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Reimagining Blackness and Architecture

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Reimagining Blackness and Architecture

10,148 already enrolled

Included with

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.8

76 reviews

Beginner level

Recommended experience

Flexible schedule
1 week at 10 hours a week
Learn at your own pace

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.8

76 reviews

Beginner level

Recommended experience

Flexible schedule
1 week at 10 hours a week
Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

  • Explore how Imagination, Care, Knowledge, Refusal, and Liberation are frameworks for understanding space and tools for community empowerment.

  • Discover how interdisciplinary influences like Afrofuturism, archives, and oral histories inform the creation of more equitable urban landscapes.

  • Participate in reflective prompts designed to help you recognize and challenge the invisible structures that shape your own community.

  • Gain tools to help you lead inclusive architectural practices, shape equitable public policy, and actively design spaces for community empowerment.

Details to know

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Assessments

6 assignments

Taught in English
99%
Most learners liked this course

There are 6 modules in this course

Architecture is a physical manifestation of power, identity, and history. This course offers a transformative framework for understanding the built environment through the lens of Blackness as both an identity and a lived experience. In an era where urban equity and social justice are at the forefront of global discourse, this course provides the critical fluency needed to deconstruct spatial inequalities and imagine more inclusive futures.

The Museum of Modern Art will take you beyond traditional blueprints to hear directly from a global collective of Black architects, scholars, and artists who are reclaiming stories erased by systemic racism. By exploring how creators use diverse mediums—from hip-hop and fiction to textiles and technology—you will analyze how Black makers have historically shaped, and continue to transform, the world around us. Whether you are a student of architecture or urban studies or a professional in design, policy, or the arts, this course will shift your perspective from observing the built environment to actively reimagining it as a space for collective liberation. Career Application: This course transforms the study of the built environment into a professional competency in spatial justice and equitable urban strategy. By gaining fluency in how race, power, and identity are physically designed into our cities, you develop the critical tools necessary to lead inclusive architectural practices, shape equitable public policy, and actively design spaces for community empowerment.

What's included

5 videos11 readings1 assignment

5 videosTotal 17 minutes
  • Preview Reimagining Blackness and Architecture1 minute
  • Charles Davis on the expansive field of architecture5 minutes
  • Adrienne Brown on the Reconstruction era5 minutes
  • Kara Walker on 40 Acres of Mules, 20153 minutes
  • Deana Lawson on Nation, 20173 minutes
11 readingsTotal 110 minutes
  • Welcome to the course!10 minutes
  • Guide to Module 110 minutes
  • Getting started: How does this course work?10 minutes
  • Interview with Sean Anderson and Mabel Wilson10 minutes
  • An artist confronts history10 minutes
  • The Black Reconstruction Collective10 minutes
  • What is architecture?10 minutes
  • Key terms10 minutes
  • Optional readings and resources10 minutes
  • Ground rules for engagement10 minutes
  • Optional prompts for discussion, reflection, and creative response10 minutes
1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes
  • Module 1 Quiz30 minutes

What's included

5 videos8 readings1 assignment

5 videosTotal 20 minutes
  • Walter J. Hood on Black Towers / Black Power5 minutes
  • Germane Barnes on A Spectrum of Blackness5 minutes
  • Pope.L on The Black Factory Archive, 2003–ongoing2 minutes
  • Michelle Joan Wilkinson on representation and Black space4 minutes
  • Garrett Bradley and Donna Crump on America, 20194 minutes
8 readingsTotal 80 minutes
  • Introduction to this week10 minutes
  • Walter Hood, Black Towers / Black Power10 minutes
  • Germane Barnes, A Spectrum of Blackness10 minutes
  • What is Blackness?10 minutes
  • New ways of seeing10 minutes
  • Advice for emerging architects and creatives10 minutes
  • Optional readings and resources10 minutes
  • Optional prompts for discussion, reflection, and creative response10 minutes
1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes
  • Module 2 Quiz30 minutes

What's included

6 videos8 readings1 assignment

6 videosTotal 28 minutes
  • J. Yolande Daniels on Black City: The Los Angeles Edition6 minutes
  • Sekou Cooke on We Outchea: Hip Hop Fabrications and Public Space5 minutes
  • Audrey Petty on High Rise Stories4 minutes
  • Zora J Murff on the series At No Point in Between, 2018–198 minutes
  • Betye Saar on "Keep for Old Memiors", 19762 minutes
  • Maren Hassinger on Leaning, 19802 minutes
8 readingsTotal 80 minutes
  • Introduction to this week10 minutes
  • J. Yolande Daniels, Black City: The Los Angeles Edition10 minutes
  • Sekou Cooke, We Outchea: Hip Hop Fabrications and Public Space10 minutes
  • The tender lenses of two photographers10 minutes
  • Artists repurposing objects and salvaging materials10 minutes
  • Optional readings and resources10 minutes
  • Optional prompts for discussion, reflection, and creative response10 minutes
  • Optional mid-course survey10 minutes
1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes
  • Module 3 Quiz30 minutes

What's included

5 videos9 readings1 assignment

5 videosTotal 18 minutes
  • Amanda Williams on We’re Not Down There, We’re Over Here5 minutes
  • Olalekan Jeyifous on The Frozen Neighborhoods6 minutes
  • Jacob Lawrence, The Migration Series, 1940–412 minutes
  • Willie Cole on Domestic ID III and IV, 1991–922 minutes
  • Lorna Simpson on Wigs, 19943 minutes
9 readingsTotal 90 minutes
  • Introduction to this week10 minutes
  • Amanda Williams, We’re Not Down There, We’re Over Here10 minutes
  • Olalekan Jeyifous, The Frozen Neighborhoods10 minutes
  • Portfolio: Bodys Isek Kingelez10 minutes
  • Portraits of yesterday10 minutes
  • The magic of stories10 minutes
  • Artifacts for the future10 minutes
  • Optional readings and resources10 minutes
  • Optional prompts for discussion, reflection, and creative response10 minutes
1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes
  • Module 4 Quiz30 minutes

What's included

7 videos8 readings1 assignment

7 videosTotal 24 minutes
  • Emanuel Admassu on Immeasurability5 minutes
  • V. Mitch McEwen on R:R6 minutes
  • Robert McNeill, The Bronx Slave Market series, 19372 minutes
  • V. Mitch McEwen on Philip Johnson, Architecture, and White Supremacy4 minutes
  • Faith Ringgold on American People Series #20: Die, 19674 minutes
  • Robin Coste Lewis reads a poem on Barbara Chase-Riboud, The Albino, 19721 minute
  • Melvin Edwards on Lynch Fragment Series, 1986–892 minutes
8 readingsTotal 80 minutes
  • Introduction to this week10 minutes
  • Emanuel Admassu, Immeasurability10 minutes
  • V. Mitch McEwen, R:R10 minutes
  • Artists making their own stories10 minutes
  • Artists making their own path10 minutes
  • Artists refusing expectations10 minutes
  • Optional readings and resources10 minutes
  • Optional prompts for discussion, reflection, and creative response10 minutes
1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes
  • Module 5 Quiz30 minutes

What's included

5 videos10 readings1 assignment

5 videosTotal 22 minutes
  • Felecia Davis on Fabricating Networks: Transmissions and Receptions from Pittsburgh’s Hill District6 minutes
  • Mario Gooden on The Refusal of Space6 minutes
  • Justin Garrett Moore on Architectures of Difference4 minutes
  • Hervé Télémaque on No title (The Ugly American)2 minutes
  • Ibrahim El-Salahi, Prison Notebook, 19763 minutes
10 readingsTotal 100 minutes
  • Introduction to this week10 minutes
  • Felecia Davis, Fabricating Networks: Transmissions and Receptions from Pittsburgh's Hill District10 minutes
  • Mario Gooden, The Refusal of Space10 minutes
  • Searching for freedom10 minutes
  • The power of printmaking10 minutes
  • Sheldon Gooch on Wangechi Mutu’s “Eve”10 minutes
  • Optional readings and resources10 minutes
  • Optional prompts for discussion, reflection, and creative response10 minutes
  • Optional course completion survey10 minutes
  • Recordings of virtual sessions (optional)10 minutes
1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes
  • Module 6 Quiz30 minutes

Instructors

Instructor ratings
4.9 (33 ratings)
The Museum of Modern Art
1 Course10,148 learners
The Museum of Modern Art
2 Courses177,303 learners

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Showing 3 of 76

MG
·

Reviewed on Apr 20, 2021

The course designers did a great job including so much important information in six weeks.

FD
·

Reviewed on Nov 27, 2025

I loved the visuals and videos from the many different architects and creators. It was inspiring and instructional. The courses through MOMA have always been grand.

KK
·

Reviewed on Apr 26, 2021

An engaging, well-paced, critical course. Would recommend to all architects.

Frequently asked questions

This course is open to everyone. No prior knowledge of architecture, art, design, or history to complete this course successfully.

Coursera currently provides certificates of completion, but MoMA does not offer additional accreditation at this time.

Yes! No prior knowledge of architecture, art, design, or history is necessary for this course to shift your perspective from observing the built environment to actively reimagining it as a space for collective liberation. 

This course features a global collective of Black scholars, architects, and thinkers, making the structural analysis relevant to urban landscapes worldwide.

Each module of this course is designed to help you consider the relationship between architecture and Blackness, both as an identity and a lived experience. You’ll hear from architects and artists who are bringing to light the ways individuals and the built environment have tried to control and harm Black people, while simultaneously highlighting the ways Black communities have endured, thrived, and created a better world for all of us.

This course builds concrete "spatial literacy" and actionable toolkits for deconstructing inequalities, allowing them to lead equity-driven design strategies and inclusive public policy changes.

In addition to hearing from designers and architects, you’ll encounter artists who explore the history of their communities, all the while reflecting on what it means to be a Black person living in the world.

To access the course materials, assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid. The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.

When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.

Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

Financial aid available,