Where to Begin
Marking Race in Surveys of American Art
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15010484 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Tanya Sheehan (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 33-37 |
| Publication date | 2022-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Art (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1073-9300 • E-ISSN: 1549-6503 |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1086/722526 |
| OpenAlex | W4313127827 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 17 |
This essay focuses on the temporal boundaries of the American art survey course taught to undergraduates—particularly the entry point from which art historians have developed their stories about artistic and social change over time—in order to press further on the investment of this pedagogical apparatus in White racial identity. It reflects on the implications, from a critical race perspective, of beginning the survey with the year 1492 or 1776 and proposes the New York Times Magazine’s much-debated “1619 Project” as a possible model for historians of American art to identify other turning points that would center the experiences of people of color. The pedagogical strategies presented in this essay aim to address the racial biases and foundations of American art history as a field and, more broadly, to expose and undermine the enduring power of Whiteness
Aesthetics · Art · Art history · Sociology · Visual arts · Fashion and Cultural Textiles · Financial Crisis of the 21st Century · Gender Studies · Geographies of human-animal interactions · History
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |