HAA 274G - Art, Race, and Politics

Sarah Lewis

How do images—photographs, films, and videos—create narratives that shape our definition of national belonging? Social media has changed how we ingest images. Protests, social injustice, and collective moments of triumph are all played out in photos and videos in real time unlike anything we thought possible just a few decades ago. What skills of visual literacy and critical consciousness are required to understand of the opportunities and challenges that technology is presenting to civic life? This seminar—primarily for graduates and open to undergraduates as well—will explore the connection between images and justice in America. What constitutes a figurative emblem of protest? What does effective resistance look like in art and in the digital realm? By the end of the course, students should be able to consider how images have had persuasive efficacy in the context of social and racial justice movements, critically engage with and contextualize the narratives surrounding images posted online, and understand how democratic rights are connected to visual representation in the United States.