Art and activism 1968-1974 : a season of protest at the University of Virginia

Abstract

This thesis investigates the role of politically-motivated visual culture relative to the social and cultural transformations taking place at the University of Virginia between 1968-1974, culminating in the “May Days” student strike of 1970. This study seeks to recognize the ways through which these visual materials reflected, as well as influenced student response and identity relative to the contemporary social issues of the time, such as the advancement of Civil Rights, the de-acceleration of the Vietnam War and the military draft, and the arrival of co-education at the University of Virginia. This thesis seeks to expand traditional boundaries of the field of art education and its relevance both within, as well as outside of the educational classroom, and demonstrate the significance of visual culture in relation to social conditions and context.