Niko Agard’s Profile

World His­tory of An­i­ma­tion in­tro­duces stu­dents to sem­i­nal works of an­i­ma­tion across time and cul­tures. The course dis­cusses the evo­lu­tion of the art form through the lens of tech­ni­cal in­no­va­tions, so­cio-po­lit­i­cal con­texts, and aes­thetic move­ments. Stu­dents will study works rang­ing from large pro­duc­tions to in­de­pen­dent and ex­per­i­men­tal shorts, and the in­flu­ence of dif­fer­ent in­ter­na­tional pro­duc­tions on one an­other, in­clud­ing Asian and Eu­ro­pean works and cre­ators.

World History of Animation introduces students to seminal works of animation across time and cultures. The course discusses the evolution of the art form through the lens of technical innovations, socio-political contexts, and aesthetic movements. Students will study works ranging from large productions to independent and experimental shorts, and the influence of different international productions on one another, including Asian and European works and creators.