Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey

Searchable Course Catalog

header image

HARC0282A-F23

Politics of Display

Museums, Managers of Consciousness: Institutional Critique and The Politics of Display
From the 1960s forward, many artists have looked closely at the seeming neutrality of museums and cultural institutions, drawing attention to the colonial, economic, political, and social biases elided in the apparently disinterested construction of such displays and collections. Following a consideration of the initial practitioners of this tendency, known as Institutional Critique, in this course we will then investigate feminist, postmodernist, and more contemporary practices in this mode, including debates on—and artistic responses to—cultural restitution. Attention will also be paid to the “institutionalization” that a course such as this creates. Readings will be drawn from artists’ writings and primary documents, art history, philosophy, anthropology, and sociology. Course meetings will be a regular mix of lecture presentations and reading-driven discussion
Course Reference Number (CRN):
92623
Subject Code:
HARC
Course Number:
0282
Section Identifier:
A

Course

HARC 0282

All Sections in Fall 2023

Fall 2023

HARC0282A-F23 Lecture (Vazquez)