The World Economic Forum has consistently rated critical and analytical skills as the most crucial skills to thrive in the coming decades. Developing critical thinking skills is an art, and from its moment of inception, Contextual Studies has built its foundation on developing and nurturing critical thought in our students.
The seeds for curiosity and engagement with visual culture are planted in CS100, when we introduce the basic theories behind visual literacy. During the first semester, the CS studio turns into a classical and modern art history timeline as our first year courses unfold. Critical and flexible thinking is further nurtured in CS200, when the focus shifts to the theoretical frameworks informing identity politics and the construction of the ‘self’. The studio transforms from a debate arena, to a discussion panel, to a gallery, and even into a cinema when we bring alive the words on the page. Our animated class discussions take on various topics, ranging from critiques of ideology, to the unpacking of the complexities of postcolonial discourse, as well as the construction and representations of gender.
In the final year, our critical inquiry becomes deeply philosophical, turning our gaze both inward and out to the world, and we start to question the ethical implications of our engagement with the constructs that inform our everyday cultural, social and political interactions. CS300 investigates the pressing issues brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution; the invisible workings of language and power and how these inform our sense of selves and our world; and finally the nature of ‘being’ and ‘becoming’ through the lenses of a variety of foundational philosophical thinkers. Throughout the year, students harness their powers of critical thought to produce a larger independent Research Project which investigates a topic of their choice.
With Contextual Studies we aim to sow, nurture, and grow the seeds of critical thought so that it can blossom into a responsible personal ethics that will continue to inform your personal and professional lives for years to come.
