Topics in Contemporary Art

The term "contemporary art" names not only artworks made over the past half-century, but the art-historical discourse that attempts to explain them, the network of museums and exhibition spaces through which they reach the public, and the global industry in which they are bought and sold. In this course we will examine contemporary art’s relationship to the political, social, and technological developments of our era, attempting to answer the questions: How do we make sense of art produced in the present day? And: How does this art help us understand the world?