Utrecht University

Course goals

After successful completion of this course, the student has:
 
•          developed a critical understanding of theories and philosophies dealing with visuality and the hierarchy of the senses 
•          developed a critical understanding of theories of visual culture and the relation they has with the visual arts
•          practiced with making critical understanding of visual culture theories and theories, criticism and philosophies dealing with visuality, the senses and the hierarchy of the senses
 

Content

The aim of this course is to make students familiar with and learn them to look critically at theories of visuality and theories that consider the senses, the importance of sight and the anti-ocular impulse. Today sight seems to be the most importance sense in our culture. But has this, from a historical point of view, always been so? Which theories and philosophies have questioned the dominance of sight and why? How has modern and contemporary art dealt with its own historically grown inclinations towards the eye? We will be considering ideas developed by philosophers such as Rene Descartes, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Jean Baudrillard, Guy Debord; psychoanalysts such as Jacques Lacan and look at art from amongst others Gustave Courbet, impressionists, Marcel Duchamp, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, Donald Judd, Bruce Nauman, Martin Kippenberger…

There are important differences in terms of economic dynamics between cities and regions. The question of why some areas tend to be wealthier than others, and how these differences in wealth change over time, is crucial. This course analyzes the economic success and failure of cities and regions according to the main economic theories of regional growth. Building on theories and concepts from previous courses, students start with agglomeration theories. Then traditional growth theories of convergence and divergence, the basic concepts of evolutionary theory and its application to the spatial dynamics of industries, economic growth, and the spatial dynamics of innovation networks are considered. Special attention is devoted to the spatial-economic and industrial and innovation policy in the Netherlands and the European Union. Students organize a seminar with people from the academic, policy, and business world.

In most developed countries, the public sector has become an enormous economic force, with a size that amounts to 40-60 percent of GDP. This course practices knowledge of macro- and microeconomics by applying it to public sector related issues by debating: which should be carried out by the public sector (e.g. the government) and which ones should be left to the private sector? When should the government intervene and what are the welfare consequences for different groups in society? Which commodities and services should the government provide and how much? Should this be provided in a market-efficient manner or not? How high should taxes and public debt be? What kind of taxes should the government levy (e.g. income, consumption or corporate income taxation) and who bears eventually the burden of these taxes? The course analyzes actual public policies and develops guidelines for government activities.
 

This course explores the histories of global connectedness in art and architecture from different regions in historical perspective, taking into consideration commonalities as well as the aesthetics of difference. The course starts with Europe at the end of the fifteenth century, when new maritime routes created the conditions for a truly globalized world. Artworks moved across cultural zones and into new contexts, resulting in innovative materials, styles, and themes. They also became agents of cultural interaction, shaping encounters and related cultures of knowledge and consumption. In this period, furthermore, the groundwork was laid for the different European 'empires' that were characterized by imperialist and extractivist attitudes towards regions beyond Europe. As we move from the Early Modern period (c. 1400-1800) into the Modern (from c. 1800 onward), the course critically evaluates how artistic ‘encounters’ were often not of a peaceful nature but were shaped by the power imbalance of colonialism and slavery. The course considers how the rise of the discipline of Western art history, as rooted in European texts and institutions, coincided with sharply increasing imperialism as we focus on the concepts of colonialism and orientalism and their role in transnational interactions along with their afterlives. Finally, the course considers the interrelations between contemporary art and globalization. On the one hand, the contemporary period presents a re-thinking of art history, challenging Eurocentrism by expanding its potential scope to include different forms of artistic production from various geographies around the world. Does global art merely imply broadening the field of case studies, or does art history need to question and address its deep-rooted disciplinary assumptions against the currents of modernity and coloniality? What challenges, then, does the contemporary period present for the discipline of art history? How can art history contribute to the search for terms and categories that bridge different cultures, geographies, and histories? During this course, explore key texts and artworks in relation to the rich collections and galleries of the Netherlands and beyond that testify to this history of intensive global exchange.

This course provides students with a comprehensive overview of the concept of sustainable development and global sustainability challenges from economic, environmental, and social perspectives. Current sustainability challenges are explored through international case studies. The contributions of relevant disciplines such as demography, social and political science, ecology, energy and innovation, environmental science, agricultural science, and economy are explained. The core topics include energy and society, consumption and consumerism, risks and resilience, waste, water, and land. Concepts such as food security, environmental health, planetary boundaries, Climate change, world views, and ethics are also addressed.

The course reviews agglomeration and clustering of economic activities from both geographical and urban economics disciplinary perspectives, in relation to cluster and urban economic policy. The course explains the current innovative and knowledge economy of firms and policymaking in relation to urban competitiveness. The geographical discipline focuses on clusters, network formation and industry evolution using institutional theories in which the actor-approach of firms and governments is central. Urban economics traditionally focuses on the role of externalities and urban contexts as attractions for firm and population location decisions and the growth and innovation potentials of firms in a more quantitative sense. Both disciplines heavily lean on empirical research, using complementary research methods like case-study research, surveys, spatial econometrics and general equilibrium modelling. Those methods are explained in the course in relation to current issues and empirical research on urban development. Much attention is given to regional and urban economic policy issues. Participants apply the theoretical and empirical insights from the lectures in an actual case study of urban policy in Utrecht, the Netherlands.