ARTH 353 - The Special Case of Puerto Rico

FC ARHU CD WADV

4 credits
In 1988, Puerto Rican Art Historian Marimar Benítez identified the ways Puerto Rican artists, both on the island and in the diaspora, use their art to draw out unresolved cultural and political tensions between Puerto Rico and the United States. Building off Benítez, this seminar explores the ways that artists throughout the 20th and 21st centuries have employed aesthetics to intervene in Puerto Rico’s ongoing colonial status. Through artistic practices such as performance, photography, printmaking, installation, painting, and sculpture we will explore themes such as migration, movement, political interventions, nationalism, diasporic identities, racial formation, labor, debt, and popular culture. Field trip(s) required. Recommended Preparation: one intermediate (200-level, formerly 300-level) course in art history.