Resources
Bibliography for Teachers
Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London: Penguin Books, 1972.
This slim volume considers the ideological values that underlay art in modern society. There is also a four-part BBC mini-series available by the same name. Though it is a bit dated in look, short segments may be useful for viewing to preface discussion of a piece of art.
Boime, Albert. The Art of Exclusion: Representing Blacks in the Nineteenth Century. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1990.
Boime examines the ways European artist created social histories of racial construction as demonstrated in painting and sculpture throughout the nineteenth century. The introductory chapters do an excellent job of providing close readings of racial attitudes and hierarchies asserted via height, scale and placement within a work of art.
Hills, Patricia. The Genre Painting of Eastman Johnson: The Sources and Development of His Style and Themes. PhD diss., New York University, 1973. New York: Garland Publishing, 1977.
Hills dissertation visits and examines each of Johnson's paintings in chronological order. Linking biography and historical events influence on Johnson's work, Hills illustrates the evidence of the effects of his surrounding environments on his work.
Honour, Hugh. The Image of the Black in Western Art. Vol. 4:1. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1989.
This volume, entitled Slaves and Liberators, collects all types of art from around the world to create a deep visual understanding of the ways in which black people were represented globally from the start of the transatlantic slave trade through the emancipation of US slaves. This volume is a worthwhile read for depth of knowledge.
Janofsky, Michael. "Philadelphia Mandates Black History for Graduation." The New York Times, June 24, 2005. Accessed August 14, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/25/education/25philly.html.
Article explaining the mandated African-American History course provided by the School District of Philadelphia.
Johns, Elizabeth. American Genre Painting: The Politics of Everyday Life. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991.
Johns describes an analyzes the style known as Genre Painting that proliferated from the beginning of the 19 th Century in the United States and Europe up through the Civil War in America.
Johnson, Stephen, ed. Burnt Cork: Traditions and Legacies of Blackface Minstrelsy. Amherst: U of Massachusetts, 2012. Print.
This text collects reflective essays on the history and "troublesome tradition" of blackface performance. The collection also includes essays connecting modern recurrences of blackface, many of which are unrealized by mass society, including the legacy of Mickey Mouse. This is with out a doubt a scholarly text, but one that is still accessible and provides a great breadth on this strain within the complicated history of race in America.
Locke, Alain. The Negro in Art. New York: Hacker Art Books, 1979.
Notable philosopher, writer, educator and activist Alain Locke created this compendium, consisting of both art by black artists, African art and art about black people. Each grouping of works is prefaced with a brief essay explicating the necessity of this angle of study. While somewhat dated in approach now, this is still a relevant text, particularly as a starting point to explore representations of black people in this history of art.
Miller, Angela L., Janet C. Berlo, Bryan J. Wolf, and Jennifer L. Roberts. American Encounters: Art, History, and Cultural Identity. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, 2008.
This comprehensive and lengthy text is illustrated with large color reproductions of the art discussed. Specifically, this collection examines American art through the birth and substantiation of the United States through the present era. Essentially a textbook, the thematic eras of each chapter are chunked into concise summaries of the hallmarks and highlights of each.
Young, Robert C. White Mythologies. New York: Routledge, 1990.
In this dense text, Young questions the origins and authenticity of history in a Eurocentric system. This exploration positions a decentered critical lens from which to consider history and art.
Reading List for Students
Hine, Darlene Clark, William C. Hine, and Stanley Harrold. African-American History. New Jersey: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2006.
Classroom textbooks tracing the History of African people in American from the slave trade through the mid-twentieth century.
Strickland, Carol. The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History From Prehistoric to Post-Modern. Kansas City: Andrews and McMeel, 1992.
This slim volume is perfect for classroom use. The subtitle of the book explains it all.
Zimmerman, Dwight Jon., and Wayne Vansant. The Hammer and The Anvil: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and The End of Slavery in America. New York: Hill and Wang, 2012.
A graphic novel that parallels the life of Fredrick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln from childhood through their adult lives as men of political and social action. This text is a useful resource for differentiation or for students who need additional knowledge or reinforcement of concepts concerning the political climate of the United States before, during and after the Civil War
Materials for Classroom Use
"Asking Questions to Improve Learning." The Teaching Center. 2009. Accessed July 11, 2014. http://teachingcenter.wustl.edu/strategies/Pages/asking-questions.aspx.
General informational for the educator on the ways to ask questions in the classroom to effectively direct student observation and discussion
"Everyone's a Critic." Institute of Play. September 01, 2013. Accessed January 12, 2014. http://www.instituteofplay.org/work/projects/everyones-a-critic-2/.
This game is available for free use as a downloadable pdf. This game can be used for younger children, but can be updated for older students as well. This game is designed by the Institute of Play for the Modern Museum of Art in New York for use in the museum, but it is adaptable to any museum with any type of art. Students use the guide to discuss visual and artistic themes. This could also be adapted for use in the classroom for a gallery walk or electronic file of digital images.
"Questioning Strategies." Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning. 2009. Accessed July 11, 2014. http://cte.illinois.edu/resources/topics/methods/strateg.html.
A list of probing and directive suggested questions for classroom use. Easily adaptable for discussion of genre paintings used in this unit.
Shonibare, Yinka. "Diary of a Victorian Dandy." Past Exhibitions: National Museum of African Art. October 11, 2009. Accessed July 11, 2014. http://africa.si.edu/exhibits/shonibare/dandy.html.
High-quality images of Shonibare's photographic reworking of Hogarth's engravings are provided. These images can be presented in tandem with the engravings for Hogarth's A Rake's Progress. Lesson described in detail in the Classroom Activities section above.
"Some Questioning Strategies." Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning. Accessed July 13, 2014. http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/html/icb.topic58474/questioning.html.
A list of probing and directive suggested questions for classroom use. Easily adaptable for discussion of genre paintings used in this unit.
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