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AH4504: QUEER BEAUTY: MASCULINITIES IN 19TH CENTURY ART (2021-2022)

Last modified: 31 May 2022 13:05


Course Overview

This course focuses on representations of the male body in nineteenth-century art, from Neoclassicism over the Pre-Raphaelites to fin-de-siècle art. Subjects discussed range from ideals of androgynous beauty and Romantic ‘friendship’, to Orientalism, desire and perversion. We will discuss how the male body was aestheticised, sexualised and politicised in new ways – through close study of selected artworks, but also through engagement with recent critical theory.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 4
Session Second Sub Session Credit Points 30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Hans Hönes

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

  • Programme Level 4
  • Any Undergraduate Programme (Studied)

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

This course focuses on representations of the male body in nineteenth century art. With the pioneering work of J.J. Winckelmann, the ideal male body came to be appreciated as the epitome and most desirable standard of beauty. Winckelmann’s aesthetic, driven by homoerotic desires, coincides with major paradigm shifts in the fields of medicine, social and sexual politics. In this course, we will map how these constellations affected the perception of male sexuality, subjectivity, and corporeality in nineteenth-century European art.

The course will map key episodes in the artistic engagement with masculinity: from ideals of androgynous beauty and Romantic ‘friendship’, to Orientalism, desire and perversion. We will discuss how the male body was aestheticised, sexualised and politicised in new ways – through close study of selected artworks, but also through engagement with recent critical, queer, and feminist theory.

The course will focus on three constellations in particular: (1) Neoclassicism and the cult of the beautiful youth (David, Girodet, Thorvaldsen); (2) Pre-Raphaelitism and the Aesthetic Movement (Solomon, Leighton); (3) German fin-de-siècle art and its ‘queer conservativism’ (Marées, Böcklin).


Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 31 August 2023 for 1st half-session courses and 22 December 2023 for 2nd half-session courses.

Summative Assessments

Essay

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 30
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

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Book review. 

Word Count 3500
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseShow a critical understanding of discourses on sexuality and aesthetics in 19th century art.
ConceptualApplyDemonstrate a broad and integrated understanding of key movements, artists, and concepts of 19th century art,
ReflectionAnalyseTo critically evaluate recent theoretical approaches from queer and gender studies in art history.

Class Test

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 20
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

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Feedback

Visual Test. Written feedback. In-person feedback on request.

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseShow a critical understanding of discourses on sexuality and aesthetics in 19th century art.
ConceptualApplyDemonstrate a broad and integrated understanding of key movements, artists, and concepts of 19th century art,
ProceduralAnalyseDemonstrate confidence in researching, organising and delivering written and oral academic work in a class presentation on a defined topic and an essay on a self-defined topic.
ReflectionAnalyseTo critically evaluate recent theoretical approaches from queer and gender studies in art history.

Tutorial/Seminar Participation

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 10
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

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Class participation and presentation.

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseShow a critical understanding of discourses on sexuality and aesthetics in 19th century art.
ConceptualApplyDemonstrate a broad and integrated understanding of key movements, artists, and concepts of 19th century art,
ProceduralAnalyseDemonstrate confidence in researching, organising and delivering written and oral academic work in a class presentation on a defined topic and an essay on a self-defined topic.
ReflectionAnalyseTo critically evaluate recent theoretical approaches from queer and gender studies in art history.

Essay

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 40
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback

Written feedback. In-person feedback on request.

Word Count 3500
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseShow a critical understanding of discourses on sexuality and aesthetics in 19th century art.
ConceptualApplyDemonstrate a broad and integrated understanding of key movements, artists, and concepts of 19th century art,
ProceduralAnalyseDemonstrate confidence in researching, organising and delivering written and oral academic work in a class presentation on a defined topic and an essay on a self-defined topic.

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualApplyDemonstrate a broad and integrated understanding of key movements, artists, and concepts of 19th century art,
ReflectionAnalyseTo critically evaluate recent theoretical approaches from queer and gender studies in art history.
ConceptualAnalyseShow a critical understanding of discourses on sexuality and aesthetics in 19th century art.
ProceduralAnalyseDemonstrate confidence in researching, organising and delivering written and oral academic work in a class presentation on a defined topic and an essay on a self-defined topic.

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