Lecture (LEC)

• Above class meets with ARTH-A 650

This seminar introduces graduate students to interdisciplinary and globalized approaches to understanding and interpreting the visual arts of the African Diaspora as well as the theories, methods, and seminal thinkers that have defined this area of study. Artist and scholar bell hooks writes of the radical place that art occupies within the freedom struggle, noting the political potential of art as well as the necessity for self- expression. She argues that experiencing art can enhance our understanding of what it means to live as free subjects in an unfree world. This class will examine the radical place as well as the freedoms of Black visual production, focusing on painting, sculpture, photography, performance, and film. Applying interdisciplinary approaches to interpreting this imagery, the class utilizes scholarship from intersecting fields including Africana studies, art history, American studies, film studies, and visual culture studies. Active participation, reading, writing, and student presentations are primary components of this course.