HKUB00351U Kunsthistorie: Introduktion til metode og teori

Årgang 2024/2025
Engelsk titel

Introduction to Methodology and Theory

Uddannelse

Bachelor

Kursusindhold

What is the scope and aims of the field of art history? How do art historians work? What methodologies do we employ? The term “art” itself has not always been used, in the same way, or about the same objects. This course gives students insights into historical changes in ways of seeing, understanding, and interpreting art through an introduction to theoretical and methodological directions and perspectives in the field of art history. Students are provided with an understanding of the history and background to the theoretical and methodological foundations of the field as well as the pluralism that characterizes the art historical profession today.

The course unfolds through three overarching and intersecting thematic parts, or passages (passage: a section of a written or visual work; an exchange of communication or ideas; the moving from one area to another): history and time, image and form, and representation. We begin with a consideration of history and time, as the overall relationship between art and its history forms the backbone of our practice. This is followed by the passage image and form, a main preoccupation of art history and what sets it apart from other disciplines. Finally, we explore issues of representation: we will focus on representation in terms of who is “speaking for,” and explore the systems and frameworks that enable but also disempower representation in art. Students are introduced to key concepts and practices specific to the theme of each passage, while also being encouraged to explore how they relate to other passages, so that students can make connections in different contexts. Students thus develop a general understanding of the history of art history (historiography), are exposed to the dominant trends in the field’s history, and learn about newer theory. We explore perspectives including aesthetics and affect, formalism and iconography, (post)structuralism and semiotics, and feminism, intersectionality, and post/de-colonialism through the lens of the larger ideas, positions, and practices that have and do shape the discipline and the questions they raise.

The course thus trains students not only to identify certain theories and methods, but to develop core skills (their own methods) to read theoretical texts critically, and identify, define, and apply theoretical concepts and perspectives, especially in relation to concrete works of art and cases. The aim is for students to learn how to practice a self-reflective approach and develop a foundational toolbox, which can be drawn upon and applied during the rest of their studies and as a pathway for a career as art historians.

Each class begins with a brief case, determined and introduced by student groups, to ignite our further exploration of specific conceptual frameworks and ideas (theory) and how we apply those ideas as art historians (methods). As we learn about different theories (the what), we will do exercises where you practice and apply art historial methods (the how and why) to activate theory in your analyses and build your foundational skills as art historians. Students are further centrally involveded in the course through exercises to critically review the syllabus and propose alternative sources and exercises. The course coordinates closely with Art 1400-1800, and alternates between lectures, student group activities and presentations, discussions and exercises, excursions to archives and other art institutions, a one-day writing seminar, and a trip to Berlin.

 

Undervisningen foregår som en kombination af forelæsninger, diskussioner og øvelser. De studerende arbejder individuelt og i grupper med oplæg, skriftlige øvelser og feedback.
Den aktive undervisningsdeltagelse vil bl.a. tage form af løbende arbejde, individuelt eller i grupper, på to mindre skriftlige opgaver a ca. 3 sider, som skal afleveres indenfor frister fastsat af underviser ved semesterstart. Der er knyttet feedback forløb til arbejdet på disse øvelser, som vil virke forberedende på den afsluttende skriftlige hjemmeeksamen.
  • Kategori
  • Timer
  • Forelæsninger
  • 60
  • Forberedelse (anslået)
  • 275
  • Vejledning
  • 1
  • Eksamen
  • 84
  • I alt
  • 420
Skriftlig
Mundtlig
Individuel
Point
15 ECTS
Prøveform
Skriftlig stedprøve
Prøveformsdetaljer
Studerende der mangler Metode og teori 1 på BA-2014-ordningen følger Introduktion til metode og aflægger eksamen i Metode og teori 1.
Kriterier for bedømmelse