ART-360 Problematizing the Canon

Prerequisite: ART 135 and one 200-level Art History course
The discipline of art history has traditionally been centered around a selection of objects long-accepted as canonical. While this canon provides a shared language and common set of visual
references for artists and art historians, its problematic ties to biased systems of power and its capacity to reinforce exclusion and marginalization are fundamental issues with which the
discipline wrestles today. This course explores the formation of the canon and considers how and why certain objects, stories, and experiences have been underrepresented and/or left out of “the”
art historical narrative. Students will consider why it is important to challenge this framework that privileges certain persons, locations, ideologies, and histories, and reflect on future
alternatives. 4 credits.