What is American? We explore this question by examining art and visual and material culture from the Powhatan nation to the postmodern within the geographic borders of the United States. Embracing a trans-Atlantic and multicultural American perspective, the course proceeds topically to study key movements in art and visual culture wherein exploring and communicating identity is axiomatic to the time. Students will learn how cultures have been suppressed by hegemony and how some have formed alternatives to dominant society. Art is presented from diverse ethnicities, socio-economic status, regions, religions, sexual orientation, gender and material and professional culture and through the literature of history, poetry, memoir, fiction and art criticism.
Completion of 24 or more credit hours