Postmodern Art in the US, Europe, and Beyond

Catalog description

By its very name, postmodernism claims to be modernism’s successor, but some are not so sure. Is postmodernism, theorists like Jürgen Habermas ask, actually modernism by another name? In this course, we will take a tour of the important ideas that influenced European, American, and international artists since 1960. Most of these ideas fall into varying themes challenging modernism, a term that arguably coincides with high and late capitalism. We will interrogate this word in the context of “postmodern” responses to modernism and modernity. We begin in 1960 during major civil rights and feminist movements in the US. We look at identity politics, the politics of representation, post-structural upheavals, and postcolonial critiques. The course will repeatedly problematize the concept of postmodernism and other theoretical approaches to art in the information age. We will end with questions about where the art world is headed, including discussions of globalization, the metamodern, and social justice. This course format features active lecturing, weekly discussions, and writing workshops. Assessment is based primarily on critical essays seen through several stages of revision. Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement.