We will consider how the rise of the discipline of Western art history, as rooted in European texts and institutions, coincided with sharply increasing imperialism as we focus on the concepts of colonialism and orientalism and their role in transnational interactions along with their afterlives. Finally, the course will consider the interrelations between contemporary art and globalization. On the one hand, the contemporary period presents a re-thinking of art history, challenging Eurocentrism by expanding its potential scope to include different forms of artistic production from various geographies around the world. Does global art merely imply broadening the field of case studies, or does art history need to question and address its deep-rooted disciplinary assumptions against the currents of modernity and coloniality? What challenges, then, does the contemporary period present for the discipline of art history? How can art history contribute to the search for terms and categories that bridge different cultures, geographies, and histories?

During this course you will explore key texts and artworks in relation to the rich collections and galleries of the Netherlands and beyond that testify to this history of intensive global exchange.