Postcolonial Modernisms

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

“In this course, we will examine artworks created during and after the era of decolonization in the twentieth century. How did artists narrate struggles for independence? How did they forge national traditions that drew on both local and European aesthetics? And how were disputes about nationalism and more regional or global frameworks, such as Pan-Africanism, articulated visually? This course will cover several post-colonial contexts, such as Cuba, Syria, India, Indonesia, Ghana, Algeria, Jamaica, and Zimbabwe. We will also discuss the rise of United States hegemony, histories of counterrevolution, and the ways in which these phenomena affected post-independence art. This interdisciplinary course will cover a range of material, from paintings and films to novels and postcolonial theory. A background in art history is not required.”