ARTH 285 Nineteenth Century Art: Culture, Politics, and National Identity

This course will explore artistic practices in the US North America and Europe during the long 19th century from roughly 1789 to 1900. Lectures discussions and readings are designed to provide a thematically-driven chronological overview of the period. Yet the course will not be a traditional "survey"; rather it will focus on some of the key changes in ideas about artistic culture art practice and practices of regional national and transnational identity formation as expressed in visual art. Art's role in social and political revolution as well as its formative status as an engine of cultural imperialism in the 19th century will be explored in addition to some of the more traditional approaches to studying the status of art the role of the artist and the transformation of the art "market" in the wake of the industrial revolution. Key debates within the field of art history will be explored as well. Museum visit required.