Active Outline

General Information

Course ID (CB01A and CB01B)
CETHD013.
Course Title (CB02)
History of Art (Multicultural Arts in the United States)
Course Credit Status
Credit - Degree Applicable
Effective Term
Fall 2023
Course Description
This is a cross-cultural introduction to American art history, with an interdisciplinary analysis of diverse art forms generated by artists of color, including African Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, Latinx/Chicanx, and Americans of non-European heritage. Significant attention will be given to topics considered important by each ethnicity or group, as well as issues related to racism, gender, social class, and contemporary social and political awareness. Traditions, values, and cultural expressions of diverse societies and their contributions to American visual culture are explored. Emphasis is placed upon the visual arts as a source of student empowerment, self-determination, decolonization and liberation in support of equity, and diversity, in anti-racist work and through civic engagement and activism.
Faculty Requirements
Course Family
Not Applicable

Course Justification

This course meets a general education requirement for °®¶¹´«Ã½, CSU GE, and IGETC. It is UC and CSU transferable. This course is a requirement in the A.A. degree in Art History. The course covers cultural diversity in American art.

Foothill Equivalency

Does the course have a Foothill equivalent?
No
Foothill Course ID

Course Philosophy

Formerly Statement

Formerly Statement
(CETH D013. was formerly ICS D005.)

Course Development Options

Basic Skill Status (CB08)
Course is not a basic skills course.
Grade Options
  • Letter Grade
  • Pass/No Pass
Repeat Limit
0

Transferability & Gen. Ed. Options

Transferability
Transferable to both UC and CSU
°®¶¹´«Ã½ GEArea(s)StatusDetails
2GC1°®¶¹´«Ã½ GE Area C1 - ArtsApproved
CSU GEArea(s)StatusDetails
CGC1CSU GE Area C1 - ArtsApproved
CGDYCSU GE Area D - Social SciencesApproved
IGETCArea(s)StatusDetails
IG3AIGETC Area 3A - ArtsApproved
IG4XIGETC Area 4 - Social and Behavioral SciencesApproved

Units and Hours

Summary

Minimum Credit Units
4.0
Maximum Credit Units
4.0

Weekly Student Hours

TypeIn ClassOut of Class
Lecture Hours4.08.0
Laboratory Hours0.00.0

Course Student Hours

Course Duration (Weeks)
12.0
Hours per unit divisor
36.0
Course In-Class (Contact) Hours
Lecture
48.0
Laboratory
0.0
Total
48.0
Course Out-of-Class Hours
Lecture
96.0
Laboratory
0.0
NA
0.0
Total
96.0

Prerequisite(s)

Corequisite(s)

Advisory(ies)

EWRT D001A or EWRT D01AH or ESL D005.

Limitation(s) on Enrollment

(Not open to students with credit in the cross-listed course(s).)

(Also listed as ARTS D02F.)

Entrance Skill(s)

General Course Statement(s)

(See general education pages for the requirements this course meets.)

Methods of Instruction

Collaborative learning and small group exercises

Discussion of assigned reading

In-class exploration of Internet sites

Lecture and visual aids

Assignments

  1. Reading assignments
    1. Assigned readings of primary and secondary sources, including primary sources such as writings by or interviews with artists or others of color
    2. Supplementary readings for research and visual analysis papers
  2. Written assignments
    1. A research paper requiring analysis of primary and secondary sources
    2. A visual analysis paper requiring analysis of original works of art in a museum setting
  3. Collaborative group work

Methods of Evaluation

  1. A guided research paper (approximately 1500-2000 words and bibliography) in which the student will be evaluated on their ability to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize primary and secondary sources, including primary documents from non-European communities. Students will choose a current example of artists engaged in anti-racist work and social activism OR will write a project report involving their own participation in such work for equity and justice.
  2. In-class discussion, writings and participation, during which the student's skill in interpreting relevant issues will be assessed.
  3. A visual analysis paper (approximately 600 words) for which the student will visit a specified museum in the Bay Area. Students will be evaluated in their abilities to critically analyze works of art on the basis of social function, subject matter, patronage, and formal characteristics (such as style), as well as issues relating to ethnicity, culture and gender of the artists.
  4. One mid-term exam (and/or quizzes) and one final exam which includes objective questions which require knowledge of historical events, relevant terms, patronage and cultural contexts of the art, as well as issues addressing racism and discrimination.
  5. One mid-term exam (and/or quizzes) and one final exam which includes written essays comparing and evaluating works of art from different periods or cultures on the basis of ethnicity, gender, and training of the artists, social function, formal considerations (such as style), and subject matter.

Essential Student Materials/Essential College Facilities

Essential Student Materials: 
  • None.
Essential College Facilities:
  • None.

Examples of Primary Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisherDate/EditionISBN
*Cadge-Moore, Catie. "Cultural Diversity in American Art History: An Introduction to Intercultural Studies through Visual Arts." Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt, 2009, revised 2014.
*Chang, Gordon H. and Mark Johnson. Asian-American Art: A History, 1850-1970. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press, 2008.
Mindy N. Besaw, Candice Hopkins, and Manuela Well-Off-Man, Art For A New Understanding: Native Voices, 1950s to Now, Fayetteville; The University of Arkansas Press, 2018
Jennifer Gonzales, C. Ondine Chavoya, Chon Noriega, and Terezita Romo, editors. Chicano and Chicana Art: A Critical Anthology, Durham: Duke University Press. 2019
*Penney, David W. "North American Indian Art." N.Y.: Thames & Hudson, 2004.

Examples of Supporting Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisher
Devon, Marjorie. "Migrations: New Directions in Native American Art". Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2006.
Ostrowitz, Judith. Interventions: Native American Art for Far Flung Territories. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2009.
Torrence, Gaylord and Ned Blackhawk. Art of Native America. N.Y.: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2018.
Powell, Richard J. and Virginia Mecklenburg. "African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond". Washington DC: Smithsonian, 2012
Berlo, Janet and Ruth Phillips. Native North American Art. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.
Bearden, Romare and Harry Henderson. "A History of African-American Artists : From 1792 to the Present." N.Y.: Pantheon Books,1993.
Bernstein, Bruce and W. Jackson Rushing. "Modern by Tradition : American Indian Painting in the Studio Style." Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico Press, 1995.
Brookman, Philip and Guillermo Gomez-Pena, eds. "Made in Aztlan." San Diego: Centro Cultural de la Raza, 1986.
Cahan, Susan and Zoya Kocur, eds. "Contemporary Art and Multicultural Education." N.Y. and London: Routledge Press,1996.
Cockcroft, James D. "Latino Visions : Contemporary Chicano, Puerto Rican, and Cuban American Artists." N. Y. : Franklin Watts, 2000.
Cockcroft, Eva Sperling and Holly Barnet-Sanchez. "Signs from the Heart : California Chicano murals." Venice, Ca.: Social and Public Art Resource Center; Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1993.
Dunitz, Robin J. and James Prigoff. "Painting the Towns : Murals of California." L. A. : RJD Enterprises, 1997.
Fields, Virginia M. and Victor Zamudio-Taylor. "The Road to Aztlan : Art from a Mythic Homeland." L. A. : Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2001.
Harris, Michael D. "Colored Pictures : Race and Visual Representation." Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003.
Higa, Karin M. "The View from within : Japanese American Art from the Internment Camps, 1942-1945." L. A.: Japanese American National Museum, 1994.
Kim, Elaine H. Fresh Talk, "Daring Gazes: Conversations on Asian American Art." Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003.
Keller, Gary D. "Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Art : Artists, Works, Culture, and Education." Tempe, Ariz. : Bilingual Press/Editorial Bilingue, 2002.
Lee, Anthony W. "Picturing Chinatown : Art and Orientalism in San Francisco." Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001.
Lewis, Samella S. "African American Art and Artists." Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003.
Lippard, Lucy R. "Mixed Blessings: New Art in a Multicultural America." N.Y.: Pantheon Books, 1990.
Louie, Steven G. and Glenn K. Omatsu, eds. "Asian Americans: The Movement and the Moment." L.A.: UCLA press, 2001.
Machida, Margo. "Unsettled Visions: Contemporary Asian American Artists and the Social Imaginary." Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 2009.
Malagamba-Ansotegui. "Caras Vemos, Corazones no Sabemos: Faces Seen, Hearts Unknown, The Human Landscape of Mexican Migration." Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame, 2008.
Patton, Sharon F. "African-American Art." Oxford ; N.Y. : Oxford University Press, c1998.
Poon, Irene. "Leading the Way : Asian American Artists of the Older Generation." Wenham, Mass.: Gordon College, 2001.

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

Course Objectives

  • Develop and use interpretive skills to analyze images, objects, and works of architecture through an integration of the disciplines of art history, intercultural studies, history, cultural studies, and anthropology in an exploration of the development of multicultural art in the United States.
  • Recognize and evaluate the visual art contributions of non-European Americans, acknowledging technical and stylistic characteristics, with emphasis upon issues of greatest cultural concern.
  • Explore the American cultural experiences of non-European artists, recognizing the economic, social, and political constraints that occurred historically or occur in contemporary society to each cultural group, and discuss art made by artists of color to serve as a tool for social and political awareness, empowerment and civic engagement in anti-racist work
  • Analyze aspects of colonialism, racism, and sexism, as well as social constructions of terms such as race and gender, through the study of art, including the study of images of race and ethnicity, exposing cultural stereotypes and in discussion of patterns of identity.
  • Examine theories of cultural transmission, communication, assimilation, and ethnocentric bias in relation to the arts of American societies
  • Examine the relationship between art making and gender roles in non-European societies in the United States.

CSLOs

  • Students will demonstrate critical analysis based upon social constructs of race, class, ethnicity, gender and other factors of identity to gain cultural competence in a local, national and global context.

  • Students will identify, examine and authenticate the values, experiences and cultural contributions of marginalized populations in the United States.

  • Students will critically analyze and evaluate diverse scholarly perspectives in Multicultural art history.

  • Students will apply skills demonstrating their abilities to analyze artworks on the basis of social, cultural, political, economic and/or ethnic contexts and issues relevant to gender studies.

  • Students will demonstrate critical thinking and visual literacy skills through oral communication.

  • Students will write a research paper utilizing her or his ability to analyze, evaluate and synthesize primary and secondary sources.

Outline

  1. Develop and use interpretive skills to analyze images, objects, and works of architecture through an integration of the disciplines of art history, intercultural studies, history, cultural studies, and anthropology in an exploration of the development of multicultural art in the United States.
    1. Art historical methods and historical methods
      1. Images, objects, and works of architecture as primary sources for analysis, including stylistic analysis identifying formal elements in art, such as the use of color and composition. Students will critically assess the limitations of stylistic analysis and the need to recognize the cultural context of art.
      2. Texts as primary sources, including primary documents by artists and architects of color, containing aesthetic criteria and themes they consider important to understanding their works.
      3. Critical analysis of the cultural, historical origins and contexts of various art forms, developing an awareness of how art and material culture may reflect social change, ethnic identity and dynamics of cultural interaction.
    2. Methods from Intercultural studies
      1. Examine examples of art and material culture as a means of studying the history of interaction between diverse ethnic populations in America, including the impact of racism and discrimination, and exploring relevant topics in intercultural studies such as the history of immigration in the U.S.
      2. Explore the history of artists of color and acceptance (or lack of) within the American art establishment, recognizing a history of discrimination, as well as alternative sources of empowerment and self-determination,including a discussion of contemporary comparisons.
      3. Define multiculturalism in the study of art and evaluate recent arguments for and against the term used within an academic context as well as museums and cultural centers.
      4. Assess the value of an intercultural perspective in museum studies and discuss the importance of cultural centers.
    3. Methods from Cultural Studies
      1. Visual analysis applied to popular culture as a way to develop critical thinking skills.
      2. Study of popular and material culture in relation to social, cultural and political institutions, as well as gender and class structures.
      3. Critical assessment of what constitutes "art," "artifact" and "popular culture," including cultural, ethnic and class distinctions of these terms.
    4. Anthropological methods
      1. Comparative study of the differences between 19th- and 20th-century views of social organization, views or methodologies such as cultural relativism and ethnoaesthetics, and 19th-century notions of evolution applied to culture, art and race.
      2. Reassessing the roles of collection managers and curators in the history of

        museum collections of non-European art. Developing skills in weighing the value of preserving art and material culture in museums, engaging descendants in the interpretive process and/or returning traditional items to communities for use.
      3. Applying attitudes such as those demonstrated through cultural relativism, students will link ethnic values to creative products.
  2. Recognize and evaluate the visual art contributions of non-European Americans, acknowledging technical and stylistic characteristics, with emphasis upon issues of greatest cultural concern.
    1. African-American art and culture
      1. Cultural disenfranchisement and slavery. Comparative analysis of the methods used and problems faced in the study of African-American art and culture in early America.
      2. The legacy of African diasporas upon American art and culture. Analyzing the concepts of Africanism and syncretism.
      3. Emancipation and struggle for recognition. The adoption of the European aesthetic, styles and techniques in light of the context of acculturation.
      4. Ethnic identity during the world wars and the impact of modernism and interest in African art during the Harlem Renaissance.
      5. Increased social and political involvement in the 20th century.
        1. Public murals and WPA art - Social Realism
        2. The Civil Rights movement and art
      6. Contemporary African-American art
        1. Define trends building upon and following Postmodernism relevant to African-American artists, such as the use of appropriation and history of oppression in art to expose racism and discrimination in 21st-century American history.
        2. Analysis of recent installation and community-based artworks as social commentary.
    2. Asian-American art and culture
      1. Early Chinese artists in America - Critical evaluation of primary sources available and problems faced in the recognition and study of early Chinese-American art history.
      2. Recognizing the contributions of Japanese-American artists to early 20th-century American art.
      3. Assessing the influences of and aesthetic contributions from traditional art styles and techniques of Asia in American art history, such as stylistic influences from Ukiyo-e (Japanese woodblock) prints and the importance of brush (ink) painting.
      4. Asian-American movement - the importance of Asian-American art, such as posters and prints, as a form of social protest.
      5. Contemporary Asian-American art.
        1. Define trends building upon and following Postmodernism relevant to Asian-American artists, such as the use of appropriation to critically analyze stereotypes.
        2. Analysis of recent installation and community-based artworks as social commentary.
        3. Analyze the visual art contributions of recent Asian and other immigrant populations, such as artworks by Vietnamese, Korean, Indian and Middle Eastern Americans, as well as contemporary Chinese and Japanese-American artists.
        4. Analyze the visual art contributions of Asian-American artists of mixed ethnic heritage and postmodern explorations of identity within art created by artists of mixed ethnic background.
    3. Native American art and culture
      1. Recognize the contributions of pre-contact (before European colonization) Native Americans to art and architectural history and critically assess both continuity and change from pre-contact to post-contact periods.
      2. Compare and describe representative examples of Native American art from diverse geographic regions, such as the Southwest, California, Northeast, Plains and Northwest Coast.
      3. Compare and analyze the terms "tradition" and "innovation" as expressed through Native American art as a way to value the individual creativity of the artist and combat stereotypes of Native American cultures as "primitive" and unchanging.
      4. Contributions of 19th-century Native American artists, demonstrating both the maintenance of indigenous art forms and dynamic responses to transition during the Reservation Era.
      5. Native American art of the 20th century
        1. Native American contributions to modernism
        2. The development of IAIA (Institute of American Indian Art) - self-determination and individuality expressed through Native American art.
        3. American Indian Movement and art as a form of social protest.
      6. Contemporary Native American art.
        1. Define trends building upon and following Postmodernism relevant to Native American artists, such as postcolonial themes such as the destruction of Native cultures after European contact, environmental and land claim issues,critical evaluation of reservation era as well as contemporary issues of reservation life.
        2. The use of appropriation to critically analyze stereotypes.
        3. Analysis of recent installation and community-based art works as social commentary.
        4. Evaluate the importance of repatriation, the creation of cultural centers, protection of sacred sites and ceremonies for Native American communities. Acknowledge the importance of the Powwow to indigenous peoples and to American culture.
  3. Explore the American cultural experiences of non-European artists, recognizing the economic, social, and political constraints that occurred historically or occur in contemporary society to each cultural group, and discuss art made by artists of color to serve as a tool for social and political awareness, empowerment and civic engagement in anti-racist work
    1. Economics and artists of color. Topics may include:
      1. Economic factors relevant to the study of slavery, colonial and early America, and African-American art.
      2. Improvement of the economic position of African Americans as part of the objectives of the Harlem Renaissance.
      3. WPA artists and the Great Depression
      4. Native American art used within a traditional Native American economic system compared with Native American art as a commodity in a contemporary art market.
    2. Migration and immigration in relation to multicultural arts
      1. Stability and instability of language, traditional art forms, values, and religious beliefs during periods of migration and immigration
      2. Art used as a social narrative or document of migration, such as art depicting the Great Migration of African Americans during the Harlem Renaissance.
      3. Critically assess art documenting the immigrant experience and the power of art as social protest in response to U.S. immigration policy.
    3. Religious institutions and multicultural arts
    4. Other social institutions and multicultural arts
      1. Cultural pervasiveness of traditional social institutions
        1. Values
        2. Traditional artistic practice
      2. Impact of disruption of traditional social institutions
        1. Slavery
        2. Colonization
    5. Art as a tool for social and political awareness, such as Japanese-American art from the internment camps documenting camp life or Chicanx murals instructing the public about the history of discrimination experienced by Mexican-American workers.
    6. Construct and compare definitions of key terms used in studying multicultural arts and intercultural studies, such as assimilation, pluralism, white privilege,names used by artists as ethnic identifiers (for example, why an artist chooses to identify with 'Chicano', 'Chicana', 'Chicanx' or 'Latinx', 'First Nations' or 'indigenous'), and problems with the terms "race" and "culture".
  4. Analyze aspects of colonialism, racism, and sexism, as well as social constructions of terms such as race and gender, through the study of art, including the study of images of race and ethnicity, exposing cultural stereotypes and in the discussion of patterns of identity.
    1. African-American imagery
      1. Representations of Africans and African Americans in the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries
        1. In European and Euro-American art
        2. In African-American art
      2. Redefinition of representations of Africans and African Americans in the twentieth century
        1. As a result of the Harlem Renaissance
        2. As a result of WPA art
      3. Contemporary representations of African Americans in media forms
    2. Asian-American imagery
      1. Representations of Asians and Asian Americans prior to the twentieth century
        1. In European and Euro-American art
        2. In Asian-American art
      2. Representations of Asians and Asian Americans in the twentieth century
      3. Contemporary representations of Asian Americans in media forms
    3. Native American imagery
      1. Representations of Native Americans by Euro-Americans from the seventeenth through to the present.
      2. Contemporary representations of Native Americans in media forms
    4. Chicanx, and Latinx imagery
      1. Representations of Hispanic colonists in the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries
      2. Representations of Mexicans and Mexican Americans in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
      3. Contemporary representations of Latinx and Chicanx individuals, communities and cultures in media forms.
  5. Examine theories of cultural transmission, communication, assimilation, and ethnocentric bias in relation to the arts of American societies
    1. Components of the Euro-American value system and the concept of a "national culture"
      1. Critical evaluation of the concept of a "canon" of art and a history of exclusion of artists of color.
      2. The legal system, common laws, and unstated policies relative to the arts. Topics may include:
        1. Laws prohibiting Native American social institutions, art production, and ceremony as in the example of the potlatch.
        2. Repatriation and cultural patrimony.
        3. Controversies over censorship.
      3. Euro-American concepts of economic oppression, racism, and sexism relative to the arts.
    2. Intercultural communication and the arts
      1. Obstacles impeding intercultural communication of the arts
      2. Successful transmission of art concepts within and between cultural groups
      3. Effects of ethnocentric bias upon the art of American societies
  6. Examine the relationship between art-making and gender roles in non-European societies in the United States.
    1. Gender roles in art production
      1. African Americans
      2. Asian Americans
      3. Native Americans
      4. Latinx and Chicanx
    2. The practice of art-making
      1. Culturally-based gender divisions in art production and challenges to these divisions in contemporary American culture.
      2. Critical evaluation of the terms "art" and "craft" in relation to gender divisions in art production.
    3. Gender as a factor in access to education of artists of color in the United States
    4. The Women's and the LGBTQ Movements, along with non-binary identity, relative to artists of color.
    5. Gender-based stereotypes addressed by artists of color.
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