Course Syllabus

Decolonizing Arts & Culture in America

Faculty

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Course Description

This interdisciplinary course offers the opportunity to re-examine 19th-21st century American art and culture through the lens of postcolonial and anti-racist thought. Students will examine how the dominant colonial worldview has shaped perceptions of quality and beauty in our evaluation of cultural objects and expression. Students explore the value, quality, influence, and integrity of the artistic and cultural expressions of Native American, African American, and immigrant communities and artists in the United States. The course examines short fiction, poems, essays, visual art, and music to see how individual artists and thinkers deliberately tackle and seek to dismantle racist and colonial ways of thinking and seeing.

Essential Objectives

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.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV IT Support page. https://support.ccv.edu/general/computer-recommendations/

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

The last day to use a Financial Aid Advance to purchase textbooks/books is the 3rd Tuesday of the semester. See your financial aid counselor at your academic center if you have any questions.

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity