ART 394 Art in the Modern World: Political and Social Change in Global Visual Cultures from 1900 to 1960

Fall Odd-Numbered Years

This course examines the interplay of war, political revolution, social change, and visual culture in the early twentieth century. From the evolution of the artist’s education to the emergence of abstraction and conceptual art and the effects of world wars to the decline of colonial empires, visual cultures both reacted to and participated in these seismic changes across the globe. Students will explore new technologies and avant-garde movements as well as the international connections between the art worlds of Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas through the critical study of works of art and other aspects of visual culture, an investigation of primary source materials, and collaborative research projects.

3 credit hours