FIN2041 : Electric Dreams and Nuclear Visions: Art, Science & Medicine in the Twentieth Century (Inactive)
FIN2041 : Electric Dreams and Nuclear Visions: Art, Science & Medicine in the Twentieth Century (Inactive)
- Inactive for Year: 2024/25
- Module Leader(s): Dr Edward Juler
- Owning School: Arts & Cultures
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
Semester 1 Credit Value: | 20 |
ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
European Credit Transfer System | |
Pre-requisite
Modules you must have done previously to study this module
Code | Title |
---|---|
FIN1013 | Art Histories I |
FIN1014 | Art Histories II |
Pre Requisite Comment
N/A
Co-Requisite
Modules you need to take at the same time
Co Requisite Comment
N/A
Aims
This course will explore the role science and medicine played in the development of experimental visual art in Europe and North America broadly within the period 1900 – 1960 (with some consideration of its ongoing contemporary impact). It will address how the progress of science and medicine (with particular emphasis upon biology, technology, physics and psychiatry) impacted upon artistic consciousnesses and appealed to the utopian, revolutionary and countercultural impulses of the twentieth-century avant-garde. Through a series of thematic lectures and seminars students will gain an understanding of how science and medicine challenged and transformed artistic notions of perception, physical reality, the sublime and the body. By the end of the course students should understand the importance of science and medicine as a stimulus to the visual arts and be able to identify and explain the reasons for this. Students will also develop an understanding of the theory underpinning interdisciplinary work in art-science-medicine and be able to competently discuss some of the major issues in this field of study. The course will use a variety of visual and textual examples from which students will gain knowledge of how to undertake interdisciplinary research in art and science from within an art historical framework.
Outline Of Syllabus
While the course is not a comprehensive or chronological survey it will convey the complex range of ways in which the visual arts responded to science and medicine broadly in the period 1900 – 1960. The course will cover the following topics:
Cubism, Suprematism & Fourth-Dimensional Geometry
Making the Invisible Visible: X-rays, radioactivity & the avant-garde c.1909-1920
Picturing Madness: Visual art, psychiatry & neurology in Vienna c.1900
The Machine Age; science & technology in Futurism and Constructivism
Anti-science: Duchamp & Dada
Biomorphism & biocentrism
The Divided Self: Surrealism & psychoanalysis
New Horizons: Surrealism & relativity physics/Ab. Expressionism & the nuclear age
Bodies of Knowledge: Anatomy & modern art
New Pathways: Bio-art/ art & ecology
Learning Outcomes
Intended Knowledge Outcomes
On completion of Electric Dreams and Nuclear Visions, students should have knowledge of:
Different forms of visual responses and practices related to issues surrounding art and science, medicine and technology.
Major developments in the history of twentieth-century science, technology and medicine and their socio-cultural and artistic impact.
Contextual factors – socio-political, scientific, medical and institutional – that impinge on the cultural meaning of artworks.
Key artists, theorists and their tenets in relation to science, technology and medicine.
Key theories underpinning interdisciplinary work in art, science, technology and medicine studies.
A range of significant interpretational artworks which convey scientific, technology and medical themes.
Intended Skill Outcomes
On completion of Electric Dreams, students should have developed skills in:
Presenting information and ideas in a clear and engaging manner.
Researching a topic, making productive use of the library and appropriate online resources.
Engaging with interdisciplinary texts and evaluating appropriate material to inform relevant debates.
Evaluating information, ideas and theoretical and ideological points of view in order to reach independent conclusions.
Discussions within a group context.
Visual analysis.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 20 | 1:00 | 20:00 | N/A |
Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 60:00 | 60:00 | N/A |
Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 1 | 20:00 | 20:00 | Seminar preparation |
Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 3 | 1:00 | 3:00 | Office Hours |
Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 10 | 1:00 | 10:00 | Seminars |
Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 2 | 3:00 | 6:00 | N/A |
Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 81:00 | 81:00 | N/A |
Total | 200:00 |
Jointly Taught With
Code | Title |
---|---|
FIN3041 | Electric Dreams and Nuclear Visions: Art, Science & Medicine in the Twentieth Century. |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
1.Lectures: to allow definition of the scope of the syllabus, an introduction to a body of knowledge, and modelling of the level and nature of the analysis required.
2.Seminars: to encourage interaction and the development of cognitive and key skills; to allow preparation and presentation of directed research on specific issues and case studies.
3.Tutorials: to provide feedback and analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of submitted work, and increase awareness of the potential for individual development.
4. Workshops to allow for more innovative and cross-curricular teaching
Reading Lists
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|
Essay | 1 | M | 50 | 2000 words |
Written exercise | 1 | M | 50 | 2000 word visual analysis assignment |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The coursework affords the student the opportunity to conduct research with seminar and peer support into particular areas of interest, to develop their organisational, group work and presentational skills in reporting back to the group and then to demonstrate their ability to think independently using their seminar discussion to inform their individual assignments. Assignments are targeted to develop critical thinking, the ability to develop an argument, visual analysis and theoretical comprehension.
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- FIN2041's Timetable
Past Exam Papers
- Exam Papers Online : www.ncl.ac.uk/exam.papers/
- FIN2041's past Exam Papers
General Notes
N/A
Welcome to Newcastle University Module Catalogue
This is where you will be able to find all key information about modules on your programme of study. It will help you make an informed decision on the options available to you within your programme.
You may have some queries about the modules available to you. Your school office will be able to signpost you to someone who will support you with any queries.
Disclaimer
The information contained within the Module Catalogue relates to the 2024 academic year.
In accordance with University Terms and Conditions, the University makes all reasonable efforts to deliver the modules as described.
Modules may be amended on an annual basis to take account of changing staff expertise, developments in the discipline, the requirements of external bodies and partners, and student feedback. Module information for the 2025/26 entry will be published here in early-April 2025. Queries about information in the Module Catalogue should in the first instance be addressed to your School Office.