Proposal for Alternative Classes

The opinions put forth in this document represent Art Center’s student body’s response to the Pretty Hurts course description and surrounding controversy. We want to encourage an open conversation about feminism and its place at Art Center, and invite anyone who would like to contribute to join.

Art Center, at its best, is a place for us to broaden our worldview and bring us into a more intelligent way of being. We have the opportunity to bring a feminist conversation to our school that is both constructive and innovative. Pretty Hurts has been successful in sparking this conversation, but for us, it’s about something more. Beyond having a platform for discussion about feminism in relation to popular culture (Beyonce), we are looking for a way to build our contextual knowledge and consider how gender is relevant to the creation and study of arts and culture, and the socio-cultural factors influencing gender and sexuality in the arts. We are looking for an alternative course that explores these themes on a deeper level, beyond the scope of Pretty Hurts. We expect that alternative courses will be taught by experienced and well distinguished Artists and/or existing faculty with specific knowledge in this realm. Without understanding the history of feminist art and women’s place in art and society, we can’t create an informed opinion to build our work upon. Having an academic course that explores these connections that is coupled with a studio where we can explore making work in a conscious and personal way is exactly what we need. A TDS class where both the history aspect and the studio practice can exist side by side would be excellent as well.

Initial Subjects should include:

- feminist history

- gender/women’s studies

- females as Artists and subjects in art

- creating informed images/work

- relationships between women, beauty, and art

We would like to invite students signing this petition to state which of these subjects they value (and feel free to add more to the Facebook group’s homepage). https://www.facebook.com/groups/740275286062927/

Currently there are three academic classes that are related to the above topics:

Queer studies, Rethinking Feminism, and Gender Project. They supposedly rotate, so that we get one per semester; however, they have been scheduled in such a manner that makes it difficult for a student to take one or more of the courses.

In particular:

Gender Project was last offered in fall 2013

Queer Studies was last offered this fall and summer 2013

Rethinking Feminism was last offered fall 2013, and will be offered again summer 2015