2017-18 Academic Catalog

In this discussion-based seminar, students will look closely at a series of key texts that have come to epitomize the historical rupture between modernism and postmodernism in visual culture. As "postmodernism" refers neither to a cohesive movement, nor to a specific style, we will investigate the web of various theories and political positions that represent a fundamental re-thinking of modernism's aims. Specifically, we will consider the following themes as they relate to cultural practices from the 1960s to the present day: deconstruction, the death of authorship, post-feminism, simulation, post-colonialism and globalization. Prerequisite: Two Art History courses