Art, Visual Culture And Civil Rights In The Usa

Timetable

Tuesday, 13.15-14.45, Collegium Novum, al. Niepodległości 4 (Institute of Art History) building A, floor 4, room 403.

Module aim (aims)

• The course will be devoted to the analysis of responses in art and visual culture to the events in the 1960s and 1970s related to Civil Rights movements in the USA. Students will get familiar with main political and cultural issues in the period under discussion and in this context will be analysing a variety of visual phenomena (artworks, posters, films) which were a platform of protest, emancipation and struggle for rights of different social groups: African-Americans, Native-Americans, women, gays etc. There will also be more contemporary examples of artworks under discussion that continue the issues started in 1960s and 1970s.The overall aim of the course is to increase students awareness of visual language in the given period and the political dimension of art and visual culture in general.

Pre-requisites in terms of knowledge, skills and social competences (where relevant)

Good knowledge of English – ability to read academic texts and actively participate in discussions. General knowledge of history of the US and issues related to art and visual culture are welcome but not indispensible.

Syllabus

Week 1: Introduction - overview
Week 2: The USA in 1960s and 1970s – historical and political context
Week 3: JFK and Visual Culture
Week 4: African-Americans (Issues of (In)visibility) 1
Week 5: African-Americans 2 (Iconogaphy of Black Power)
Week 6: Native-Americans 1
Week 7: Native-Americans 2
Week 8: Art and Feminism 1
Week 9: Art and Feminism 2
Week 10: Stonewall Inn Riots and the Struggle for LGBT Rights
Week 11: Student presentations
Week 12: Student presentations
Week 13: Student presentations
Week 14: Student presentations
Week 15: Student presentations

Reading list

The reading list presents general sources and may be modified with specific texts and chapters.

1. M. Berger, For All the World to See. Visual Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights, New Haven 2010.
2. C. Butler, L. G. Mark (eds.), WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution, New York 2007.
3. K. Fitz (ed)., Visual Representations of Native Americans, Heidelberg 2012.
4. M. Godfrey, Z. Whitley (eds.), Soul of a Nation. Art in the Age of Black Power, London 2017.
5. P. Hills (ed.), Modern Art in the USA. Issues and Controversies of the 20th Century, Upper Saddle River 2001.
6. A. Jones (ed.), A Companion to American Art since 1945, Oxford 2006.
7. L. Lippard, Mixed Blessings. New Art in Multicultural America, New York 1990.
8. D. Lubin, Shooting Kennedy. JFK and the Culture of Images, Berkeley 2003.
9. B. Siegler, Signs of Resistance. A Visual History of Protest in America, New York 2018.