IAHIS 3750 Critical Perspectives in Art History & Visual Culture
This course explores various critical discourses that serve to frame and shape our understanding of art, visual culture, and their respective histories. What is more, its primarily aim is to examine texts about images, than the images themselves. It is designed to provide students with a basic introduction to the theories and methodologies that define the related disciplines of art history, visual studies, and museum studies. At the same time, students will have the opportunity to engage with issues relating to the wider realm of visual culture in contemporary society. This course is interdisciplinary in its scope. Accordingly, all forms of visual expression will be open for critical examination, including painting, sculpture, photography, installation art, performance, animation, digital media, mass communication, etc. The course will also consider the institutions that underpin the contemporary global art world: museums, auction houses, biennials and art fairs, galleries, critics and art press. To introduce students to the scope and diversity of contemporary critical perspectives, weekly reading assignments will be drawn from a wide variety of sources.