ARTS 1011 - Introductory Arts: Theory and Method

Despite their diversity, the contemporary Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS) share an intellectual genealogy and a core set of methodologies and critical approaches. This course will introduce you to several of these, including feminism, postcolonialism, historical materialism, science and technology studies, and indigenous knowledges. It will situate the HUMSS disciplines in their longer-run historical contexts, exploring how events like the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and imperialism have shaped contemporary thought, and addressing critiques of these developments advanced by more recent scholars. This rigorous and systematic overview of the field will prepare you for your further studies whatever your major, while introducing you to the cohort of your fellow Arts Advanced students. The course will equip you with foundational academic skills in research and writing, and also serves as background and preparation for the third year Advanced Arts: Theory and Method course.