ARTH488D

During the Great Depression, economic crises, environmental disasters, and social movements transformed American life. This class focuses on the visual culture of this period from documentary photography and public murals to cinema and modern design. In addition to examining iconic works by artists like Dorothea Lange and Diego Rivera, we will engage local archives of photographs, posters, artist papers and other primary sources from the 1930s. Students in this seminar will not only explore a critical era in American visual culture but also reflect on how we form and use archives to shape our understanding of the past.