ART H 599
Art historical issues, methods, and materials. Required of all graduate majors registered in 400-level art history courses. Open also to graduate nonmajors.
Orientalism, Art and the Culture of Travel
Course Description: In this course we examine Orientalist art and the culture of travel produced during the 18th to early 20th centuries through a postcolonial perspective. The objective is to understand the Orientalist dynamic within and beyond the perimeters set by Saidís seminal work, Orientalism (1978). The work of European artists (Bourne, Delacroix, Frith, Gerome, Ingres, J.F.Lewis, Matisse, and E.Weeks) and Non-Western production, in particular artists of India (Dayal, Varma, Tagore, Bose) among others will be considered. Topics of race, gender and identity are explored through painting, photography, international exhibitions, travel literature and film. Diverse European constructions of the exotic Orient will be examined including the distinctive contribution of women Orientalists. In this course, the European canon of Orientalism is resituated through the introduction of counter-narratives and alternative images made by North African, Ottoman, and South Asian artists and patrons. Students of various regional specialities will be encouraged to contribute projects and formulate perspectives from their specific areas of interest.
Student learning goals
Critical analysis of scholarly texts,including primary sources and contemporary theory
Visual analysis of art in the context of Orientalism, understanding formal and aesthetic qualities of an obeject
Mastery of analystical writing through text analysis and research paper
Research skills acquire through long term project development over 10 week period
Public presentation skills through round table discussion and final research project presentation
General method of instruction
Round table discussion, weekly reading assignments and critique Professor lecture with slide presentations Student weekly presentations Individual research presentation
Core foundational texts include Edward Said, Orientalism(1978, Partha Mitter, Much Maligned Monsters (1976), Michel Foucault Power & Knowledge (1980), Ronal Inden, Imagining India (1990).
Class assignments and grading
Short annotated bibliographies (2-3pg)for weekly readings Class presentations of assigned weekly readings Individual Research Project~class presentation and paper (20 pg)
Calss assignments, Class participation, Quality of work presented to class and to instructor, Final Research paper