About this course
Course Description
This immersive interdisciplinary Wintersession course offered by RISD Global is for art and design students interested in exploring past and current efforts to conserve biodiversity in Southern Africa while also developing their communication and documentation skills.
On location for two weeks in South Africa and one in Namibia, this course will be co-taught by longtime RISD faculty member, scientist Dr. Lucy Spelman (Senior Lecturer/HPSS) and Susan Doyle, Professor, Illustration (or an alternate ILL faculty member.) Students will study the local biodiversity, how local people and visitors interact with nature, and how art, science, and traditional ecological knowledge influence and inform conservation decisions. Once back on campus, students spend two weeks on a final art/design project that explores the concept of conservation based on their African experience. In addition to a completed work of art or design, the final project will include 1) an artist statement that describes the student’s artistic aim/inspiration/process and 2) an annotated essay/summary of the scientific references and literary influences that informed their art.