This class will look at the critical response of artists, photographers, and theorists to military conflict, with an emphasis on contemporary theory and practice. From state sanctioned war artists and conceptual practitioners’ embrace of abstraction to photojournalistic depictions of violence and processes of objectification in the media, we will explore the ethics and aesthetics of representation as it relates to such issues as the visibility of civilian casualties, and the myriad forms of censorship that mediate and regulate the “war of images.” We will also consider how artists can create meaningful interventions into public space—and how those operating at the intersection of visual culture and social justice can work together within existing legal and political frameworks—while being mindful of the inextricable relationship that exists between any creative work and the social and historical conditions out of which it emerges.