The Aesthetics of Color: History, Theory, Critique

This course introduces undergraduate students to the central themes and debates in the vibrant history of color from antiquity through the present. While we focus on color in modern and contemporary visual art, design, and media, we begin with the premise that color––like the feminine––has long been subordinated and marginalized as the “Other” within Western culture. We then challenge this assumption using an interdisciplinary approach rooted in feminism, art, visual studies, film theory, fashion, and education. Through descriptive writing, responses to critical texts, and subjective encounters with color in art and culture, students learn the fundamental paradoxes and properties of color.