Course Listings

Art History

ARTH 117 Introduction to Modern and Contemporary Art (4)

This course intends to introduce the major protagonists, monuments and themes of Western art, architecture and visual culture. Chronologically, it will explore the production and reception of artworks from the beginning of the 19th century to the beginning of the 21st century, from Romanticism to Post-Modernism. It will explore the increasing proliferation of images and the new ways they are conceived and diffused in different historical contexts, from the visions of German Romanticism to the aesthetic challenges addressed by contemporary artists working in a new, global scale. A substantial part of the class will be dedicated to the historical analysis of significant movements of European avant-gardes in the early 20th century, from the visual redefinitions of time-and-space inaugurated by Cubism to the exploration of the new territories of art and psychology undertaken by Surrealist masters. Discussions will also focus on the articulate ways in which art functions in relation to society, popular culture, and mass media in order to better understand how the dominions of creativity and visual communication affect us today.

  • General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Arts & Humanities; World Engagement: CV
  • Offering: Annually
  • Professor: Susik

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