Conversations about Craft: MA in Critical Craft Studies

What questions would you ask of this lidded pot by Karen Karnes? How does the knowledge you bring to the conversations shape those questions? How can a conversation such as this imagined one expand our understanding of craft as a field of study? What questions will you ask after this past year—and how will 2020 shape your teaching?

This has been a particularly challenging year for everyone, and through it all, our faculty have stayed focused on teaching. working together, and wrestling with these questions and more. They continue to teach students to build research from their curiosity, and guide them in communicating their ideas. This is the first low-residency program focused on critical craft studies, and Warren Wilson College values and appreciates the experimental teaching and pedagogical development happening in this program collaboration, and the ways in which our faculty continue to support and expand student thinking and experiences during difficult circumstances.

Warren Wilson College would like to recognize the hard work and dedication of our Core and Workshop Faculty and Mentors. All Faculty teach courses at multiple institutions, conduct workshops and lectures, contribute to critical thinking in multiple forms from writing to podcasts to exhibitions, serve in advisory capacities, and are part of our team working to develop new teaching models—and this program—as part of their praxis. Networks extend further through mentors, who work with students throughout the year on special topics connected to their research. 

Core Faculty
Core Faculty teach during Residencies and during the off-site portion of the semester. They lead courses in which all students participate: History and Theory, Materials Lab, Research Methods Lab, and Practicum Project. Core Faculty for the 2020–21 year who we wish to recognize are:

Jeff Keith (Research Methods 1 + 2)
Ben Lignel (Materials Lab 3 + 4)
Tom Martin (History + Theory 3, Research Methods Lab 4)
Leslie Roberts (Materials Lab 1)
Mara Holt Skov (Materials Lab 2)
Namita Gupta Wiggers (History + Theory 1 + 2; Research Methods Lab 3; History + Theory 4, Practicum Project)

Workshop Faculty
Workshop Faculty teach short sessions during the Fall or Spring Residency. Workshops connect to main course threads, and expand connections and concepts. Workshop Faculty, much like Core Faculty, work in a variety of institutions, organizations, and practices. Workshop Faculty for the 2020-21 year who we wish to recognize are:

Lola Clairmont, Sara Clugage, Lisa Jarrett, Kareem Khubchandani, Tim May/XPLANE, Tiffany Momon, Nick Mirzoeff, Melissa Potter, Jay Roberts, and Lauren Sinner

Mentors
Mentors work with students on specific topics connected to their research interests or skill building during each semester. We thank our mentors, a rotating list of individuals who bring expertise and connections to expand the program in countless ways. Please visit our program website for a full list of mentors.

Learn more
Applications to the MA in Critical Craft Studies are due March 1, 2021. 

To participate in an upcoming information session, visit here or email Nathan Wyrick, Director of Admissions at nwyrick [​at​] warren-wilson.edu

Faculty PechaKucha
Join us for this event with Spring Core Faculty on January 12 from 2–4pm EST. Register here.

Building a Craftscape
To learn how we are building our program, check out the Faculty Webinar Series at Warren Wilson College presentation by Namita Gupta Wiggers, Program Director: Building a Craftscape: What is a Field and Who Does it Include?

To learn about student research, visit our program website at macraftstudieswwc.com to access and purchase Mapping Craft: This is How We Meet, a student-led publication from the Class of 2020. All publication purchases support scholarships for students who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in the program.

Warren Wilson College
Warren Wilson is an independent, liberal arts college in Asheville, North Carolina, and is the only national liberal arts college with integrated work and service components. All of Warren Wilson’s undergraduate and graduate degrees are accredited through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools: Council on Colleges.