Since 1945, artists have celebrated the death of the author, created artwork in tandem with identity-based social movements, pushed multiculturalism into the mainstream of the art world, and contributed to the rise of post-identity art. This course explores how race, gender, sexuality, class, ability, nationality, and other axes of identity affect the ways in which art is produced, circulated, and consumed. While students will be familiarized with the conventional history of modern and contemporary American art, they will also be challenged to ask questions such as, how does identity shape the canons and categories of Art History? Is it always important to take an artist’s identity into account when interpreting their artwork? Does an artist from a marginalized group have a responsibility to address their identity in their art? And how does identity affect our own scholarly approaches to art and visual culture?