ART H 509 A: Seminar In Special Topics In Art History

This seminar examines questions about the global nature of contemporary art production and art’s relationship to its context, via the analysis of modern and contemporary art in Central and Eastern Europe. Art of this region coalesced as a focus within English-language Art History in the 1990s. Since that time, the field has come a long way from viewing this art as something repressed and isolated that struggled to thrive “behind” the Iron Curtain, and has begun to look at the lively forms of intellectual exchange that connected artists in socialist and communist countries to each other and to colleagues across the world. Moreover, scholars now acknowledge that even under the most repressive state conditions, censorship didn’t unilaterally determine creative possibilities, but rather set in motion complex, uneven power relationships between artists and the state. Our seminar will use Central and Eastern Europe as a case study to think through questions about how art is connected to its context, specifically, how it can respond to difficult political circumstances without being unilaterally determined by them. Regardless of whether you have an existing interest in the region, the seminar will provide opportunities to reflect on trenchant questions about art, activism, and individual expression that have wide-ranging importance for artists and scholars today.

The course is organized with a synchronous Zoom discussion every other week. On the alternate weeks, we will work together to annotate texts using hypothes.is and will use discussion tools to share our thoughts about material we view online. Students can choose either to write a major paper, or to write two shorter response papers that address directed prompts. Prepare to read and annotate between 50-80 pages for the asynchronous weeks, and to do shorter readings of up to 15 pages for the synchronous weeks. Participation will be a central part of the grade and will depend on your work on the asynchronous activities as well as your contributions to the synchronous discussion.

This course is designed primarily for graduate students in Art, Art History, and related Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences fields. Advanced undergraduates may also enroll if they have done significant relevant coursework. If that is your situation, please contact me to discuss registration.