Art History in Practice

Subject 107-305 (2009)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2009. Search for this in the current handbook

Credit Points: 12.50
Level: 3 (Undergraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject is not offered in 2009.
Time Commitment: Contact Hours: A 1 hour lecture and a 1.5 hour seminar per week
Total Time Commitment: 2.5 contact hours/week , 6 additional hours/week. Total of 8.5 hours per week.
Prerequisites: The prerequisite for the capstone art history subject is usually 37.5 points already undertaken in art history at year 2 and 25 points in year 1, or the equivalent. Students who believe they have completed a suitable alternative to these points are advised to consult with the Head of Art History for permission to enrol.
Corequisites: None
Recommended Background Knowledge: None
Non Allowed Subjects: None
Core Participation Requirements:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

Contact

Charles Green
Phone: 44429
Subject Overview: This subject is team taught by the art history program, introducing the experience of research in art history by focusing on the work of art through the distinctive methodologies and problems that the program��������s art historians have separately adopted, as specialist in different periods of art history, to approach the works of different periods. This subject introduces students to these different periods through encounters with art in Melbourne collections, institutions, museums and civic spaces, and through encounters with specialists whose job it is to conserve, collect and display these objects. This subject will involve the students in research and interpretation of the works of art encountered in Melbourne institutions. The subject develops a broad understanding of the historical and aesthetic characteristics of artworks produced during selected artistic periods (for example High Renaissance, baroque, rococo, neoclassical, contemporary art). The subject draws attention to the varying contexts informing works of art, including the relationship between art and its methods of production and preservation; its engagement with society and installation in museum settings; and the different ways in which viewers respond to art and interpret the meanings and messages which it conveys. Students will develop a range of approaches to understanding art, from issues of censorship and art, to gender and sexual identity in art, and art and politics. The subject provides students with a fundamental grounding in the methodologies of the discipline of history, and in the broader critical and analytical skills necessary for the study of art at higher levels.
Objectives:
  • be able to research in art history by the experience of data collection, data collation and the interpretation of work of art housed or located in Melbourne through the distinctive methodologies and problems that art historians have separately adopted, as specialists in different periods of art history, to approach the works of different periods;
  • encounter art in Melbourne collections, institutions, museums and civic spaces, and encounter specialists whose job it is to conserve, collect and display these objects;
  • develop a broad understanding of the historical and aesthetic characteristics of artworks produced during selected artistic periods (for example High Renaissance, baroque, rococo, neoclassical, contemporary art);
  • understand the varying contexts informing works of art, including the relationship between art and its methods of production and preservation; its engagement with society and installation in museum settings; and the different ways in which viewers respond to art and interpret the meanings and messages which it conveys;
  • develop a range of approaches to understanding art, from issues of censorship and art, to gender and sexual identity in art, and art and politics;
  • achieve a fundamental grounding in the methodologies of the discipline of history, and in the broader critical and analytical skills necessary for the study of art at higher levels;
  • be able to research through the competent use of the library and other information sources, and be able to define areas of inquiry and methods of research in the preparation of essays;
  • be able to conceptualise theoretical problems, form judgements and arguments and communicate critically, creatively and theoretically through essay writing, tutorial discussion and presentations;
  • be able to communicate knowledge intelligibly and economically through essay writing and tutorial discussion;
  • be able to manage and organise workloads for recommended reading, the completion of essays and assignments and examination revision;
  • be able to participate in team work through involvement in syndicate groups and group discussions.
Assessment: A 400 word exercise 20% (due during the semester), a 2000 word research essay 40% (due during the semester) and a visual test equivalent to 1600 words 40% (held in the examination period). A minimum 75% attendance at tutorials is also expected as a hurdle requirement in order to pass the subject.
Prescribed Texts: A subject reader will be available from the University Bookshop
Recommended Texts: Cramer, Lorinda and Sullivan, Lisa. Sculpture on campus: University of Melbourne, Parkville campus Parkville, Vic.: Cultural and Community Relations Committee, The University of Melbourne, 2003. Crow, Thomas E.. The intelligence of art, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1999. D'Alleva, Anne. Methods & theories of art history, London: Laurence King Pub., 2005. Day, Charlotte. A short ride in a fast machine: Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces 1985-2005, Fitzroy, Vic.: Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, 2005. Dwyer, Tessa (ed.). Good thinking: words and pictures on contemporary Melbourne art, Fitzroy, Vic.: 1st Floor Artists and Writers Space, 2000. Elkins, James, Master narratives and their discontents, London: Routledge, 2005. Elkins, James, What happened to art criticism? Chicago, Ill.: Prickly Paradigm Press ; Bristol: University Presses Marketing, 2003. Freeland, Cynthia A. But is it art?: an introduction to art theory, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. Galbally, Ann. The collections of the National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1987. Goad Phillip et al.. Heide: the architecture of Heide Museum of Modern Art, Balmain, NSW: Pesaro Publishing, 2002. Goad, Philip. Melbourne architecture, Balmain, N.S.W.: The Watermark Press, 1999. Goad, Philip. The building: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne: National Gallery of Victoria, 2003. Green, Charles and Smith, Jason (eds.). Fieldwork: Australian art 1968 �������� 2002, Melbourne: National Gallery of Victoria, 2002.Hoff, Ursula, The National Gallery of Victoria, London: Thames and Hudson, c1973. McAuliffe, Chris and Yule, Peter (eds.). Treasures: highlights of the cultural collections of the University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic.: Melbourne University Publishing, 2003. Museum of Victoria. Bunjilaka: the Aboriginal Centre at Melbourne Museum, Melbourne: Museum Victoria, 2000. Museum Victoria. Treasures of Museum Victoria, Melbourne: Museum Victoria, 2004. National Gallery of Victoria. The collection, Melbourne: The National Gallery of Victoria, 2003. Nicholls, Lara. In a new light: the art collection of Trinity College, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic.: Trinity College, The University of Melbourne, 2001. Presland, Gary. Aboriginal Melbourne: the lost land of the Kulin people, Ringwood, Vic.: Penguin Books, 1998.
Breadth Options:

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.
Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Generic Skills:
  • be able, through the competent use of the library and other information sources, be able to define areas of inquiry and methods of research in the preparation of esays;
  • be able to conceptualise theoretical problems, form judgements and arguments and communicate critically, creatively and theoretically through essay writing, tutorial discussion and presentations;
  • be able to communicate knowledge intelligibly and economically through essay writing and tutorial discussion;
  • be able to manage and organise workloads for recommended reading, the completion of essays and asssignments and examination revision;
  • be able to participate in team work through involvement in syndicate groups and group discussions.
Notes: This is a Capstone subject and is compulsory for students undertaking the Art History major in the New Gen degree. This subject is only available at 3rd year level and is not available to students not undertaking the Art History major.
Related Course(s): Diploma in Arts (Art History)
Related Majors/Minors/Specialisations: Art History
Art History
Art History
Art History Major

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