After a brief hiatus, Art School(ed) returns with another round of Course Superlatives! While BlogDailyHerald has already released Brown’s Spring 2016 course superlatives, registration period for Wintersession at the Rhode Island School of Design is now upon us. For one month, Wintersession allows students to enroll in only one intensive studio course and encourages them to explore areas outside of their major without the distraction of a full course load. This mini-term is a mandatory program for those enrolled at RISD, although course credit can also be earned by completing a five or six week internship.
If you’ve taken VISA 0100, you know the drill: you are free to peruse the artsy course selections available at RISD. While the ritziest classes fill up first (don’t set your sights on Beginning Hot Glass or Digital Embroidery), there are sure to be spots available elsewhere for a Brunonian’s first foray into five hour studio classes. Acknowledging the classic obstacles RISD will set before you (notoriously small class sizes, a neurotic premium on quality control, etc.), Course Superlatives are here, in a format reminiscent of your cherished high school yearbook, to help you navigate the art school’s course catalog. Please refer to page 299 for the Wintersession spread. If you’re serious about pursuing a January abroad at the westward art school, befriend a RISD kid and use their student login to see which classes are full and how to contact teachers of the classes that appeal to you. If you’re looking to get your hands dirty at RISD this winter without logging all those hours or coming back to school early, consider attending a RISD Quickie (more on that over here).
Without further ado, Art School(ed) presents this year’s RISD Wintersession Course Superlatives:
Most likely to be the premise of the next Mary Kate and Ashley movie…
APPAREL 3052: ITALY: SHOE DESIGN PERCEPTION, HISTORY & PROTOTYPING
Most likely to teach you how to produce viral content of Hotline Bling caliber…
GRAPHIC DESIGN 3260: MUSIC VIDEO
Most ambitious…
HISTORY OF ART AND VISUAL CULTURE H757: COLLECTING THE WORLD
Most uninspired riff off of Hamlet…
ILLUSTRATION 3768: 2-D OR NOT 2-D
Most nudity per tuition dollar…
INTERDISCPILINARY STUDIES 1510: FIGURE MODELING MARATHON
Likely to be the least definitively conclusive as an academic pursuit…
HPSS S156 THE MEANING OF LIFE
Most likely to be an event in the X Games…
LITERARY ARTS E269: EXTREME FICTION
Sounds most like the opening line of an intervention…
PAINTING 4427: ON THE MATTER OF COLOR
The closest you’re going to get to Kate Moss this Wintersession…
LIBERAL ARTS LE14: OPTICS & MAKING HOLOGRAMS
Most likely to live under your bed…
PAINTING 4711: MONSTER
Most suitable for channeling your inner-Mary Shelley…
FILM/ANIMATION/VIDEO W506: CREATURE-CREATION

There’s something about Mary.
Only course name ever in the history of academia to include the term “kiosk”…
INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE 2319: THE KIOSK AS METAPHOR II: SPACE AND TYPOGRAPHY
The only thing worse than running the NYC marathon…
INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES 1509: DRAWING MARATHON
Most daunting/bonechilling/dismal reminder that Winter Is Coming…
SCULPTURE 4606: IRON IN WINTER
Images via and via the RISD Archives.