FS 013 PZ -Graffiti and Street Art

Institution: Pitzer

Description: Street art and graffiti are interrelated global phenomena that re-write urban landscapes through varying relationships to history, segregation, identity, community, art markets, and “legitimate” artistic practice. This course introduces case studies that help to unpack issues of legitimacy and public space. Debates around graffiti or street art (“but is it art?” or “is it graffiti if…?”) tend to be instrumental rather than opening a space for critical reflection. Looking at graffiti through time, we unpack the questions that people ask and the constructs that they are making, and to see what we can learn about connections between expressive culture and the built environment. Our class takes an ethnographic approach to the study of discourses around street art and graffiti - including those form within the academy as well as from practitioners.

Prerequisite(s): None

First-Year seminars are not listed on the course schedule. Incoming students will be assigned to a first-year seminar and registered automatically.