Representations: Fetishism

LASALLE-SIA College of Art

Fetishism evokes scandalous, illicit, and extreme sexual notions, but in fact, such ideas are only a fraction of what fetish theory encompasses. A fetish might be religious, commercial, or, of course, sexual. This class will investigate theories of fetishism, including Marx's commodity fetish and Freud's sexual fetish among others, as well as those that derive from those theories. Students will apply assigned and researched readings to their choice of imagery to produce a well-researched and carefully argued 4-page paper. Images may be selected from artwork, popular culture, advertisements, or other areas of visual culture.