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Avant-Garde and Postmodern Art (AHIS20020)

Undergraduate level 2Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)

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Overview

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Semester 2
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This subject examines avant-garde and postmodern art and film during the 20th century. A variety of artistic theories, movements and artists from Europe and North America will be considered. The social, historical and theoretical context in which diverse avant-garde and postmodernist aesthetics were formed will be studied using historical sources and contemporary theory. Students will become familiar with issues such as the relationship of art and politics, utopian models of art, nationalism and the arts, as well as the shifting ways in which theories of gender, race and sexuality informed artists' work.

Intended learning outcomes

On successful completion of the subject, students should have:



  • developed an understanding of fundamental models of avant-garde cultural practices;
  • developed an understanding of the ways in which such models incorporate or respond to the conditions of modernity; and
  • an ability to engage with the ways in which avant-garde practice incorporate ideologies of subjectivity, gender, nation and ethnicity.

Generic skills

At the completion of this subject, students should gain the following generic skills:

  • 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; and
  • be able to participate in team work through involvement in syndicate groups and group discussions.

Last updated: 6 December 2024