HISTART 194-002
First Year Seminar:
Latina/o Art and Aesthetics
B111 MLB
TTh 10:00-11:30am
3 Credit Seminar

Meets with AMCULT 103.001 MT (Home dept) LATINOAM 103.001

This course will focus on the analysis of Latina/o/x Artistic production as expressed through paintings, architecture, artifacts, urban-altered spaces, people's bodily modifications, food innovations, theater, and other performative practices surrounding these communities. The course will examine how political, social, and economic conditions affect how Latina/o/xs relate to art and creativity. This class will argue that through the use, manipulation, and implementation of art, Latina/o/x challenge, transgress and resist the preconceived notions of traditional art, inscribe new spaces for emancipation and are able to envision a different world. This is not a survey, nor an 'idealization' of the "barrio art world" but rather an analysis about Latina/o/x cultural productions as extensions and expressions of their rich experience in the United States.

Upon the successful completion of the course, students will be able:

  • To understand Latina/o art as a practice that is influenced by economic, political, and social forces.
  • To understand the historical development and relationships of Latina/o art in relationship to gender, race, and class.
  • To explore the intimate connection between objects, cultural practices, and social values, and sense of self, both collectively and individually.