Modern Art History

Catalog description

This course introduces students to the major artistic innovations and stylistic developments in painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, and design globally from the mid-nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. While this course is designed to provide a strong foundation in modern art, helping student develop the skills necessary for understanding and interpreting modern art, it further aims to help student cultivate a cross-cultural and global approach, going beyond the conventional framework for understanding “Modern Art.” Each week, students will read assigned readings and/or watch videos to learn about the major characteristics of different modern art movements and styles and the historical, political, and social and cultural contexts in which they developed. Each week deals with a set of discussion questions such as: what is meant by modernity and modernism? What social, cultural, political circumstances led to the emergence of modern art? How did modern artists outside of the West respond to Euro-American modernism and in what ways did they revise or challenge Western modernism? How were the circumstances in places outside of the West different from those in the West for the development of modern art? We will begin with the emergence of Euro-American avant-gardes including Impressionism, Expressionism, Symbolism, Cubism, Fauvism, Constructivism, Dada, De Stijl, Bauhaus, Surrealism, Social Realism, etc., and then extends our investigation into how these various styles and ideas took shape in places outside of the West such as Egypt, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, China, Japan, Brazil and Cuba, and so on. This course is writing intensive and students will complete one major research project developing their skills for researching and determining appropriate sources. Quizzes and exams will help students gain a foundational knowledge about modern art.…