WGST267
Visual History and Memory: Representations of the Japanese American Incarceration Experience

The Japanese American incarceration experience during World War II has always had a vexed relationship with the camera. Cameras and other recording devices were banned in the camps until spring 1943. This course engages with the legacy of this incarceration experience in visual culture and American historical memory. Using a gendered lens, we look at how the camps have been documented and remembered in photography, film, graphic memoir, camp newspapers, museum exhibitions, and new media since 1942. We will closely examine the photography of Dorothea Lange, Ansel Adams, and Toyo Miyatake, the intersection of internment camps and Indigenous lands, women filmmakers and activists, and explore major digital archives and recent augmented reality installations focusing on the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans.

Units: 1

Max Enrollment: 20

Prerequisites: None.

Instructor: Creef

Distribution Requirements: ARS - Visual Arts, Music, Theater, Film and Video

Typical Periods Offered: Fall

Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Fall

Notes: