Introduction to Art: Representations, Performances and Interactions

Academic year 2011-12

Date last modified

23-4-2012 1:29

Period

Period 1

Startdate:

05-Sep-11

Enddate:

28-Oct-11

Code

HUM1011

ECTS credits

5.0

Organisational unit

University College Maastricht

Coordinator

C. Rausch

Description

The traditional term for the many ways in which art works represent reality is mimesis. The mimetic talent for imitation and representation has been the subject of admiration, study and debate throughout the history of Western art. The notion of mimesis has been employed to describe painting, literature, music, theater, dance, and more; it is still often used to characterize the domain of the arts in general. In engaging with the concept of mimesis, this course focuses on three central themes and approaches. The first part of the course is concerned with representations of reality in nineteenth and early twentieth century literature, painting and music. The second part deals with modern and contemporary performance art. In an attempt at dealing with the blurring of genres, cultures and conventions that are typical for contemporary art shaped by mass media and globalization the academic field of Performance Studies is introduced. The third and last part of the course discusses sociological perspectives on art as collective activity and social practice. Through its emphasis on representations, performances and interactions, this course constitutes a basis for courses on the arts in all their diversity, as well as courses on culture in general.

Goals

• To provide students with an advanced introduction to the arts, such as painting, literature, music and performance. • To broaden the students’ theoretical understanding of art.

Instruction language

Prerequisites

Recommended literature

• Auerbach, Erich. Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2003. • Gombrich, Ernst. Art and Illusion. A Study in the Psychology of Pictorial Representation. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2000. • Schechner, Richard. Performance Studies: An Introduction. Routledge, London, 2002. • Becker, Howard S. Art Worlds. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1984.

Teaching methods

PBL
LECTURE(S)

Assessment methods

FINAL PAPER
ATTENDANCE
PARTICIPATION
WRITTEN EXAM
PRESENTATION

Key words