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[papergreen]

I'm in the beginning stages of thinking about going to grad school, and I'm trying to figure out how to do research into graduate programs. My academic interests, so far, are in art, film, and popular culture, post-WWII. Which I know is incredibly vague. Specifically I'm interested in the way that art movements shape (and are shaped by) their

Comments

[fullofpink]

Art history ---> post-modernism --> film/ contemporary.

Of course this diagram is HUGE and the best idea is to think of an article you like that focuses on your interest and find out where they teach.

[fullofpink]

Btw, in art history - this is exactly what is being study. Art history really shouldn't be called art history - it should be called the study of visual culture. Society is affected by art and vise-versa. From 1940s-1980s, you see a dramatic shift in art (and other forms of media) making a pronounced shift in the way the world works - especially in photography and film. Catastrophic events, cultural identity thrown into a blender, and mass-migration and globalization has produced a generation that want to say "this is my life, my society - you need to hear/see what I have to say

[papergreen]

as i said in a reply below, i did a lot of my undergrad work on film and culture in post-war france, specifically connections between the 1968 student uprisings and new wave cinema. (even more specifically, the way that the breaking-down of traditional narrative structure and modes of filmic representation were a reaction to/representation of the newly politicized youth culture, which was itself a reaction to the breakdown of society that occurred during WWII.) i'd be interested to see if i could draw similar conclusions in other 1968 uprisings, such as mexico city and prague, but i'm not sure i'd want to commit to that idea yet.

how specific will i have to be in a statement of purpose? and how much will i be tied to that idea if i actually get into a program?

[fullofpink]

a lot of students go into graduate school knowing an area they wish to study but not necessarily the specific reason. I think saying "I'm really interested in cultural revolutions of the later 20th century with an emphasis on visual cultural reflecting it" while stating that the reason you enjoy this period is because of your research regarding 1968 uprisings. :)

Ideally, you'll look FOR a program with that emphasis - or an adviser with the same interests. There are dozens of contemporary art scholars so you are right, it will be daunting to try and find someone with this if you don't know where to search. Why don't you try a database, like Art Bibliography Modern and put in "1968" "revolution" "art" and see what comes up (or any combination of words) and glance at the articles. That may help :)

[muse_10]

What sort of program are you in now? That might impact the type of methodology you are comfortable with or prefer to use in your research. I second art history programs with a strong modern/postmodern/contemporary faculty. A lot of art history departments are very interdisciplinary, encouraging collaboration with other departments that complement your interests. You can also look at programs with a strong visual culture component. I don't know much about it, but there's one at Rochester. And definitely go shopping for advisers in journals.

[papergreen]

i've been out of school for a few years now, but my undergrad degree was in "individualized studies" at a school that really emphasizes its interdisciplinary approach, with a nominal backbone in "the great books". basically, you could study any amount of disparate subjects that you could tie together using plato's "republic

[muse_10]

First, I agree with all of what fullofpink says. With your background, I'd say that you may be comfortable with philosophy, but your interests seem to call for a more historical/cultural approach, so I still recommend art history. Like has been said, today's art history isn't the art history of Vasari, focusing the lives of artists. You'll find the kind of research you want to do will be very welcome in the right departments. Keep searching for the right faculty; it'll be well worth the effort. I don't think you will feel restricted by the field, but then again I may have personal bias

[papergreen]

thank you, this is the kind of help i was looing for.

[coaldustcanary]

What you're talking about sounds like what my academic stepsiblings over in Communication & Culture study. (I'm on the social science side of communication studies; they'd be the critical/cultural side.) Look for film studies, rhetorical studies, some media studies programs, too. I think you'd fit in there well.