Art Against Empire: Aesthetics of the “New Man” circa 1968

This course charts dissident aesthetic practices and theories that emerged along multiple transnational axes in the “long 1960s” under the banner of anti-imperialism. Organized from a global perspective, this class considers the contributions and collaborations of radical and militant artists, filmmakers, and thinkers in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Our primary concern will be to analyze the masculinist dynamics of these movements. Above all, we will examine the deeply entrenched conceptions of gender and sexuality that frequently determined who could be seen on the front lines of these struggles, whether on the ground or in the field of representations.