Teaching Latinx Art History

In the Spring 2015 issue of Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies, the evolution of the field of Chicano art history since 1990 was the theme of the dossier section. The section was curated by Charlene Villaseñor Black, professor of art history and Chicana/o studies at UCLA, who writes in her introduction, “The conflicts between the rarefied and privileged world of art history and the practical, activist-oriented politics of Chicana/o studies are real.” The dossier opens with an inquiry: What is the current state of Chicana/o and Latina/o art history? Is it in crisis? The dossier includes six sample course descriptions and syllabi intended to inspire formation of new classes on Chicana/o and Latina/o art. The examples represent a range of courses offered by professors with appointments in art history, English, Spanish and Portuguese, and Chicana/o or Latina/o studies, at both public and private institutions. These instructors use diverse theoretical approaches, from social art history to cultural and literary studies.

Introduction to dossier: “P’adelante, P’atrás,” by Black, Charlene Villaseñor (PDF)

Syllabi:

Barnet-Sanchez, Holly, “Chicana and Chicano Art: A History of an American Art Movement, 1965 to the Present”

de Alba, Alicia Gaspar and Black, Charlene Villaseñor, “UCLA Chicana/o Studies & Art History Protest and Praxis in Mexican and Chicana/o Art”

Fox, Claire F. “Inter-American Studies:  Visual Culture and Performance in the Americas”

González Jennifer A., “Chicano and Chicana Art”

Tejada, Roberto, ” Borderlands: Art +Theory” and “Chicano Art and the Politics of Place”

Teachers’ guides: Additionally, CSRC Press offers downloadable teaching guides for the following publications from the A Ver: Revisioning Art History series:

María Brito (2009)

Celia Alvarez Muñoz (2009)

Yolanda M. López (2008)

Gronk (2007)

We welcome the submission of syllabi for posting on this page as an open resource for those teaching Latina/o/x art history or more general course surveys. Please send to csrcinfo@chicano.ucla.edu.