DU2388 Cultural Evolution and Art History

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2023
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Jakub Bulvas Stejskal, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Jakub Bulvas Stejskal, Ph.D.
Department of Art History – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Art History – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Tue 18:00–19:40 L21
Prerequisites
No pre-requisites
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
Course objectives
In this course, we will be examining the implications of evolutionary thinking for art-historical methodology. We will be looking at recent art-historical, archaeological, and anthropological explanations of the survival and transmission of artistic motives and genres. Helping us think through the relation between cultural evolution and art history will be the case of images of monsters composed of distinct animal parts (think of a sphinx, a chimera, or a basilisk). What explains their presence and dissemination across vast gulfs of time and wide regions? Are there any laws that govern their diffusion?
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, a student will be able to:
- demonstrate an understanding of evolutionary "population thinking";
- identify and describe elements of evolutionary thinking in past art-historiographical currents;
- critically evaluate implications of evolutionary theorizing for the humanities;
- assess the pros and cons of the various approaches to explaining the attractiveness of composite images;
- interpret composite images of monsters in the spirit of the discussed theories.
Syllabus
  • The course starts on February 21!
  • 1. The very idea of cultural evolution
  • 2. Evolutionary thinking in art history I - 19th century
  • 3. Evolutionary thinking in art history II - 20th century
  • 4. Chimeras, monsters, and other composite images in world art
  • 5. Art-historical explanations I: Barbara Maria Stafford
  • 6. Art-historical explanations II: David Summers I
  • 7. Art-historical explanations III: David Summers II
  • 8. Anthropological explanations I: Pascal Boyer
  • 9. Anthropological explanations II: Carlo Severi
  • 10. Anthropological explanations III: Philipp Descola
  • 11. Archaeological explanations: David Wengrow
  • 12. Critical evaluation of the various explanations I
  • 13. Critical evaluation of the various explanations II - test cases
Literature
  • DESCOLA, Philippe. The making of images. In An Anthropology of Contemporary Art. London: Routledge, 2018, p. 25-40. info
  • SEVERI, Carlo. The Chimera Principle: An Anthropology of Memory and Imagination. Chicago: HAU Books, 2015. ISBN 978-0-9905050-5-1. info
  • WENGROW, David. The Origins of Monsters: Image and Cognition in the First Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Princeton: Princetion University Press, 2014. ISBN 978-0-691-15904-1. info
  • STAFFORD, Barbara Maria. Echo objects : the cognitive work of images. Chicago: The University od Chicago Press, 2007, xiii, 281. ISBN 9780226770529. info
  • SUMMERS, David. Real spaces : world art history and the rise of western modernism. 1st pub. London: Phaidon, 2003, 687 s. ISBN 0714842443. info
  • BOYER, Pascal. Religion explained : the human insticts that fashion gods, spirits and ancestors. London: Vintage Books, 2002, x, 430. ISBN 9780099282761. info
Teaching methods
Lectures, class discussion, student presentations, reading
Assessment methods
reading, active participation in discussions, class presentation
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught only once.
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