Art, Heritage, and Identity

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This course investigates how art and cultural heritage participate in the historical construction, political negotiation, and public expression of identity across diverse contexts. Moving beyond formal art history, we will examine how museums, monuments, exhibitions, archives, public art, architecture, and cultural policy shape narratives of belonging, memory, and identity. We will also consider how governments, cultural institutions, and international organizations mobilize artistic and heritage practices to advance claims about citizenship, sovereignty, and inclusion. Grounded in Qatar’s rapidly evolving cultural landscape, the course engages Qatar Museums and related institutions as a living laboratory to explore how identity is curated, institutionalized, and circulated. Through theoretical inquiry and site-based analysis, students will examine how art and heritage function as arenas of power, negotiation, and representation at local, regional, and global levels. Students must be prepared to participate in structured field visits to Qatar Museums and affiliated cultural sites.