This unit examines the role of visual culture in twentieth-century America. A comprehensive range of visual forms, film, painting, architecture, photography, television and advertising are discussed within the context of a changing political, social, economic and technological landscape. By taking an iconographical and contextual approach, the unit seeks to explore the character and historical dimensions of American imagery. One of its key aspects is to explore the ways in which the visual environment became increasingly important to the construction of American cultural identity while simultaneously engendering a sense of disinherited 'American-ness'. -- Course Website
Instructor: Professor Clarissa Ball
Prerequisites: at least one Level 1 humanities unit
