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ARTH 450 Advanced Seminar in the History of Art & Architecture: Ethics and Craft

  • Thursdays 11:45 am-14:15 pm
  • Course delivery: Online
  • Instructor: Dr. Elaine Paterson

Vernacular revivals, like that of the Arts and Crafts Movement in Britain, emerged throughout Europe and North America as antidotes to the growing internationalisation and mechanisation of late 19th century society. Similarly, the more recent DIY (Do-it-yourself) and crafter cultures claims to be developing alternate economies while ‘craftivism’ takes political, social and cultural action through craft production and process. Consequently, the goal of this seminar is to familiarise students with this historical material and to deepen their understanding of the Arts and Crafts Movement by exploring its continued relevance to current expressions of craft.

In keeping with the nature of the Arts and Crafts Movement itself, this course will consider expressions of class, race, gender and ethnicity as well as cultural concepts such as home, comfort, community, domesticity, labour, skill, tradition and hygiene within a broad discussion of craft practices and objects, including furniture, metalwork, ceramics, jewellery, glasswork, fashion, and textiles.

Students in this seminar course will be expected to engage with this material through readings, discussions and primary research.

This seminar is particularly relevant for students interested in craft studies, design history and material culture. Its content and approach may build on lecture courses offered in the Department including those focused on:

¨   Histories of fibre art (ARTH 352 & 266)

¨   Histories of ceramic art (ARTH 352 & 264)

¨   Studies in the history of print (ARTH 349)

¨   Studies in the history of craft & decorative arts (ARTH 357)

¨   Studies in 19th century art and architecture (ARTH 366)

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