Stanford Root

Schedule

Stanford Root

Schedule

ITALIC 91

Why Art?

UNITS:4
GRADING:Letter (ABCD/NP)
LEVEL:Undergrad
GER:College, WAY-A-II

Why art? Why choose art? What does art do for you and for the world? What can you do, say, feel, or know through art that might be difficult to accomplish by other means? How does art stimulate an engagement with the world and, in turn, how do we use that engagement to better understand ourselves? Whether you go on to be a practicing artist, a patron, an avid reader, or a weekend museum-goer, how can the principles of art help you reflect on the life you make for yourself?

Syllabus for selected term:
View Autumn 2026 Syllabus

Sections

1 Term
Lecture 1Open
ID: 24194
0 / 45 enrolled
DAYS:Tuesday, Thursday
TIME:10:30 AM – 11:50 AM
LOCATION:380-380W
INSTRUCTOR:
Oeler, Karla, Beil, Kim, Sax, Samuel
4units
Discussion 1Open
ID: 24198
0 / 16 enrolled
DAYS:Tuesday, Thursday
TIME:1:30 PM – 2:20 PM
LOCATION:460-429
INSTRUCTOR:
Beil, Kim
4units
Discussion 2Open
ID: 24199
0 / 16 enrolled
DAYS:Tuesday, Thursday
TIME:3 PM – 3:50 PM
LOCATION:McMurtry Art Building 360
INSTRUCTOR:
Sax, Samuel
4units
Discussion 3Open
ID: 24297
0 / 16 enrolled
DAYS:Tuesday, Thursday
TIME:4:30 PM – 5:20 PM
LOCATION:160-326
INSTRUCTOR:
Sax, Samuel
4units

ITALIC 91: Why Art?

4 units · Letter (ABCD/NP) · GER: College, WAY-A-II

Why art? Why choose art? What does art do for you and for the world? What can you do, say, feel, or know through art that might be difficult to accomplish by other means? How does art stimulate an engagement with the world and, in turn, how do we use that engagement to better understand ourselves? Whether you go on to be a practicing artist, a patron, an avid reader, or a weekend museum-goer, how can the principles of art help you reflect on the life you make for yourself?

Offered in Autumn 2026 at Stanford University.

Autumn 2026 sections

  • Discussion — Tuesday Thursday 4:30 PM – 5:20 PM — 160-326 — Sax, Samuel (Undergrad)
  • Discussion — Tuesday Thursday 1:30 PM – 2:20 PM — 460-429 — Beil, Kim (Undergrad)
  • Lecture — Tuesday Thursday 10:30 AM – 11:50 AM — 380-380W — Oeler, Karla, Beil, Kim, Sax, Samuel (Undergrad)
  • Discussion — Tuesday Thursday 3:00 PM – 3:50 PM — McMurtry Art Building 360 — Sax, Samuel (Undergrad)

More ITALIC courses

  • ITALIC 92: Art Worlds: Conversations between Artists and Scholars
  • ITALIC 93: Art Everywhere
  • ITALIC 95W: Immersion in the Arts: Living in Culture, Writing Section
  • ITALIC 99SI: Immersion in the Arts
  • ITALIC 100: Art Materials from the Ground Up
  • ITALIC 101: Undergraduate Teaching Apprenticeship

All ITALIC courses · All departments