Dean's introduction

The School of Critical Studies serves all CalArts students by incorporating intellectually rigorous methods of inquiry and reflection into the creative process. Our aim is to generate as much enthusiasm for reading, writing and critical thinking as for artmaking.

Although the School of Critical Studies does not offer a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree, the Critical Studies Undergraduate Requirements provide every BFA candidate at the CalArts Schools of Art, Dance, Film/Video, Music and Theater with a comprehensive, well-rounded education to complement his or her arts training. This curriculum gives students the technical and intellectual tools to study the arts in a broad social and cultural context. It allows them to engage in independent inquiry and make meaningful connections across a wide spectrum of topics and disciplines.

The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Writing Program allows advanced students to pursue a variety of traditional and new forms ranging from narrative fiction to experimental criticism, from poetry to hypertext. This challenging program sets high standards for both creativity and craft, but it is also flexible enough to accommodate interdisciplinary endeavors and new practices that depart from conventional categories and chart new aesthetic horizons.

Writing students also benefit greatly from the eclectic creative environment at CalArts. MFA writing students can take classes at other CalArts Schools and work on collaborative projects with visual artists, film- and videomakers, animators, multimedia artists, composers, directors, actors, designers and choreographers.

The MFA Writing Program [1] hosts a diverse range of visiting writers, theorists and artists as an integral part of its curriculum. At the same time, it gives students ample opportunity to read or perform their own work. In addition, the program publishes the literary journal Black Clock [2], a showcase for cutting-edge writing edited by faculty member Steve Erickson.

Nancy Wood, Dean