Eyes on the Ball: The Art of Play
Course #: ART 105G
Description:
This course will focus on the broad definition of play in contemporary culture as experienced through the eye, body, and mind. It will seek to activate and heighten your senses and acumen in the artistic arena using the notion of play in various categories. We'll look at how play and games figure prominently in daily life through language, art, film, sports, and athletic competition. In addition to critical reading and writing there will be exercises and projects designed to make you more aware of our kinesthetic response to the daily visual stimuli all around us. The goal of this course is to enliven your notion of curiosity in order to make manifest the layered richness of your surroundings, develop critical visual literacy, and to play. You will also learn basic video skills and explore the poetic, empirical, experiential, and mundane. The course will be broken into three sections: Open Your Eyes: The Notion of Play; Mind Play and Mental Gymnastics: Playing Philosophical Ping-Pong with Language, and Win/Lose: Sports and Play.
Pre Requisites: Degree students only, with fewer than 30 credits when they entered UMass Boston.Students may complete only one 100G course (First Year Seminar).