This free course, Visions of protest: Graffiti, introduces students to contrasting understandings of graffiti. It draws on a wide range of graffiti examples, including mystery zebras in Hackney, fish graffiti in Morecambe, 'tags' in a Milton Keynes underpass, a McDonald's advert and exhibits at a highly established art gallery, the Tate Modern. Students will consider different arguments for and against the perception of graffiti as a form of art or as vandalism and explore how graffiti has been used as a form of communication and as an articulation of protest.

After studying this course, you should be able to:

• understand more clearly the complexity of the concept of ‘art’
• explain the origins and meanings of the concept of ‘graffiti’ and distinguish between different forms of graffiti
• have a clearer understanding of different attitudes to graffiti and different arguments used in debates related to graffiti
• have a clearer understanding of the impact particular contexts and techniques can have on the effects and meaning of graffiti
• have a clearer understanding of the use of graffiti as a form of communication, and in particular as a way of articulating protest.