HNRS 149
Art and Trauma
Description: Seminar, three hours. Examination of how slavery, war, psychiatric institutionalization, and child sexual abuse shaped singular artistic visions. Depictions of severe trauma can be expressed in several ways--external event (e.g., war), internal psychological process (e.g., depression), or symbolic unfolding (e.g., disintegration of individual). Manner in which trauma is embedded in brain and stored in memory is also critical. Exploration of research on memory and trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and how severe trauma impacts brain. Studio component in form of individual and group projects to offer more tangible insight into process of art and trauma. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 0.0
Units: 0.0
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2025 - This is an interesting, low-demand seminar that deals with topics you won’t cover much. You get to make art (there’s no expectation of its quality which is nice) which outside of arts majors, is really rare in college. The assignments are all very manageable, with 3 main art projects (no writing required unless you choose not to present in-class), 1 short writing assignment, and written final essays outside of class. Attendance is taken by stating your name during in-class participation. The topics themselves were things rarely dealt with in college level courses, which was refreshing and fascinating. The Professors are clearly passionate about what they're talking about and have very unique personal experiences dealing with these cases that was interesting to hear. I think this was overall a good course that could be made great with some additional revision, specificity, and challenge to students. For the seminars themselves, the discussions felt very surface-level. There weren't any guiding questions to engage or challenge students in thinking deeper or reaching certain understandings, we mostly just listened to the professors, paused a few times per class to give our initial thoughts/general commentary and moved on. There's not really deep analysis of specifics of the course content. There’s no small group discussions or seminar style conversations like I might’ve expected. If you’re looking for a deep intellectual challenge, it might not be provided during class-time, but it’s not hard to just engage more on your own time using class materials, especially the projects.
Fall 2025 - This is an interesting, low-demand seminar that deals with topics you won’t cover much. You get to make art (there’s no expectation of its quality which is nice) which outside of arts majors, is really rare in college. The assignments are all very manageable, with 3 main art projects (no writing required unless you choose not to present in-class), 1 short writing assignment, and written final essays outside of class. Attendance is taken by stating your name during in-class participation. The topics themselves were things rarely dealt with in college level courses, which was refreshing and fascinating. The Professors are clearly passionate about what they're talking about and have very unique personal experiences dealing with these cases that was interesting to hear. I think this was overall a good course that could be made great with some additional revision, specificity, and challenge to students. For the seminars themselves, the discussions felt very surface-level. There weren't any guiding questions to engage or challenge students in thinking deeper or reaching certain understandings, we mostly just listened to the professors, paused a few times per class to give our initial thoughts/general commentary and moved on. There's not really deep analysis of specifics of the course content. There’s no small group discussions or seminar style conversations like I might’ve expected. If you’re looking for a deep intellectual challenge, it might not be provided during class-time, but it’s not hard to just engage more on your own time using class materials, especially the projects.
AD
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2025 - This is an interesting, low-demand seminar that deals with topics you won’t cover much. You get to make art (there’s no expectation of its quality which is nice) which outside of arts majors, is really rare in college. The assignments are all very manageable, with 3 main art projects (no writing required unless you choose not to present in-class), 1 short writing assignment, and written final essays outside of class. Attendance is taken by stating your name during in-class participation. The topics themselves were things rarely dealt with in college level courses, which was refreshing and fascinating. The Professors are clearly passionate about what they're talking about and have very unique personal experiences dealing with these cases that was interesting to hear. I think this was overall a good course that could be made great with some additional revision, specificity, and challenge to students. For the seminars themselves, the discussions felt very surface-level. There weren't any guiding questions to engage or challenge students in thinking deeper or reaching certain understandings, we mostly just listened to the professors, paused a few times per class to give our initial thoughts/general commentary and moved on. There's not really deep analysis of specifics of the course content. There’s no small group discussions or seminar style conversations like I might’ve expected. If you’re looking for a deep intellectual challenge, it might not be provided during class-time, but it’s not hard to just engage more on your own time using class materials, especially the projects.
Fall 2025 - This is an interesting, low-demand seminar that deals with topics you won’t cover much. You get to make art (there’s no expectation of its quality which is nice) which outside of arts majors, is really rare in college. The assignments are all very manageable, with 3 main art projects (no writing required unless you choose not to present in-class), 1 short writing assignment, and written final essays outside of class. Attendance is taken by stating your name during in-class participation. The topics themselves were things rarely dealt with in college level courses, which was refreshing and fascinating. The Professors are clearly passionate about what they're talking about and have very unique personal experiences dealing with these cases that was interesting to hear. I think this was overall a good course that could be made great with some additional revision, specificity, and challenge to students. For the seminars themselves, the discussions felt very surface-level. There weren't any guiding questions to engage or challenge students in thinking deeper or reaching certain understandings, we mostly just listened to the professors, paused a few times per class to give our initial thoughts/general commentary and moved on. There's not really deep analysis of specifics of the course content. There’s no small group discussions or seminar style conversations like I might’ve expected. If you’re looking for a deep intellectual challenge, it might not be provided during class-time, but it’s not hard to just engage more on your own time using class materials, especially the projects.
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