LTS 376 | The Art of Mestizaje

This course analyzes how artists articulated the idea of mestizaje (racial and ethnic mixing) in Mexico and the U.S from the 16th to the 21th century. This course is divided into three sections: in the first section, students will study the genesis and evolution of racial taxonomies in the viceroyalty of New Spain. This section will teach the students the conceptual history of the idea of mestizaje and its political implications. In the second section, students will examine how diverse artists and political institutions portray the idea of mestizaje creating the genre of Casta paintings. Casta paintings are one of the most important artistic expressions of the Spanish Catholic Empire. In the third section, the students will analyze how governmental and nongovernmental corporations developed the Mexican muralism artistic movement, and also how U.S Latinx artists reinterpreted the muralist conceptualization of mestizaje in the 20th and 21st Century. Particularly, the course will emphasize the artworks of Diego Rivera in Mexico City and Detroit, and the artworks of Sandra de la Loza, and Emilio Aguayo.