This module focuses on the question 'what is involved in a philosophical thinking of the history of art?' This question devolves into two main parts. The first concerns the temporality proper to art's history; the second concerns the way in which the individual work of art presents history and the operation of time. The module will concentrate on three figures central to a philosophical thinking of the work of art: Walter Benjamin, Alois Riegel and Aby Warburg. To conclude, we will examine, in detail, three works of contemporary art, traversing painting, sculpture and photography.
On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
1) Introduction to the module.
2) The Presence of Dürer in Walter Benjamin's The Origins of German Tragic Drama.
3) Benjamin 2: 'Rigorous Study of Art: On the First Volume of Kunstwissenschaftliche Forschungen'.
4) Alois Riegel: The Main Characteristics of the Late Roman Kunstwollen.
5) Introduction to Aby Warburg.
6) Aby Warburg: The Emergence of the Antique as a Stylistic Ideal in Early Renaissance Painting.
7) George Baselitz: Ein moderner Maler (1966) and Ein moderner Maler (remix) (2007).
8) Eva Hesse: The Body of Sculpture
9) Moi Ver: Paris
10) Conclusion: Retrospect and Prospects
This module will be taught by means of a mix of lectures and seminars, supplemented by individual tutorials and private study. Emphasis is placed on seminar-based discussion. Students may be asked to prepare short seminar presentations.
Definitive UNISTATS Category | Indicative Description | Hours |
---|---|---|
Scheduled learning and teaching | Seminars/lectures; 11 taught sessions of 2.5 hours each | 28 |
Scheduled learning and teaching | Individual tutorial | 1 |
Guided independent study | 271 | |
Total (number of credits x 10) | 300 |
The assessment strategy is designed to test a student's ability to meet the module's learning outcomes. Summative assessment involves two pieces of written work:
The skills required to prepare these assessed elements will be developed in a variety of formative activities throughout the module, notably through class discussion, feedback on in-class presentations, and individual tutorials. Preparation of the final essay normally includes a scheduled tutorial with the module tutor.
Learning Outcome | Assessment Strategy |
---|---|
1) Understand aspects of the historical relationship between philosophy and art history. | Assessed formatively through class discussion, presentations and tutorials, and summatively through the two pieces of individual written work. |
2) Critically compare the philosophical aspects of different approaches to art history. | Assessed formatively through class discussion, presentations and tutorials, and summatively through the two pieces of individual written work. |
3) Reflect on and discuss problems relating to philosophical aspects of the historical meaning of art. | Assessed formatively through class discussion, presentations and tutorials, and summatively through the two pieces of individual written work. |
4) Undertake the work of close textual analysis of demanding theoretical texts. | Assessed formatively through class discussion, presentations and tutorials, and summatively through the two pieces of individual written work. |
5) Consider and critically examine unfamiliar ideas and terminology. | Assessed formatively through class discussion, presentations and tutorials, and summatively through the two pieces of individual written work. |
It IS NOT a requirement that any major assessment category is passed separately in order to achieve an overall pass for the module.
Walter Benjamin, The Origins of German Tragic Drama, trans John Osborne, Verso, 2009.
Walter Benjamin 'Rigorous Study of Art: On the First Volume of Kunstwissenschaftliche Forschungen', in Benjamin, ???
Alois Riegel, The Main Characteristics of the Late Roman Kunstwollen, ??
Aby Warburg, The Emergence of the Antique as a Stylistic Ideal in Early Renaissance Painting,
George Baselitz: Ein moderner Maler (1966) and Ein moderner Maler (remix) (2007).
Eva Hesse, The Body of Sculpture
Moi Ver, Paris
Michael Podro, The Critical Historians of Art, Yale University Press, 1984.
Andrew Benjamin, ed, Walter Benjamin and Art, Continuum, 2005.
Additional reading:
Christopher Wood (ed.), The Vienna School Reader, Zone Books, New York, 2000.
Aby Warburg, The Renewal of Pagan Antiquity, Getty, LA, 1999