SINY TBD: The Cultural Cold War: The CIA and the Arts in NYC
This undergraduate BOSP course explores the complex and often controversial relationship between the CIA and cultural institutions in New York City and across the United States during the Cold War era. The course examines how the CIA, through front organizations like the Congress for Cultural Freedom (CCF) and other covert programs, funded and shaped the cultural landscape in the U.S. as part of its broader efforts to combat Soviet influence and promote American values abroad. Through a combination of seminar discussion and primary source analysis, students will critically engage with the intersection of art, politics, and intelligence operations, investigating how government intervention in cultural production has shaped both American culture as well as global perceptions of the U.S. Throughout, the backdrop will be the museums, art galleries, and other cultural institutions of New York City itself. The course will include on-site visits to MoMa and the Guggenheim gallery (both recipients of CIA funding), and I hope to invite Michelle Kuo, Chief Curator at Large at MoMa to speak to the students as well as an archivist from either New York Public Library or Columbia’s Rare Books and Manuscript Library.