Global Modernisms

This course examines modern art in the West and in selected global contexts in the period of circa 1850 to 1950. In the course, we will study the historical development of modern art in the West, while considering its relationship to the development of modern art in other global contexts, especially in colonised regions. We will also critically examine the competing narratives about Western and global art histories which have emerged in recent scholarship. The course is an intermediate-level course which lays a basis for your further studies and professional endeavours in fields related to modern art (including, for example: contemporary art, curatorial studies, museum studies, art criticism and art history). Building on your knowledge of premodern Western and Asian art, this course seeks to introduce you to key artistic expressions of modernity and modernism, and to the interactions between modernity and colonialism as expressed in and shaped by art. In the course you will be engaged in thinking critically about the development of modern art in Western and global contexts, and about Southeast Asia's place in these competing narratives.