Undergraduate Course: CONTEMPORARY ART: THEORIES AND METHODS (HIAR10137)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | As art historians, an unprecedented range of theoretical and methodological tools are available to assist our understanding of and engagement with the complex field of contemporary art. Since the mid-twentieth century, art¿s shift towards dematerialised, performance-based and politically-engaged practices has rendered art history¿s traditional methods of analysis less readily applicable. In the 1970s, the ¿New Art Histories¿ arose in response to these changes and remade the methods of the discipline along new contours, critically informed by Marxist and feminist theory. However, is this ¿new¿ theoretical and methodological framework, introduced by the likes of TJ Clark and Griselda Pollock, still appropriate for making sense of art today? This course will provide an introduction to Marxist, feminist, queer, postcolonial and poststructuralist perspectives ¿ as well as the intersections between these positions ¿ through a survey of contemporary art after 1970. Considering the range of critical approaches required to comprehend the diverse forms that contemporary culture often takes, we will also pay close attention to the significant influence such theories and methods have had upon studio and curatorial practice in recent decades. Artists as diverse as Damien Hirst, Marina Abramovic and Renzo Martens will be discussed in terms of issues such as globalisation, gender, identity, the institution, labour and production. |
| Course description |
1: Introduction: What is Contemporary Art History? (VH&HW)
2: Aesthetics and Autonomy (HW)
3: Institutional Critique (VH&HW)
4: Psychoanalysis and Identity (VH)
5: Cultural Studies, Postcolonialism and Globalisation (VH&HW)
6: The Postmodern Condition (HW)
7: Sexuality and Queer Politics (VH)
8: Feminism (VH)
9: Marxism (HW)
10: The Unhappy Marriage: Marxist-Feminism (VH&HW)
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 3 History of Art courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses.
** as numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Office directly for admission to this course ** |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Upon successful completion of the course, students will:
Be aware and knowledgeable of a range of critical approaches to contemporary art.
- Understand the methods of art history, and how these methods may be applied to writing on contemporary art.
- Be able to engage with complex theoretical texts, and apply their understanding of theory to contemporary art practices.
- Have a broad overview of the landscape of contemporary art and its key developments.
- Be able to engage critically with the theories and practices of contemporary art, articulating their own views on developments in art practice since the 1970s in written and verbal formats, using appropriate academic conventions.
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Reading List
Anna D¿alleva. Methods and Theories of Art History. London: Lawrence King, 2005.
Charles Harrison, Paul Wood (eds.). Art in Theory: 1900-2010. London: Blackwell, 2002.
Jonathan Harris. The New Art History. London: Routledge, 2001.
Amelia Jones. Contemporary Art since 1945. London: Blackwell. 2006.
Robert S Nelson, Richard Schiff (eds.). Critical Terms for Art History. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
Julian Stallabrass. Contemporary Art: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: OUP, 2006.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Contemporary art, theory, criticism, methodology |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Ms Victoria Horne
Tel:
Email: |
Course secretary | Mrs Sue Cavanagh
Tel: (0131 6)51 1460
Email: |
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