Div II Profile: LAURA HOWARD 15F

WHO HAS SUPPORTED YOU THROUGH DIV II?

My faculty committee members, the FIRST Network student group for first-generation students, the Career Options Resource Center, and all of my wonderful friends. My Division II investigates the dynamic relationship between the history of power and the history of art. Specifically considering the voices of marginalized artists, I’m questioning the development of artistic institutions, their intended audiences, and their functions within power dynamics. I’m considering the divergent perspectives of Western and non-Western artists, and how their styles can harmonize in the contemporary era. Structuring the history of art on a global scale, I want to understand how contemporary art has developed from historical events. My goal, at the end of Div II, is to possess a culturally inclusive understanding of art history that transcends the scope of typical Western periodization schemes. I hope to be fluent in art history trends based on national and global histories. I’ll complement and enable this study with coursework and independent study on geography, politics, economics, iconography, and linguistics. By putting these topics in conversation with each other, I hope to associate artistic and historical phenomena with their cultural and political implications to develop a deeper sense of the impact and power of art.

THE PLAN

• Coursework in art history, including Latin America in Museums, History and Critical Issues of Museums, Modernity and the Avant-Garde
   
• Coursework in cultural studies, including Feminist Philosophy and German Colonialism Revisited
   
• Independent study in art history
   
• Study of art from multiple cultures around the globe
   
• Organize a series of student art shows at the Anchor House of Artists
   

HOW WILL YOU CELEBRATE PASSING DIV II?

With reflection . . . and relaxation.