IAHIS 3760 Visual Culture & Power
This course addresses the historical role of power in visual culture. Towards this end, the course examines a broad variety of topics, from images of colonized societies made by European colonizers to representations of racial and other differences in current media. The course covers a wide range of visual practices that demonstrate how a dominant culture shapes and controls social perceptions of marginalized identities. Students will investigate how such images reflect the prejudices, aspirations and needs of dominant cultures much more than they represent any convincing realities of those who are oppressed. A diverse array of images and texts will enable students to understand not only the historical origins of such visual practices, but their lingering impact on contemporary culture.