A History of Posters: 19th Century to 21st Century

Class Description

In this four-week course, we will explore the history and use of posters with a focus on nineteenth-century Europe up through the protest posters of the 1980s. The class will look at how technological changes created new types and forms of posters and how posters reflect the social, political, and economic viewpoints of the day. The class will largely focus on the United States and Europe with some exploration of posters in Russia, China, and Cuba.

The first week, we’ll focus on the early history of posters with an emphasis on nineteenth-century Europe up to World War I. Then we’ll look at WWI poster propaganda and the New Deal’s Work Projects Administration (WPA) posters. In the third week, we’ll cover World War II poster propaganda, looking specifically at the United States, Russia, and China. The final week will look at protest posters in the United States and Cuba, including protests against the Vietnam War, through the present day protest marches.

Elisa Shoenberger is a researcher and freelance writer. She has an MA in Latin American Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison focusing on Cuban poster propaganda. She’s published articles in over 100 publications including Wired, Slate, and Huffington Post.

What to Expect

Format: In Person 

Class Capacity: 15 

Class Style: Mix of lecture and discussion; participation encouraged 

Materials List

Required

• Instructor Distributed Materials

First Reading

• Please read the following optional articles. Focus on the images.

• A short history of the poster:

https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/a-short-history-of-the-poster

• The evolution of the poster:

https://www.aproposter.com/evolution-of-the-poster/

• Jules Chéret and the History of the Artistic Poster:

https://driehausmuseum.org/blog/view/jules-cheret-and-the-history-of-the-artistic-poster

A Brief Syllabus

1. 19th Century to World War I
2. World War I and New Deal WPA Posters
3. World War II Propaganda and Early Post-War Years
4. Post-War Posters

Cost and Registration

4 Sessions, $175 ($157.50 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.

We offer our classes at three different price options: Regular ($175), Community Supported ($160), and Sponsor ($185). Following the models of other institutions, we want to ensure that our classes are accessible to a wider audience while continuing to support our instructors. You may choose the price that best fits your situation when registering through Learning Stream.

To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.

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