American Icons

Catalog description

A study of the works and dramatized presence of any number of iconic figures on America's cultural stage, which varies each semester according to the expertise of the instructor. The course could have a pre-Revolutionary focus, treating semi-mythic figures such as Bradford, Wild Bill Hickock, Pocohantus, Morton, Adams and Hamilton. It might look at mid-19th century such as Andrew Jackson, Sitting Bull, Abraham Lincoln, John Brown, Fanny Fern, Thomas Dartmouth Rice, 'Little Eva,' 'Stagger Lee,' and 'John Henry.' Or it will focus on more recent icons, from Teddy Roosevelt, Harry Houdini, Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Valentino, and Mae West in the early decades to Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, and Judy Garland (to cite only the singers) at mid-century to Kennedy, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King in the sixties (to cite only the politicos) or even Madonna, Tupac, Gaga, Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar (back to the musicians). A study of the interplay among their arts, their celebrity personae, and their impact on ethnic, national, and international scenes. 001377