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How does the study of art and architectural history interface with colonial, postcolonial, and neocolonial structures of power? This is a pressing question for those who study the visual cultures of the Middle East, a region in which these power structures have had considerable impact historically as well as in the contemporary moment. This class will consider from theoretical and practical vantage points how colonial, postcolonial, and neocolonial systems and institutions have governed or influenced the methods of study, scope, and modes of display of historical art from the Middle East. Topics will include colonial-era collection and museum practices, Orientalism and its critics, post-colonial nationalist art historical discourses, cultural heritage in and during the ‘wars on terror’, and visual discourses of contemporary Islamophobia. Students may pursue research projects with objects or items from the Wellin Museum and/or the Michael Lang ’67 Special Collections and Archives.