(De)Constructing Modernity: On Monuments and Ruins in Latin America (updated 03 May 2018)
In this seminar we will explore the impacts that mid-twentieth century modernization programs had on spatial configurations and aesthetic expressions across Latin America. Conceiving modernity, with Rem Koolhaas, as a "body blow" that is absorbed by both spaces and bodies, we will study the intersections of landscape transformation and political conflict as complex processes in which construction and destruction, progress and violence are entangled. By centring our attention on specific case studies, such as Brasilia, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, we will unpack the sociopolitical conditions amid which ambitious plans for modern architecture were conceived and analyse the ways that specific sites were used as backdrops against which spectacles of progress--from the Olympic games, via an Inter-American Conference, to a World Fair--could play out. Through these case studies, we will analyse ways in which national modernity is displayed for the eyes of the world and we will investigate broader theoretical and critical aspects of space, visuality, and politics. As a counterpart to this, we will consider ways in which contemporary artists have engaged with the aesthetics of decay to attest to the precarious spaces that have emerged alongside modernity's spatial formations. In this sense, we will seek out a "ruin gaze" that does not lapse into reactionary politics or nostalgia, but questions the very idea of monumentality.
Aims
To investigate the visual culture, spatial formations, and politics of Latin America modernisation;
To engage with key theiories of modernity, spectacle, and cultures of display, that pertain to urban monumentality and the landscape idea;
To explore the relationship between spatial arrangements and state spectacle;
To examine works by contemporary artists that interrogate critically the idea of the monument and the ruin.
To develop skills of critical thinking and writing, as well as visual analysis;
To foster the capacity for independent research.
Learning Outcomes
Participants in this course should:
Demonstrate engagement with the main themes that inform the module;
Compare and evaluate different arguments and assess the limitations of their own position or procedure;
Write and present verbally a succinct and precise account of positions, arguments, and their presuppositions and implications;
Be sensitive to the positions of others and communicate their own views in ways that are accessible to them;
Think laterally and creatively, identifying interesting connections and possibilities and presenting these clearly rather than as vague hunches;
Maintain intellectual flexibility and revise their own position if shown wrong;
Demonstrate the ability to think critically and constructively.
In this seminar we will explore the impacts that mid-twentieth century modernization programs had on spatial configurations and aesthetic expressions across Latin America. Conceiving modernity, with Rem Koolhaas, as a "body blow" that is absorbed by both spaces and bodies, we will study the intersections of landscape transformation and political conflict as complex processes in which construction and destruction, progress and violence are entangled. By centring our attention on specific case studies, such as Brasilia, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, we will unpack the sociopolitical conditions amid which ambitious plans for modern architecture were conceived and analyse the ways that specific sites were used as backdrops against which spectacles of progress--from the Olympic games, via an Inter-American Conference, to a World Fair--could play out. Through these case studies, we will analyse ways in which national modernity is displayed for the eyes of the world and we will investigate broader theoretical and critical aspects of space, visuality, and politics. As a counterpart to this, we will consider ways in which contemporary artists have engaged with the aesthetics of decay to attest to the precarious spaces that have emerged alongside modernity's spatial formations. In this sense, we will seek out a "ruin gaze" that does not lapse into reactionary politics or nostalgia, but questions the very idea of monumentality.
Aims
To investigate the visual culture, spatial formations, and politics of Latin America modernisation;
To engage with key theiories of modernity, spectacle, and cultures of display, that pertain to urban monumentality and the landscape idea;
To explore the relationship between spatial arrangements and state spectacle;
To examine works by contemporary artists that interrogate critically the idea of the monument and the ruin.
To develop skills of critical thinking and writing, as well as visual analysis;
To foster the capacity for independent research.
Learning Outcomes
Participants in this course should:
Demonstrate engagement with the main themes that inform the module;
Compare and evaluate different arguments and assess the limitations of their own position or procedure;
Write and present verbally a succinct and precise account of positions, arguments, and their presuppositions and implications;
Be sensitive to the positions of others and communicate their own views in ways that are accessible to them;
Think laterally and creatively, identifying interesting connections and possibilities and presenting these clearly rather than as vague hunches;
Maintain intellectual flexibility and revise their own position if shown wrong;
Demonstrate the ability to think critically and constructively.