Courses and Instructors

Program Courses

USF Paris Art and Art History 2023 courses and descriptions:

ART 4814/6811 A Moveable Feast: Situation, Intervention, Food and Culture
Instructor: Noelle Mason

Hemmingway called Paris ‘a moveable feast.’ Seen through this lens, Paris streets represent a gallery flavored by the actions of tourists, citizens, immigrants and artists alike. This course explores the living city as a collaborative force that has had a definitive impact on contemporary art praxis. Through drawing, photography, video, text, food, cinema, street art, collecting and collage we will learn how artists and non-artists alike are inspired by the city to activate space and create new forms of intervention. We will explore radical popular interventions such as the Barricades of the French Revolution, the psychogeography of the Situationist International, contemporary practices in tactical media, and public performance such as the death-defying Notre Dame high-wire walk of Philippe Petit. The performative or gestural nature of the work created will lead us to investigate alternative approaches to documentation through image making as well as sculpture residues and storytelling.

ARH 4890/ART 6811 Design and Culture in the City of Paris
Instructor: Erika Greenberg-Schneider

The great history of Paris as a city is well reflected in its design.  Emperor Napoleon III decided in ca. 1852 to conduct a massive urban renewal program for the City of Paris to improve the quality of life of the population including water, sanitation, and roadways, leading to a general modernization of the city. This urban renewal also included a program for parks and gardens for the city. Urban design has always been a major part of political campaigning strategies through the monarchy as well as contemporary politics.

In this course we will take a live look at Paris through the lens of design and the development of this design through the history of its exterior spaces starting with the Park Montsouris adjacent to the Cité Universitaire where we are residing, The Rodin museum and its sumptuous garden to study how art and nature are so important to one another,  the contemporary design at the Park of La Villette and its Cité of Science and Industry (museum), and the Parc André Citroen. We will also be visiting the Museum of Posters and Advertising, part of the Louvre and the Manufacture of Sevres, where the design of porcelain objects, both functional and non-functional has existed since 1756.  As we make our way through these spaces, we will learn active journaling through serendipitous ways of recording experiences visually and verbally. 

ARH 4890/6891 TheArt of Imaging Animals
Instructor: Paula Lee

This course will address visual representations of nonhuman animals, providing an overview of their symbolism, aesthetics, and historical positioning in works of art. We will focus on the shift from the animal as an accessory to human acts, to animals as subjects in their own right, while discussing the theological, philosophical, and historical reasons why animal subjects have become increasingly relevant to current artistic production. Legacy artists will include Manet, Bonheur, Picasso, and so on, with visits to the respective museums featuring their work, as well as public sculptures and architectural features ranging from dinosaurs to gargoyles.

USF Optional London Excursion ART 4905/6940 :
Instructor: Wally Wilson (1-4 credit hours)

Other USF Credit Options

Students have the option of earning additional credits by combining this program with other study options in Paris following its conclusion at the end of June, including French language study toward the fulfillment of the language requirement or with other study-abroad opportunities offered by USF, including a semester or year-long exchange program in Paris or other locations in France. Contact the program director or the Education Abroad Office for further information.

Application Process

Students must be approved into the courses through the application process and are encouraged to apply early to secure a place in the program.