Admission requirements
Identical to admission requirements for the BA Art History / BA Arts, Media and Society.
Description
In this course, we will examine the interactions between art and society in our contemporary world. Through a close analysis of many different artworks—sculptures, videos, installations, performances, videos — by artists from all over the globe, we will study the multiple ways in which the arts have both responded to and affected broader political, economic, sexual, and ecological developments. Likewise, the increasing amount of artists dealing with inequalities of gender, race/ethnicity, class and sexuality since the 1970s cannot be understood if we do not take into consideration the social movements that surfaced in the 1960s, the emergence of the international art market in the late 1990s is indicative of economic and social processes, the establishment of biennials all over the globe throughout the 1980s and 1990s is not independent from the division of the world in East and West, and the recent art collectives protesting against oil industry sponsorship of cultural institutions is related to the world’s current concern about climate change.
Throughput the course, we will use the book Art Since 1980: Charting the Contemporary by Peter R. Kalb and some additional readings. These will guide us through the history of contemporary art and its interactions and intertwinement with society. Each week will be dedicated to one specific topic which will be introduced by the lecturer. These include, amongst others, the art market, feminism, memory, body, race and ecology. After this introduction, students will present some specific works by artists who worked around these topics. Thereby, they will aim to consider the linkages between artworks and societal issues and concerns.
A broad range of questions will be posed: Can we only understand artworks if we take into consideration the conditions (political, economic, etc.) under which they were made? How can we articulate the relationship between art and society? What are the potentials of artworks? Can they do something else than show us a certain reality?
Course objectives
Students will acquire knowledge of a wide range of contemporary artworks
Students gain insight into broader social, economic, sexual, ecological developments of the last few decades and how they have related to the arts
Students develop skills to analyze contemporary artworks and to articulate their relationship with societal issues and concerns
Students acquire skills to analyze artworks in a scholarly manner
Timetable
Visit MyTimetable.
Mode of instruction
- Lecture
Assessment method
Assessment
Individual presentation of two minutes (movie) in which one artwork is discussed (30%)
Final assignment (70%): essay (paper).
Weighing
The weighted average of the (constituent) examinations must be at least 6.0 (= a pass). The mark for the final examination (or the main assignment) must be at least 6.0 (= a pass). The mark for all other constituent examinations must be at least 6.0 (= a pass).
Resit
A resit/ rewrite can be done for examinations which are failed. As far as applicable all resits/ rewrites take place at the same time, after the final (constituent) examination.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
Peter R. Kalb. Art Since 1980: Charting the Contemporary. London: Laurence King Publishing, 2013.
Registration
Via uSis.
General information about uSis is available in English and Dutch.
Exchange and Study Abroad students, please see the Study in Leiden website for information on how to apply.
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Registration Studeren à la carte
Registration Contractonderwijs