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Unit outline_

ARHT1002: Shock of the Now: Global Art since 1900

Semester 2, 2023 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Art shapes our cities, streets, galleries, phones and minds. It is now made with every conceivable material, and sometimes none at all. It shocks, challenges, soothes, entertains, engrosses and overwhelms us. This unit charts the history of Modern and Contemporary Art across the world, as it is shaped by and shapes society, politics and environment. It shows current concerns in art , with materials, landscape, self-image, politics, and the body are grounded in a century of global experiment

Unit details and rules

Academic unit Art History
Credit points 6
Prerequisites
? 
None
Corequisites
? 
None
Prohibitions
? 
None
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator Donna Brett, donna.brett@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s) Donna Brett, donna.brett@sydney.edu.au
Lilian Cameron, lilian.cameron@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Participation Tutorial participation
n/a
10% Ongoing ongoing
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2
Assignment Visual Task
n/a
20% Week 06
Due date: 05 Sep 2023 at 23:59
1000 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3
Assignment Comparative Review
n/a
30% Week 09
Due date: 06 Oct 2023 at 23:59
1500 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3
Assignment Research essay
n/a
40% Week 13
Due date: 03 Nov 2023 at 23:59
2000 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO3 LO4

Assessment summary

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a Distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name

Mark range

Description

High distinction

85 - 100

 

Distinction

75 - 84

 

Credit

65 - 74

 

Pass

50 - 64

 

Fail

0 - 49

When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Week 01 Introduction: Global Art Histories and Ways of Seeing; Cubism. Fauvism & Orphism. Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2
Week 02 Avantgarde Art and Conflict: Dada and German Expressionism Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Were the radical anti-art strategies of dada paradoxically affirmative or simply destructive? Tutorial (1 hr)  
Week 03 Surrealism and Psychoanalysis: A Global Art Movement Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
Surrealism and psychoanalysis. What does Amy Lyford say about the prevalence of dismemberment in Surrealist art? What impact did Freud's Interpretation of Dreams have on Surrealists? Tutorial (1 hr)  
Week 04 Tilted World/Other Modernisms - Mexico and European Connections! The Harlem Renaissance 1920s-30s and its Legacies Afro-futurism/Black Art Matters Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Excursion to the Art Gallery of NSW Tutorial (1 hr)  
Week 05 Abstraction, Bauhaus, War and Fascism - The End of a Dream Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
While proponents of geometric abstraction and non-geometric abstraction were fascinated by the new sciences of the fourth dimension, or Einstein's concepts of space and time, what were the main differences in how they responded aesthetically. Why did the Nazis hate Modernist art? Discuss the connections between the perceived degenerate qualities of art and the non-aryan body. What was it about the freedom of the Weimar Republic's social freedom that they wanted to destroy? Tutorial (1 hr)  
Week 06 After the End - The Cold War, Ab Ex and the Rise of America Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4
This week we discuss the abstract expressionists and colour field painters changed their style of painting in response to WWII and the the Cold War.? Why was Pollock seen as the epitome of a new freedom in America? Or what goals did the CIA and MoMA have in promoting Abstract Expressionism? Tutorial (1 hr)  
Week 07 Pop Art, Minimalism and the Conceptual Image Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4
This week we look at a pivotal time for art, politics and society - the 1960s. We start with an examination of the dramatic shift from Ab Ex to Pop and Minimalism and then turn to the rise of happenings Tutorial (1 hr)  
Week 08 Happenings, Performance Art, Feminism Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4
Discuss how performance art of the 60s and 70s represented its own form of artistic revolution/activism – from radical feminist expression to anti-war sentiment, to a challenging of traditional artistic conventions and new ways for audiences to experience art. Art historians Marilyn Stokstad and Michael Cothren explain that “conceptual art literally ‘dematerialized’ the art object by suggesting that the catalyst for a work of art is a concept, and the means by which the concept is commu Tutorial (1 hr)  
Week 09 NO LECTURE DUE TO PUBLIC HOLIDAY Lecture (2 hr)  
Excursion to the MCA or AGNSW Tutorial (1 hr)  
Week 10 Asian Art - Postwar Contemporary Art Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO3
What is ‘post-modern’ art in Asia? Are these just styles that were re-cast from the West? Does postmodernism/postmodernity exist in Asia? Why are these terms problematic when applied to Asian contexts? The authors have argued against superficial stylistic comparisons and the assumption of a single master chronology based on the influence and appropriation from Western models. Tutorial (1 hr)  
Week 11 After 1989 - Decolonising the World, Indigenous Art Lecture (2 hr) LO3 LO4
How do Indigenous artists problematise historical narrative and what are the gains of this exercise? How do we create space for alternative histories and what could a decolonised art museum look like. Tutorial (1 hr)  
Week 12 Understanding Contemporary Art - Identity and Difference Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO3 LO4
Does 'identity' matter in art, or should all we be 'post identity' by now? What art strategies have artists used to address issues of refugee/migrant experience? ‘Queering’ art and art history': What are the issues? Tutorial (1 hr)  
Week 13 The Wretched Screen - Photography and Video Lecture (2 hr) LO3 LO4
Hito Steyerl writes about the crisis of representation - the internet hosts millions of images detached from their referent (ie its original purpose and maker) and on the other hand are numerous people who are visually without representation (disenfranchized, invisible, or even disappeared and missing people). Hito declares that being invisible can be deadly. Discuss. (see the videos below). Tutorial (1 hr)  

Attendance and class requirements

  • Attendance: According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner’s Board. The Examiner’s Board will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold.
  • Lecture Recording: Most lectures (in recording-equipped venues) will be recorded and may be made available to students on the LMS. However, you should not rely on lecture recording to substitute your classroom learning experience.
  • Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours’ preparation time (reading, studying, homework, essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction.

Additional requirements from Sydney College of the Arts

  • Students must attend a minimum of 90% of timetabled activities for this unit of study, unless granted exemption by the Unit Coordinator.
  • All assignments are compulsory and must be attempted. 
  • You must attend scheduled assessments to be eligible to pass. Non-attendance at assessment on any grounds insufficient to claim special consideration will result in the forfeiture of marks associated with the assessment. 

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. demonstrate familiar with the major trends in modern global art
  • LO2. identify works of art as belonging to various schools or ‘isms’
  • LO3. understand the dynamic inter-relations between art and society in the modern and contemporary period
  • LO4. use the analytical tools and conceptual grammar needed to discuss modern and contemporary art and film.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Minor changes to the lecture program have been made to this unit since the last time it was offered.

Work, health and safety

Students attending face to face tutorials are asked to follow university directives for social distancing, hand washing etc. The wearing of face masks is strongly recommended in face to face tutorials.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.