Karin Zitzewitz

HA 261 “Modern Asian Art”
This course introduces students to the history of painting in China, Japan, and the Indian Subcontinent from the sixteenth century to the present. Split into thirds, the course looks at the painting of imperial courts, the artistic practices driven by the rise of European and Japanese colonialism and anti-colonial nationalism, and the art associated with post-War Japan, decolonized India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, and the People’s Republic of China.

HA 461 “Selected Topics in Modern Asian Art”
These more specialized courses allow students to study the modern and contemporary art practices associated with places in Asia. Except for “Contemporary Art of Asia and the Middle East,” the focus is often on the role of colonialism and anti-colonial nationalism in shaping art practices. In these courses, students are expected to pursue research projects of their choice, drawn from within the materials introduced by the course.

HA802 “Research Methods for Artists and Designers”
This course has two goals: one, to help MFA students understand how research can inform their practice, and, two, to help prepare them for the written portion of their thesis. The course distinguishes between what is typically described as research-based art practice and the wide variety of research methods—gathering of knowledge, preparatory work, etc.—that support and become part of art making. Artistic research methods range from the apparently highly personal and idiosyncratic, to those that employ archival, art historical, or scientific methods, to social and community-based practices. In recognition of this range, around three-quarters of the class time surveys forms of artistic research, most often through art historical or art critical essays on the work of one or two artists a week that are contextualized by broader theory. Assignments that explore these issues include a presentation and the portion of the final paper that engages the work of an artist. The remaining quarter of the class is built on assignments completed throughout the term and engages the students in critical reading and writing. The goal is the production of a research sketchbook and artist statement, included as part of the final paper, that aims to situate their own work in relation to research methods.

GSAH 315 "Globalization and the Arts”
The first version of this course will has the subtheme of “Colonialism and the Art of South and Southeast Asia” and be cross-listed with HA 461.

IAH 211B "Bollywood Cinema"
What is Bollywood? Most straightforwardly, it is the film industry centered in Bombay (renamed Mumbai in 1995), India, which produces about 150-200 films a year in the Hindi language. Like Hollywood films, Hindi films are produced with a particular national audience in mind, but they circulate internationally, in post-socialist, African, and Asian countries as well as
Europe and the United States. The film we most closely associate with Bollywood is the song-and-dance extravaganza, the “masala” genre in which action, romance, and morality play are rolled into one. Bollywood films are enormously entertaining, which explains their appeal in India and around the world. But this popular cultural form also articulates important cultural themes, and is a good measure of the concerns of its viewers. This course considers a series of films that intersect with modern Indian history and provide a window into society and visual culture.