CLASS 1704 - Statues and Public Life

(HB) (CA-AS)

Spring. 3 credits. Student option grading.

V. Platt.

Why do so many societies create statues, and why do they set them up in prominent spaces within their communities? How and why do statues loom so large in the public imagination? Looking both to the cultures of Ancient Greece and Rome and to the modern West, this course examines the social, political, religious, and erotic power attributed to statues across diverse periods and contexts. Drawing on dynamic “Active Learning” methods, we will explore topics including the foundational role of statues for political states (from the Athenian Tyrannicides to the Statue of Liberty), the destruction of statues (from Christian iconoclasm to Confederate monuments), creative “statue-hacks” (from Rome’s Pasquino to Wall Street’s “Fearless Girl”) and objects of cult (from Olympian Zeus to weeping Madonnas). The course will encourage active engagement with statues relevant to students themselves, including the Cornell cast collection, statues on campus, and those in your own home town.