ARTH 365 - Power, Protest, and the Public Monument

The urge to publicly memorialize racially charged moments in American history has long roots. This seminar will examine the full range of such monuments, from those designed to honor victims of slavery and other racial violence to others celebrating resistance and Civil Rights activism. Additionally, students will study the rise of the Confederate monuments of the Jim Crow era – interrogating the circumstances of these works’ creation and considering contemporary debates surrounding their destruction and/or removal. At the conclusion of this seminar we will explore how civic, institutional, and artistic interventions have successfully challenged and re-imagined such monuments.

Prerequisites
A 200-level History of Art recommended but not required.

Credits 4

Compass Attributes
Humanities, Structure Power and Inequality, Taylor & Lane