The American Face: Portraiture and Identity in American Culture
Portraits in their many forms have been part of American society since the seventeenth century. Why has the portrait been such a resilient form of expression in American culture? What is the relationship between portraiture and identity? And what role has photography played in the social function of portraiture in American life? This course will explore visual and literary portraits over the past 200 years-from public portraits and memorials to biography, caricature, snapshots, and Facebook. Students will be asked to create their own personal web page portraits and will conduct research on individual portraits in the Middlebury College Museum of Art permanent collection for a 2010 exhibit at the Museum. (Formerly HARC/AMCV 0319) 3 hrs. lect.