Revision Date: 07-Jun-21

HUM-2200-VO01 - Decolonizing Arts & Culture in America Synonym: 207918 Location: Online Credits: 3 (45 hours) Day/Times: Meets online Semester Dates: 09-07-2021 to 12-20-2021 Last day to drop without a grade: 09-27-2021 - Refund Policy Last day to withdraw (W grade): 11-08-2021 - Refund Policy Faculty: Heath Fuller | View Faculty Credentials This course has started, please contact the offering academic center about registration Course Description: Essential Objectives: The successful student will be able to: 1. Define important terms such as colonialism, postcolonialism, neocolonialism, ethnocentrism, racism, and antiracism. 2. Identify how power structures and systems of thought have shaped perceptions of art and culture. 3. Identify the ways that colonial and ethnocentric perspectives have shaped ideas of beauty and quality to deliberately exclude and denigrate non-European ideas of beauty and quality. 4. Discuss the effect of colonization and systemic racism on the arts and cultures of Native American, African American, and immigrant communities and individuals. 5. Identify the ways that individuals and communities demonstrate resilience, flexibility, and agency through art and culture. 6. Examine how particular art/cultural objects may project a specific, inaccurate, or limited image of a culture. 7. Evaluate how interacting with cultural/art objects through different perspectives can bring about a perceived loss or gain in one’s identity when the lens changes. 8. Critically read, view, analyze, and evaluate selected works as they relate to postcolonial and antiracist thought. 9. Examine the historical, social, economic, political, and cultural circumstances that surround the creation of art. 10. Critically view and analyze short fiction, poems, essays, visual art, music, and elements of culture that overturn and dismantle the colonial narrative. Textbooks: Fall 2021 textbook data will be available on May 3. On that date a link will be available below that will take you to eCampus, CCV's bookstore. The information provided there will be for this course only. Please see this page for more information regarding the purchase of textbooks. Additional Instructor Pre-Assignments/Notes/Comments: More About the Course I am thrilled to be offering Decolonizing Art and Culture in America for the Fall semester. This is a new course, and one that is critical in our time. We will begin the semester by learning about how we have been culturally conditioned to value a euro-centric, colonial, and white aesthetic at the expense of the arts and cultures of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and many Immigrant communities. Keeping that concept in our minds, we will focus on decolonizing how we think and see by looking at a diverse collection of artworks, stories, poetry, and other significant cultural elements like food, music, and dance. Engaging with these elements of culture will help us to understand the experiences, struggles, and resiliency of individuals and communities who have experienced brutality, marginalization, racism, and discrimination of all kinds as the result of colonial and racist policy. We will learn about how individuals and communities developed grit and resiliency, maintaining and building rich cultures that supported their own sovereignty and right to exist, while also engaging with, influencing, and enriching the wider American culture. As we spend time with these materials, we will begin to form a more balanced understanding of the true complexity and vibrancy that makes up the art and culture of the United States, one that includes the perspectives of those who have too often been excluded from the story we tell about this nation. Finally, we will ask important questions about how decolonization can be about more than changing how we see and what we value. How can art and other cultural elements begin to shift the narrative and put us on the path to creating a more just, safe, and equitable nation? Can artistic and cultural expression really effect social and political change? What cultural strategies do artists and others continue to use to work towards dismantling colonialist structures and providing safety, security, and equal access to resources and opportunities for all? I am very excited to work with engaged students on this new course. I am hoping that, in its first semester, students will contribute richly to the conversation, working with me to see where discussing these important subjects can lead us. If you have any questions before enrolling, please feel free to e-mail me at heather.fuller@ccv.edu . Instructor Bio Watch the following short video to learn more about me: * Note: In the video, I mention the courses that I teach. I now also teach this course (Decolonizing Art and Culture in America) and Contemporary World Literature. Textbooks & Readings The readings for this class will be provided through Canvas. You do not need to purchase a textbook. Policy on Assignments Turned in Late All assignments and quizzes are due by 11:59pm of the day that they are listed as due. Anything received after midnight will be considered one day late. Unless you have made a special arrangement with me, assignments and quizzes that are turned in late will lose two (2) points per day and will not be accepted after they are one (1) week overdue. Assignments that are not submitted within one week of their due date will receive a zero. Methods: Assigned Readings, Films, and Podcasts Lectures Discussion Forums Blog/Podcast Assignments Evaluation Criteria: Discussion Forum Participation (50 points) Comprehension Quizzes (20 points) Blog/Podcast Assignments (30 points) Attendance Policy: Participation You will be expected to participate in all discussion forums. Participation in these discussions will be both your attendance and your participation grade for the course. If you do not participate in the week's discussion, you will be marked absent for the week, even if you submit to an assignment/quiz during the same week. Late initial posts will lose 5pts per day late, and posts will not be accepted when the week is over. CCV values a safe and respectful learning environment. Please take the time to understand and acknowledge the ideas and opinions of others before responding respectfully. Contact Faculty: Email: Heather Fuller Hiring Coordinator for this course: Cynthia Swanson Syllabus: Week 1 – Beginnings, Questions, Expectations Week 2 – Overview of Terms and Meanings and Power Structures in Art and Culture Week 3 – African Heritage/American Experience Week 4 – New York Artists: The Harlem Renaissance to Civil Rights Week 5 –Double Dutch, Graffiti, Hip Hop, and Rap Week 6 – Latino/Latina/Latinx Art and Culture in America Week 7 – Abenaki and Algonquin History, Culture, and Resiliency Week 8 – Native American Literary Traditions Week 9 – Native Arts: Living Artistic Tradition & The Powwow Week 10 – Immigration Bricolage: The Wealth of Cultural Pluralism Week 11 – Immigration Spotlight: Asian Americans in America Week 12 – Immigration Spotlight: Sikhs and Muslims in America Week 13 – Food Sovereignty: Reclaiming Foodways and Food Access Week 14 – Contemporary Strategies & Decolonizing Your Local Culture Week 15 – Final Thoughts and Student Assignment Share Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities: CCV strives to mitigate barriers to course access for students with documented disabilities. To request accommodations, please Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/ Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process. Academic Honesty: CCV has a commitment to honesty and excellence in academic work and expects the same from all students. Academic dishonesty, or cheating, can occur whenever you present -as your own work- something that you did not do. You can also be guilty of cheating if you help someone else cheat. Being unaware of what constitutes academic dishonesty (such as knowing what plagiarism is) does not absolve a student of the responsibility to be honest in his/her academic work. Academic dishonesty is taken very seriously and may lead to dismissal from the College. Course description details subject to change. Please refer to this document frequently.