Olivia Young

This course asks “who and what are black contemporary artists citing and why does it matter?” This class will tackle key readings in the field of black studies through investigating the theoretical attentions of contemporary artists. Why are the readings of Zora Neale Hurston, Frantz Fanon, Hortense Spillers, W.E.B. Du Bois, Toni Morrison, Saidiya Hartman, Claudia Rankine, and Fred Moten, to name a few, necessary for the critical analysis of black visual and performance art? This art history course will expose students to the interdisciplinary field of black studies, feminist studies, visual culture, queer theory, disabilities studies, and performance studies. The course ends with the creative development of an analytical essay on an art object of the student’s choice. This assignment is methodically organized over the semester to encourage each student to develop an argument that arises from their own close reading, application of theory, and lived experiences. It is priority to make this course on black aesthetics joyous, safe, and accessible to students of all genders, sexualities, and disabilities. Cross-list: HART 306.

This course asks “who and what are black contemporary artists citing and why does it matter?” This class will tackle key readings in the field of black studies through investigating the theoretical attentions of contemporary artists. Why are the readings of Zora Neale Hurston, Frantz Fanon, Hortense Spillers, W.E.B. Du Bois, Toni Morrison, Saidiya Hartman, Claudia Rankine, and Fred Moten, to name a few, necessary for the critical analysis of black visual and performance art? This art history course will expose students to the interdisciplinary field of black studies, feminist studies, visual culture, queer theory, disabilities studies, and performance studies. The course ends with the creative development of an analytical essay on an art object of the student’s choice. This assignment is methodically organized over the semester to encourage each student to develop an argument that arises from their own close reading, application of theory, and lived experiences. It is priority to make this course on black aesthetics joyous, safe, and accessible to students of all genders, sexualities, and disabilities. Cross-list: AAAS 306.

This course introduces students to key concepts in the interrelated fields of queer studies, visual culture and art history. We will consider the slippages and contours of non-visual sensory registers (senses other than sight) and queer aesthetic practices and theories in contemporary art. What does it mean to queer the visual realm? What does it mean to center an expanded sensorial queerness? In this class, we will look at how artists engage the sensory modalities of sound, touch, proprioception, and interoception as both method and material within their work. We will consider the use of spit, bodily fluids, blood, sweat, vibrations, visceral inclinations, indigestion, balance, and other sensory things to ask: How do senses evoke dissident feelings? As Kyle Wazanna Tompkins writes in the 2015 winter issue of A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, “To aim for the visceral, we have found, is to come at feeling, at sex, at sensation, at theory itself, from a queer place.” It is my priority to make this course on contemporary art joyous, safe, and accessible to students of all genders, sexualities, and disabilities. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for HART 363 if student has credit for FOTO 263/HART 263.

Honors thesis project in art history. Students must receive permission of the department faculty prior to enrolling. For additional information, please see Honors Program in the Rice University General Announcements.

Graduate research paper.

Graduate independent study, reading and research on variable topics. Repeatable for Credit.

Preparation for qualifying exams.

Dissertation Research for Ph.D. candidates. Repeatable for Credit.