Unit information: The City (Level C Special Topic) in 2020/21

Unit name	The City (Level C Special Topic)
Unit code	HART10210
Credit points	20
Level of study	C/4
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Hunt
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

Cities function as webs of power relations, centres of social development and technological innovation, expressions of cultural identities, sites of protest and anxiety, centres of migration; and as playgrounds and canvasses for artistic expression. Representations of the city in the visual arts chart the rapid social, political and cultural development of society accompanying the development of the urban environment. From depictions of the city in medieval times, to the French Impressionists, to today’s street artists, representation of the city fluctuates between a drive to map the networks and geographies of the city, and a desire to evoke the experiences and emotions of living in the urban metropolis. This unit will explore the development and picturing of the city in art from a trans-historical and transcultural stand-point.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

1. demonstrate an understanding of current art historical study and research
2. work with both visual and textual sources
3. articulate their knowledge of current art historical debates concerning the emergence of the modern city within visual representation.

Teaching Information

Classes will involve a combination of discussion, investigative activities, and practical activities. Students will be expected to engage with readings and participate on a weekly basis. This will be further supported with drop-in sessions and self-directed exercises with tutor and peer feedback.

Assessment Information

One 2000-word summative essay (75%) [ILOs 1-3]

One timed assessment (25%) [ILOs 1-3]

Reading and References

• Goudeau, Jeroen, Mariette Verhoeven, and Wouter Weijers, Imagined and Real Jerusalem in Art and Architecture. Brill, 2014
• Mitchell, Timothy, 'The World as Exhibition,' Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol. 31, no. 2, 1989, pp. 217–236.
• Mundy, Barbara E., 'Moteuczoma Reborn: Biombo Paintings and Collective Memory in Colonial Mexico City,' Winterthur Portfolio, vol. 45, no. 2/3, 2011, pp. 161–176.
• Nevola, Fabrizio, 'Review Essay: Street Life in Early Modern Europe,' Renaissance Quarterly, vol. 66, no. 4, 2013, pp. 1332–1345.
• Norman, Diana, 'Pisa, Siena, and the Maremma: a neglected aspect of Ambrogio Lorenzetti's paintings in the Sala dei Nove', Renaissance Studies, Vol. 11 (1997), pp. 310–342
• Young, James E. 'Memory/Monument' in Critical Terms for Art History, ed. by R Nelson and R Schiff (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003), pp. 234-247
• Dixon, Laurinda, Perilous Chastity: Women and Illness in Pre-Enlightenment Art and Medicine. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1995