Reimagining Innovation

Sitting in Dr. Bing Huang’s class is an adventure every day. Oftentimes, you’re not sitting at all.

Like many classes at the College, students in Asian Art through VR Gaming listen to lectures. They also don virtual reality headsets to view Asian heritage sites, such as a Japanese temple, unbounded by the limitations of physical space — or the price of plane tickets.

“They can experience what it feels like actually to exist within the environment,” said the course’s instructor, Dr. Bing Huang, assistant professor of art history.

In addition, students explored architectural sites through augmented reality and 3D modeling. Huang also trans­formed 2D Chinese landscape paintings into 3D spaces so students could better understand how they contrast with Renaissance linear perspective.

In the class, students experience traditional techniques in the studio themselves, such as ink painting and Chinese calligraphy.

student with asian art vr

“I believe that the study of art history should not entail simply reading and looking at artwork,” Huang said. “I believe innovation happens when people are having the most fun.”

Read a Qu0026A with Dr. Huang from The Cowl

About Dr. Bing Huang

Dr. Bing Huang is an assistant professor of art history, who earned a Ph.D. in Chinese art from Harvard University. In 2018, Huang received PC’s Innovation in Teaching Award, recognizing faculty who have incorporated innovative teaching approaches that increase student learning and success into their courses.

 “If you think about the art of our day, museums and galleries are important and the first thing that comes to mind, but I do not confine contemporary art to museums or other art institutions,” Dr. Huang says. “I think our contemporary art involves gaming, movies, and social media, such as Instagram and Facebook. These are the biggest warehouses of images and should be considered the contemporary art of our age.”

Dr. Bing Huang

“Everyone can be an artist and self-made internet celebrity and create great content for our modern image consumption.”

Dr. Bing Huang

Academic innovation comes standard through The Fund for Providence College. With the distinctive Development of Western Civilization (DWC) curriculum, interdisciplinary course offerings, and a strong foundation in the liberal arts, PC’s academic programs teach students how to think, not what to think.

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