INQ-271 | Images of Power

Full Title: Images of Power

Topic Description:

This course explores the subject of “power” – political and social – as it is visually manifested in a variety of western cultures at various points in the modern period. Specifically, we will be looking at works of art (including painting, sculpture, photography, and mass media imagery, along with architecture) to uncover ways in which power is constructed, reflected, imposed, and reified within the objects and products of western societies. The broader aim of this course is to alert students to the way in which the material products of human civilization do not simply passively reflect who we think we are, but actively and sometimes manipulatively, instill and reinforce a broad spectrum of ideas that serve the agendas of individuals and or societies.

Counts as Global? No

Topic Approved: April 2010