Critique Seminar
Taken all four semesters by all students in the Visual Studies program, the Graduate Critique Seminar provides MFA candidates with an intellectual community and critical forum. The Seminar will meet weekly to critique, in rotation, the work-in-progress of all candidates. The cross-disciplinary nature of the conversation is meant to foster the widest possible dialogue among artists, encourage divergent thinking, and discourage the easy acceptance of received notions. The Seminar is led by MFA faculty members, as well as visiting artists, critics and scholars, who join in on discussions and critiques. Students may also be assigned critical readings to prepare for presentation and discussion, and class meetings are supplemented by lectures and performances of visiting artists to PNCA through the visiting artist series.
Contemporary Art Seminar
This course exposes students to contemporary art making strategies, artists, curators, critics, histories, and systems that influence and drive the expansion of the current art world. Topics will be explored through: slide lectures, museum and gallery visits, videos and websites, as well as reading discussion of selected books, articles and essays. Over the course of the semester, a series of related issues are addressed in conjunction with invited guests and MFA lectures whose work is relevant to the subject under discussion.
Critical Studies Course
Students may choose one of the following Critical Studies courses to fulfill this requirement:
- CRIT 501 Introduction to Critical Theory
- CRIT 526 Creative Nonfiction Writing
- CRIT 525 Critical Writing and Visual Culture
- CRIT 533 Critical Theory Special Topic
- CRIT 601 Critical Race Theory
- CRIT 501 Queer and Feminist Theory
- CRIT 521 Introduction to Cultural Studies
Graduate Thesis Research + Writing
This course is designed to instruct, guide, and support the MFA student with the completion of the Thesis Paper. The Thesis Paper is a statement of your critical positions as an artist. It is informed by your studio practice and supported by relevant sources. This course prepares the MFA student to develop a successfully researched Thesis Paper that relates the concept, process, and evaluation of their artwork to a reader. At the end of this course, the student should be prepared to present a thoroughly developed Thesis Paper. Each student will be led through three rough drafts before the final paper is presented for grading, binding, and storage in the PNCA library holdings. The final body of text will be between 6000 and 9000 words (approximately 20-30 pages) in length.
Critical Pedagogy
Offered both Fall Semester and Spring Semester
This is a graduate level course addressing pedagogical strategies in post-secondary arts education. Students will be introduced through readings to various philosophies of education and will critically discuss these ideas in class. By the end of the course students will develop their own written teaching philosophy, a sample syllabus of a class of their choice, a cover letter and a teaching CV. Lectures and invited guests will augment discussion of professional practice issues surrounding arts education and what is involved in successfully applying for teaching positions. MFA students who complete this course will be eligible for paid TAships.
Electives
Students can choose elective classes from upper division Undergraduate course offerings with the submission of a Graduate Elective Form. Students can also choose to take electives from Critical Studies or Printmaking.