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- UCAS course code
- VV20
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Course unit details:
Art in Theory
Unit code | AHCP20432 |
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Credit rating | 20 |
Unit level | Level 2 |
Teaching period(s) | Semester 2 |
Available as a free choice unit? | Yes |
Overview
Art in Theory aims to provide a toolkit of concepts or discursive operations for contemporary students of art history. These concepts or operations might include: mimesis; iconography; space; biography/autobiography; the author; beauty/taste; the sublime; dialectic; the fetish; animism; the uncanny; aura; the sign; coloniality; race; gender; sexuality; globalisation; neoliberalism; ecology. At every level of the course, but in particular in seminar work, our thinking will respond to the urgent imperative to decolonise art historical practice.
Aims
Art in Theory aims to provide a toolkit of concepts or discursive operations for contemporary students of art history. These concepts might include: mimesis; iconography; space; biography/autobiography; the author; beauty/taste; the sublime; dialectic; the fetish; animism; the uncanny; aura; the sign; coloniality; race; gender; sexuality; globalisation; neoliberalism; ecology. At every level of the course, but in particular in seminar work, our thinking will respond to the urgent imperative to decolonise art historical practice.
Syllabus
1. Introduction
2. Mimesis
3. Iconography
4. Space
5. Biography/ Autobiography
6. Author
7. Beauty/Taste
8. The Sublime
9. Dialectic
10. Fetish
11. Animism
12. The Uncanny
13. Aura
14. Sign
15. Coloniality
16. Race
17. Gender
18. Sexuality
19. Globalisation
20. Neoliberalism
21. Ecology
22. Revision
Teaching and learning methods
2 x 1 hour weekly lecture 1 x 2 hour fortnightly seminar
Assessment methods
Assignment | Weighting | Wordcount |
---|---|---|
Essay Plan | 0% | 500 words |
Essay 1 | 40% | 1500 words |
Essay 2 | 60% | 2500 words |
Feedback methods
Formative feedback on the essay plan.
Written feedback on the essay
Recommended reading
TEXTS FOR THE COURSE
In addition to the books and articles recommended for each lecture you should consult recent publications concerned with art history as a discipline and its history (* especially recommended):
M. Baxandall. Patterns of Intention. On the Historical Interpretation of Pictures, 1985.
M. Cheetham, M. Holly, and K. Moxey (eds), The Subjects of Art History, 1998
*Eric Fernie. Art History and its Methods. A Critical Anthology, 1995.
*Jonathan Harris, The New Art History - A Critical Introduction, 2001
Jonathan Harris. Writing Back to Modern Art, 2005
C. Harrison et al (eds.), Art in Theory (3 vols.) 1648-1815, 1800-1900, 1900-1990
M. Hatt and C. Klonk, Art History, 2006
W. J. T. Mitchell, Picture Theory, 1994
W. J. T. Mitchell, What do Pictures Want?, 2005
K. Moxey. The Practice of Theory, 1994.
* R. Nelson and R. Shiff (eds). Critical Terms for Art History, 1996.
F. Orton and G. Pollock. Avant-gardes and Partisans Reviewed. The Social History of Art, 1996
R. Parker and G. Pollock. Old Mistresses: Women, Art and Ideology, 1981.
M. Podro. The Critical Historians of Art, 1982.
M. Pointon. History of Art: A Students' Handbook, 1994.
D. Preziosi. Rethinking Art History. Meditations on a Coy Science, 1989.
*D. Preziosi, The Art of Art History. A Critical Anthology, 1998.
Study hours
Scheduled activity hours | |
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Lectures | 22 |
Seminars | 11 |
Independent study hours | |
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Independent study | 167 |
Teaching staff
Staff member | Role |
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Charles Miller | Unit coordinator |