This course was supported by the Smith College Museum of Art’s Curriculum Integration Grant. The project provided students with an opportunity to work collaboratively with an established cultural institution (Smith College Museum of Art). Each student, during the process of learning and doing, cultivated their ability to critique and analyze works of art and visual objects from a museum exhibition, “Words and Images in Chinese Culture.” They analyzed and interpreted poems for the purpose of pairing with works of art, and presented their scholarship to audiences at “Celebrating Collaborations: Students and Faculty Working Together.”
The course culminated with the launch of this virtual exhibition. Expanding upon their course experiences, students put their new knowledge into practice and created a curatorial remix of “Words and Images in Chinese Culture.” They redesigned the exhibition by adding new works (paintings and poems), new interpretations, and multimedia (poetry recitations). Intended for sharing with public audiences, this exhibition aims to contribute to scholarly discussion in the public sphere.
“This class really helps build teamwork and a greater understanding of Chinese painting and poetry while supplying an interactive environment and a solid objective to work towards from the very start of the semester.” (Student, 2017)
EAL 237 Spring 2017 Cohort:
Ava Busto Schiff ’18, Diana Chen ’17, Gloria Ningyuan Cheng ’18, Ava Friedlander ’20, Kela Harrington ’19, Francesca Harrison ’19, Beatrice Hesselbart ’20, Molly Hurd ’18, Lucy Liang ’17, Sidney Lu ’17, Xiaoqing Luo ’18, Yuxiao Meng ’19, and Erin Sulla ’19
Project Partners at Smith College:
- Joseph Bacal, Applications Administrator, Educational Technology Services
- Sharon Domier, East Asian Studies Librarian, Neilson Library
- Yasmin Chin Eisenhauer, Associate Director, Educational Technology Services
- Charlene Shang Miller, Associate Educator for Academic Programs, Smith College Museum of Art
- Barbara Polowy, Head of the Hillyer Art Library
- Mario Valdebenito Rodas, Instructional Technology Specialist, Educational Technology Services
- Sujane Wu, Associate Professor, Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures
- Yao Wu, Jane Chace Carroll Curator of Asian Art, Smith College Museum of Art