Banned! Art and Controversy.

Catalog description

Semester course; 3 lecture hours (delivered online or face-to-face). 3 credits. What could make a work of art so controversial that it divides public opinion, is banned from public view or even gets destroyed? The course examines the reasons why visual art can be such a provocative and polarizing creative endeavor. By examining case studies from various historical and geographical contexts, students will explore the ways in which artistic controversy intersects key humanistic concerns, including questions of aesthetics and economic value; politics and cultural heritage; sacredness and religion; and gender and sexuality. This course will promote critical looking and thinking by introducing students to a variety of criteria used to evaluate art and by challenging them to consider diverse, often contradictory, interpretations of art.