ART 253 AD - Multicultural Art in North America

Minimum Credit(s) Awarded: 4
Maximum Credit(s) Awarded: 4

This course provides an inclusive, multicultural introduction to art of North America, with emphasis on ways that art is related to the historical, social, and cultural contexts in which it is created. Rather than attempting to consider all of the art produced over this long span of time, we will focus on particular aspects of American art, foremost among these the visual manifestations of the cross-cultural encounters between diverse peoples as central to the history of art of this continent. We will consider the relationships between American art and European art, and visual art and material culture as the expressions of particularly “American” identities by American artists and craftspeople of various ethnicities. Our study will emphasize the historical and cultural contexts in which this diversity of art has been produced. We consider such questions as: How have the social dynamics of race and ethnicity, along with gender and class, shaped the experiences of American artists and their audiences at various historical moments since pre-contact through the modern period? How do artists’ social positions inform their artistic responses to questions of modernity? What does art by artists of diverse ethnicities tell us about the historic and contemporary experiences of various cultural groups in the US? As well as exploring movements in art of North America and the work of individual artists of various ethnicities, this course introduces the students to methodological and theoretical issues underlying the study of art in North America, and ways that consideration and critical analysis of multiple disciplinary and social perspectives can enrich our understanding of this art. Readings, class discussions, group inquiry projects, and other assignments will emphasize the development of reflective, creative, and critical approaches to the study of visual art.

Offered Spring

Prerequisite(s): None