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Introduction to Modernism (255-0-2)

Topic

Survey of Modern Art c. 1850-1950

Instructors

Adrienn Kacsor

Katrina Nicole Lukes

David Jones

Ekaterina Kulinicheva

Jacob Leo Waits

Gabrielle Christiansen

Meeting Info

Block Pick-Laudati Auditorium: Tues, Thurs 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

This lecture course offers an introduction into one of the most debated terms of art-historical scholarship: modernism. Against its legacy as the hegemonic artistic discourse of the West, this course will study modernisms in the plural and survey some of the artistic forms, methods, ideas, and concepts that emerged in dialogue with multiple global modernities. The class will focus on the period between c. 1850 and 1950, which was defined by faltering empires; old and new forms of colonialism; revolutions; nationalisms; mass wars and mass cultures; as well as radical social movements such as feminism. Modern art allowed artists to express, critique, and at times radically reimagine their surrounding realities. The lectures will pay particular attention not only to the various artistic forms that modernisms took, from abstraction to realism, but also to the diverse contexts in which they flourished. Whereas in Paris or Moscow modern art developed through rebellion against the established norms of art academies, in Hanoi or Tashkent modernisms began and blossomed within French and Russian colonial art academies. Overall, the course will examine some distinct episodes in modernisms, not only in Western Europe, but also in Brazil, Japan, Mexico, the Soviet Union, and Vietnam, among other places.

Class Materials (Required)

All readings and materials will be available on the CANVAS site.

Class Notes

Please use the following link for Art History Waitlist information: https://arthistory.northwestern.edu/courses/2023-2024/registration_waitlist.html

Class Attributes

Historical Studies Foundational Discipline
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Historical Studies Distro Area
Interdisciplinary Distro-rules apply
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area
Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity

Associated Classes

DIS - Kresge Centennial Hall 2-329: Fri 9:00AM - 9:50AM

DIS - Locy Hall 214: Fri 10:00AM - 10:50AM

DIS - Parkes Hall 224: Fri 11:00AM - 11:50AM

DIS - Kresge Centennial Hall 2-335: Fri 12:00PM - 12:50PM

DIS - Kresge Centennial Hall 4-410: Fri 1:00PM - 1:50PM