ART 272 - Embodiment and Subjectivity in Later Chinese Art

Cross-Listed as ASIA 272

This class explores the relationship between material practices and shifting subjectivities from the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) to the present day. While considering the dynamic development of modern subjectivities, evolving cultural connoisseurship, ethnic tensions, new definitions of citizenry, and counter-movements led by cynical agitators, this class draws on theories of embodiment by theorists such as Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Paul Crowther to delve into the rich resonance between representation and identity formation in China over the last 400 years. Students will learn to look closely at and write critically about a variety of media including paintings, calligraphy, prints, films, posters, performance art, and installations but will also relate this historical cultural production to contemporaneous artistic, social, and political discourses. In the process, we will complicate notions of “Chinese” art and “Chinese” identity in Asia and on the global stage. Alternate years. (4 Credits)