Art & Society - ART200 Fall 2026

Course

Josef Zaruba

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About

Art & Society
This course examines the inseparable tie between art and society in focusing mainly on the time period between 19th-21st century. Most specifically it will present the development of the visual arts (paintings, sculpture, photography, architecture, design, etc.) in the Central Europe from the end of the 18th century until the present, focusing mainly on the Czech lands (that were part of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy until 1918). In the 19th century Bohemian culture was influenced by nationalist movement i.e. the National Revival, which was inspired by wider socio-political tendencies at this time. Relations to Austrian and German art were very important during that time. Since the 19th century we can see a profound shift to French literature (Symbolism, Decadence, Cubism, etc.). These connections endured until the period between the World War I and World War II (Surrealism, Abstract art). The period after the Second World War (until 1989) was characterized by a totalitarian political system that negatively deformed the standard art scene. Czech art acquired new dimension after the political changes of 1989. This course will introduce the history of Czech visual arts in a wider Central European context with references to other art fields (film, literature, theatre).

Art & Society

Course code: ART 200

Semester and year: Fall 2026

Day and time: Wednesday 15:15 –18:00 PM

Instructor: Doc. Josef Záruba-Pfeffermann, PhD.

Instructor contact: joszaruba@seznam.cz

Consultation hours: After class

Art fee: 1500 CZK

Art fees for this course will be used to cover: entrance fee to the sites, museums, galleries and other monuments visited during the classes.

Credits US/ECTS	3/6	Level	Introductory
Length	15 weeks	Pre-requisite	None
Contact hours	42 hours	Course type	VA Required, HSC Required/Elective, CEA

1. Course Description

This course examines the inseparable tie between art and society in focusing mainly on the time period between 19^th-21st century. Most specifically it will present the development of the visual arts (paintings, sculpture, photography, architecture, design, etc.) in relationship with methods of art research and other approaches to art.

The course is divided into two parts:

1. Approaches to critical writing

2. Applications of these methods related to various visual analysis presented by students.

In the second part of our course, we will explore various art projects, visual phenomena, exhibitions etc. We will discuss various approaches to these fields of visual culture, important resources to these current topics and their social relevance.

2. Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to:

● Understand the inseparable tie between art and society with consideration to technological and media development

● Explain the art historical narrative and historical tendencies that exist in relation to society

● Improve their research and academic writing skills.

● Prepare and present research on a chosen topic.

● Learn about various art resources and methods of research

● Learn about basic trends in visual studies

3. Reading Materials

Arntzen, E., & Rainwater, R. (1980). Guide to the literature of art history. Chicago: American Library Association.

Adams, L. (1996). The methodologies of art: an introduction. New York: IconEditions.

Frazier, N. (1999). The Penguin concise dictionary of art history. New York: Penguin Reference.

Robinson, Hilary. (2001). Feminism – Art – Theory: An Anthology, 1968–2000. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell.

Mansfield, Elizabeth (2002). Art History and Its Institutions: Foundations of a Discipline. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-22868-9

Murray, Chris. (2003). Key Writers on Art. 2 vols, Routledge Key Guides. London: Routledge.

Harrison, Charles, and Paul Wood. (2003). Art in Theory, 1900–2000: An Anthology of Changing Ideas. 2nd ed. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell.

Shiner, Larry. (2003). The Invention of Art: A Cultural History. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-75342-3

Pollock, Griselda (ed.) (2006). Psychoanalysis and the Image. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 1-4051-3461-5

Emison, Patricia (2008). The Shaping of Art History. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 978-0-271-03306-8

Charlene Spretnak (2014), The Spiritual Dynamic in Modern Art : Art History Reconsidered, 1800 to the Present.

Other readings and week assignments will be available through the lecturer. Materials and information relevant to the course will be also posted on the course website.

4. Teaching methodology

Each session will consist of slide-based lectures, discussions of images and texts, class presentations, as well as excursions to museums, art galleries, and historical sites relevant to the topics covered in the class. Students will be evaluated on the basis of their comprehension of course materials, attendance and preparation, critical engagement with ideas presented in the course, and the ability to synthesize key issues developed throughout the semester.

5. Course Schedule

Date	Format	Topic
September 3	Introduction + excursion	Methods of Art History. Kunsthalle Praha: William Kentridge. Art, apartheid, memory and political responsibility.
September 10	Lecture	Vitruvius and the Social Purpose of Architecture. Firmitas, utilitas, venustas; architecture as a combination of construction, social function and beauty. How to prepare an exhibition review.
September 17	Lecture	Winckelmann and the Birth of Art History. Style, chronology, classical ideals, cultural hierarchy and the establishment of art history as a discipline.
September 24	Lecture + workshop	Erwin Panofsky: Iconography and Iconology. Description, identification of subject matter and interpretation of cultural meaning. Research, sources and citation.
October 1	Lecture	Walter Benjamin: The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Photography, film, authenticity, aura, mass audiences and political propaganda.
October 8	Lecture + excursion	The Sociology of Art. Marx, Bourdieu and Howard S. Becker: class, taste, cultural capital, institutions, markets and collaborative “art worlds.” Visit to Designblok.
October 15	Excursion	Digital Art and Technological Society. Signal Festival or Signal Space. Reproduction, immersion, spectacle and the transformation of public space.
October 22	Excursion	Dvorecký Bridge and Krištof Kintera. Public art, infrastructure, architecture and ownership of urban space. Students analyse Heavy Head Boy and Kintera’s landscape of international streetlamps.
October 29	—	AAU MID-TERM BREAK — no class.
November 5	Presentations + excursion	Art, Literature and Individual Responsibility. Radka Bodzewicz: FAUST at DOX. Alternative: ANDROS — gender, the body and masculinity.
November 12	Presentations + excursion	Institutions and Alternative Art Worlds. MeetFactory and changing Smíchov: industrial heritage, alternative culture and gentrification. Alternative: Trafo Gallery.
November 19	Presentations + excursion	War, Propaganda and National Memory. Army Museum Žižkov and National Memorial at Vítkov. Comparison with representations of the war in Ukraine: victims, resistance, destruction and national identity.
November 26	Presentations + excursion	Art under Political Pressure. Student choice: post-1939 art at the Trade Fair Palace or Museum Kampa. Totalitarianism, censorship, exile and artistic freedom.
December 3	Presentations + excursion	The Sociology of Public Space. CAMP and the north–south motorway: urban planning, transport, advertising and social inequality. Alternative: Smíchov City.
December 10	Presentations + final discussion	Students’ Choice Field Trip. Students select one unused alternative and connect it with one theoretical approach studied during the semester. Final papers due.

Date	Class Agenda
Class 1	Introduction - methods of Art History
Class 2	Introduction, how to prepare for a research, for an exhibition review, for a curatorial project. A fluid approach in the 21^st century
Class 3	Art History institutions, schools of Art History
Class 4	How to cite - how to write a list of literature and other resources.
Class 5	Presentation 1 - discussion - class visit
Class 6	Presentation 2 - discussion - class excursion
Class 7	Presentation 3 - discussion - class excursion
Class 8	Presentation 4 - discussion - class excursion
	Midterm Break
Class 9	Presentation 5 - discussion - class excursion
Class 10	Presentation 6 - discussion - class excursion
Class 11	Presentation 7 - discussion - class excursion
Class 12	Presentation 8 - discussion - class excursion
Class 13 December 7	Presentation 9 - discussion - class excursion
Class 14	Presentation 10 - discussion - class excursion
Class 14	PAPERS ARE DUE THIS WEEK

6.

Lessons2

Here is the course outline:

excursion discussion Art week

Art history

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