Prospectus

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Decorative Arts & Design: Sources and Contexts, Narratives of Taste

Course
2010-2011

Admission requirements

See MA Exam regulations; it is an MA course

Description

In this seminar, we will examine written texts on design, both Western and non-Western, from the 16th until the 20th century. The texts can be letters, memoirs, novels, design theories, all having something to say about material culture in general and decorative art/design in particular. We shall consider these texts as narratives and analyse how they relate to their historical context. For the most part, the texts give personal judgments on different forms of ornament and style, on fashionable items and on what is or is not ‘right’ in terms of design and taste. They can be part of a specific artistic discourse, a general discourse of a social and cultural nature in general, or a highly personal discourse. Students will each work with two texts, first analyse these texts in depth and then relate them to existing artifacts and interiors of their time by studying the historical context that relates to the period of their texts. Texts may be read in various preferred languages but the seminar will be in English.

Course objectives

Students learn to: – study original sources on decorative arts and design – analyse these sources in a critical way and relate them to a historical context of decorative art, design and material culture of their time – give an academic paper about their results before the class – turn their results into a written paper on an academic level

Time Table

MA year 1, september-december 2010.

Teaching Method

Research seminar

Test Method

  • oral presentation (20%)

  • written paper (80%)

Blackboard

For assignments and communication in general.

Required reading

  • Tabish Khair, Justin D. Edwards, Martin Leer, Other routes. 1500 Years of African and Asian Travel Writing, Signal Books 2006. – Margaret Cavendish, The Blazing World And Other Writings, Penguin 2005. – Owen Jones, The Grammar of Ornament (Leiden University Library). – Ben Highmore (ed), The Design Culture Reader, Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 2009. [364 p; a selection of sources.]

Register

USIS

Contact

m.h.groot@hum.leidenuniv.nl

Remarks