101 Mesa Arts Building; (714) 824-6646
Stephen Barker, Director
Stephen Barker, Ph.D. University of Arizona, Associate Dean of the School of the Arts, Director of Arts Interdisciplinary, Department Chair (Acting) of Studio Art, and Associate Professor of Drama
The program in Arts Interdisciplinary is designed for students who wish to investigate the various disciplines in and beyond the arts. Although participation in studio classes is required, the program emphasizes the study of the history, theory, and criticism of the arts in the School's various departments and their relations to other disciplines. The nature of the program provides each student the opportunity to plan a uniquely individual course of study with the approval of the Director or an appropriate advisor. Because the Arts Interdisciplinary program is designed for students with a strong sense of personal direction and a desire for an academic appreciation of the arts, students wishing to enter the program must submit a statement of purpose to the Director prior to the quarter in which they intend to declare their major. Admission to the program is based upon the statement of purpose and upon the student's prior record of high academic performance. Upon completion of this program, students will be awarded the B.A. in Fine Arts with Arts Interdisciplinary as the area of concentration.
The University's Education Abroad Program offers students the opportunity to study abroad. European study centers of particular interest to the Arts Interdisciplinary major which are strong in the history, theory, and criticism of the arts are located in Vienna, Austria (music, art), Copenhagen, Denmark (medieval studies), Paris, France (French critical thought and film criticism), Göttingen, Germany (music, archaeology), and Bologna, Italy (music, art, drama). Arts courses also are part of the general curriculum in other study centers in France, Hungary, Spain, Israel, and Sweden, in addition to arts courses in English-language study centers in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Ghana, Egypt, and India.
Three one-year surveys in three different areas of the arts selected from Art History 40A, 40B, 40C, Dance 90A-B-C, Dance 191A-B-C, Dance 192A-B-C, Drama 40A-B-C, or Music 40A-B-C; nine performance/studio courses (e.g., acting, ballet, drawing, chorus, orchestra); six upper-division courses in the history, theory, and criticism of the arts in at least two areas of the arts, including Arts 130; a senior thesis; two years in a language other than English at University level or equivalent competence; related courses in disciplines other than the arts are encouraged.
| Sample Program for Freshmen | |||||
| Fall | Winter | Spring | |||
| Survey Course | Survey Course | Survey Course | |||
| Foreign Language | Studio Course | Studio Course | |||
| English and Comp | Foreign Language | Foreign Language | |||
| Lit. WR39A | English and Comp. | English and Comp. | |||
| Lit. WR39B | Lit. WR39C | ||||
With the exception of the courses listed here, Arts Interdisciplinary majors choose courses, in accordance with the program requirements, from those listed under Dance, Drama, Music, and Studio Art.
Arts 1A, B, C Arts Core (4, 4, 4) F, W, S. General introduction to central themes, issues, and practice of the arts, and to the School of the Arts at UCI. (IV)
Arts 40A-B-C Selected Interdisciplinary Topics (4-4-4) F, W, S. Studies in the historic and theoretical interrelationships of artistic disciplines, including such fields as dance, music, art, and/or drama; and investigation of their underlying social and aesthetic bases and the influence of one art upon another. Topics vary.
Arts 50 Multimedia Arts: History, Criticism, and Technology (4) F, W, S. Introduction to the history, criticism, and practices of multimedia technology. Students learn through hands-on experience, work in multimedia, in its various forms. Prerequisite: prior computer experience with Macintosh or Windows.
Arts 100A-B-C The Senior Thesis (4-4-4) F, W, S. Planning, drafting, writing, and presentation of an academic thesis which interrelates two or more artistic disciplines. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. Open only to Arts Interdisciplinary majors.
Arts 130 Crossing Boundaries: An Introduction to Interdisciplinary Study (4) F, W, S. Investigation of interdisciplinary thought and action beginning with the nature of discipline and extending to the relationship between science and art, politics/society and art, and struggles within the arts between theory and practice and across apparently segregating boundaries. Prerequisite: upper-division standing. May be taken for credit three times as topics vary.
Arts 150 Introduction to the Alexander Technique (2) F, W, S. Group lessons. Applying the principles of the Alexander Technique to all movement, including professional activities. Expanding awareness through development of the kinesthetic sense; exploring choices in movement through recognition of habit patterns. Increased ease of movement, enhanced coordination, stress reduction, poise.
