Required Resources Read/review the following resources for this activity: • Textbook: Chapter 4, 5 • Lesson • At least 1 news article (e.g., latimes.com,

Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:

• Textbook: Chapter 4, 5
• Lesson
• At least 1 news article (e.g., latimes.com, usatoday.com, nytimes.com)
• Minimum of 1 scholarly source (in addition to the textbook)

Initial Post Instructions
Select one of the following options to research for this discussion:

• Option 1: Google <California Washington mural>. You will find numerous reports
concerning a California school district that voted to paint over a mural in the high
school. The Life of Washington was painted by Depression-era artist Victor
Arnautoff.

• Option 2: Google <Indiana University Thomas Hart Benton mural>. You will find
numerous articles on the controversy surround a panel from Benton’s A Social
History of Indiana (1933) murals.

• Option 3: Conduct research on a mural or statue or monument in your town that
is the subject of controversy.

Before you read the news articles, try to look at the artworks through an image search in
Google. Then, read the news articles to see the different viewpoints about the murals.
For the initial post, address at least four (4) of the following questions for the option you
selected:

• What do you think should be done with the artwork (e.g., painted over, covered,
destroyed, left as is in plain view, etc.)? Why?

• Should the context in which the artwork was created (the Great Depression of the
1930s in the case of the Benton and Arnautoff murals) have an impact on the
decision of what to do with the artwork?

• Should the context in which people now view the artwork have an impact on the
decision of what to do with it?

• What message do you think the artwork conveys?
• Do you think there is ambiguity in the message?
• Do you think the message is vague?
• Does the artistic value of the artwork require that it be saved regardless of

message?
• Does the historic value of the artwork require that it be saved regardless of

message?
• Do you think the message of the artwork is sufficiently important that the

message alone requires that it be saved?
• Do you think the artists were biased or prejudiced? If yes, explain specifics about

the artwork that support your opinion. Do you think viewers might be bringing
bias or prejudice to their opinions? Are you?

• Minimum of 2 posts (1 initial & 1 follow-up)
• Minimum of 2 sources cited (assigned readings/online lessons and an

outside source)
• APA format for in-text citations and list of references