essential for the ongoing practice of mapping the ever-changing cultural landscape, understanding its dominant signifiers, and critically assessing its blind spots.

In this class, students will explore the contemporary art and design landscapes of India, through visits to the cities of Mumbai, Jaipur, Kochi, and Varanasi. The course investigates the intersection of local and global influences, focusing on how contemporary Indian artists and designers shape art and design within India and across the world. This course blends historical exploration, hands-on workshops, and exclusive access to leading artists and designers shaping India's creative landscape.
Beginning in Mumbai, students will visit studios of internationally acclaimed artists, and designers. Giving further historical and political contexts throughout the trip, students will engage with cultural and historical landmarks, attend lectures by scholars, historians, and cultural revivalists. Students will then visit the 6th Edition of the internationally renowned Kochi Muziris Biennale, the largest and most significant art event in South Asia. Guided by the Biennale's curator, renowned artist Nikhil Chopra, students will explore site-specific projects created by leading artists from India and around the world.
From the Biennale, the class will travel to Jaipur to engage with world-renowned designers and learn historical material techniques within a global context. Hands-on workshops, led by master artisans who collaborate with the high-end fashion industry in both India and globally, will include centuries-old techniques such as block printing, resist dyeing, and the design of jewelry using precious and semi-precious stones, as well as paper making. The final destination is Varanasi, where students will be hosted by the international recognized Kriti Gallery and Residency. Here, as artists-in-residence, students will have the opportunity to reflect on the art, culture, history, and politics they experienced throughout the trip. They will create works that deepen their studio practices, collaborating with traditional craftspeople and materials to produce individually led studio projects.

In this class, students will explore the contemporary art and design landscapes of India, through visits to the cities of Mumbai, Jaipur, Kochi, and Varanasi. The course investigates the intersection of local and global influences, focusing on how contemporary Indian artists and designers shape art and design within India and across the world. This course blends historical exploration, hands-on workshops, and exclusive access to leading artists and designers shaping India's creative landscape.
Beginning in Mumbai, students will visit studios of internationally acclaimed artists, and designers. Giving further historical and political contexts throughout the trip, students will engage with cultural and historical landmarks, attend lectures by scholars, historians, and cultural revivalists. Students will then visit the 6th Edition of the internationally renowned Kochi Muziris Biennale, the largest and most significant art event in South Asia. Guided by the Biennale's curator, renowned artist Nikhil Chopra, students will explore site-specific projects created by leading artists from India and around the world.
From the Biennale, the class will travel to Jaipur to engage with world-renowned designers and learn historical material techniques within a global context. Hands-on workshops, led by master artisans who collaborate with the high-end fashion industry in both India and globally, will include centuries-old techniques such as block printing, resist dyeing, and the design of jewelry using precious and semi-precious stones, as well as paper making. The final destination is Varanasi, where students will be hosted by the international recognized Kriti Gallery and Residency. Here, as artists-in-residence, students will have the opportunity to reflect on the art, culture, history, and politics they experienced throughout the trip. They will create works that deepen their studio practices, collaborating with traditional craftspeople and materials to produce individually led studio projects.

This is a course on music and cinema in the late-20th and early-21st centuries. The focus will be on original scores for full-length films made over the last forty years, with historical, contemporary, and animated subject matter. Students will learn about the history of film scoring and evaluate uses of music by featured composers in selected films. Topics include narrative underscoring, musical motives, diegetic and extradiegetic music, and sonic signifiers of time and place. Course objectives include building strong audio-visual listening skills and acquiring the vocabulary to speak and write about film music and its historical and cultural contexts effectively. Screenings and viewings will vary but typically include examples of feature-length films with original music by composers including Terence Blanchard, Wendy Carlos, Alexandre Desplat, Patrick Doyle, Danny Elfman, Michael Giacchino, Philip Glass, Hildur Gu?nadottir, Joe Hisaishi, James Horner, Quincy Jones, Dario Marianelli, Ennio Morricone, Rachel Portman, Howard Shore, Gabriel Yared, and Hans Zimmer. Readings will vary but typically include works by musicologists and film theorists such as Michel Chion, Rebecca Coyle, Dean Duncan, Julie Hubbert, Lawrence Kramer, Frank Lehman, Richard Leppert, and Laura Mulvey, as well as film critics and journalists. Students will write 15-20 double-spaced pages during the semester, including revisions based on instructor and peer feedback. Assignments may include discussion threads, a close listening essay, an original research paper, and an oral presentation.

A film is a composition of moving images and (usually) sounds that constructs a world, a world typically pervaded by some sort of tension or problem. A film can be said to imagine this tense or problematic 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 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 several philosophical texts covering topics in film aesthetics, metaphysics, ethics, and political philosophy, including Susanne Langer¿s ¿A Note on the Film,¿ Bertrand Russell¿s The Problems of Philosophy, Friedrich Nietzsche¿s ¿On Truth and Lie in an Extra-Moral Sense,¿ Robert Nozick¿s Philosophical Explanations, Simone Weil¿s ¿The Iliad, or the Poem of Force,¿ and Erich Fromm¿s On Disobedience. 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 Moon, Akira Kurosawa¿s Rashomon, Steve McQueen¿s Lovers Rock, Lucrecia Martel¿s Zama, Mathieu Kassovitz¿s Hate, Abbas Kiarostami¿s Where Is the Friend¿s House?, the Coen brothers¿ No Country for Old Men, Spike Lee¿s Do the Right Thing, 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.

An investigation of group and social psychology, including the impact that groups have on individuals, the way individuals relate to groups to which they belong, and the nature of conscious and unconscious group processes.

A scholarly, critical examination of the scientific literature will serve as the foundation of our learning throughout the course, including how social psychological research is conducted. The course will typically include a selection of readings, lectures, discussion, videos, interactive group work, papers and/or exams to promote and assess student learning. Authors may include Wilfred Bion, Irvin Yalom, Steve Pinker, Daniel Kahneman and others.

In addition to completing papers or exams, students may, for example, lead or participate in group discussions or other activities and reflect on the process, or work on a data collection project.

This course provides an introduction to social theories on tourism and travel activities. Drawing from anthropological and ethnographic research, students will explore the significance of tourism over the 20th century, developing alongside travel and information technologies well into present day tourism behavior and the global leisure industry. Media including travel photography, travelogue, home movies, or virtual reality - all provide sociomaterial examples of the significance of the tourist gaze and imaginary not only for personal recreation, but also influencing representation of the global south, in historically distorted and problematic ways. Course readings and films challenge students to consider these theories in the contexts of the varied sites and forms of tourism practiced around the world today. Learning content allows students to survey and examine mass tourism as well as tourism that makes an effort to get 'off the beaten track' in search of authenticity and adventure. Topics covered span from heritage, eco, and sex tourism, to ¿voluntourism,¿ dark and tragic tourism, including ¿staycations¿ and ¿holistays.¿ Students apply these insights during experiential learning activities of local tourist sites, commercialism, and cultural production of leisure settings in Chicagoland. Students engage in ethnographic exercises, submit a photo essay, and plan a dream excursion, implementing ethical considerations addressed in the course via travel design, and future tourism activities.

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.

In this intensive course we'll study and practice the ideas, materials, tools, and forms of small press print production and publishing. We'll use the class as a hands-on laboratory to gain skills to develop mock-ups and models for self-determined goals, such as tabling your own work at small press/indie publishing events; pursuing editorial or design roles in print publishing; or aspiring to start your own indie press. Students are invited to bring projects-in progress; to regularly present work for discussion and feedback; and to participate in Independent and small group tutorials. We'll augment our practice with field trips to look at both historic and contemporary examples of independent publishing - from the early, artisanal books of the Hogarth Press, to the counter- and subculture publications of the mid 20th century, to contemporary zines, comics, and artists' books. Course work includes developing multi-stage models and mock-ups for a self-generated print publication(s); an editorial statement about your publishing project/goals; and a short bibliography of indie/small press publishers you admire.

In consultation with Study Abroad, undergraduate students may spend up to two semesters (30 credit hours) at approved partner schools, or at another Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD) school in North America. Various types of credit can be earned depending on the host school?s offerings. Approval from Study Abroad is required. The process has two steps; the student first submits an application and portfolio to Study Abroad and it is reviewed by a faculty panel. If approved to proceed, the student then applies to the proposed host school. Information and resources about International Exchange, AICAD Exchange, and Tuition Transfer programs are available at Study Abroad.

New York City is a cultural center, and no matter where you choose to live and work as an artist or cultural producer, you will need to negotiate the economic, critical, and institutional hierarchies governing this metropolis. This trip starts to map the different art worlds that operate in this city and their intersections, making sense of NYC's complexity and energy by tracing the dynamic pathways through which art travels: the connections between artists, dealers, collectors, institutions, and critical voices. During ten intensely busy days in January, this study trip will investigate the full range of contemporary art production in the city, visiting artists' studios, non-profit spaces, residencies, commercial galleries, and major museums. The class will benefit from numerous ¿behind-the-scenes¿ opportunities to engage with parts of the NYC art world not usually open to the public. This class is essential for the ongoing practice of mapping the ever-changing cultural landscape, understanding its dominant signifiers, and critically assessing its blind spots.

New York City is a cultural center, and no matter where you choose to live and work as an artist or cultural producer, you will need to negotiate the economic, critical, and institutional hierarchies governing this metropolis. This trip starts to map the different art worlds that operate in this city and their intersections, making sense of NYC's complexity and energy by tracing the dynamic pathways through which art travels: the connections between artists, dealers, collectors, institutions, and critical voices. During ten intensely busy days in January, this study trip will investigate the full range of contemporary art production in the city, visiting artists' studios, non-profit spaces, residencies, commercial galleries, and major museums. The class will benefit from numerous ¿behind-the-scenes¿ opportunities to engage with parts of the NYC art world not usually open to the public. This class is essential for the ongoing practice of mapping the ever-changing cultural landscape, understanding its dominant signifiers, and critically assessing its blind spots.

We will visit the Art Institute of Chicago almost every day, allowing us a unique opportunity to explore primarily European and American art from the 1870s to the present, broadened and enriched by the museum's collections and special exhibitions. Class time emphasizes interaction and will be divided into lectures, discussions of reading assignments, and conversations about art. Specific topics will be based on the collections on display, with recurring themes centering on materiality, context, and presentation. Writing assignments will be structured in a progressive manner that culminates in a final paper on a work of art of each student's choosing. Graduate students in Art History can fulfill their 19th-century or early 20th-century requirements through this course.

Students will learn how to use Revit as a tool to investigate different stages of design development within Architecture. Topics will include BIM (Building Information Modeling), managing a fully parametric design, understanding categories, families and types and outputting drawings for presentations.

The semester will be broken up into four categories: Space Planning, Building, Landscape and Output. Each class will follow a tutorial and include a show & tell of student?s work in progress for a collective conversation of Revit and design strategies. Students will embark on their own projects while following a program and sqft script. This structure will allow for additional topics to be explored collectively as issues both within design and software arise.

Deliverables will be due at the beginning of each class and a Group Project will be introduced midway through the semester. A Final Project with a Competition style layout will be plotted and pinned up on the last day. This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.

This course requires students to have a laptop that meets SAIC's minimum hardware specs and runs the AIADO template.

What are the concerns that drive one's creative practice? How does one set the terms for its future development? Spine Intensive is a course for students needing to complete Sophomore Seminar, the Junior Professional Practice Experience, or the Capstone. The course offers interdisciplinary strategies for the evaluation and communication of students' individual practice as artists, designers, and/or scholars. Through essential readings, studio projects, and writing, students will generate narratives about how and why they make art. Students will receive individual advising sessions with lead faculty as they work toward generating documentation of their work, a statement of purpose, and other professional practice materials to support their practice post-graduation.

Spine Intensive can only be taken once to count for credit.

This three-week study trip combines the presentation of a student-generated exhibition in Venice with an exploration of the city itself as a unique cultural, historical, and ecological location. During the study trip, students will install and maintain an exhibition developed in the prior fall 2025 Venice Exhibition Seminar at the gallery of the Czok Foundation in Venice, Italy, providing a concrete outcome to the research, curation, and production undertaken during the previous semester. This includes installing and de-installing the exhibition, presenting public programs, and interfacing with the Venetian public and the city¿s cultural practitioners. The program provides a rare opportunity for students to collaborate with the socially-minded Marta Czok Foundation and its gallery staff to present their work in an international setting. Concurrently, students will visit important cultural and ecological sites in and around Venice, including museums, churches, historic neighborhoods, and artisan work spaces. Students taking the study trip for studio credit are encouraged to integrate their on-site practice with the exhibition, and those taking art history credit are invited to direct their research and writing towards the interaction of the exhibition with the city of Venice.

This three-week study trip combines the presentation of a student-generated exhibition in Venice with an exploration of the city itself as a unique cultural, historical, and ecological location. During the study trip, students will install and maintain an exhibition developed in the prior fall 2025 Venice Exhibition Seminar at the gallery of the Czok Foundation in Venice, Italy, providing a concrete outcome to the research, curation, and production undertaken during the previous semester. This includes installing and de-installing the exhibition, presenting public programs, and interfacing with the Venetian public and the city¿s cultural practitioners. The program provides a rare opportunity for students to collaborate with the socially-minded Marta Czok Foundation and its gallery staff to present their work in an international setting. Concurrently, students will visit important cultural and ecological sites in and around Venice, including museums, churches, historic neighborhoods, and artisan work spaces. Students taking the study trip for studio credit are encouraged to integrate their on-site practice with the exhibition, and those taking art history credit are invited to direct their research and writing towards the interaction of the exhibition with the city of Venice.

This three-week study trip combines the presentation of a student-generated exhibition in Venice with an exploration of the city itself as a unique cultural, historical, and ecological location. During the study trip, students will install and maintain an exhibition developed in the prior fall 2025 Venice Exhibition Seminar at the gallery of the Czok Foundation in Venice, Italy, providing a concrete outcome to the research, curation, and production undertaken during the previous semester. This includes installing and de-installing the exhibition, presenting public programs, and interfacing with the Venetian public and the city¿s cultural practitioners. The program provides a rare opportunity for students to collaborate with the socially-minded Marta Czok Foundation and its gallery staff to present their work in an international setting. Concurrently, students will visit important cultural and ecological sites in and around Venice, including museums, churches, historic neighborhoods, and artisan work spaces. Students taking the study trip for studio credit are encouraged to integrate their on-site practice with the exhibition, and those taking art history credit are invited to direct their research and writing towards the interaction of the exhibition with the city of Venice.

This three-week study trip combines the presentation of a student-generated exhibition in Venice with an exploration of the city itself as a unique cultural, historical, and ecological location. During the study trip, students will install and maintain an exhibition developed in the prior fall 2025 Venice Exhibition Seminar at the gallery of the Czok Foundation in Venice, Italy, providing a concrete outcome to the research, curation, and production undertaken during the previous semester. This includes installing and de-installing the exhibition, presenting public programs, and interfacing with the Venetian public and the city¿s cultural practitioners. The program provides a rare opportunity for students to collaborate with the socially-minded Marta Czok Foundation and its gallery staff to present their work in an international setting. Concurrently, students will visit important cultural and ecological sites in and around Venice, including museums, churches, historic neighborhoods, and artisan work spaces. Students taking the study trip for studio credit are encouraged to integrate their on-site practice with the exhibition, and those taking art history credit are invited to direct their research and writing towards the interaction of the exhibition with the city of Venice.