2024-2025 Catalog

ARTH 180 Global Modernism

The term “Modernism” has traditionally referred to certain developments in so-called Western art from roughly the late 19th century to the 1960s. Through readings, lectures, discussions and writing assignments, this course will pose the question of whether the concept of Modernism can be used to understand cultural practices from other parts of the world as well. Or does the consideration of art from all six inhabited continents over this period render the concept of Modernism inoperable? What commonalities and differences can we discern between art made in vastly different contexts in response to the experiences of colonialism, industrialization, urbanization, nationalism, and revolution? What sorts of continuities, tensions, or ruptures have arisen between indigenous traditions and metropolitan practices? Finally, how has a globalized contemporary art world arisen out of numerous local ones? To answer these questions, and others, students will be introduced to the fundamental art historical practices of visual description and visual analysis.

Credits

4 units

Core Requirements Met

  • Fine Arts
  • Global Connections