Art History 691R - S-American Art: Colonialism

In this seminar students will investigate the myriad ways that the European invasion of the Americas in the sixteenth century continues to inform contemporary popular culture. The course begins in the colonial period, using primary documents and images to identify and deconstruct the derogatory tropes that manifested in colonial visual culture. In the second part of the course, students will critically analyze contemporary popular visual media, including Hollywood films, television shows, and advertisements, that utilize colonial stereotypes, and discuss the social consequences of their endurance, especially for marginalized people.