Black Arts and Culture: Expressions in Music, Dance, and the Visual Arts

Course Description

This inter-disciplinary, learning experience will build cross-cultural understanding and give you a wider, deeper appreciation of the ways in which the arts are integral to life. Explore the current landscape of Black cultural achievements, origins and impact of Black voices, music, dance forms, visual arts, and a culminating experience of a self-directed day trip to elevate your awareness of the Black art and cultural offerings available in the region (options are provided).

Learning Objectives

• Identify the themes, values, and messages that are specific to Black arts and culture.
• Recognize and apply the meaning of intertextuality.
• Distinguish Kara Walker’s and Kehinde Wiley’s artworks from other works.
• Recognize other examples of intertextuality and appropriation in culture.
• Identify major elements of music in popular genres.
• Think critically about the types of music that have shaped your life and examine the social environments in which that music was developed.
• Explore the origins of music genres and related characteristics to other familiar genres.
• Identify how early musical themes manifest in our culture today.
• Understand a basic history and progression of African American Dance forms and how they influenced 21st Century Hip-hop dances.
• Connect to their own history and identity through embodied experiences of black culture.
• Appreciate Black dance forms and their contributions to the larger American society.
• Recognize the individual styles of at least 4 African American artists of regional and national importance.
• Gain a general understanding of the historical context for the current display of African American art.
• Articulate and summarize complex themes in African American art.
• Practice storytelling and critical evaluation skills. 

Materials Provided

Each module contains text, videos, and external readings. 

Measure of Performance

Certificate of completion.

Course Requirements

This program is designed for individuals from a range of career fields with either an interest in the arts or the skilled creative trades.

If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, please fill out the self-disclosure form. The Office of Disability Services coordinates services for students with disabilities. Documentation of a disability needs to be on file in that office before any accommodations can be provided.