Image, Text, Sound: Cultivating Togetherness in Online Classrooms

Chairs: Izabel Galliera, Susquehanna University, gallierasusqu.edu; Cristina Albu, University of Missouri-Kansas City, albucumkc.edu

As art museums and universities closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, encounters with art became more technologically mediated. While the Internet provided a vital lifeline for art history teachers and learners, online learning environments often proved less immersive and collaborative. Course polls showed that students and faculty alike yearned for a sense of belonging to a more vibrant community of learners that could not be easily recreated on the web. Learning assessment became more focused on written communication in asynchronous classes and conversations often got interrupted in synchronous ones due to poor Internet connection.
This panel seeks to examine how art history instructors used images, texts, and sounds to overcome miscommunication and cultivate togetherness at a time of heightened anxiety. How did instructors collaborate with students to overcome the feeling of vulnerability associated with sharing video images and views via online platforms? Which methods and tools proved most effective in enhancing attention to class content and interpersonal exchanges? What strategies for active learning proved most productive? What viable dialogue alternatives were identified when disconnection issued? The panel aims to explore the long-term impact of these changes on the relation between images, texts, and sounds in art history classes.

All proposals and supporting documentation must be submitted through the secure submission platform: https://secac.secure-platform.com/a/solicitations/12/home

Proposals due by May 4.

For more information: https://secacart.org/page/Lexington