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Maya Harakawa is an art historian specializing in modern and contemporary art of the African Diaspora, with a particular emphasis on the United States. Her research and teaching focus on the relationship between art and politics, notably addressing questions related to methodology and historiography. Harakawa critically interrogates the assumptions that have traditionally constituted 'radicalism' and 'vanguardism' in Art History, using insights derived from Black Studies to challenge the discipline’s normative values, particularly its continued investments in whiteness. She has held fellowships at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and the David C. Driskell Center for the Study of Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora, supporting her current book project on art in Harlem during the 1960s. Her courses range from general surveys of Black Art in North America to special topics classes on the Civil Rights Movement, Black Power, Black Modernisms, the relationship between Black Studies and Art History, Caribbean Art, and art of the 1960s. Harakawa emphasizes the importance of close-looking and visual analysis in her teaching, encouraging students to actively interrogate art historical investments and to develop personal approaches to studying the visual world. She invites prospective graduate students interested in topics related to her current research to contact her via email.
Department of Sociology