Course Title:  01:082: 230  Latinx Art

Academic Credits:  3 credits

CREDIT NOT GIVEN FOR THIS COURSE AND 01:595:230 - Latino and Caribbean Studies

Mode of Instruction:  Lecture

Course Prerequesites and Corequisites:  None

Core Curriculum:  CCD

Course Description:

Latinx Art refers to the artistic production of Latinas and Latinos in the diaspora. This course will examine the visual arts created by diaspora communities across the continental United States, from the second half of the twentieth century into the present. As this is an emerging field of inquiry within Art History, many of the readings will be drawn from cultural studies and literature, giving the course a strong interdisciplinary component.

The material follows a thematic structure driven by critical issues, specific communities, and artistic genres. It emphasizes themes pertaining to the immigrant experience, including identity formation, visibility, community, marginalization, and isolation. Race, gender, and sexuality are topics that are embedded over the entire semester and also treated within discrete units. The course addresses communities with a multigenerational presence in this country, such as Mexican-Americans, Central Americans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and Haitians, as well as newer arrivals. It treats works of art in multiple media, from painting and sculpture to installation, performance, and social practice.

No prior coursework in Art History or Latino Studies is required. Lectures by at least one visual artist and a field trip to an exhibition will be planned.

Learning Goals:

This course contributes to the fulfillment of the following Art History goals:  Students who major in Art History will develop the ability to construct historical and theoretical arguments that demonstrate an awareness of the relevant critical terms and interpretive methods of the discipline of art history.

  • Students will be introduced to the complexities around the terms “Latino,” “Latinx,” and“Latin American.”
  • Students will gain awareness of the particularities between different communities of Latinos in the United States.
  • Students will identify the social, political, and historical contexts impacting U.S. Latinxart production.
  • Students will be able to discuss how the major concerns animating Latinx artists are manifested in visual form.
  • Students will appreciate how cultural difference and social inequality contribute to the marginalization of artists of color in Art History, the art world, and society at large.

Requirements and Grading:

  • In-class exam – 20%
  • My exams are typically slide-based, featuring images studied over the course of the semester, which will be posted online. I do not require memorization of titles and dates, but I do expect you to make reference to the readings and class discussions in your answers.
  • Class participation, including oral presentation – 15%
  • Discussion is crucial in my classroom. Being actively engaged in the conversation not only will help your grade, but it will also help you learn.
  • The oral presentation component involves you workshopping your paper topic in a group and sharing your final topic with the class.
  • 2-3 page reaction paper (i.e. exhibition review or response to an artist’s lecture) – 15%
  • This paper will ask you to respond to an exhibition by an artist whose work is shown locally or to a lecture by a visiting artist at Rutgers.
  • 4-6 page analysis paper – 25%
  • For this assignment, you will identify up to three critical essays (they may be from the syllabus) and three art works that address one of the thematic units from the course and discuss them through a comparative critical analysis.
  • Final exam – 25%
  • This will be an essay-based, take-home exam, which will be due on the date of the final.

Assignments and Expectations:

Students are expected to maintain active class participation, read assigned texts in advance of class, attend every class session and field trip, orally present readings and other assignments, and turn in writing assignments by their deadline.

If there is an outstanding opportunity off-campus to view an exhibition, we will plan a field trip together. Museum admission will be paid for by the university, but you may be responsible for round-trip train fare to New York, Newark, or Philadelphia.

Attendance:

Students are expected to attend all classes, and excessive absences will have a negative effect on your grade, as it is highly unlikely you will be able to succeed on exams and assignments without regular attendance. If you have to miss class, please use the University absence reporting website https://sims.rutgers.edu/ssra/ to indicate the date and reason for your absence.  An email is automatically sent to me. Absences during exams will only be excused with visual or written documentation of an illness or other emergency.

Instructor:

Professor Tatiana Flores

Disclaimer:  These course descriptions/synopses pages have been provided as samples and the information should not be considered accurate or current.  For actual course information, refer to the course site hosted by a Rutgers Learning Management System (Sakai, Canvas, etc.) as of first day of class.