| Unit name | Art and Internationalism (Level H Special Subject) |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HART30042 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Brockington |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of History of Art (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
The fin de siècle (ca. 1870 – 1920) is usually characterised as a moment of nation consolidation and aggression. However, it was also an era of internationalist idealism and global infrastructures. This unit will explore the interaction between internationalism (both the doctrine and the phenomenon) and the visual arts in this period. Geographically it will focus on Britain in relation to Europe, although Europe's relations with other parts of the world (notably America and the European colonies) will also come into play. The unit will draw on a new tendency in British art studies to question the national formation of schools of art and to focus instead on the cultural connections between countries. Students will examine a variety of case-studies, from individual artists who developed cosmopolitan identities, through internationalist art societies which tried to break the national mould imposed by most art institutions, to informal art movements which developed international momentum.
On successful completion of this unit students will have developed:
1. an in-depth and detailed knowledge and understanding of the developing relationship between art and Internationalism as a movement;
2. the ability to work with primary sources;
3. the ability to integrate both primary and secondary source material into a wider analysis;
4. the ability to select pertinent evidence/data in order to illustrate/demonstrate more general ideas;
5. the ability to derive benefit from and contribute effectively to group discussion;
6. the ability to identify a particular academic interpretation, evaluate it critically and form an individual viewpoint;
7. the acquisition of advanced writing, research, and presentation skills.
Weekly 2-hour seminar
Access to tutorial advice with unit tutor in consultation hours.
One summative coursework essay of 3000 words (50%) and one unseen examination of two hours comprising 2 questions out of 8 (50%). Both elements will assess ILOs 1-7.
Grace Brockington (ed.), Internationalism and the Arts in Britain and Europe at the Fin de Siècle (Oxford: Peter Lang, 2009)
Judy Neis¬wander, The Cosmopolitan Interior: Liberalism and the Victorian Home, 1870–1914 (London; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008)
Anna Gruetzner Robins and Richard Thomson (eds), Degas, Sickert and Toulouse-Lautrec: London and Paris, 1870 – 1920 (London: Tate Publishing, 2005)
Karen Livingstone and Linda Parry (eds), International Arts and Crafts (London: V&A, 2005)
Martin H. Geyer and Johannes Paulmann (eds), The Mechanics of Internationalism: Culture, Society, and Politics from the 1840s to the First World War (The German Historical Institute, London: Oxford University Press, 2001)
Akira Iriye, Cultural Internationalism and World Order (Baltimore; London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997)
