This course will take an interdisciplinary approach to exploring questions of decolonization in arts and culture. Drawing from work in ethnic studies, gender studies, and other fields, we will discuss the possibility (or impossibility) of decolonizing art history, specifically in the contexts of the university and the museum. Through film, photography, painting, monuments, music, performance and more, we will collectively learn to identify the ways in which settler-colonialism manifests and formulate a decolonial method of viewership. Thinking through arts and culture in both the public and private sphere, we will touch on various ways that art connects to artists’ revolutionary self expression, strives for policy change, and works to reclaim public spaces. There are no prerequisites, but a willingness to learn about arts, culture, and decolonization will be helpful. Topics include (but aren't limited to): museums and repatriation, the archive and the body, photography and colonialism, and revolutionary music.

This course will be online, delivered synchronously each Wednesday from 6:30-8:00pm. Our sessions will be primarily discussion based and will involve looking at and analyzing various works of visual art as well as written texts. We will use aids such as film, short videos and audio to enhance the subject matter. There are no exams or papers for the course, but you will have to complete at least 6 short reading responses and a final presentation.

First come, first served enrollment policy. Please contact us at arthistory.berkeley@gmail.com for more information about the course and how to enroll.