ILLUS 504G

This course delves into Illustration as a contextualized practice through study and analysis of illustrated exemplars held in the Special Collections at RISD Fleet Library, the Hay and the John Carter Brown Libraries at Brown University, and the Providence Athenµum. First-hand encounters with these materials and subsequent secondary research into the causes and conditions of their publication will help to illuminate the role of illustration in influencing opinion, and ultimately the shaping of societies. Seminar discussions will center on the nature of publishing in historic and contemporary contexts and consider the diverse ways that visual rhetoric circulates in culture, and is further mediated in institutional and cultural settings. Expository writing practice is key to this research seminar. Facilitated through our object-based study and under the guidance of faculty and Special Collections research librarians, students will develop several short essays and a final project in the form of a research document or format suitable for display. A final work summary will be part of a self-assessment prepared by the student. This assessment will be helpful in preparing documentation for the final Thesis required in this MFA program.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $0.00 - $25.00

Major Requirement | MFA Illustration