This course provides a cultural history of landscape and landscape architecture through various voices, lenses, and built examples. Following a loose chronology, this seminar will trace the shifting trajectory of landscapes at multiple scales, including lawns, gardens, and suburbs; roads and sanitary infrastructure; agricultural and energy landscapes; rivers and waterfronts, among others. As the second history-theory course in the sequence, we will continue to build upon key concepts explored in History-Theory 1, such as the relationship between Nature and culture, land ethics, systems thinking and ecology, and how landscape architecture has operated as a site for unequal, racialized distributions of power. To that end, we will study, define, critique, and attempt to make sense of the multiplicity of actors that shape environments, including the role of the Designer and the inextricably intertwined forces of colonization and capitalism, federal policies, non-humans, shifting attitudes about Nature, etc. 
 
To provoke critical thinking about the development of landscape form and ideas, readings will be drawn from various perspectives, including landscape architecture, social and environmental history, anthropology, science and technology studies, queer and feminist studies, and geography. These fields will help us understand history as a foundation for thinking about the landscape’s relationship between past and present and center and margin. By critically probing landscape architecture’s canon and its counter-narratives, we will consider how we can be better poised to understand and articulate our own contributions to the field as future practitioners.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Landscape Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MLA-I Landscape Architecture

How does illustration shape ideas, information, opinion, and culture? How can images make or break “truth”? How does aesthetic delight contribute? This course considers ways Illustration has intersected with authority and resistance globally. From pre-history to the present, we critically analyze how belonging is visually defined in culture and community. We consider illustrators’ participation in systems of governance, knowledge, and communication; and illustrators’ roles in justice, health, spirituality, education, leisure, and community. We study non-industrial forms, as well as how print and electronic technologies shape illustrative processes and aesthetics. We also discuss theories, ethics and controversies in the making and consumption of illustration in order to implement our tools, skills, and ideas responsibly.

Major Requirement | BFA Illustration

How does illustration shape ideas, information, opinion, and culture? How can images make or break “truth”? How does aesthetic delight contribute? This course considers ways Illustration has intersected with authority and resistance globally. From pre-history to the present, we critically analyze how belonging is visually defined in culture and community. We consider illustrators’ participation in systems of governance, knowledge, and communication; and illustrators’ roles in justice, health, spirituality, education, leisure, and community. We study non-industrial forms, as well as how print and electronic technologies shape illustrative processes and aesthetics. We also discuss theories, ethics and controversies in the making and consumption of illustration in order to implement our tools, skills, and ideas responsibly.

Major Requirement | BFA Illustration

Part I of a two-semester course that will survey major topics in the Histories of Photography. Emphasis will be given to the diverse cultural uses of photography from its invention to the present day. Such uses include: the illustrated press; amateur photography; studio photography; industrial, advertising, and fashion photography; political and social propaganda; educational and documentary photography; and photography as a medium of artistic expression. Much attention will be paid to how photographs construct histories, as well as being constructed by them.

Major Requirement | BFA Photography

This class examines fashion in Europe and America from the eighteenth century to the present, covering the industrial revolution through the development of couture and postmodern fashion. It analyzes clothing as a social and cultural artifact, central to the construction of group and individual identity. Lectures and readings explore the production, consumption, use and meanings of dress, and will be supplemented by visits to the RISD museum. Course work will be comprised of group and independent research, written papers, and oral presentations.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Preference is given to Apparel Design Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Apparel Design

This course serves as an introductory exploration into enduring legacies, cultural evolution, and critical analysis of the moving image, encompassing film, animation, and video. With an emphasis on interrogating prevailing forces, structures, and terminology historically associated with these forms, the course aims to question and deconstruct prevailing modes of thinking and making in the medium. It also fosters a space for new perspectives, counter-histories, narratives, and abstractions to emerge in the context of cinema, the moving image, and time-based media.

The course does not merely focus on formal aspects; instead, it delves into a comprehensive examination, analysis, and questioning of how the formal elements and conventions in film actively shape both the functionality of the films themselves and the themes they depict. Questions before each screening prompt active viewing and discussion.

With a significant emphasis on the intersections between cinema and contemporary art practices, we will screen films representing different styles and periods of filmmaking, video art, and animation. Students will develop a shared language by learning the meaning and appropriate usage of common film terms, as well as considering the histories and values that gave rise to them.

Through screenings, lectures, visiting artist presentations, discussions, readings, and assignments, students will expand and deepen their understanding of 'cinema' and the moving image, develop conceptual tools for analyzing time-based imagery and sound, and begin to create direct links between film history and analysis and their studio practices.

Please contact fav@risd.edu for permission to register.

Major Requirement | BFA Film/Animation/Video

Interdisciplinary by their very nature, textile traditions share a global history. Around the world textiles have found place in cultures as signifiers of social identity, from the utilitarian to the sacred, as objects of ritual meaning and as objects of great tangible wealth. The evolution of textile motifs, designs, materials and technology from around the globe will be explored in classroom lecture and utilizing the RISD Museum of Art. We will examine such topics as: the function of textiles in the survival of traditional cultures, the impact of historic trade routes and ensuing colonialism, industrialization and its subsequent effect on traditional techniques of textile manufacture. Thoughtful and scholarly consideration will be given to recent incidents of cultural appropriation in the global textile and fashion industry. Term projects utilizing the material culture approach will afford students the opportunity to gain valuable research skills and explore in-depth specific textile techniques.

The Independent Study Project (ISP) allows students to supplement the established curriculum by completing a faculty supervised project for credit in a specific area of interest. Its purpose is to meet individual student needs by providing an alternative to regularly offered courses. Permission of instructor and GPA of 3.0 or higher is required. Register by completing the Independent Study Application available on the Registrar's website; the course is not available via web registration.

An introduction to literary study that helps students develop the skills necessary for college-level reading, writing, research and critical thinking. Through exposure to a variety of literary forms and genres, historical periods and critical approaches, students are taught how to read closely, argue effectively and develop a strong writing voice. The course is reading and writing intensive and organized around weekly assignments. There are no waivers for LAS-E101 except for transfer students who have taken an equivalent college course.

First-year students are pre-registered for this course by the Liberal Arts Division.

Incoming Transfer students, along with continuing Sophomore, Junior, and Senior undergraduates, enroll in their designated section(s) through Workday.

Major Requirement | BFA

An introduction to literary study that helps students develop the skills necessary for college-level reading, writing, research and critical thinking. Through exposure to a variety of literary forms and genres, historical periods and critical approaches, students are taught how to read closely, argue effectively and develop a strong writing voice. The course is reading and writing intensive and organized around weekly assignments. There are no waivers for LAS-E101 except for transfer students who have taken an equivalent college course.

First-year students are pre-registered for this course by the Liberal Arts Division.

Incoming Transfer students, along with continuing Sophomore, Junior, and Senior undergraduates, enroll in their designated section(s) through Workday.

Major Requirement | BFA

An introduction to literary study that helps students develop the skills necessary for college-level reading, writing, research and critical thinking. Through exposure to a variety of literary forms and genres, historical periods and critical approaches, students are taught how to read closely, argue effectively and develop a strong writing voice. The course is reading and writing intensive and organized around weekly assignments. There are no waivers for LAS-E101 except for transfer students who have taken an equivalent college course.

First-year students are pre-registered for this course by the Liberal Arts Division.

Incoming Transfer students, along with continuing Sophomore, Junior, and Senior undergraduates, enroll in their designated section(s) through Workday.

Major Requirement | BFA

An introduction to literary study that helps students develop the skills necessary for college-level reading, writing, research and critical thinking. Through exposure to a variety of literary forms and genres, historical periods and critical approaches, students are taught how to read closely, argue effectively and develop a strong writing voice. The course is reading and writing intensive and organized around weekly assignments. There are no waivers for LAS-E101 except for transfer students who have taken an equivalent college course.

First-year students are pre-registered for this course by the Liberal Arts Division.

Incoming Transfer students, along with continuing Sophomore, Junior, and Senior undergraduates, enroll in their designated section(s) through Workday.

Major Requirement | BFA

An introduction to literary study that helps students develop the skills necessary for college-level reading, writing, research and critical thinking. Through exposure to a variety of literary forms and genres, historical periods and critical approaches, students are taught how to read closely, argue effectively and develop a strong writing voice. The course is reading and writing intensive and organized around weekly assignments. There are no waivers for LAS-E101 except for transfer students who have taken an equivalent college course.

First-year students are pre-registered for this course by the Liberal Arts Division.

Incoming Transfer students, along with continuing Sophomore, Junior, and Senior undergraduates, enroll in their designated section(s) through Workday.

Major Requirement | BFA

An introduction to literary study that helps students develop the skills necessary for college-level reading, writing, research and critical thinking. Through exposure to a variety of literary forms and genres, historical periods and critical approaches, students are taught how to read closely, argue effectively and develop a strong writing voice. The course is reading and writing intensive and organized around weekly assignments. There are no waivers for LAS-E101 except for transfer students who have taken an equivalent college course.

First-year students are pre-registered for this course by the Liberal Arts Division.

Incoming Transfer students, along with continuing Sophomore, Junior, and Senior undergraduates, enroll in their designated section(s) through Workday.

Major Requirement | BFA

An introduction to literary study that helps students develop the skills necessary for college-level reading, writing, research and critical thinking. Through exposure to a variety of literary forms and genres, historical periods and critical approaches, students are taught how to read closely, argue effectively and develop a strong writing voice. The course is reading and writing intensive and organized around weekly assignments. There are no waivers for LAS-E101 except for transfer students who have taken an equivalent college course.

First-year students are pre-registered for this course by the Liberal Arts Division.

Incoming Transfer students, along with continuing Sophomore, Junior, and Senior undergraduates, enroll in their designated section(s) through Workday.

Major Requirement | BFA

An introduction to literary study that helps students develop the skills necessary for college-level reading, writing, research and critical thinking. Through exposure to a variety of literary forms and genres, historical periods and critical approaches, students are taught how to read closely, argue effectively and develop a strong writing voice. The course is reading and writing intensive and organized around weekly assignments. There are no waivers for LAS-E101 except for transfer students who have taken an equivalent college course.

First-year students are pre-registered for this course by the Liberal Arts Division.

Incoming Transfer students, along with continuing Sophomore, Junior, and Senior undergraduates, enroll in their designated section(s) through Workday.

Major Requirement | BFA

An introduction to literary study that helps students develop the skills necessary for college-level reading, writing, research and critical thinking. Through exposure to a variety of literary forms and genres, historical periods and critical approaches, students are taught how to read closely, argue effectively and develop a strong writing voice. The course is reading and writing intensive and organized around weekly assignments. There are no waivers for LAS-E101 except for transfer students who have taken an equivalent college course.

First-year students are pre-registered for this course by the Liberal Arts Division.

Incoming Transfer students, along with continuing Sophomore, Junior, and Senior undergraduates, enroll in their designated section(s) through Workday.

Major Requirement | BFA

An introduction to literary study that helps students develop the skills necessary for college-level reading, writing, research and critical thinking. Through exposure to a variety of literary forms and genres, historical periods and critical approaches, students are taught how to read closely, argue effectively and develop a strong writing voice. The course is reading and writing intensive and organized around weekly assignments. There are no waivers for LAS-E101 except for transfer students who have taken an equivalent college course.

First-year students are pre-registered for this course by the Liberal Arts Division.

Incoming Transfer students, along with continuing Sophomore, Junior, and Senior undergraduates, enroll in their designated section(s) through Workday.

Major Requirement | BFA

An introduction to literary study that helps students develop the skills necessary for college-level reading, writing, research and critical thinking. Through exposure to a variety of literary forms and genres, historical periods and critical approaches, students are taught how to read closely, argue effectively and develop a strong writing voice. The course is reading and writing intensive and organized around weekly assignments. There are no waivers for LAS-E101 except for transfer students who have taken an equivalent college course.

First-year students are pre-registered for this course by the Liberal Arts Division.

Incoming Transfer students, along with continuing Sophomore, Junior, and Senior undergraduates, enroll in their designated section(s) through Workday.

Major Requirement | BFA

An introduction to literary study that helps students develop the skills necessary for college-level reading, writing, research and critical thinking. Through exposure to a variety of literary forms and genres, historical periods and critical approaches, students are taught how to read closely, argue effectively and develop a strong writing voice. The course is reading and writing intensive and organized around weekly assignments. There are no waivers for LAS-E101 except for transfer students who have taken an equivalent college course.

First-year students are pre-registered for this course by the Liberal Arts Division.

Incoming Transfer students, along with continuing Sophomore, Junior, and Senior undergraduates, enroll in their designated section(s) through Workday.

Major Requirement | BFA