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Semester 2

The Art of Revolution: A Century of Russian Visual Culture (HIAR10174)

Subject

History of Art

College

CAHSS

Credits

20

Normal Year Taken

3

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

Visiting students must have completed 3 History of Art courses at grade B or above, and please note that we will not consider History courses unrelated to Art, or practical Art courses, towards these pre-requisites. We will only consider University/College level courses. Please see Additional Restrictions below.

Course Summary

This course explores the relationship between politics and visual culture in Russia and the Soviet Union from the early twentieth century up to the present day. The course is structured as a series of two-hour seminars, which will cover a century's worth of content, encompassing Suprematism and Constructivism, to socialist realism, lens-based media, and contemporary performance art.

Course Description

This course explores the relationship between politics and visual culture in Russia and the Soviet Union from the early twentieth century up to the present day. Beginning with a thorough examination of Russia's political and cultural context at the turn of the century, we will move through a series of major avant-garde movements, from Cubo-Futurism and Suprematism to Constructivism. The focus then shifts to the Stalinist period, where a socialist realist aesthetic prevailed, though these sessions will highlight the significance of body culture and lens-based media in the mid-twentieth century. The course will draw to a conclusion with the collapse of the Soviet Union, looking at the often-fraught relationship between art and politics in contemporary Russia. **A wide range of artistic practices will be considered throughout the course as a whole, ranging from painting, graphic design and film to ballet, theatre and body art. Analysis of visual content will be interwoven with discussion of the relevant political and social context. Students will thus be equipped with a comprehensive understanding of the development of Russian visual culture across a century of political upheaval.

Assessment Information

Written Exam 50%, Coursework 50%, Practical Exam 0%

Additional Restrictions

Unless you are nominated on a History of Art exchange agreement, visiting students are only permitted to enrol in one 3rd year History of Art course each, per semester, before the start of the relevant semester’s welcome period – and spaces on each course are limited so cannot be guaranteed for any student. Enrolment in a second course from this group will depend on whether there are still spaces available in the January Welcome Period, and cannot be guaranteed. It is NOT appropriate for students to contact staff within this subject area to ask for an exception to be made; all enquiries to enrol in these courses must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. This is due to the extremely limited number of spaces available in this very popular subject area.

view the timetable and further details for this course