ARTH 373 Issues in Contemporary Canadian Art: Land, Space, and Place

• Mondays, 14:45-17:15 pm
• Course delivery TBA
• Instructor: Dr. Reilley Bishop-Stall

This course will examine contemporary art in Canada from (approximately) 1980 to the present. Approaching a broad range of artistic production, including photography, film, painting, drawing, performance, installation and new media art, the course will be semi-chronological, with attention paid to the specificity of different urban and rural regions across the country. All artists, works and locations encompassed in the course will be examined within the context of land, space and place. Canada is a settler colonial nation, with a diverse and changing population, occupying Indigenous land and contested territories. The history, economy and national identity of Canada has, since its origins, largely been determined by the land upon which the country was formed. By engaging with contemporary art production, students will confront and consider some of the most pressing concerns affecting Canada and the larger world, today. These include: climate change; Indigenous land claims and territorial rights; racial justice and anticolonialism; immigration; identity formation; safety and belonging; disputed borders and territories; and the politics of language and naming.