FTVM 366 DIGITAL 357 AMCULT 311: From Prisms to Pantone: Color, Race, and Technology Course Syllabus

In this class, we will take a deep dive into the rich, fascinating, and sometimes overwhelming topic of color as it is mediated by technology, culture, and politics. By doing so, we’ll open up a larger conversation about how technology shapes our perception of the world and ourselves. A major conceptual thread running throughout the course will be around the complex relationship between so-called "abstract" color in the arts and sciences and color as a tool of racial classification and oppression. Throughout the semester, we’ll look critically at the ways in which color technologies from photography to biometrics have historically been calibrated in a way that perpetuates racial bias. With readings from media studies, critical race studies, anthropology, the history of science and technology, and architecture and design studies, some questions we will grapple with include: Is color an objective or subjective phenomenon (or both)? How does the way we perceive and understand color change with the emergence of new technologies? Is digital color really all that distinct from analog color? How does one go about mediating color on screen, and what kinds of technological and social compromises are involved? Who benefits from these compromises, and who is left out? Film screenings, as well as video artworks, paint charts, and memes, will help us flesh out ideas using concrete examples. Students will have the option to propose a creative or hybrid theory/ practice final project in lieu of a traditional written paper.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/191467/1/Zeitlin-Wu, FTVM 366 DIGITAL 357 AMCULT 311 Syllabus, 2023.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/191467/2/Zeitlin-Wu, FTVM 366 DIGITAL 357 AMCULT 311, Midterm Pantone Color of the Year, 2023.pdfDescription of Zeitlin-Wu, FTVM 366 DIGITAL 357 AMCULT 311 Syllabus, 2023.pdf : Course SyllabusDescription of Zeitlin-Wu, FTVM 366 DIGITAL 357 AMCULT 311, Midterm Pantone Color of the Year, 2023.pdf : Course AssignmentSEL