VAM4084

The culture and imagery of cities

Leigh Astbury

12 points
* 2 hours per week
* First semester
* Clayton

Synopsis The subject will study the nature and role of the image of the city from first settlement together with the development of city architecture from the Colonial to Federation. The role of art institutions and the formation of nineteenth and early twentieth-century Australian taste will be studied with reference to the foundation of the National Gallery of Victoria, significant private collections and the establishment of academies, schools of design and art societies, as well as gardens, cemeteries and war memorials. The growth of culture in the city is thus viewed against patterns of patronage and collecting and the institutionalisation of taste.

Assessment fourth year First seminar paper (2500 words): 25%
* Second seminar paper (3000 words): 35%
* Research essay: (3500 words): 40%

Preliminary reading

Bourdieu P Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste Routledge, 1984
Cox L The National Gallery of Victoria 1861-1968: A search for a collection National Gallery of Victoria, 1970
Statham P (ed.) The origins of Australia's capital cities CUP, 1989