criticalstudies.calarts.eduCalArts School of Critical Studies

Skip to Main Content -- calarts Toggle Menu Search Academics Programs of Study CalArts offers a variety of unique programs at the undergraduate and graduate level within its six world-renowned Schools—Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music and Theater. BFA General Education Undergraduate core courses are the foundation of BFA studies at CalArts, providing a strong general education and opportunities to deepen every student's artistic practice. Further Study Overview Interdisciplinary International Engagement Opportunities Open Learning Library The CalArts Library enables students and faculty to develop the skills necessary for creative exploration, critical reflection and lifelong learning. 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Explore the local area and community. Extended Studies Offering innovative continuing education arts courses designed to meet the needs of both emerging artists and lifelong learners. Schools Art Critical Studies Dance Film/Video Music Theater Request Info Apply Give School of Critical Studies Home Programs Faculty and Staff Visiting Faculty Alumni Resources Home Critical Studies installation, "House of Dust" The School of Critical Studies brings together internationally recognized writers, poets, scholars and thinkers working in both new and traditional forms across a wide variety of disciplines, extending from narrative fiction, performance and multimedia to cultural criticism and political theory. Offering two master’s degree programs and the general education curriculum for all CalArts BFA students, the School of Critical Studies establishes a vital discursive center for the entire CalArts community. Critical Studies is the site for the generation of new ideas through interaction and discussion with a diverse cross-section of practitioners and creative métiers—a place to acquire key intellectual skills and to interrogate what one might define as a “thinking practice.” Students in the MFA Creative Writing and the MA Aesthetics and Politics Programs develop and refine advanced creative writing and sophisticated critical scholarship in a unique multidisciplinary arts environment dedicated to experimentation and innovation. Unlike many liberal arts colleges or traditional art schools, CalArts links creative and critical practice in profound and generative ways. The new MA Aesthetics and Politics Program develops and enhances the original program established in 2007, adding an additional low-residency year. This new program is more flexible and substantial enabling students to focus with more time and depth on their studies, to take advantage of the creative environment of CalArts, to have access to a larger and more diverse cross section of theorists and artists, and to opt to study while working in their second year. Apply Request Information BFA General Education The School of Critical Studies is also responsible for the undergraduate core studies education of CalArts, which form the liberal arts backbone of a bachelor’s degree. Faculty from Critical Studies teach a range of exciting courses in the humanities, social science, cultural studies, sciences and mathematics that engage and inform each student’s own artmaking. To learn more, visit the BFA General Education page . General Education General Education Faculty Programs Aesthetics and Politics Creative Writing Amanda Beech, Dean of Critical Studies talks about the Aesthetics and Politics MA and the Creative Writing MFA Watch More Conferences Center for Discursive Inquiry REEF Residency In/Form Reading Series Katie Jacobson Writer in Residence Sublevel Theorist in Residence WHAP! Video Introduction to Critical Studies Calendar of Events Jan 31, 2020 The Animist, The Terrorist and The Desert WHAP! Lecture Series Feb 21, 2020 Nan Z. Da: On King Lear and Contemporary China WHAP! Lecture Series Mar 13, 2020 Michael Nylan: 'Pleasure as Practice (Not as Goal)' Apr 17, 2020 Robeson Taj Frazier: When the East Is in the House View All Events School Gallery West Hollywood Aesthetics and Politics (WHAP!) Lecture Series "IN/FORM," an annual publication of writing by students in the Aesthetics and Politics MA Program WHAP! Lecture Series Panel: Alex F. Brown, Ani Tatintsyan, Aryana Ghazi-hessami, Emily Donneni Latest News January 21, 2020 John Keene in Residence at CalArts and REDCAT The 2020 Katie Jacobson Writer in Residence John Keene will present public readings of his work... December 30, 2019 Year in Review: The Top 24700 Posts of 2019 As we approach the new year and prepare to usher in a new decade, take a look at the most... November 4, 2019 Q&A with Writer and CalArts Alum Rose Andersen Andersen (Critical Studies MFA 18) is the author of the forthcoming memoir The Heart and... September 27, 2019 Sublevel Magazine Issue 3 Launch Event at Hauser & Wirth This Sunday September 29, Sublevel Magazine celebrates the release of its third issue with a... June 3, 2019 Michael Leong and Anthony McCann Join CalArts Creative Writing Faculty for Poetry “They bring to this position over twenty years of community and university teaching... View All News Alumni Story Amarnath Ravva Integrated Media MFA 04 Ravva’s first book, American Canyon, was published by Kaya Press in 2014. He teaches writing and American Literature at Glendale Community College. Amarnath Ravva Since 2005, I’ve been part of a shared group space called Betalevel. It’s not a collective—it’s more of a venue for social experimentation and hands on culture that we use for readings and other events. Most of our current seven members are grads from the CalArts Writing Program. Many people make lasting friendships in the Program, which is really important, because once you leave, writers need to replace that supportive community. In the decade or so that it takes for something to happen—it took 10 years to get my book published—only writers are going to be there for each other. The world has its own preoccupations and we can’t live in a vacuum. We need respo...