2023-24 Academic Catalog

In this class we will explore the politics of public art. While we will look at the political messaging of public art, we will also seek to understand how public art, through its integration into a social geography, has a political impact beyond its meaning. We will see how art claims public space and structures social action, how art shapes social groups, and how art channels economic flows or government power. By tracing the ways that art is situated in public space, we will examine how art enters into urban contest and global inequality. For the purposes of this class, we will focus primarily (but not exclusively) on public art in urban settings. Class activity will include exploration of public art and students will be introduced to key concepts of urban spatial analysis to help interrogate this art. Prerequisite: The department strongly recommends that Sociology/Anthropology 110 or 111 be taken prior to enrolling in courses numbered 200 or above