History of American Art 4219-AW026
CLASS 1 - INTRODUCTION. REPRESENTING AMERICA
CLASS 2 – ART IN COLONIES AND IN THE EARLY REPUBLIC
CLASS 3 – LANDSCAPE PAINTING AND PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE 19th CENTURY: WESTERN EXPANSION
CLASS 4 – ICONOGRAPHY OF THE AMERICAN WEST
CLASS 5 – AMERICAN REALISMS IN PAINTING IN 19th CENTURY
CLASS 6 - REPRESENTING THE CITY: IMPRESSIONISM, POSTIMPRESSIONISM AND ASHCAN SCHOOL
CLASS 7 – BEGINNINGS OF MODERNISM: ARMORY SHOW, STIEGLITZ, AND NEW YORK DADA
CLASS 8 – FIGURATIVE TENDENCIES AND NEW DEAL: AMERICAN SCENE, MURALISM AND FSA PHOTOGRAPHY
CLASS 9 – “THE TRIUMPH” OF AMERICAN ART: ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM AND ITS INTERPRETATIONS
CLASS 10 – THE FACES OF POP-ART AND ART AGAINST THE VIETNAM WAR
CLASS 11 – AFRICAN-AMERICAN ART AND CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
CLASS 12 – MINIMALISM, LAND ART AND PERFORMATIVE ART
CLASS 13 – FEMINIST ART / 20th-CENTURY AMERICAN INDIAN ART
CLASS 14 – POSTMODERNIST ARTISTIC PRACTICES
CLASS 15 – CONCLUSIONS: ISSUES IN CONTEMPORARY ART AND VISUAL CULTURE
Type of course
Prerequisites (description)
Course coordinators
Mode
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of the course, the student:
KNOWLEDGE
Understands:
- artistic phenomena in the United States, artistic trends and practices, as well as selected American artists and their works
- the historical, social, and cultural context of artistic phenomena and issues in the USA
SKILLS
Is able to:
- relate artistic phenomena and specific art objects to other cultural areas
- analyze and interpret works of American art and place them in the appropriate context
- communicate about the history of American art in English using appropriate terminology
SOCIAL COMPETENCIES
Is able to:
- utilize interdisciplinary knowledge of American art history to formulate their own opinions
Assessment criteria
Final grade depends on the following criteria:
Final exam
Active participation (there will be a possibility of short discussions during the lecture and afterwards)
Attendance: the maximum number of missed classes: 2.
The lectures will take place remotely and synchronically (in "real time")
Bibliography
The sources given below, in their respective chapters, touch upon a variety of issues that will be discussed during the classes. In some cases they are syntheses of American art and culture or anthologies of texts. A particularly useful and recommended handbook here, especially for 19th and early 20th century art, is American Encounters. At the beginning of the course a list of set texts or other materials for each class will be provided. The materials will be made available to students on Campus platform.
Selected bibliography:
1. American Art to 1900. A Documentary History, ed. S. Burns, J. Davis, Berkeley-Los Angeles 2009.
2. Art in Theory. 1900-1990. An Anthology of Ideas, ed. Ch. Harrison, P. Wood, Oxford-Cambridge, MA 2001.
3. Bjelajac, D., American Art. A Cultural History, New York 2001.
4. Doss, E., Twentieth-Century American Art, Oxford 2002.
5. Haskell, B. The American Century. Art and Culture 1900-1950, New York 1999.
6. Hills, P., Modern Art in the USA. Issues and Controversies of the 20th Century, Upper Saddle River, 2001.
7. Miller, A., L., J. C. Berlo, B. J. Wolf, J. L. Roberts, American Encounters. Art, History, and Cultural Identity, London-Upper Saddle River 2008.
8. Phillips, L., The American Century. Art and Culture 1950-2000, New York 1999.
9. Pollock and After. The Critical Debate, ed. F. Frascina, London-New York 2010.
Additional reading:
10. F. Lipiński, Ameryka. Rewizje wizualnej mitologii Stanów Zjednoczonych, Poznań 2021.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: