The International Arts & Culture cohort is designed to create a stimulating community of women who wish to incorporate an intensive study of the humanities and active involvement in creative/studio arts into their Freshman experience.
This cohort draws students interested in the visual arts, performing arts, art history and majors independent of art. Students in this cohort are immersed in the artistic culture in, and around, Washington DC. They attend performances, watch private screenings and meet with innovative women artists to learn more about their lives and bodies of work. The courses in this cohort include Women and the Creative Process, WLP 20, a performing or studio art course and UW20. These courses apply to general curriculum requirements in the Columbian College of Arts and Science and will fulfill electives in all other schools.
This year-long program provides a challenging and diverse academic program that builds a strong foundation in communication, analysis, and process. Students enroll in two academic courses each semester, in addition to the year-long symposium.
| Course | Area | Credits |
| Women and the Creative Process | Humanities | 3 |
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TDRA 195 How can an ‘abstract’ and subjective discipline like art be experienced, discussed, and written about within a scholarly setting? This humanities course, taught by the Program Coordinator, consists of readings and discussions about aesthetics, creativity, and cultural values, and is framed by an exploration of how works of art are conceptualized, developed, discussed, and evaluated and how women in arts participate in this exploration. Course material includes primary sources such as film, fiction and biography, studio footage, and visual works of art. Secondary materials include theoretical texts, journal articles, and criticism. This student-oriented exploration is discussion based, and students apply the concepts and experiences acquired in class and symposium by maintaining a weekly journal and writing criticisms. The course is geared towards providing a solid academic foundation that culminates in the completion of a research/analytical paper that develops an original thesis. |
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| WLP Humanities Seminar | Humanities | 3 |
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WLP 20 This course fulfils one Humanities requirement. A writing-intensive seminar that emphasizes critical reading skills, concepts of disciplinarity, and processes of producing and legitimating knowledge for women in humanities. Each cohort includes a WLP 020 course, and texts and emphasis vary according to cohort. The course is taught by a member of the WLP University Writing faculty. |
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| Symposium | 1 | |
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WLP 110.M1 This course does not fulfill an academic requirement, but counts towards the students’ overall earned credit-hours Symposium, which takes place once a week, is designed to supplement the academic component of the program with a wide variety of extra-curricular opportunities, many of which are exclusive to members of WLP. Symposia fall into two main categories: women’s leadership and discipline-specific exploration. Each semester includes several shared symposia that include leadership-building workshops, cultural events of cross-disciplinary interest, and guest speakers. These shared events are designed to introduce students to successful women in a variety of fields, incite thought concerning a specific aspect of community and leadership, provide networking opportunities, and encourage each student to reflect upon her current and future contributions as woman leader. The second genre of symposia are cohort-specific, geared towards each group’s particular discipline. The IA&C cohort explores the rich variety of D.C.’s cultural and artistic resources and institutions. A sampling of past destinations and events includes:
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| Course | Area | Credits |
| University Writing | Literacy | 4 |
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UW 20 This course fulfils one Literacy requirement The University Writing Program provides comprehensive writing and research instruction, and is required for all undergraduate students. WLP offers a choice of four topics taught by the program’s University Writing faculty. This course is not cohort-specific – students may select any of the four courses offered. |
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| Studio Art Class | Creative and Performing Arts | varies |
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This course fulfils one Creative and Performing Arts requirement An important component of IA&C’s exploration of the creative process across the art forms is an active engagement in the medium of the student’s choice. Students select from the university’s wide range of visual art, dance, theatre, vocal, and instrumental courses offered in the spring semester. |
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| Symposium | 1 | |
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Year– long enrollment. 1 credit hour per semester. |
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Travel to Paris with Professor Buckley's Modernism course this summer.
See video here.
Women's Leadership Program students enjoy the buffet at our year-end symposium. After dinner the students reported on their understanding of leadership through the lens of their cohort.
2009-2010 WLP students get ready for the theater production of Eclipsed
2009-2010 WLP Art and Culture students visit the Capital
Culture What do works of art communicate about the culture in which they are produced? Is art ‘universal,’ or inextricable from its cultural, social, political, and economic contexts?
Values How is art evaluated and discussed? What factors influence our response to particular works? How do cultural and historical perspectives and values become enfolded into discourses? How do we enter into these discourses as emerging scholars, leaders, and artists?
Process What is the creative process? Are there similarities across the art forms? Is the creative process different for each art form?
Identity How do the identity positions that female artists claim and/or have ascribed to them—race, class, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and national identity—affect the ways that they negotiate the categories of “art” and “artist”?