You have been reading a chapter in your book on a brief history of WESTERN art. Western art usually refers to European art, and it very commonly centers Christianity as its main cultural reference (since it was Christianity that defines much of the history of European culture in the last 2 centuries).  Also, you’ll notice that there is a separate chapter to talk about craft, as well as two videos to help augment the information you are given.

However, art was being made throughout the rest of the world!  Why don’t we focus on that, too? It’s actually a great question and a problem with the way that this book presents art, and with the way it is commonly taught in college (including ours!).  How do Magdelene Odundo and the Hmong textile artists that you’ve learned about fit into the picture? AND why does craft get it’s own chapter?  Why isn’t it just included in the history of art? So, I’m curious about how you view this situation. The questions I would like you to consider are:

1) Are you enjoying learning about a Western version of art history in your book? Or do you wish there were other histories of makers, artists, cultures represented in our curriculum?  Did you enjoy the videos that brought into focus Kenyan artist Magdelene Odundo and the Hmong tradition of textiles? Would you like more of this?

2) What is your perspective on how craft is treated by our book and much of art history? Why do you think it has been separated?  Who do you think is benefiting from this separation? Who typically makes craft objects? And who are the folks who don’t get included in the field of art?

3) If any of these question raise problems for you, what instead would YOU like to learn about? What would make this class better represent your interests, or even your histories?