ILUS 304: The Practice of Illustration

This course explores illustration in the context of broader cultural discourse. A key component of the class involves internships in professional practice. Through a sequence of projects, students probe the relationship between the professional production of images and wider questions of participation in the public sphere. This could involve work in print publication or advertising, but it may also entail a variety of other applied pictorial practices. This class serves as a forum wherein students share their external experiences and adapt and integrate methodologies learned in professional contexts to their own goals. The course seeks to cultivate criticality while exploring how illustration might contribute meaningfully to the shaping of society. The goal will be to root illustrators in a practice that transcends distinctions between commerce poetic inquiry.