Art, Ethics and Social Change Online Short Course

This course will give you a critical overview of the role of art, artists and art institutions in challenging and shaping the beliefs of our society as well as ethical considerations in art. You will learn about ethical issues in art, such as cultural appropriation, gender and the gaze, ethnicity and environmental and ecological concerns. You will contextualise these issues by learning about the history of art and social change and the ethical responsibility of artists.

Topics covered

• History of art and social change
• Current themes and debates around the responsibilities of artists and art institutions
• Socially motivated art
• Power relations in art
• Gender and the gaze
• Ethnicity and the post colonial
• Art, environmental and ecological concerns
• Othering and otherness
• Cultural appropriation
• The canon and cultural value

Course Outcomes:

• The history of art and social change and the responsibility of art and artists
• Power relationships in art relating to gender, race and other identities
• How to discuss current debates around cultural appropriation
• The impact of art exploring social, environmental and ecological issues
• Critical research and how to conduct it