Course Summary:

This course introduces participants to key theoretical frameworks and critical methodologies in the analysis of visual art, with particular emphasis on modern and contemporary art history. It examines a range of approaches – including formalism, iconography and iconology, semiotics, Marxism, feminism, postcolonial theory, psychoanalysis, and structuralism and post-structuralism – and considers how these shape the interpretation of artworks.

Through a combination of lectures, seminars, and case studies, participants engage with major texts and thinkers while applying theoretical models to selected works. The course places particular emphasis on the relationship between form, meaning, and context, as well as on questions of perception, subjectivity, and reception. It also addresses broader debates concerning the nature of theory, the production of knowledge, and the possibilities of interpretation, including hermeneutics, deconstruction, and postmodernism.   

Learning Outcomes:

• Demonstrate a critical understanding of major theoretical approaches in art history and visual culture

• Analyse artworks using a range of theoretical frameworks

• Evaluate the relationship between visual form, meaning, and socio-historical context

• Engage critically with key texts and debates in art criticism and theory

• Apply theoretical perspectives to their own analytical or creative work

Main Contents:

• What is Theory? Why Theory in Art History and Criticism

• Formal Analysis and Formalism

• Iconography, Iconology and Meaning

• Semiotics and the Language of Images

• Art in Context: Marxism, Ideology and Power

• Feminism, Gender and Queer Perspectives

• Postcolonialism, Race and Cultural Studies

• Psychoanalysis and the Viewer

• Reception Theory, Hermeneutics and Interpretation

• Structuralism, Post-Structuralism and Postmodernism

Teaching and Learning Methods:

The course is delivered through a combination of lectures and seminar discussions. Sessions include the close analysis of selected artworks alongside critical readings. Participants are encouraged to participate actively in discussions and to develop independent critical perspectives.