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This course will consider the impact of gender on the production, reception, and cultural understanding of art and imagery. We will study artists from the full gender spectrum, who have used art to effect social change. Influenced by intersectional feminist approaches to art historical study, we will explore perceptions of gender through visual culture and personal experience. We will examine the ways that certain ideals of masculinity and femininity are represented in art and its history to gain insight into gender performance and sexual identity both in past periods and in contemporary society.

In this class, students will learn about critical issues confronting museums, artists, and the cultural sector on a global scale. Students will engage diverse social and theoretical perspectives on the ethical standards of art institutions and cultural producers including accessibility, repatriation, labor and workers' rights, community involvement, and creating inclusive collections. Moving thematically, this course examines a range of topics essential to understanding how the arts impact-and are impacted by-worldwide social justice movements today. Topics include decolonizing museum collections, repatriating art/artifacts, looting during political turmoil, intellectual property theft, climate change and the stakes of environmental justice for preserving cultural histories.

An introduction to the painting, sculpture, and architecture of Native American culture in Mexico, Guatemala, and North America from 700 BCE to CE 1500. The art forms will be studied as indications of the religious and philosophical thought of the peoples who created them.