Colloquy on Asia in the Era of Globalization (CAEG)
BOUNDARIES
A TWO-YEAR GENERATIVE PROGRAM FUNDED BY THE INSTITUTE FOR THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES
Presents...
SEMINAR IN ORIENTALISM AND VISUAL CULTURE:
HISTORY, THEORY, AND PROSPECTS
ART HISTORY 597B / COMPARATIVE LITERATURE 522
Dr. Paul Lavy, Professor of Art History
Monday
9:05 a.m. - 12:05 p.m. / 234 Arts
This seminar will investigate the discourse of Orientalism, the post-colonial critique of Orientalism as "white mythology," and the implications of both for the discipline of art history. Because Orientalism(s) have historically involved the production of particular theories, images, and forms of understanding that vary according to time, place, and gender, we will consider diverse expressions of Orientalism (in Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and the United States) as articulated by both men and women through painting, architecture, sculpture, film, art collecting/display, and scholarship.
The heart of the course will be an examination of the historical vicissitudes of Orientalism and their relationship to an ever-shifting and expanding Orient; the critique of Orientalism by Edward Said and others; and the varied responses to this critique. While instances of Arabism and Islamophobia will be addressed, we will track changing conceptions of the Orient as applied not only to West Asia and North Africa, but also India, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, Asian-Americans, the "Oriental Woman," and the notion of "Yellow Peril."
In querying Orientalism's reliance on ontological and epistemological distinctions between categories of "Orient" and "Occident," we will need to develop a sensitivity to Occidentalism, as well as Orientalism, and the complexities that arise with the appropriation and deployment of Orientalism by- and in- the so-called Orient itself. Ultimately we must ask what becomes of these categories in an era characterized by both globalization and a potential "Clash of Civilizations." To what extent is our knowledge of what has been called the "Orient" embedded in a hegemonic discourse, and what are our alternatives?
Suggested Book Purchases
Macfie, A.L., ed.
Orientalism: A Reader. New York : New York University Press,
2000.
MacKenzie, John M. Orientalism: History, Theory, and the Arts. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1995.
Said, Edward. Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books, 1979 (or latest
edition).
Sardar, Ziauddin. Orientalism. Philadelphia: Open University Press, 1999.
Schedule of Topics
Week 2 (9/6) Labor Day (No class)
Week 3 (9/13) An Introduction to Orientalism
Week 4 (9/20)
Orientalism: History and
Critique
Week 5
(9/27) Edward Said's Orientalism: Theory and Methodology
Week 6 (10/4) Said and His Critics
Week 7 (10/11)
Orientalism and Painting
Week 8 (10/18) Orientalism, Sex, and Gender
Week 9
(10/25) Orientalism and the
"Spectre of Despotism"
Week 10
(11/1) Orientalism: Architecture and Decorative
Arts
Week 11
(11/8)
European and U.S. Orientalisms
Week 12 (11/15) Orientalism
and Film
Week 13 (11/22) Responses to Orientalism: "Oriental Silence," the Appropriation
of Orientalism, Self-Orientalism, and Occidentalism
Week 14
(11/29)
Beyond Orientalism
Week 15 (12/6) Student Presentations
Requirements:
1. Class Participation (40%)
This course will consist of discussions and student presentations based on the readings. The readings for each week are divided between "Core Readings" that everyone is expected to read and discuss as a group and "Supplementary Readings" that will be distributed among the class for individual reading and presentation. You should, of course, do the readings prior to each class so that you will be prepared to participate in and contribute to class discussions.
2. Final Paper (40%), ca. 15-20 pages on a topic of your choosing
3. Final Presentation (20%), ca. 20 minute
presentation of the paper
This course is offered in conjunction with the interdepartmental initiative called Colloquy on Asia in the Era of Globalization, which is funded by Penn State's Institute for the Arts and Humanities.
This website has been supported by a grant from the Institute for the Arts and Humanities.
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