DIVSM300 Strategies of Shock

This course will examine artists from diverse backgrounds and their use of strategies and expressions: irony, humour, politics, fables, dream narratives, shock, and text. These strategies are important from the point of view of those that have been marginalized by the mainstream. According to Edward Said minority artists should do work that resists the mainstream in order to create a more authentic voice. Although there will be some theory (Bell Hooks, Griselda Pollock) required, the main thrust of the course will be cultural and visual analysis of the actual works (Los Carpinteros, Daisy Youngblood, Fred Wilson, David Hammons), whether it be film (The Swamp, Pixote), photo (Felix Torres Garcia, Lorna Simpson), literature (E. Galeano, Teresa Cha), or painting (Guillermo Kuitca, Samba, Kerry James Marshall). Students are required to participate in discussion and will present a paper of five pages on an artist of their choosing. There will be weekly presentations of films, slides or readings by the instructor.