Reimagining Blackness and Architecture

Arlette Hernandez +1 more instructor

Offered By

Reimagining Blackness and Architecture

The Museum of Modern Art

About this Course

Architecture structures our daily lives. It shapes our homes, streets, neighborhoods, cities and more. But who gets to create and occupy these spaces? In the United States, a long history of anti-Black racism has created spatial inequalities that are built into the physical environment and erased the stories of Black architects and communities. 
Reimagining Blackness and Architecture explores the relationship between architecture and Blackness as an identity and a lived experience. You’ll hear directly from Black artists, architects, scholars, and writers who reimagine their surroundings and highlight the ways Black makers have changed the world. You’ll see how architects are working to transform American cities into more equitable places using everything from textiles, hip hop, and fiction to spices and spaceships. And you’ll hear from an international range of artists, who create spaces for their communities and make visible the stories of Black life in their work.

The course is structured around five themes: Imagination, Care, Knowledge, Refusal, and Liberation. Each week, through original films, audio interviews, and readings, you’ll expand your understanding of architecture as a practice that reaches across time, place, and form. Creative activities and prompts for reflection will encourage you to consider your own role in shaping your communities.

Course image credit: 
Dawoud Bey. A Couple at a Main Street Bus Stop, Rochester, NY. 1989. Gelatin silver print, 11 7/16 × 22 1/16" (29.1 × 56 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Acquired through the generosity of Ruth Nordenbrook. © 2021 Dawoud Bey

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Beginner Level

This course is open to everyone. You do not need any prior knowledge of architecture, art, or history to complete this course successfully.

Approx. 14 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: English

What you will learn

Recognize how race and racism shape architecture and the built environment and the role we as individuals play in creating a just and equitable world

Explore work by Black architects and artists and discover how Black makers have shaped and reimagined the built environment

Find inspiration by learning about the ways Black makers have fashioned their own paths and advocated for better futures

Skills you will gain

ArtHistoryArchitectureanti-racismHumanities

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Beginner Level

This course is open to everyone. You do not need any prior knowledge of architecture, art, or history to complete this course successfully.

Approx. 14 hours to complete

English

Subtitles: English

Instructors

Arlette Hernandez

Volkswagen Fellow for Digital Learning

Department of Education

1,725 Learners

1 Course

Sean Anderson

Associate Curator

Department of Architecture & Design

140,504 Learners

2 Courses

Offered by

The Museum of Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art is a place that fuels creativity, ignites minds, and provides inspiration. Join us in exploring the art, ideas, and issues of our time through the Modern and Contemporary Art and Design Specialization or through individual courses: Modern Art & Ideas, Seeing Through Photographs, What Is Contemporary Art?, Fashion as Design, and In the Studio: Postwar Abstract Painting. Learn about teaching with art in our three courses designed for K-12 educators: Art & Inquiry, Art & Activity, and Art & Ideas.

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Week

Week 1

3 hours to complete

Introduction

3 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 17 min), 12 readings, 1 quiz

5 videos

Trailer for Reimagining Blackness and Architecture59s

Charles Davis on the expansive field of architecture4m

Adrienne Brown on the Reconstruction era4m

Kara Walker on 40 Acres of Mules, 20152m

Deana Lawson on Nation, 20172m

12 readings

Welcome to the course!10m

Guide to Module 110m

Getting started: How does this course work?10m

Interview with Sean Anderson and Mabel Wilson10m

An artist confronts history10m

The Black Reconstruction Collective10m

What is architecture?10m

Key terms10m

Optional readings and resources10m

Ground rules for engagement10m

Optional prompts for discussion, reflection, and creative response10m

Optional pre-course survey10m

1 practice exercise

Module 1 Quiz30m

Week

Week 2

2 hours to complete

Imagination

2 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 20 min), 8 readings, 1 quiz

5 videos

Walter J. Hood on Black Towers / Black Power5m

Germane Barnes on A Spectrum of Blackness5m

Pope.L on The Black Factory Archive, 2003–ongoing1m

Michelle Joan Wilkinson on representation and Black space4m

Garrett Bradley and Donna Crump on America, 20194m

8 readings

Introduction to this week10m

Walter Hood, Black Towers / Black Power10m

Germane Barnes, A Spectrum of Blackness10m

What is Blackness?10m

New ways of seeing10m

Advice for emerging architects and creatives10m

Optional readings and resources10m

Optional prompts for discussion, reflection, and creative response10m

1 practice exercise

Module 2 Quiz30m

Week

Week 3

2 hours to complete

Care

2 hours to complete

6 videos (Total 28 min), 8 readings, 1 quiz

6 videos

J. Yolande Daniels on Black City: The Los Angeles Edition6m

Sekou Cooke on We Outchea: Hip Hop Fabrications and Public Space5m

Audrey Petty on High Rise Stories3m

Zora J Murff on the series At No Point in Between, 2018–198m

Betye Saar on "Keep for Old Memiors", 19761m

Maren Hassinger on Leaning, 19802m

8 readings

Introduction to this week10m

J. Yolande Daniels, Black City: The Los Angeles Edition 10m

Sekou Cooke, We Outchea: Hip Hop Fabrications and Public Space10m

The tender lenses of two photographers10m

Artists repurposing objects and salvaging materials10m

Optional readings and resources10m

Optional prompts for discussion, reflection, and creative response10m

Optional mid-course survey10m

1 practice exercise

Module 3 Quiz30m

Week

Week 4

2 hours to complete

Knowledge

2 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 18 min), 9 readings, 1 quiz

5 videos

Amanda Williams on We’re Not Down There, We’re Over Here5m

Olalekan Jeyifous on The Frozen Neighborhoods5m

Jacob Lawrence, The Migration Series, 1940–411m

Willie Cole on Domestic ID III and IV, 1991–922m

Lorna Simpson on Wigs, 19943m

9 readings

Introduction to this week10m

Amanda Williams, We’re Not Down There, We’re Over Here10m

Olalekan Jeyifous, The Frozen Neighborhoods10m

Portfolio: Bodys Isek Kingelez10m

Portraits of yesterday10m

The magic of stories10m

Artifacts for the future10m

Optional readings and resources10m

Optional prompts for discussion, reflection, and creative response10m

1 practice exercise

Module 4 Quiz30m

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Reimagining Blackness and Architecture

Reimagining Blackness and Architecture