HMUS 531 - American Material Culture: Modernism and Anti-Modernism 3 s.h.

This course examines Americans’ sometimes conflicting and often concurrent tendencies to look forward as well as backward in crafting their material worlds. Beginning with the late Victorian period and continuing through the present, students explore the role of modernism as well as the reactions to it, including the colonial revival movement and its effect on museums. Students are introduced to the decorative arts canon, but core readings and class discussion extend both the types of goods and the cultural perspectives covered. The roles of both modernism and craft revivals in racial politics of the period are highlighted. Students complete a final research project related to American material life. A-E Only. Elective.
Prerequisite(s): GrS. Permission of the instructor and the director is required for students not enrolled in CGP.