Ways Of Seeing Exploring Visual Culture

This course is foundational for more advanced art historical studies. It seeks to initiate critical reflection on 'art' and 'art history' as variable constructs subject to shifting matrixes of interconnected factors and forces. Based on a range of visual and textual materials from the pre-modern to the contemporary, the East and the West, the 'North' and the 'South', this course investigates the ways of seeing, representing, interpreting and thinking about 'art' and 'art history'. The first part of the course examines pictorial strategies adopted by image-makers from different periods and parts of the world; the second part explores a selection of art historical theories from Europe, East and South Asia. This learning will provide a conceptual framework for further, in-depth studies in global Art History.