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Critique of Capitalism in Post-Yugoslav Art

The key questions of the seminar are: 1) The definition of the Post-Yugoslav cultural space in contemporary art and humanities, and 2) Are there common issues in contemporary art and humanities when we speak of the Post-Yugoslav space i.e. region?

Methods: the seminar will be divided into two complementary parts. 1) part one is conducted by a Ph.D. candidate and a researcher Nikola Zečević who will explain the transitional period of Yugoslav cultural and political space from socialism to capitalism from the perspective of humanities, 2) part two is conducted by Ph.D. Irena Lagator Pejović, an artist and assistant professor who will speak about art practices from the Post-Yugoslav region based on the critical attitude towards the current economic system, 3) outlining the current institutional production relevant for the elaborated content that covers state, private, and NGO, 4) theoretical and philosophical insights by Prof. Monika-Leisch Kiesl, 5) presentation by students attending the course about selected artistic positions. 

The lectures, as well as presentations, will be held in English due to the international character of the seminar.

Prerequisites:

Basic knowledge of the history of contemporary art at least BA level is necessary as well as the ability to discuss in English about texts from the field of art, history, and humanities.

Literature:

Art and Theory of Post-1989 Central and Eastern Europe. A Critical Anthology. New York: Museum of Modern Art NY, 2018 

Primary Documents. A Sourcebook for Eastern and Central European Art since the 1950s. Museum of Modern Art NY. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2002

Body and the East. From the 1960s to the Present. Museum of Modern Art Ljubljana. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1998

Transforming Heritage in the Former Yugoslavia: Synchronous Pasts. Badescu G., Bădescu G., Baillie B., Mazzucchelli M. (eds.). Palgrave Studies of Cultural Heritage and Conflict. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave MacMillan, 2021.

After Yugoslavia: The Cultural Spaces of a Vanished Land. Gorup, Radmila (ed.): Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2013.

Schedule:

Tue, March 8, 11:00–12:30: Introductory Meeting

Week 12: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, 9 :00- 12.30 (with half an hour break) and 13.30 - 17.00 (with half an hour break)

Course. 

Mode:

Hybrid: Prof. M. Leisch-Kiesl, Phd-candidate N. Zečević and students from Austria will be at KU Linz; I. Lagator (Phd + visual artist) and students from Montenengro will join via Zoom.

P.S. Don't be afraid because of the English language! We will do it! Don't be afraid because of mistakes; speaking a foreign language mistakes are inevitable. (And those who are still shy will get support from their colleagues.)

We all are not Natives; so this course is also a great opportnity to practice your English!

‚Theorie’ hat stets die ‚Kunst’ zumindest indirekt begleitet. Dabei kann der Fokus auf Fragen der Produktion, des Werkes und der Rezeption liegen. Ziel der LV ist es, zentrale Positionen der Antike, des Mittelalters und der Renaissance kennen zu lernen, zu diskutieren und kritisch zu reflektieren.

Dabei werden im wesentlichen fünf Diskurskontexte bzw. Textgattungen berücksichtigt: Literatur und Dichtung, Philosophische Schriften, Kunsttheoretische Schriften incl. Architekturtheorie, Künstlerschriften, Lehramtliche Texte und offizielle Verlautbarungen.

Methodische Durchführung: Vorlesung, Gemeinsame Textlektüre, Studentische Referate.