Meets with AMCULT 405-003 and HISTART 497.005

During the 1960s, Detroit emerged as a center for Black visionaries and the assertion of Black Power amidst urban protest. Some of the first Black Power murals in the United States were created in Detroit on buildings outdoors, in the neighborhoods that were hit hardest during the Uprising or Rebellion of 1967. They depicted a range of Black "he-roes and she-roes," from a Black Moses to Malcolm X, Aretha Franklin, and Muhammad Ali. None of the Detroit murals survive but their stories can be researched. Their context, how they communicated, and their impact forms the subject of our course and our project. To document these early works of public art, we will create a work of public history ourselves, in the form of a website or online exhibition designed to be accessible to a wide audience. Our project builds on earlier work by students in last year's seminar but will develop new directions and additional features that could include an option for some students to collaborate with the Detroit River Story Lab on longer-form writing. Over the course of the semester we will —

• Study the history and uneven racial geography that led to Detroit's urban culture and unrest in the 1960s.
• Learn about the power and potential –or limitations -- of murals as "people's art" through the example of Diego Rivera's "Detroit Industry" frescoes.
• Investigate how Detroiters participated in debates surrounding the Black Arts movement of the 1960s and 70s
• Learn about the churches that sponsored two of the murals, in relation to religious history, race, and activism in Detroit
• Uncover hidden histories of the Detroit murals through original research and interviews with people who saw the murals when they were new.
• Conduct research in archives, libraries, and digitized historical newspapers
• Work collaboratively to research and design our website . One team will develop a digital map for our site.
• Graduate students will do additional readings, undertake longer writing, and occasionally meet for discussion outside of the regular class time.

Requirements:

• Informed participation in class discussion (25%)
• brief reflection papers on assigned readings and drafts of small portions of the website (25%)
• a research project prepared in stages throughout the semester including draft and revision (50%)
• oral histories and work with local archives may figure into the research project.
• Students are required to attend two day-long field trips which will include a bus tour of the city as well as time to begin research in Detroit libraries.

HISTART Concentration Distributions: Europe and the United States, Modern and Contemporary.

Required texts: (also available on reserve) will include

• Thomas Sugrue, The Origins of the Urban Crisis
• More readings will be online.
• Cost of books not more than $25

Intended audience: Upper-level undergraduate students and any graduate students interested in art, urban history, Black history, public history and public art, willing to take on challenging readings. Graduates of the Semester in Detroit program, at any level, are welcome.

Advisory prerec: some background in art history, design, American studies, history, African American Studies, museum studies, or urban studies is helpful but not required; a commitment to learning more about Detroit is essential

Questions? please email rzurier@umich.edu to learn more about the class.