Fall 2013

The (Black) Artist as Historian

Listed in: Art and the History of Art, as ARHA-355  |  Black Studies, as BLST-333  |  Theater and Dance, as THDA-333

Faculty

Christina Knight (Section 01)

Description

(Offered as BLST 333 [US], ARHA 355 and THDA 333.)  Beginning with theorists Mark Godfrey and Hal Foster, this course will investigate what has been called a historical or archival turn in contemporary art production.  Through the lens of black visual art, we will explore the varied ways that black artists have probed the meaning and production of history throughout the twentieth century, but also how these explorations have changed over time and in relationship to particular subject material (e.g., the history of slavery or more local and personal history).  We will challenge the periodization that labels the "artist as historian" a recent phenomenon, but we will also pay close attention to experiences voiced by black Americans, whether artists or scholars, that contextualize their concerns with history, the archive, and the politics of representation more generally.  We will investigate cultural production from the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights, and Black Power Movements, the era of "identity politics," as well as contemporary art in dialogue with digital media and the internet.

Fall semester.  Visiting Professor Knight.

BLST 333 - L/D

Section 01
M 03:00 PM - 04:20 PM COOP 101
W 03:00 PM - 04:20 PM COOP 101

This is preliminary information about books for this course. Please contact your instructor or the Academic Coordinator for the department, before attempting to purchase these books.

ISBN Title Publisher Author(s) Comment Book Store Price
Envisioning Emancipation: Black Americans and the End of Slavery Temple University Press, 2013 Willis, Deborah Amherst Books TBD

These books are available locally at Amherst Books.

Offerings

Other years: Offered in Fall 2013, Spring 2023, Spring 2024