F15 Berrey - AMCULT 103 / HISTORY 197 - Say it Loud: Black Culture in America
Ma Rainey. Archibald Motley, Jr. James Baldwin. Marvin Gaye. Shonda Rhimes (Scandal). LeBron James. Each of these individuals has been a critical part of an American cultural landscape in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The cultural work of each is also intertwined with larger political and social issues around race and the African American experience.
In this seminar, we will analyze Black expressive culture (such as in music, art, literature, and television) and Black everyday culture (such as through hair, fashion, sports, and language). Focusing primarily on the twentieth century, we will situate Black culture within a historical context that includes segregation, discrimination, and racial violence, as well as organized protest, civil rights, and the politics of the hip-hop era. We will also regularly consider contemporary issues, including concerns tied to sports, student life, television, Detroit, and Ferguson, Missouri. In our explorations of the past and present, we will seek answers to two broad questions:
What is the relationship between Black culture and the Black historical experience?
What is the relationship between “Black” culture and “American” culture?
Kara Walker
One of five prints from the suite "The Means to an End--A Shadow Drama in Five Acts"
aquatint and etching on light cream Somerset Satin wove paper
34 7/8 x 23 3/8 in. (88.5 x 59.3 cm);40 x 28 x 1 in. (101.6 x 71.12 x 2.54 cm)
Museum purchase made possible by the Jean Paul Slusser Memorial Fund
Kara Walker
One of five prints from the suite "The Means to an End--A Shadow Drama in Five Acts"
aquatint and etching on light cream Somerset Satin wove paper
34 11/16 x 23 1/4 in. (88 x 59 cm)
Museum purchase made possible by the Jean Paul Slusser Memorial Fund
Kara Walker
One of five prints from the suite "The Means to an End--A Shadow Drama in Five Acts"
aquatint and etching on light cream Somerset Satin wove paper
34 3/4 x 23 5/16 in. (88.2 x 59.2 cm)
Museum purchase made possible by the Jean Paul Slusser Memorial Fund
Kara Walker
One of five prints from the suite "The Means to an End--A Shadow Drama in Five Acts"
aquatint and etching on light cream Somerset Satin wove paper
34 13/16 x 23 3/8 in. (88.4 x 59.3 cm);40 x 27 1/2 x 1 in. (101.6 x 69.85 x 2.54 cm)
Museum purchase made possible by the Jean Paul Slusser Memorial Fund
Kara Walker
One of five prints from the suite "The Means to an End--A Shadow Drama in Five Acts"
aquatint and etching on light cream Somerset Satin wove paper
34 11/16 x 23 5/16 in. (88.1 x 59.1 cm)
Museum purchase made possible by the Jean Paul Slusser Memorial Fund
Betye Saar
Colored
mixed media assemblage with photographs, paper, and thread on wood
14 ½ in x 30 in x 1 ½ in (36.83 cm x 76.2 cm x 3.81 cm);10 in x 5 in x ½ in (25.4 cm x 12.7 cm x 1.27 cm)
Museum purchase made possible by Dr. James and Vivian Curtis and the W. Hawkins Ferry Fund
Glenn Ligon
Untitled
etching, aquatint, spitbite, and sugarlift on Rives BFK paper
25 in x 17 1/4 in (63.5 cm x 43.82 cm);32 3/16 in x 26 3/16 in (81.76 cm x 66.52 cm)
Museum Purchase
Glenn Ligon
Untitled
etching, aquatint, spitbite, and sugarlift on Rives BFK paper
25 in x 17 1/4 in (63.5 cm x 43.82 cm);32 3/16 in x 26 3/16 in (81.76 cm x 66.52 cm)
Museum Purchase
Glenn Ligon
Untitled
etching, aquatint, spitbite, sugarlift on Rives BF
25 in x 17 1/4 in (63.5 cm x 43.82 cm);32 3/16 in x 26 3/16 in (81.76 cm x 66.52 cm)
Museum Purchase
Elizabeth Catlett
Malcolm X Speaks for Us
linoleum cut on paper
( )
Gift of Elizabeth Catlett
Edward (Robbie) Roberson
Tired Marchers Sleep on the Streets—"We were tired, we were tired.", Selma, Alabama
inkjet print on paper
11 in x 14 in (27.94 cm x 35.56 cm)
Gift of Detroit Focus 2000, and partial purchase with funds from the Jean Paul Slusser Memorial Fund
Andy Warhol
Birmingham Race Riot
screenprint on paper
20 1/16 in x 24 1/16 in (50.96 cm x 61.12 cm);26 1/8 in x 32 1/16 in (66.36 cm x 81.44 cm)
Gift of Graham and Marianne Smith