About this Course

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Students of this course may try their hand at their own public art interventions, or simply focus on learning from the theory of public practice and its recent history. Designed by artist and Duke professor, Pedro Lasch, and co-taught by Creative Time artistic director, Nato Thompson, this course presents public culture and art in their radically reinenvented contemporary forms. The lectures link major developments of recent decades to wider topics like spatial politics, everyday social structures, and experimental education. 
Also included are guest presentations from key thinkers and practitioners, like: Tania Bruguera, Claire Doherty, Tom Finkelpearl, Hans Haacke, Shannon Jackson, Suzanne Lacy, Rick Lowe, and many more. As the ‘ART of the MOOC’ title implies, learners and participants are encouraged to treat the MOOC itself as a public art medium. This happens mostly through the course’s practical components, local project productions, global exchanges, and critical feedback.

While no prior art making experience is required, projects also offer challenging options for advanced learners.

For other course offerings or language versions in this series, just search 'ART of the MOOC' in the Coursera catalog.

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Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

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Coursera Labs

Includes hands on learning projects.

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Approx. 9 hours to complete

English

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Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Coursera Labs

Includes hands on learning projects.

Learn more about Coursera Labs

Approx. 9 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructors

Instructor rating

4.82/5 (20 Ratings)

Pedro Lasch

Visual Artist and Associate Research Professor

Duke Art, Art History & Visual Studies

51,030 Learners

5 Courses

Nato Thompson

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating95%(1,702 ratings)

Week1

Week 1

11 minutes to complete

Introduction to Public Art and Pedagogy

11 minutes to complete

1 video (Total 2 min), 3 readings

Week2

Week 2

2 hours to complete

Public Art and Spatial Politics: Lectures, Guest Presentations, and Quiz

This lesson will lay out some basic definitions and examples of public practice and socially engaged art, especially as they relate to spatial politics. We will examine the critical role that such practices have had in relation to various forms of urbanism and social planning and consider the physical and symbolic mechanisms that separate the global and the local, the urban and the rural, the visible and the invisible, citizens and immigrants, settlers and refugees. The lecture and guest presentations will provide foundation and inspiration for students’ own experiments with spatial politics.

2 hours to complete

8 videos (Total 80 min), 1 reading, 1 quiz

Week3

Week 3

1 hour to complete

Public Art and Spatial Politics: Projects and Self-Assessments

The prompt, lecture and guest presentations will provide the foundation and inspiration for students’ own experiments. These student experiments were originally peer reviewed projects in the ART of the MOOC series, but have now been made entirely optional and self-reviewed. If you want to do them, we recommend you chose one of the two options (one is more social, the other more individual) and complete the optional quiz after you are done. Your project submissions and the quiz are not graded, so they will not impact your performance in the course.

1 hour to complete

2 readings

Week4

Week 4

2 hours to complete

Fictions, Alternative Structures, and Mock-Institutions: Lectures, Guest Presentations, and Quiz

By definition, social art is a collective endeavor. It might seek to transform larger social structures and economies. Perhaps more modestly, it might offer some alternatives or simply confront immediate challenges. The production of an unusual, creative, or engaged collective body can be its final goal. In this lesson we will learn how socially engaged artists have used the guise or actual form of organizations and institutions such as churches, corporations, banks, government offices, and other social units as the very media of their work. This lesson’s practical components will ask students to invent their own alternative social structures or fictional interventions.

2 hours to complete

9 videos (Total 78 min)

Week5

Week 5

1 hour to complete

Fictions, Alternative Structures, and Mock-Institutions: Projects and Self-Assessments

The prompt, lecture and guest presentations will provide the foundation and inspiration for students’ own experiments. These student experiments were originally peer reviewed projects in the ART of the MOOC series, but have now been made entirely optional and self-reviewed. If you want to do them, we recommend you chose one of the two options (one is more social, the other more individual) and complete the optional quiz after you are done. Your project submissions and the quiz are not graded, so they will not impact your performance in the course.

1 hour to complete

2 readings

Week6

Week 6

1 hour to complete

Experimental Pedagogy: Lectures, Guest Presentations, and Quiz

Many socially engaged artists are invested in the communication of ideas through education or educational projects. From Freire and Boal to Judy Chicago and Miriam Shapiro’s Womanhouse and the CalArts Feminist Art Program a brief review of experimental or radical pedagogy and its influence on art is hence the focus of this lesson. Using various technologies and social forms, some of these works set out to transform education from within. Others intentionally position themselves as self-organized platforms outside of institutions. Our focus will be on how the production of alternative communities of learning can challenge the hierarchies, professionalization, homogenization, and economy of current education systems. This week’s practical components will invite students to rethink their relationship to education as they chose between small-scale socialization and massive collaboration.

1 hour to complete

6 videos (Total 55 min), 1 reading, 1 quiz

Week7

Week 7

1 hour to complete

Experimental Pedagogy: Projects and Self-Reflection

The prompt, lecture and guest presentations will provide a foundation and inspiration for students’ own experiments with spatial politics.The prompt, lecture and guest presentations will provide the foundation and inspiration for students’ own experiments. These student experiments were originally peer reviewed projects in the ART of the MOOC series, but have now been made entirely optional and self-reviewed. If you want to do them, we recommend you chose one of the two options (one is more social, the other more individual) and complete the optional quiz after you are done. Your project submissions and the quiz are not graded, so they will not impact your performance in the course.

1 hour to complete

2 readings

Reviews

4.7

25 reviews

5 stars
79.13%
4 stars
15.65%
3 stars
4.34%
1 star
0.86%

TOP REVIEWS FROM ART OF THE MOOC: PUBLIC ART AND PEDAGOGY

by BAAug 13, 2020

This course was excellent. The content was really engaging, the tutors were very responsive and the assignments were interesting. I would wholeheartedly recommend it.

by LCAug 21, 2020

I loved this course - very interesting content, and it helped me a lot for future pedagogical adventures with my urban arts association.

Thank you!

by JQDec 11, 2017

Interesting perspective on art I hadn't considered prior to this course. Thanks so much.

by WSNov 10, 2020

I loved this. The class was very informative and enjoyable. I didn’t realize I would move through the course so fast. Will be taking more courses.

View all reviews

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?
When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.
Will I receive a transcript from Duke University for completing this course?
No. Completion of a Coursera course does not earn you academic credit from Duke; therefore, Duke is not able to provide you with a university transcript. However, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

ART of the MOOC: Public Art and Pedagogy

ART of the MOOC: Public Art and Pedagogy

About this Course