The following activities use open educational practices to engage students in active and shared learning. The first section discusses a model for creating a more open syllabus, the second section is an assignment where students create a collaborative bulletin board, and the third section is an activity where students first create presentations that are added to an online “video text.” All of these activities are buildable and can be shared with new classes over time, building a larger repository of class materials that are based on students' active participation and authoritative knowledge. While these are intended for an Introductory class in Anthropology, they can be adapted for a variety of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities.

In this course, we will focus on a survey of topics that will help us hone the discussion on cultural production, manifestations, and contestations. The course will provide an interdisciplinary perspective grounded in Anthropology, but also including materials from other fields in the social sciences, such as History, and Cultural Studies. The course will also introduce students to the four-field approach in Anthropology (Cultural Anthropology, Biological Anthropology, Archaeology, and Linguistics). The geographical region that will be covered in this class will be South America. This will provide students with a context to discuss topics that include culture, race, and ethnicity, connecting it to the main arguments around cultural difference, identity, political economy, political economy, health, food, environment, language, politics, gender, sports, and religion.

An introduction to the history of art, emphasizing visual literacy in an historical context. Major works of art and architecture, drawn from a wide range of world cultures and periods from ancient times to the present, will be explored.

Students will learn to analyze works of art critically from both an historical and an interpretative point of view; in addition, they will gain an understanding of the importance of cultural diversity through exposure to the arts of many different times and places.
Students will have extensive practice in articulating aesthetic judgments effectively in spoken and written form.
Students will learn how to draw upon the cultural riches of New York City to enhance their learning within and outside the classroom.
Identify unique characteristics of several artistic traditions, and recognize and analyze the differences among the major periods, artists, genres, and theories of art.
Use terms of art historical analysis correctly and be able to apply them to unfamiliar works.

Introductory course offers various windows into the development of human expression through the arts, spanning prehistory to the 21st century. Using art from diverse cultures and time periods, we will explore the way that art functions within broader societal trends and ideas, both reacting to and influencing major historical moments. Students will become comfortable with speaking and writing about specific art-historical styles, issues and key terms, and be able to approach art in both a formal/visual and historic context. They will also learn how to navigate and explore their own specific interests within the history of art and become aware of resources that will guide them to further complexify their own research and writing.

This course will examine the art of the first half of the twentieth century. We will consider the works studies within their relevant political and cultural contexts. Topics addressed will include the rise of abstraction, the liberation of color, the interest in the subconscious. We will begin with precedents to Modernism in the 19th Century and will conclude with WWII. Additionally, students will learn methods of art historical research and develop skills of visual analysis.

ART 3164 (undergrad) course will explore the history of architecture and urbanism in New York City from the colonial period through the present day. We will study well-known monuments along with lesser-known but important works, and consider the political, cultural, and economic factors that fueled the development of New York’s built environment. This course will situate the architecture of New York City within the broader discourse of American architectural history, and will examine the impact that New York had on nationwide architectural trends. Classroom lectures will be supplemented regularly with site visits across the city.

ART 7097 History of Architecture and Urbanism in New York City
This course will explore the history of architecture and urbanism in New York City from the colonial period through the present day. We will study well-known monuments along with lesser-known but important works, and consider the political, cultural, and economic factors that fueled the development of New York’s built environment. This course will situate the architecture of New York City within the broader discourse of American architectural history, and will examine the impact that New York had on nationwide architectural trends. Classroom lectures will be supplemented regularly with site visits across the city.

Discussion board prompts for an online, undergraduate, Introduction to Art History course, surveying the discipline from prehistory to contemporary art.