Aesthetic Resistance: The Arts and Social Change
Prabhakar, Vinita
ICSM 10800 - 10
CRN: 22801
ICSM-WR: Art and Social Change
TR 10:50 AM - 12:05 PM, W 12:00 PM - 12:50 PM
This course will focus on three primary questions: How does Art reflect the social, cultural and political climate of its time? In what ways are the Arts used as a platform for social change? Beyond affecting individuals, or even groups, does Art, in fact, have the power to affect real social change – change that might be reflected in policy and governance at the community, local, state, and/or national level? Since “Art” is a broad, dynamic and permeable term, this course will focus in particular on Visual Art, Literature, Music, and Film, from the mid 20th Century to the present, and will journey across cultures, countries, genres and styles. Our inquiries will explore the role of artists in cultivating social change, how Artists, Writers, Musicians and Film Makers have historically responded to the call for social change and how they have catalyzed social change, and how they invoke new social imaginations. Attention will also be given to defining and understanding the lines between art and propaganda. This course fulfills the ICC ‘Academic Writing’ competency requirement.