This course considers visual artistic production during the Harlem
or “New Negro” Renaissance, a period in which African-American
artists sought radical reconceptualizations of self and community
through visual and literary expression. The class will investigate a
variety of topics related to Renaissance artistic production,
including art criticism (within and outside of African-American
journals), ideologies of racial representation, racial stereotype,
relationships of image and text, and systems of patronage. We will
conclude by considering the continuation of “New Negro” aesthetics
in Depression-era art and beyond. Required readings consist of a
beautifully-illustrated textbook, an anthology of Renaissance
literature, and select critical essays by artists, cultural
theorists, and art historians.