Historizing the Future
Sólveig Guðmundsdóttir
Institute of Studies in Art and Art Education, Art History
2022S, scientific seminar (SEW), 4.0 ECTS, 2.0 semester hours, course number S04137
Description
In this seminar, we will discuss and analyze artworks and texts that engage with futurity. We will consider how various artists and writers have depicted, interrogated, and represented the future during the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries. These portrayals can materialize in the form of performance, art objects, or manifestoes, and display utopian societies, future bodies, apocalyptic catastrophes, or any kind of alternative social realities – be it a techno-fantasy of a posthuman life or an environmental doomsday scenario. Movements and currents such as Futurism, Actionism, and Afrofuturism will be examined, alongside theories of queer futurity and the posthuman, as they relate to the avant-garde and contemporary art. Historical contextualization is a key aspect, as these visions of the future are shaped by the cultural milieu they originate from. Their contemporary manifestations are influenced by, among others, new media and technologies, the colossal and devastating impact of capitalism, the dire effects of climate change and other ecological crises of the Anthropocene, and the rise of fascism and the far-right.
The aim of the course is to analyze representations of the future, reflect on their social, political, and aesthetic implications, with an emphasis on how they are employed as instruments of critique. We will contemplate works that confront and rethink the past through imagining different futures. In particular, artworks and texts that seek to challenge dominant historiography – a praxis that often includes combating linear time (Afrofuturism, Queer futurity).
Examination Modalities
Close readings of works and discussions in class. Writing a seminar paper. Evaluation will be based on the presence and participation in class and the seminar paper. In order to pass the class, regular attendance is required and to get a passing grade for the paper.
Comments
The class will be held in English, so a good understanding of written and spoken English is necessary. No previous knowledge of the content is required.
Dates
Wed, 02 March 2022, 15:30–17:00 Seminar Room 22
Wed, 09 March 2022, 15:30–17:00 Seminar Room 22
Wed, 16 March 2022, 15:30–17:00 Seminar Room 22
Wed, 23 March 2022, 15:30–17:00 Seminar Room 22
Wed, 30 March 2022, 15:30–17:00 Seminar Room 22
Wed, 06 April 2022, 15:30–17:00 Seminar Room 22
Wed, 27 April 2022, 15:30–17:00 Seminar Room 22
Wed, 04 May 2022, 15:30–17:00 Seminar Room 22
Wed, 11 May 2022, 15:30–17:00 Seminar Room 22
Wed, 18 May 2022, 15:30–17:00 Seminar Room 22
Wed, 25 May 2022, 15:30–17:00 Seminar Room 22
Wed, 01 June 2022, 15:30–17:00 Seminar Room 22
Wed, 08 June 2022, 15:30–17:00 Seminar Room 22
Course Enrolment
Until 08 March 2022, 15:42
Via online registration
Curriculum Allocation
Art Education: subject kkp (Bachelor): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Lehrveranstaltungen nach Wahl aus Wissenschaftliche Praxis 067/003.80
Art Education: subject kkp (Master): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: Lehrveranstaltung nach Wahl aus wissenschaftlicher Praxis, SE 067/003.80
Art Education: subject kkp (Enhancements study): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Seminar aus dem Bereich Kunst- und Kulturwissenschaften 067/003.25
Art Education: subject kkp (Enhancements study): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Lehrveranstaltungen nach Wahl aus Wissenschaftliche Praxis 067/003.80
Art Education: subject tex (Master): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: Lehrveranstaltung nach Wahl aus wissenschaftlicher Praxis, SE 071/003.80
Art Education: subject dae (Master): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: Lehrveranstaltung nach Wahl aus wissenschaftlicher Praxis, SE 072/003.80
Art Education: subject dex (Bachelor): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Lehrveranstaltungen nach Wahl aus Wissenschaftliche Praxis 074/003.80
Art Education: subject dex (Master): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: Lehrveranstaltung nach Wahl aus wissenschaftlicher Praxis, SE 074/003.80
Art Education: subject dex (Enhancements study): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Seminar aus dem Bereich Kunst- und Kulturwissenschaften 074/003.25
Art Education: subject dex (Enhancements study): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Lehrveranstaltungen nach Wahl aus Wissenschaftliche Praxis 074/003.80
Expanded Museum Studies (Master): Electives: Art History 537/080.10
Media Arts: Specialisation in Transmedia Arts (2. Section): Wissenschaft, Theorie und Geschichte : Kunstgeschichte 566/208.12
Media Arts: Specialisation in Digital Arts (2. Section): Wissenschaft, Theorie, Geschichte: Kunstgeschichte 567/208.12
Kunst- und Kulturwissenschaften (Master): Electives Area 1: Art History 568/005.03
Kunst- und Kulturwissenschaften (Master): Electives Area 2: Art History 568/006.03
Fine Arts (2. Section): Scientific and Research Practice: Art Theory, Cultural Studies, Art History, Philosophy 605/202.01
Fine Arts (2. Section): Scientific and Research Practice: Free Electives out of Scientific and Research Practice 605/202.80
Design: Specialisation in Applied Photography and Time-based Media (2. Section): Methodological and Theoretical Basics: Humanities 626/203.02
Co-registration: possible
Attending individual courses: possible