WS 5043
Art, Activism, and Social Justice
Fall 2013, Wednesdays 2:30-5:20 p.m.
Human Development Building (HDB) room 309
Instructor: Agatha Beins
Email: abeins@twu.edu
Phone: 940-898-2117
Office: Human Development Building (HDB) 307L
Office Hours: Wednesdays 10:00 – 12:00, Thursdays 2:30 – 4:30, and by appointment
I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way —
things I had no words for.
—Georgia O’Keeffe
For women, then, poetry is not a luxury. It is a vital necessity of our existence. It forms
the quality of the light within which we predicate our hopes and dreams toward survival
and change, first made into language, then in to idea, then into more tangible action.
Poetry is the way we give name to the nameless so it can be thought. The farthest
horizons of our hopes and fears are cobbled by our poems, carved from the rock
experiences of our daily lives.
—Audre Lorde
Art is a sneak attack while the giant sleeps, a sleight of hands when the giant is awake,
moving so quick they can do their deed before the giant swats them. Our survival
depends on being creative.
—Gloria Anzaldúa
Course Description
Think about a movie that brought tears to your eyes, a song that made your skin tingle, a poster carried
by someone walking in protest that inspired you to see the world differently. Through this class we’ll
think about how art works and works on us by looking at different art and activist projects. Specifically,
we’ll explore the relationship between art and social justice by investigating the uses and limits of artistic
processes and products.
In addition to examining how activists have pushed the boundaries of what counts as art and who counts
as an artist, we will think about why art gets taken up as a tool by social movements and activists.
Readings will cover a range of topics, theoretical frameworks, and case studies, pushing us to question
how people have created art objects—visual, aural, performative, and multi-media—for the purpose of
activism as well as how activists choose certain kinds of art to serve and promote their cause. Feminists
have made significant contributions to both art and activist cultures, so we will spend some time looking
closely at their various interventions and use this investigation to think about the past, present, and
future of feminist activism. Additionally, because activist art is a multifaceted, multi-media, and global
phenomenon, this syllabus presents only a small selection of activist art. Therefore there will be space for
you to pursue your own interests in art through essays and presentations.
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Student Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this class will, though class discussions and written assignments, be
able to:
• learn principles and theories about the relationship between art, activism, and social justice.
• learn to apply course materials to analyze and critically evaluate political, social, and cultural
events occurring outside the classroom.
• analyze and critically evaluate art and activism to determine their strengths and limitations.
• choose appropriate theories to accurately analyze art “objects” and their use in political and
social movements.
• demonstrate effective reading and accurate analysis of academic, scholarly, and artistic texts.
• demonstrate effective use of oral and written communication skills through formal written
assignments, class discussions, and formal oral presentations.
COURSE READINGS
Because discussion of readings is a central part of this course I expect that you will have your own copy
of each reading that is assigned and that you will bring it to class on the day we are discussing it. All
readings must be completed by the date listed on the syllabus, and I expect that you will actively read
each assigned reading, even if you have read it before.
Books
Broude, Norma, and Mary D. Garrard, eds. The Power of Feminist Art: The American Movement of the 1970s,
History and Impact. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1994.
Reed, T. V. The Art of Protest: Culture and Activism from the Civil Rights Movement to the Streets of Seattle.
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2005.
Helguera, Pablo. Education for Socially Engaged Art: A Materials and Techniques Handbook. New York: Jorge
Pinto Books, 2011.
Lawston, Jodie Michelle, and Ashley E. Lucas, eds. Razor Wire Women: Prisoners, Activists, Scholars, and
Artists. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2011.
Articles
We will also be reading articles that I have posted in the course’s Blackboard site. Those readings are
indicated with a (Bb).
Critical Reading
The following questions will be useful for you to consider as you read and discuss the course texts:
• What is the author’s main idea/purpose in writing this piece? What do you think the author
wants us to believe is true after reading this piece?
• What assumptions does the author make about how the world works, what is true, and what is
untrue?
• What kind of evidence/support does the author use to convince you that her or his perspective is
true and accurate?
• What parts of the text do you find to be accurate and what parts of the text do not seem correct?
Why?
• How does the author propose we understand the world, art, human relations, identities?
• How does this author help us understand the world better or differently?
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•
•
How is this author's perspective similar to and/or different from other authors' perspectives?
Who would agree with whom? Who would disagree?
What is the relationship between theory, practice, activism, creativity, and knowledge
production?
More specifically, as you think about course readings through the lens of art, activism, and social justice
consider the following questions:
• How does the author or artist conceptualize art and artists?
• What are the strengths and limitations of using a specific kind/genre of art for a specific kind of
activism?
• What assumptions about politics, human behavior, identity, knowledge, power, and privilege do
artists, activists, and art make in this context?
• What is the relationship between the process of making art and the “product” that is the art
itself?
• What is the relationship between form and content in this art object or artistic practice?
• How and why do different groups use different art “objects” and tactics?
• What role do artists and activist art play in representing and/or changing society according to the
course reading(s)?
• How is an artistic practice or “object” attempting to reveal, deconstruct, and/or challenge
discourses of power and hegemony?
• When art resists, what exactly is it resisting?
• How do the artistic and political practices discussed in the reading(s) cause people / systems to
change, or not?
COURSE FORMAT AND PROCEDURES
A syllabus is both a contract and a living document. By enrolling in our course you are agreeing to follow
the policies and procedures listed here and are acknowledging your responsibility for completing the
readings and assignments that are a part of this course. However, each course is dynamic, exciting, and
unpredictable, so I may make changes to the syllabus based on my assessment of how the course is
progressing. I will announce any changes to the syllabus in class and through the “Announcement”
function in Blackboard. You are welcome to contact me if you have any questions about the course
format, procedures, and assignments.
Discussion
In this course learning and teaching will occur through a variety of activities, primarily through reading,
writing, and discussion, but also through student presentations, visits from artists, library research, and
short in-class hands-on activities. I will also occasionally give short lectures to provide background
information or additional context for the topics we’ll be covering. Because this is a graduate-level class,
ideally my role will be to facilitate and foster discussions whose directions are chosen by you—by the
topics that you find most compelling, the questions you have, the passages you want to read closely in
class, and what you want to learn more about. In other words, you have the ability to shape the quality of
this class, through the care, time, and attention you give to the readings and our discussions.
Therefore, I hope you will approach the readings and discussions with an open and eager mind, and I do
not expect (in fact, I do not want) you to agree with all the ideas presented in them, by me, or by your
peers. An enriching class experience involves multiple voices and ways of seeing the world, so I expect
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that during this course your presence and contributions will be based on attempts to understand,
empathize with, and be thoughtfully critical of your peers and me. Together we can create a class space in
which we can agree and disagree thoughtfully, respectfully, and joyfully.
Because we may be addressing issues that are new and perhaps sensitive, let us enter the classroom with
a spirit of learning and openness rather than in competition with or hostility to others. I want to be part of
a class that is not afraid to agree and disagree while remembering to focus on ideas rather than people. Our
comments are part of a process of discovery and of grappling with new and complex concepts, so if you
feel offended by or concerned about a comment, please reflect on the comment and try to understand and
empathize with the writer’s purpose in saying it. In other words, let us practice deep listening, as
described by Dr. AnaLouise Keating! If you wish to respond to this comment address the content of that
comment rather than attacking the person who made it. I want us to leave the space of this class, as often
as possible, feeling inspired—with a heady sense of the possibilities for change, excitement about the
hard work we have done and have yet to do, and eager for what comes next.
Blackboard
On our course’s Blackboard (Bb) site you can find the syllabus, assignment descriptions, readings not in
the required books, and additional resources related to the course, TWU, and succeeding in academia.
Blackboard will also be a place where I will post announcements, reminders, and changes to the course
content or format.
To access the Bb system, you will need a user ID and password, which are the same as your Pioneer
Portal user ID and password. For technical assistance, contact the TWU Service Desk at 940-898-3971 or
servicedesk@twu.edu.
The email address listed for you in Blackboard is the email address that messages about the course will be
sent to, and you are responsible for making sure you receive and read these emails. You can change
your email address in Blackboard under Personal Information / Edit Personal Information.
Before making postings to Bb, please read and follow the guidelines about netiquette found here:
http://www.twu.edu/guide-for-online-courses/success.asp.
Attendance
One beautiful part of coursework is the knowledge and understandings about the world that are
produced through discussion; our participation in and contributions to class meetings are vital.
Therefore, your attendance in class is valuable and expected. If you must miss class, please let me know
beforehand if possible. In the case of missed classes, you are responsible for finding out what happened
during class from another student, and you might not able to make up and receive credit for work we did
in class that day even if your absence is excused. Absences do not exempt you from academic
requirements, and excessive absences, even if excusable, may result in a failing grade for the course. My
attendance policy is as follows: after two unexcused absences a third unexcused absence will lower
your course grade by one letter (e.g., an A becomes a B), and each subsequent unexcused absence will
lower your course grade by an additional letter, though any absence (excused or unexcused) may affect
your participation grade.
To receive an excused absence, please show documentation to the TWU Office of Student Life, which will
notify me if your absence was excused. You should not show or send your documentation to me. The
Student Life Attendance Policy can be found here: http://www.twu.edu/student-life-office/attendancepolicy.asp.
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Late Work
I expect you to complete the assignments and activities on time. However, I know that unexpected events
can occur, so it is possible to turn in a final draft of a written assignment after the deadline. For each day
this assignment is late, its grade will be lowered by 5% of the assignment’s total value. Please note that I
will accept late work only if you have made arrangements with me prior to the due date.
TWU POLICIES AND RESOURCES
Academic Integrity
Honesty in completing assignments is essential to the mission of the university and to the development of
the personal integrity of the student. Cheating, fabrication of data and evidence, facilitating academic
dishonesty, and plagiarism will be recorded. Plagiarism, which is a form of both stealing and lying, is a
serious offense and includes presenting words or ideas from other sources as your own. For all writing
assignments, be careful to properly document quotations and ideas from other sources. You must always
use quotation marks around words that are not your own and properly acknowledge your sources
according to a recognized style manual. Even when you are summarizing someone else‘s ideas in your
own words, you must acknowledge your source through proper methods of citation. For this class, be
sure to follow the guidelines for in-text citations and formatting your Works Cited page in MLA style.
You can find information about and examples of MLA citation style at
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02.
Depending on the individual case of academic dishonesty, you might be asked to re-do the assignment,
fail the assignment or this course, be required to take an ethics seminar, be placed on disciplinary
probation, or be suspended for a semester or more. The specific disciplinary process for academic
dishonesty is found in the TWU Student Handbook. Additional tools to help you avoid plagiarism are
available through the TWU Libraries at http://www.twu.edu/library/tutorial/plagiarism/player.html. In
an effort to ensure the integrity of the academic process, Texas Woman’s University vigorously affirms
the importance of academic honesty as defined by the Student Handbook (http://www.twu.edu/studentlife-office/student-handbook.asp, pages 154-56). All of the required assignments in this course may be
checked for plagiarism using Turnitin.
I take academic integrity very seriously and want to ensure you have access to the resources that will
prevent you from cheating, fabricating work, or plagiarizing. Additionally, I consider your presence in
this class as evidence of your agreement not to engage in any form of academic dishonesty.
Although it may be useful to build on or extend work you have done in other contexts or courses, you
may not turn in work produced for another course or previously written for another purpose without
discussing this with me first.
Disability Support Services
If you anticipate the need for reasonable accommodations to meet the requirements of this course, you
must register with the office of Disability Support Services (CFO 106, 940-898-3835, dss@twu.edu) in
order to obtain the required official notification of your accommodation needs. Please plan to meet with
me by appointment or during office hours during the first two weeks of class to discuss approved
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accommodations and how we can make arrangements to facilitate your full participation in the course
and meet the course requirements.
Counseling Center
The TWU Counseling Center offers individual therapy, couples therapy, group therapy, and crisis
intervention. Students are eligible for up to 12 sessions of individual therapy, couples therapy, or
combination when they are actively taking classes. The center is located in West Jones Hall and can be
reached at 940-898-3801.
TWU Write Site
The TWU Write Site, located in CFO 129 (940-898-2341; http://www.twu.edu/write-site/default.asp),
offers assistance to students at any stage in the writing process through face-to-face and online
appointments. To make an appointment, go to the following web site: http://twu.mywconline.com/. They
also offer a list of writing resources at http://www.twu.edu/write-site/writingresources.asp.
CLASS ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADES
Assignment
Class Participation
Facilitate readings and discussion
Reading Responses
Discussion Prompts
Analysis Essay
Final Essay / Project
Total
Point Value
175
150
100
100
175
300
1000 possible points
Course grade rubric
Course Grade
Points
A
900-1000 points
B
800-899 points
C
700-799 points
D
600-699 points
F
Below 600
Below you can find brief descriptions of the graded activities in this class. Detailed
information about the activities and rubrics for evaluation are located in the Assignments
and Rubrics section of our course Bb page.
Class Participation
In this class your participation grade will be shaped by attendance, participation in large and small group
activities, completion of readings, formal and informal writing assignments, and contributions to
discussion. It is everyone’s responsibility to arrive to class having read the assigned readings for that day,
taken notes about the readings, and be prepared to discuss them thoughtfully. I know that some people
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find it easier to contribute to large-group discussions than others, so please note that in addition to
encouraging you to participate I also want you to be mindful of the quality of your participation. I would
prefer that you contribute fewer comments that are more deeply engaged with the reading than you
contribute frequently but do not connect your comments to the texts we have read for that class.
Additionally, if public speaking is difficult for you, I expect that you will prepare for class in a way that
enables you to contribute vocally. I’m happy to talk with you about strategies for thoughtful engaged
participation.
Class is also our time to work though ideas and try out new ways of seeing the world, both of which
involve taking risks and making mistakes. I encourage you to discuss an idea or offer an answer that
you’re not sure is “right” as long as it is relevant to the course materials. In the spirit of collaborative
knowledge production, let us all make mistakes and learn from them.
You can positively impact your participation grade by listening actively during class, by participating
vocally in large- and small-group discussions, by contributing to in-class activities and exercises, and by
showing respect for others’ ideas (this does not mean you have to agree with the perspectives voiced in
class). Reading the non-class-related materials, leaving early, arriving late, leaving during the middle of
class, studying for another class, and using any electronic device for non-class-related activities are
examples of some of the behaviors that will have a negative impact on your participation grade.
Facilitate Readings and Discussion
One time during the semester you will start the class by introducing us to the readings and facilitating the
discussion. You will have one hour of class for the facilitation. Sign up for class facilitation through the
Sign-up Sheets link in Bb.
Reading Responses
During the semester you are invited to write eight short reading responses. There are two different kinds
of reading responses you may submit: a prose response and a creative/artistic response. Please note that
you may turn in only one reading response per class meeting.
Discussion Prompts
During the semester you are invited to write eight discussion prompts based on that week’s readings.
Prompts are due at 9:00 a.m. Wednesday morning. Sign up for discussion prompts through the Sign-up
Sheets link in Bb.
Analysis Essay
In the analysis paper you will use course readings to analyze an art object that is somehow “activist,” an
artist, an art collective that is activist, OR an activist group that uses art. The paper will be about 5 pages
(about 1500 words). There are two due dates for this essay: a draft for peer review (October 9) and a final
draft (October 23).
Final Essay / Project
For our course you have a choice about what your final research-based project will be. You may either
write a 10-12 page essay (about 3000 words, excluding works cited) or complete an artistic/activist project
and write a 5-6 page essay (about 1500 words, excluding works cited). Both options require research, and
you must include scholarly sources that are not from our required reading.
There are 4 parts to this final project: a proposal (due November 6), a presentation (December 4 or 11), a
rough draft for peer review (due December 4), and the final paper / project + paper (due December 11).
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See the Final Paper / Project assignment sheet and the Essay Rubric (via the Essays link in Bb) for more
information about this assignment.
COURSE CALENDAR
I don't expect you to come to class having understood everything in the readings. Some of these articles
and book chapters are challenging and I learn new ways to think about them even after having read them
multiple times. However, I do expect you to actively read the assigned texts, come to class with questions
about what you did not understand, make notes so that you can refer to specific parts of the readings
during our discussions, and be able summarize the author's main argument for each reading.
I have used acronyms to designate sections in the required books:
The Power of Feminist Art: PFA; The Art of Protest: AP; Razor Wire Women: RWW
** NOTE: You can access electronic copies of The Art of Protest and Razor Wire Women through the
TWU library**
—Theorizing and Historicizing Art / Activism—
AUGUST 28
Introductions; class overview; explorations of art and activism
SEPTEMBER 4
Education for Socially Engaged Art by Pablo Helguera (entire book)
Due: Sign up for a Class Facilitation date and for eight discussion prompts through the Sign-up Sheets
link in the course toolbar in Bb. This link will take you to Campus Pack Collaboration Space where you
can access the two sign-up sheets.
SEPTEMBER 11
“Introduction” to But Is It Art? by Nina Felshin (Bb)
“Introduction: Feminism and Art in the Twentieth Century” by Norma Broude and Mary D. Garrard in
PFA, 10-29
“Broken Symmetries” by Peggy Phelan (Bb)
“Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” by Laura Mulvey (Bb)
SEPTEMBER 18
“Exhibitions, Galleries, and Alternative Spaces” by Judith K. Brodsky in PFA, 104-19
“Womanhouse” by Arlene Raven in PFA, 48-67
“Revolutionary Walls: Chicano/a Murals, Chicano/a Movements” in AP, 103-28
“Collaboration” by Judith E. Stein in PFA, 226-45
—Visual Interventions—
SEPTEMBER 25
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“The Body through Women’s Eyes” by Joanna Frueh in PFA, 190-207
“ACTing UP against AIDS: The (Very) Graphic Arts in a Moment of Crisis in AP, 179-217
“In an Image” and “Out the Picture Window” by Lucy Lippard (Bb)
“Shirin Neshat’s Photographs as Postcolonial Allegories” by Iftikhar Dadi (Bb)
OCTOBER 2—Visiting Artist: Dornith Doherty
Readings TBA
—Discursive Interventions—
OCTOBER 9
Pieces from “Feminist Zines,” a comparative perspectives symposium in Signs: Journal of Women in
Culture and Society (Bb)
“The Role of Imagination in Challenging Everyday Dominations” by Adela C. Licona (Bb)
“If I Didn’t Write These Things, No One Else Would Either’: The Feminist Legacy of Grrrl Zines and the
Origins of the Third Wave” by Alison Pipemeier (Bb)
Due: Draft of your Analysis Essay for peer review—bring 2 hard copies to class
OCTOBER 16—Visiting Artist: Spencer Keralis
Readings TBA
—Performative Interventions—
OCTOBER 23
“Social Protest: Racism and Sexism” by Yolanda M. López and Moira Roth in PFA, 140-57
“Feminist Performance Art: Performing, Discovering, Transforming Ourselves” by Josephine Withers in
PFA, 158-73
“Scenarios for Revolution: The Drama of the Black Panthers” in AP, 40-74
“Will the Revolution Be Cybercast? New Media, the Battle of Seattle, and Global Justice” in AP, 240-85
Due: Final Draft of your Analysis Essay (upload to Turnitin by 2:00 p.m.)
OCTOBER 30—Visiting Artist: Rosemary Candelario
“Abortion Performance and Politics” by Rosemary Candelario (Bb)
“Choreographies of Protest” by Susan Leigh Foster (Bb)
“Transvaginal Sound: Politics and Performance” by Rosemary Candelario (Bb)
—Discursive Interventions—
NOVEMBER 6
“Singing Civil Rights: The Freedom Song Tradition” in AP, 1-39
“The Voice of Silence” by Je’Anna Redwood in RWW, 27-29
“Patiently Waiting” by Jen Myers in RWW, 133-43
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“Hope in a Box” by Sisters of Unique Lyrics (SOUL) in RWW, 269-83
Due: Final paper/project proposal (upload to Turnitin by 2:00 p.m.)
NOVEMBER 13—Visiting Artist: Shay Youngblood
Square Blues by Shay Youngblood
“Letters to a Young Artist” by Anna Deaveare Smith (Bb)
Listen to “Actor Anna Deavere Smith on Art in a Time of War” parts 1 and 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li5cQiZxNlU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-g7iohe7ew
—Incarceral Interventions—
NOVEMBER 20
3x Denied by Dawna (Lessie) Brown, “Foreword” by Kathy Boudin, Ruth Snyder by Malaquias Montoya,
and “From Representation to Resistance: How the Razor Wire Binds Us” by Jodie Michelle Lawson in
RWW, xiv – 17.
Section III, pages 190-245 in RWW
NOVEMBER 27
Pages 247-99 in RWW
Excerpts from One Big Self: Prisoner of Louisiana by Deborah Luster and C.D. Wright (Bb)
Listen to “Deborah Luster: One Big Self” at http://www.kitchensisters.org/girlstories/theseries/one_big_self/ and watch the video “One Big Self” at the bottom of the page. There is some overlap
in content, but both pieces are relatively short.
DECEMBER 4
Due: Final Paper / Project Presentations (started)
Draft of Final Paper for peer review
DECEMBER 11
Due: Final Paper / Project Presentation (continued) and Potluck
Final paper
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