Unit 1: Objects
Thurs, August 29 [slides]:
Topic: Introductions
Tues, September 3 [slides] | Thurs, September 5 [slides]:
Topic: VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS (Photography)
Discuss: Early photograph portraits of Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass
Portraits by Dorothea Lange | “Pictures and Progress,” poem by Amanda Gorman
Read: “The Racial Bias Built Into Photography” by Sarah Lewis
Introduction to Pictures and Progress by Maurice O. Wallace and Shawn Michelle Smith
Tues, September 10 [slides] | Thurs, September 12 [slides]:
Topic: VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS (Data visualization)
Discuss: W.E.B. Du Bois’ hand-drawn infographics | Brooks Slave Ship drawing
“How We Can Find Ourselves in Data,” talk by Giorgia Lupi
“Song of Myself,” excerpts from the poem by Walt Whitman
Read: “Chapter 1: Telling Stories with Data” from Visualize This by Nathan Yau
“Why you should never trust a data visualisation” by John Burn-Murdoch
[Project #1 due Sunday, September 15]
Tues, September 17 [slides] | Thurs, September 19 [slides]:
Topic: PRINT PUBLICATIONS (Ephemera & periodicals)
Discuss: Abolitionist print ephemera | Poems on Miscellaneous Subjects by Frances E.W. Harper
Modernist periodicals | “The Fish,” poem by Marianne Moore
Read: “How Paper Shaped Civilization” by Reid Mitenbuler
“On Graphic Arts and Ephemera,” interview with Mita Mahato
“Definition of Ephemera” by Bruce Shyer
“Whatever Happened to High Culture?” by Joseph Epstein
[Personal Essay due Sunday, September 22]
Tues, September 24 [slides] | Thurs, September 26 [slides]:
Topic: PRINT PUBLICATIONS (Typography)
Discuss: Typographical design in David Walker’s “Appeal” | Typewriter poems by e.e. cummings
“Paula Scher: Graphic Design” from Abstract: The Art of Design
Read: NONE
[Project #2 due Sunday, September 29]
Tues, October 1 [slides] | Thurs, October 3 [slides]:
Topic: PRINT PUBLICATIONS (Books)
Discuss: Leaves of Grass, excerpts of Walt Whitman’s poem drafts
“I Never Hear That One Has Died” and other envelope poem drafts by Emily Dickinson
Read: “Posthumous Publication: Writing from Beyond the Grave” by Stuart Kelly
“How Capitalism Changed American Literature” by Dan Sinykin
Tues, October 8 | Thurs, October 10:
Topic: Class visit to Rose Library on Tuesday ** ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY **
NO CLASS ON THURSDAY
Read: NONE
Unit 2: Spaces
Tues, October 15 | Thurs, October 17:
NO CLASS (Fall Break | Instructor at conference)
[Project #3 due Sunday, October 20]
Tues, October 22 [slides] | Thurs, October 24 [slides]:
Topic: MUSEUMS (Physical)
Discuss: First Monday in May documentary | Museum ethics
Read: “How the Parthenon Lost Its Marbles” By Juan Pablo Sánchez
“Non-Western Art In The Museum: Appreciation or Appropriation?” by Nur Sevencan
“Museums Must Attract Diverse Visitors or Risk Irrelevance” by Peggy Levitt
Tues, October 29 [slides] | Thurs, October 31 [slides]:
Topic: MUSEUMS (Virtual)
Discuss: Virtual tours of the British Museum and the Acropolis Museum | Physical spaces
Read: “Museums Want to Entertain You (and That’s Not a Bad Thing)” by Hampton Stevens
“Alone in the Virtual Museum” by Alexandra Shwartz
“The Museums of Instagram” by Sophie Haigney
[Project #4 due Sunday, November 3]
Tues, November 5 | Thurs, November 7 [slides]:
Topic: MUSEUMS (Virtual)
Discuss: Technology vs. culture | Digital spaces
Read: NONE
Tues, November 12 | Thurs, November 14:
Topic: DIGITAL SPACES
Discuss: Fyre documentary | Digital ethics
Read: “How Good Design Failed Us” by Nikil Saval
“When the Robot Doesn’t See Dark Skin” by Joy Buolamwini
“A History of the Influencer, from Shakespeare to Instagram” by Laurence Scott
Conclusions
Tues, November 19 | Thurs, November 21:
Individual conferences (optional)
Tues, November 26 | Thurs, November 28:
NO CLASS (Thanksgiving Break)
[Portfolio due Sunday, December 1st]
Tues, December 3 | Thurs, December 5 | Tues, December 10:
Final Presentations. [Presentation Schedule]
Course Evaluations
