Unit information: Modern Art and Internationalism circa 1870 - circa 1920 in 2010/11

Unit name	Modern Art and Internationalism circa 1870 - circa 1920
Unit code	HARTM0322
Credit points	20
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Dr. Brockington
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of History of Art (Historical Studies)
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

The fin de si�cle (c.1870-1920) is usually characterised as a moment of nation consolidation and aggression. However, it was also an era of internationalist idealism and global infrastructures. This unit explores the interaction between internationalism (both the doctrine and the phenomenon) and the visual arts. Geographically it focuses on Britain in relation to Europe, although Europe's relations with other parts of the world (notably America and the European colonies) will also come into play. The unit draws on a new tendency in British art studies to question the national formation of schools of art and to focus instead on the cultural connections between countries. Students will examine a variety of case-studies, from individual artists who developed cosmopolitan identities, through internationalist art societies which tried to break the national mould imposed by most art institutions, to art movements (such as the Arts & Crafts and Symbolism) which developed international momentum.

Aims:

The unit will introduce students to recent developments in the History of Art which emphasise cosmopolitan artists and processes of cultural exchange across national borders, rather than national schools. Students will encounter a range of new material, and they will be invited to contribute to this emerging area of research by developing their own analyses and interpretations.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Students will develop a body of knowledge and understanding about the interaction between art and internationalism at the fin de si�cle. They will hone their skills in visual and historical analysis and learn to critique the current state of the historical debate. The format of the seminars will encourage discussion alongside formal presentations.

Teaching Information

1x2 hour seminar per week for 10 weeks

Assessment Information

Formative assessment: 2 oral presentations.

Summative assessment: 1 essay of 3000 words (100%).

Reading and References

• Anderson, Benedict, Imagined Communities (London: Verso, 2006)

• Brockington, Grace (ed.), Internationalism and the Arts in Britain and Europe at the Fin de Si�cle (Oxford: Peter Lang, 2009)

• Geyer, Martin H., and Johannes Paulmann (eds), The Mechanics of Internationalism: Culture, Society, and Politics from the 1840s to the First World War (The German Historical Institute, London: Oxford University Press, 2001)

• Iriye, Akira, Cultural Internationalism and World Order (Baltimore; London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997)

• Lyons, F.S. L, Internationalism in Europe 18151914 (1963)

• Smith, Alison (ed.), Symbolist Art in Poland: Poland and Britain c.1900 (London: Tate Publishing, 2000)