Mary Weismantel, Curriculum Innovation Award Recipient

Curriculum Innovation Award, 2016

Art of the Ancient Americas

Weismantel’s course will replace Art History 228: Pre-Columbian Art. With an expanded and updated syllabus, this course will allow students to enroll for credit in art history as well as anthropology and Latin American studies.

The class will introduce students to the deep cultural heritage of the Americas through their connection to modern art and architecture. Additionally, the class will allow students to connect with an image-based syllabus rather than relying mainly on text.

“This course fills a lacuna in American education, in which we do not learn the deep history of our own continent” Weismantel said. “Students recognize this and value it.”

Weismantel is eager to respond to student requests for Native American/indigenous studies courses. She also is hopeful that her class will “validate the cultural heritage of many of our students of color, and (give) students from European, Asian and other backgrounds a basic familiarity with Latino, Latin American and Native American culture and history.”

The name of this award was changed in 2019 from Curriculum Development Award to Curriculum Innovation Award.