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The following information pertains to the last time this program was offered. If you would like to be notified via e-mail when new information about this program is available, subscribe to the Summer Session and Special Programs e-mail list.

Art in the Modern World

June 23 - August 5, 2008

This course offers students an opportunity to learn from the visual and performing arts by attending music, theater, and dance performances, and visiting museums and galleries. The program is open to any student interested in developing a feeling for different forms of expressive art. We examine how artistic expression introduces values that correspond to socially construed notions of color, sensation, ritual, and tradition.

While reading artists' statements, anthropological fieldwork studies, aesthetic theory, and phenomenological theories of art making, we directly experience works of art, and we consider the consolidation of meaning that works of art and artifact present. Readings include artists, anthropologists, and theorists from various disciplines, such as Baxandall, Bonvicino, De Burgos, Fajans, Feld, Feldman, Grotowski, Holmberg, Kandinsky, Rothko, Santiago-Irizarry, Thompson, Turner, and Weiner.

In addition to making use of artistic resources on the Cornell campus, including the Tuesday evening classical music series, the Department of Anthropology Collections, and the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, students also participate in a weekend field trip to New York City to see museums and performances, and a Saturday trip to Saratoga Springs to see the New York City Ballet and the National Museum of Dance. When possible, we meet for informal discussions with professionals from the art world such as gallery dealers, curators, critics, painters, sculptors, writers, dancers, conductors, and musicians.

Courses

Students register for Anthropology 3415/Art History 3915, for 4 credits. The class meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 - 9 p.m. and one Saturday and one week-end.

  • ANTHR 3415: Art in the Modern World (summer only)
  • ARTH 3915: Art in the Modern World (summer only)
  • Program Cost

    The cost of the program is $3,700, which includes tuition and round-trip transportation to New York City and Saratoga Springs by bus, accommodation for one evening in New York City, admission to museums and galleries, and tickets to performances. (All trips are subject to change.)

    Enrollment

    To enroll in the program, send a $500 nonrefundable tuition deposit to the Summer Session office (address below). The tuition deposit must be received by May 15. The remainder of tuition must be paid by June 1. Enrollment is limited and applications received after the May 15 deadline will be accepted only if space is still available.

    Summer Session Office
    B20 Day Hall
    Ithaca, NY 14853
    Telephone: 607.255.4987
    Fax: 607.255.9697
    E-mail: cusce@cornell.edu

    Refund Policy

    To withdraw from this special program, you must notify the program director. Your refund amount will be determined by the date on which you notify the director.

    Refund %Dates
    100%N/A*
    75%June 26-27
    50%June 30- July 3
    25%July 7-11
    0%July 14

    * This program has a non-refundable deposit of $500 that can be returned to you only if this program is cancelled.

    For more information about this program, contact:

    Billie Jean Isbell
    Department of Anthropology
    Cornell University
    263 McGraw Hall
    Ithaca, NY 14853-4601
    Telephone: 607.539.6484
    Fax: 607.255.3747
    E-mail: bji1@cornell.edu
    John Robinson-Appels
    Telephone: 212.242.1664
    Fax: 212.242.1948