USG Teaching & Learning Conference: Best Practices for Promoting Engaged Student

Ana Pozzi-Harris

Instructors teaching college-level introductory surveys face the challenge to expand course content beyond image and historical style analysis. This presentation explores a learning tool that promotes critical thinking about social relations in the art world. The presenter created a guided-reading assignment centered on two examples of art historical narrative fiction: Girl with A Pearl Earring and Lady and the Unicorn, by Tracy Chevalier. The assignment effectively fosters students' in-depth reflection about complex questions: the social relations between artists and patrons, artists and models, artists and market, artists and audience, artists and materials. The presentation documents examples of student writing in response to the assignment. It will appeal to college instructors and high school AP teachers of art, art history, and other liberal arts disciplines.