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ETHSM-2000-4: The Grind

Spring 2026

Subject: Critical Ethnic Studies - Seminar
Type: Seminar
Delivery Mode: In-Person
Level: Undergraduate

Course Dates: January 20, 2026 — May 11, 2026
Meetings: Wed 9:00-11:30AM, Hooper GC - GC7
Instructor: Trina Robinson

Units: 3.0
Enrolled: 18/18 Waitlist

Description:

The retail habits of the public are shifting. The American Mall is dying, the function of critique is insular, and more and more people look to their friends rather than art professionals for guidance concerning art and aesthetics. The failure of chain stores to adapt, and the sluggishness of property owners to realize that radical change in the way we view commerce is necessary is threatening our survival as artists and craftspeople. Emerging fine artists sometimes find it difficult to compete with more established street artists in high traffic festivals and programs. This course will focus on how to disrupt the capitalist art market, how to navigate the alternative craft and fair markets and how to sell your work directly to the public without professional representation. Students will learn the underlying issues of power and privilege of the art market, logistics of setting up a booth, applying to juried fairs and doing the research necessary to decide which events or festivals might be a good fit for their work. This class will illuminate strategies for students as they transition to the world outside schools such as developing a creating a customer base, pricing your work, interacting with potential clients and negotiating commissions. Critical Ethnic Studies 2000-level seminars introduce students to the complexities and nuances of intersectionality, gender, disability, decolonial theory & philosophy, in imperialist and non-imperialist societies. 2000-level seminars may incorporate one or more of the following interdisciplinary fields of critical ethnic studies: Africana studies, African-American Studies, Asian American studies, Indigenous studies, Chicano/a /x, and Latino /a/x studies, border studies, cultural studies, critical disability studies, critical gender studies, and global racialized and global silenced communities. Courses can be in-person, hybrid, or online.

Pre-Requisites and Co-Requisites:

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