A newer version of this course is available here:
ART of the MOOC: Public Art and Pedagogy
Can a MOOC be a work of art? New York’s public art organization, Creative Time, and Duke University believe it can. Designed by artist and Duke professor, Pedro Lasch, and co-taught with Creative Time chief curator, Nato Thompson, ART of the MOOC functions simultaneously as a socially-engaged public art form and a survey course on that very subject. Taking full advantage of the global scale yet intimate environment that only a MOOC can offer, this course merges traditional classroom practices with new technology and aesthetic experimentation. Video lectures, complementary materials, and presentations by cross-national artists, curators, critics, and activists provide a formal and theoretical overview of the fundamental themes within socially-engaged public art. Interspersed with these lessons, students will contribute to the field by completing creative assignments and participating in collective art projects. Online forums and opportunities to assemble outside of class will allow students to share their activities while developing critical thinking and discussion skills. Through this hands-on, participatory approach, ART of the MOOC welcomes students as collaborators in an unprecedented expression of public art and education.