CER3722

Craft as culture

2 points
* One 1-hour lecture and one 1-hour tutorial per week
* Second semester
* Caulfield
* Prerequisites: CER3721, CFT3461 or equivalent

Objectives On successful completion of this subject students will be able through concepts and through practice to orient themselves into social life and its three main functions as a context for their craft.

Synopsis In this unit we concentrate on the cultural domain: the nature and historical evolution of the different arts and their role in present day culture, in Australia and overseas; attempts to formulate a theory for the crafts as an artform distinct from the visual arts; cultural diversity and democracy; issues of ethnicity, gender, spirituality and education; art writing and criticism: study and practice; notions of modernism, structuralism, deconstruction and postmodernism.

Assessment Subject record: 50%
* 2000-word essay or equivalent presentation: 50%

Recommended texts

Houston J (ed.) Craft classics since the 1990's: An anthology of belief and comment Crafts Council, 1988
Thompson R Forceps of language: An anthology of critical writing about objects, makers, users and society Crafts Council of Australia, 1992
Art Monthly Australia GPO Box 4, Canberra, ACT 2601