What and where is the real Philadelphia? How can we get past the clichés to better understand and experience the city’s historic and legendary sense of itself? For more than three centuries, Philadelphia’s unique identity has been defined and redefined by a prodigious and prolific creative community: painters, sculptors, writers, performers, architects, planners, thinkers, and more. We’ll explore Philadelphia’s evolving sense of itself through a broad range of examples of creative works from the 17th through the 20th centuries. And through this prism of expression, and the institutions that present and protect it, we’ll develop a deep understanding of Philadelphia as one of the nation’s most creative cities.Note: This course fulfills the Arts (GA) requirement for students under GenEd and Arts (AR) for students under Core.