Art Historical Methods Seminar (391-0-1)
Topic
The History and Methods of Art History
Instructors
Adrienn Kacsor
Meeting Info
Kresge 4354 Art Hist. Sem. Rm.: Fri 1:00PM - 3:50PM
Overview of class
"For thinking is always firstly thinking the thinkable—a thinking that modifies what is thinkable by welcoming what was unthinkable." In the spirit of these words by philosopher Jacques Rancière, this seminar will embark on thinking with and against some of the major texts that have shaped art-historical writing in the past and the present. We will study the histories and methods of art history to investigate the origins of art-historical thinking as well as some of the Eurocentric concepts and values that lay at the core of art history as it emerged as an academic discipline in 19th-century Germany. The seminar will also focus on recent and ongoing debates and conversations that have critiqued some of the foundational assumptions of the field. We will examine how scholarship on art and visual culture has engaged with the approaches and theories of Marxism, feminism, post-colonialism, critical race theory, queer and trans histories, decolonialism, environmental studies, and global and transnational histories. The class will meet on Friday afternoons and will include optional museum and exhibition visits around Chicago.
Class Materials (Required)
All assigned readings and materials will be available on Canvas.