MCWP 125 Course Descriptions

The political sphere includes and regulates many things that have a direct effect on our livelihoods and communities: minimum wage, access to healthcare, immigration, infrastructure, the regulation of our bodies, whom we can marry, and so much more. Such issues have also come up in the arts, in everything from early 20th century mural painting to more recent examples like the art and iconography of Black Lives Matter and Pride as well as museum-focused protests like those that pressured tear gas manufacturer Warren Kanders to resign from his position at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 2019. This topic explores art in politics and politics in art, ranging from antiwar arts activism in the 1960s, the social politics of representing BIPOC histories and individuals, boycott and divestment, and various case studies of both artists and notorious controversies that highlight the tensions between artists/makers, artworks, audiences, local communities, as well as, of course, the museum as a mediating institution. Assigned readings draw on art history and museum studies, but the subject matter of the course will also touch on various social histories, critical race theory, and gender studies. How do the arts intersect with and/or represent political issues, movements, themes, and identities? What roles does politics play in the arts, and vice versa?  Possible research topics include the connections between the arts and politics pertaining to social justice movements, activism, globalization, labor practices, protests, museums and more. Students will identify a scholarly debate, or research conversation, propose a project that will participate in that conversation, engage with and analyze sources from the research process in the form of an annotated bibliography, and construct an academic research argument.

Nearly one-fourth of the homeless people in the United States are in California, which—not surprisingly—has some of the most expensive housing in the country. Indeed, rent for even small apartments in Los Angeles costs approximately twice the national average. Meanwhile in San Diego what was considered modest tract housing in the middle of the 20th Century now goes for much more than a middle class family can afford. And, ironically, the financial success of Silicon Valley has made San Francisco and Oakland have all but uninhabitable for anyone but the very wealthy. The impacts of this housing crisis are far reaching: long commutes to work (with ensuing air pollution issues); fights over vacation rentals like Airbnb; and tens of thousands of Californians living unsheltered each night. In this course we will read, analyze, research, and write about these and other issues that make housing so complicated in California. You will familiarize yourself with a scholarly debate about some aspect of the California housing crisis, write a research proposal and an annotated bibliography on that debated issue, and finish the quarter with a research-based argument that is your contribution to that debate.

Youth-led movements are driving forces in American history, social progress, and consumer culture. Yet, their crucial contributions are frequently dismissed in mainstream outlets as fleeting or uninformed and are too often reduced to arbitrary generational divides. From student activism in the Civil Rights era to figures such as Emma Gonzaléz, Malala Yousafzai, and Greta Thunberg; art movements; music genres like punk rock and hip hop; streetwear fashion; hacktivists and social media influencers – young people continue to shape society in diverse and meaningful ways.  

This course will interrogate the many influences of youth movements and what happens when subversive groups with counter-cultural messages challenge or disrupt the status quo. We will discuss the history and impact of student activism in American universities and when radical actions go mainstream such as Earth Day. We will also explore sub- and counter-cultural groups including drag queens, K-pop fans, young chonga women, and more. Research projects will address how crucial and undervalued student organizing and/or youth culture are in today’s social, political, and economic landscape.

Assigned readings draw upon interdisciplinary fields in the humanities and social sciences including communication and media studies, art history, ethnic studies, cultural criticism, sociology, and gender studies. In this course, students will select a movement or countercultural group; develop a research question; identify a scholarly debate or research conversation; propose a research project that will participate in the identified conversation; research and analyze scholarly sources in the form of an annotated bibliography and construct an original academic research-based argument.