Advanced Research Seminar is a new course in Art and Design History and Theory that emphasizes advanced research and writing skills in the discipline and literature of the art, design and architecture fields. The course, required for most Parsons students, will prepare students for a thesis or capstone project in the fourth year and ground their art, design and architecture practice in the context of a broader historical and theoretical framework. The class builds on material and skills introduced in the required first-year Objects as History and Integrative Seminar 2 courses and in the second-year history and theory classes. Providing historical context and advanced critical and research methodologies in sections dedicated to art and design practice, the constructed environment, fashion, and visual culture, the instructor will, through lectures, discussions, conferences, readings, and first-hand study of objects and environments guide students through significant research and writing projects. The Art and Design Practice inflection is an opportunity to conduct and share research findings as cross-disciplinary group. Open to all disciplines within Parsons, this inflection will respond to differences in the various art and design fields as a jumping-off place for further defining the parameters and interests of one’s individual research. How can the discourses and practices of one field productively shift those of another? What is the value of disciplinary boundaries, and alternately, what happens when we blur these boundaries? Exposure to other disciplines can be an invitation to explore new approaches, an opportunity to explore assumptions we take for granted inside our field, or a chance to clarify, articulate and deepen our own disciplinary commitments.

Advanced Research Seminar is a new course in Art and Design History and Theory that emphasizes advanced research and writing skills in the discipline and literature of the art, design and architecture fields. The course, required for most Parsons students, will prepare students for a thesis or capstone project in the fourth year and ground their art, design and architecture practice in the context of a broader historical and theoretical framework. The class builds on material and skills introduced in the required first-year Objects as History and Integrative Seminar 2 courses and in the second-year history and theory classes. Providing historical context and advanced critical and research methodologies in sections dedicated to art and design practice, the constructed environment, fashion, and visual culture, the instructor will, through lectures, discussions, conferences, readings, and first-hand study of objects and environments guide students through significant research and writing projects. The Art and Design Practice inflection is an opportunity to conduct and share research findings as cross-disciplinary group. Open to all disciplines within Parsons, this inflection will respond to differences in the various art and design fields as a jumping-off place for further defining the parameters and interests of one’s individual research. How can the discourses and practices of one field productively shift those of another? What is the value of disciplinary boundaries, and alternately, what happens when we blur these boundaries? Exposure to other disciplines can be an invitation to explore new approaches, an opportunity to explore assumptions we take for granted inside our field, or a chance to clarify, articulate and deepen our own disciplinary commitments.