ARTHIST 204 : Ways of Seeing Contemporary Art

Arts

2024 Semester Two (1245) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

Examines some central concerns that have arisen in late modernist art, exploring the moves, intensifications and political implications of art in the post-1968 period: dematerialisation of the art object, site-specificity, the artist in a commodity culture, activism, questions of identity, notions of looking and spectatorship, interactivity, new media, contemporary censorship and debates about the place of the aesthetic.

Course Overview

This is a newly designed course that aims to be provocative, sometimes controversial, and at all times exploratory and transformative. It is a single semester course and a direct and methodical way to acquire knowledge about contemporary art’s current themes, concepts, critical theories, buzzwords, techniques and processes that engage the imagination of artists, curators, writers and cultural theorists worldwide.

The course asks us how we can create new ways of thinking by engaging with contemporary artworks that spark unexpected ideas and encounters. From this broad knowledge, students are encouraged to dig deeper into particular aspects and themes.

Some of the artists we study:

Wangechi Mutu, Olafur Eliasson, Lisa Reihana, Dane Mitchell, Simon Denny, Luke Willis Thompson, Francis Uprichard, Billy Apple, Hito Steyerl, Bernadette Corporation, Amalia Ulman, Frances Stark, Thomas Hirschhorn, L. N. Tallur, Cindy Sherman, Hans Haacke, Gerhard Richter, Yayoi Kusama, Marina Abramovic, Christian Boltanski, Mona Hatoum, Martin Creed, Tracey Emin, Felix Gonzales-Torres, Damien Hirst and many others.

Topics covered:
Installation art
The body
Sex and sexuality
Rethinking race and diaspora
Time
Death and the corpse
New Materialism
Eco Art

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: 15 points at Stage I in Art History or Media and Screen Studies, and 30 points passed Restriction: ARTHIST 334

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 3: Knowledge and Practice
Capability 4: Critical Thinking
Capability 6: Communication
Capability 7: Collaboration
Graduate Profile: Bachelor of Arts

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Recognise the importance of art in history, politics and social interactions (Capability 3)
  2. Identify Key topics in contemporary art and politics (Capability 7)
  3. Create news ways of seeing visual information (Capability 6)
  4. Develop and demonstrate a good a comprehensive technical vocabulary and conceptual network for understanding contemporary art practices (Capability 7)
  5. Analyse artworks using visual intelligence and interrogative reasoning and criticality (Capability 4)
  6. Analyse At the end of this course students will have acquired the skills to discuss contemporary art meaningfully and to understand works of art as aids to transformational thought and political activism (Capability 3)
  7. Demonstrate ability to conduct robust inquiry for innovative responses (Capability 4)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Coursework 50% Individual Test
Test 25% Individual Coursework
Final Exam 25% Individual Examination

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard [15] point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect [24] hours of lectures, a [24] hour tutorial, [30] hours of reading and thinking about the content and [30] hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

 Attendance is expected at scheduled activities including tutorials to complete components of the course.
Lectures will be available as recordings. Other learning activities including tutorials will not be available as recordings. The course will not include live online events including [group discussions/tutorials].
Attendance on campus is required for the test/exam.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Feedback is always taken on board

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Well-being always comes first
We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - for more information, look at this Canvas page https://canvas.auckland.ac.nz/courses/33894, which has links to various support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.

Published on 11/10/2023 09:15 a.m.