PLEASE TURN OFF ALL PAGERS AND CELLPHONES IN CLASS

Synopsis: Arts and Urban Life will explore various art forms (visual art and architecture, literature, and Internet in relation to urban environments). We will ask how art emerges from and shapes its environment; how the arts function in an urban setting historically and in contemporary life; how the arts intersect with class, race, and gender issues in modern urban life; what is the role of the artist in modern urban society; how can the artist address the concerns of the modern world. A framing of the above issues within the discourses of utopia, dystopia, and heterotopia (an ideal diverse society) will connect the issues to looking at broad cultural shifts from modernism into postmodernism. You will make at least one trip to a gallery or museum for which you will write a short field trip paper will constitute an important experiential aspect of this course. Class will be divided up into groups of four for in-class discussions of reading material. Time will be allocated for these groups discussions in class. Evaluation: There will be 1 in-class exam, two 6-page papers, one 4-page field trip paper, an