107-056 Theory and Discourse in Art History

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Subject Description

This subject will examine the historical and theoretical foundations of art history, and the new art historical methods that have arisen out of critiques of them. Seminars will trace the roots of art history in Enlightenment models of vision, knowledge and history; the development of the discipline along Hegelian lines in the 19th and early 20th centuries; and the diversification of art history into multiple paths in recent years (poststructuralism, feminism, psychoanalysis, postcolonialism, queer theory, post-Marxist theory). Throughout, analysis will return to central methodological concepts, including style, authorship, visuality, hermeneutics, explanation, progress, intention, value. Seminars will consider both the theory and practice of art history, with seminar leaders discussing specific projects and case studies.

Assessment

A class presentation equivalent to 1500 words, and an essay of 3500 words.

Prescribed Texts

• M Jay, Downcast Eyes: the Denigration of Vision in Twentieth Century French Thought. University of California Press 1994.
• R Krauss, The Optical Unconscious. October Press 1994.
• N Broude & M D Garrard, The Expanding Discourse, Feminism and Art History. Collins 1992.