Social Politics of Graffiti

facilitated by ashar latif asharkl@hotmail.com

CANCELLED

hopefully i'll try to do the class in a different term, the momentum is gone. sorry to all who were interested.

Summary:

Graffiti exists in a unique societal location, that of criminal art. This course will examine the phenomenon of graffiti in a social/cultural/political context. Beyond looking at graffiti in and of itself, we will also use it as a proxy to examine and offer critiques of urbanism and spatial reclamation, criminality and the politics of criminalization, and cultural homogenization. There is also a field-trip component to this course, details as yet to be finalized.

(Very) Tentative Course Outline

Week 1: Intro & Overview • aims of the class • overview of material • negotiation of content

Week 2: Historical Overview and Typology • history of graffiti/hip-hop • terminology and varieties of graffiti

Week 3: Graffiti as Cultural and Aesthetic Resistance • graffiti as a response to cultural hegemony • graffiti as inherently stylish/aesthetic endeavor

Week 4: Graffiti as Political Resistance • political graffiti • graffiti as channel of communication

Week 5: Graffiti and Criminality • process of criminalization • meaning of criminality

Week 6: Graffiti and the Politics of Space • urbanism and homogenization of space

Week 7: Non-European Graffiti • development and meaning of non-western graffiti forms

Texts:

• Bartolomeo, Bradley J. “Graffiti is Part of Us”
• Ferrell, Jeff. Crimes of Style: Urban Graffiti and the Politics of Criminality. (1993). Boston: Northeastern University Press.
• Gadsby, Jane M. “Looking at the Writing on the Wall: A Critical Review and Taxonomy of Graffiti Texts.”
• Giller, Sarah. “Graffiti: Inscribing Transgression on the Urban Landscape.”
• Gonos, G., V. Mulkern and N. Poushinsky. "Anonymous Expression: A Structural View of Graffiti." Journal of American Folklore 89 (1976): 40-48.
• Ley, D. and R. Cybriwsky. "Urban Graffiti as Territorial Markers." Annals of the Association of American Geographers 64.4 (1974): 491-505.
• Luna, Jeremiah. “Eradicating the Stain: Graffiti and Advertising In Our Public Spaces.” Bad Subjects 20 (April 1995).
• Noah, Josephine. “Street Math in WildStyle^? Graffiti Art.”
• Tucker, Daniel Oliver. “Graffiti: Art and Crime.”

among others...