Art history is now a true passion of mine, thanks to my study through NetNZ. My name is Oscar Gosling and I attend Christ’s College, Canterbury.

I am now in my second year of art history study through NetNZ, presently looking into the renaissance with Philippa Mallinson. Level two Art History only had two subscribers in 2021 which meant a class could not be formed within the school. The option provided was an online course. I was at first sceptical about the concept of an online course, having learnt at a desk from a teacher for all of my prior schooling. However, I was happily surprised to find that this style of online learning worked very well for me. Work was well structured with comprehensive fortnightly tasks and weekly zooms as a space for teaching and discussion. My learning in art history was supported by Christ’s College with a weekly two on one lesson with our own art history teacher, Robyn Peers. This extra support gave me the opportunity to discuss my NetNZ learning with another passionate about the subject. The structure of the course was effective, and allowed for a more self-disciplined approach to learning, allocating time in chunks more efficiently than with a regular 50 minute College period.

Nicky Lewis’ art history class was a wonderful introduction to nineteenth century French art, with a focus on the political influence of the French and industrial revolutions. There was close study of the five main movements in the period 1790 - 1910. This was an effective way to learn about art history, understanding stylistic conventions and developing a comprehension of their interaction with the politico-cultural context. The nature of art history is so broad that there is great facility to make it your own. I was very interested in the political meanings of artworks, and focused my study on this to a degree. I also enjoy the visual aspect of analysing different media, with pastel being a particular favourite of mine.

Attending an all boys school precludes a reasonably confined set of perspectives brought to class discussions. As such, this online class full of a diverse collection of students allowed for an interaction with peers of different backgrounds and world-views. Because of this, I was able to engage in wider academic discussions with students from across the country with varying views. This, I believe, is an important part of online learning as I mixed with people different to those at my school.

Altogether, NetNZ art history, through its self-disciplined organisation and helpful teacher support, developed in me a passion for art history. It also improved my ability to think in the arts-subject manner, reigniting an enjoyment for study of English which had beforehand waned. I pinpoint the reason for this being art history’s inherent link to its societal context. Nonetheless, a subject which requires one to appreciate artworks could never be dull. I extend my gratitude to all those who have made this happen.