Navigating Contemporary Art: Media and Movements 1970-Today

This Contemporary Art History course explores key movements, artists, and trends from the 1970s to the present, offering K-12 art educators a deep dive into the dynamic concept-driven world of postmodern art. Participants will investigate social practice, site-specific, digital, virtual, installation, and research-based art in traditional and emergent forms. Engaging pivotal themes with personal, local, and global impact, students will examine how contemporary art reflects and shapes cultural, social, and political landscapes. Through interactive discussions, curated readings, and critical analyses, educators will gain fresh insights and practical strategies to demystify contemporary art and bring new exemplars into their teaching, inspiring students to think critically and creatively about the world around them.

See the course syllabus and Graduate Catalog for more details.

Teaching contemporary art with young people: Themes in art for K-12 classrooms. Marshall, J., Stewart, C., & Thulson, A. (2021). ISBN: 9780807765746

Themes of contemporary art: Visual art after 1980. Robertson, J., & McDaniel, C. (2022). ISBN: 9780190078331

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition. ISBN 978-1-4338-3216-1