CFP: Infiltrating the Pedagogical Canon (SHERA at CAA 2015, New York, 11-14 Feb 2015)

Extended Deadline: August 1, 2014

The Society of Historians of Eastern European, Eurasian, and Russian Art and Architecture (SHERA, www.shera-art.org) invites submission of proposals for the following sponsored panel:

Infiltrating the Pedagogical Canon

As researcher-educators in specialized fields, how do we effectively incorporate the content of our scholarly work into our everyday teaching? In many art and art history departments, rare is the opportunity to teach upper-division courses focused on our field of research. Art history surveys generally include, at best, a handful of significant objects from the entire history of Eurasian, Eastern European, and Russian art, only a few amongst many global perspectives that traditionally lie beyond the scope of standard art history curricula. Contextualization of such works within a culturally specific framework, distinct from yet connected to the metanarratives of "Western" and "Non-Western" art, remains challenging. How do we incorporate the question of the work addressing local concerns versus international art audiences into teaching? How does this kind of problem open up new perspectives on how our students do art history? Teaching a mixed population of students who may range from recent immigrants and heritage speakers to students for whom the name "Lenin" lacks signification, how do we spark an interest in globally diverse art in students of all levels, from novices to more advanced?

This panel invites submissions of theoretical discussions about the importance of incorporating culturally specific art into standard art history curricula, practical examples of curricular innovations involving global and transnational perspectives on art, as well as specific case studies focused on non-canonical objects or contexts that encourage discussions of both local and global perspectives. Submissions may deal with any chronological period. Papers that explore questions regarding the infiltration of Russian, Eurasian, and Eastern European objects and narratives into the standard teaching canon—as well as transnational projects—are preferred, but we also welcome projects that can provide a broader network of global perspectives to the conversation.

This panel seeks to engage questions on both practical and theoretical levels, providing attendees with take-away material to immediately employ in the classroom, rationale for how and why to focus on culturally specific, globally diverse art within a broader art-historical context, and inspiration for bridging the gap between scholarly inquiry and pedagogy in these fields.

Submit proposal abstracts of 500 words or less, along with a current CV of 1-2 pages, to Marie Gasper-Hulvat, Kent State University at Stark, mgasper6@kent.edu. Submissions must be received by email by August 1, 2014.

This session will be free and open to the public. Accepted panelists must become members of SHERA, but need not be members of the College Art Association (CAA), nor register for the CAA conference.

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