Short course
American Art in the Twentieth Century
Course status:
Applications being accepted
Location:
Online
Dates:
15/04/2027 - 24/06/2027
Study format:
Online - live
Fees:
£430.00
How did American art become modern? This course traces the emergence of modern American art from the late nineteenth century to the decades after the Second World War. In an era marked by the decline of landscape as a dominant artistic form, rapid urbanisation and the industrialisation of the nation, artists grappled with local traditions and European influences. We will explore the different ways artists reflected these turbulent times in a period shaped by the ascendancy of mass media, consumerism, and technology.
This course is for anyone curious about the ideas, conflicts, and ambitions that shaped modern American art, from the tensions between country and city, the challenge presented by European modernism, and the response of the art world to America’s global ascendancy. It considers well-known artists like Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko alongside historically underrepresented figures such as Helen Frankenthaler, Joan Mitchell, Archibald Motley Jr, and Jacob Lawrence.
Book this course
Book your place online using the button below.
Programme details
This course begins on the 15 April 2027, which is when course materials are made available to students. Students should study these materials in advance of the first live meeting, which will be held on 22 April 2027, 16:00-17:00 (UK time).
Week 1: The Late Nineteenth-Century and the Gilded Age
Week 2: Early American Modernism: art and the everyday
Week 3: The American Avant-Garde: the challenge of Europe
Week 4: Modernism, Regionalism, the American Scene
Week 5: Urban Realism, the New Deal for Artists, and the New Negro Movement
Week 6: Abstract Expressionism
Week 7: Neo-Dada and Pop Art
Week 8: Minimalism and Conceptual Art
Week 9: Postmodernism, political art, feminist art and art from the streets
Week 10: American art at the end of the 20th century
Level and demands
This course is open to all, and no prior knowledge is required.
This course is offered at FHEQ level 4 (first year undergraduate level), and you will be expected to engage in independent study in preparation for your assignments. Our 10-week Short Online Courses come with an expected total commitment of 100 study hours.
English Language Requirements
We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but we warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website. If you are confident in your proficiency, please feel free to enrol. For more information regarding English language requirements, please see here.
Course aims
This course aims to:
- Introduce students to major developments in American art and visual culture during the twentieth century
- Situate American art in its sociopolitical contexts
- Consider a range of terms, concepts and methods used by art historians to help us understand modern American art
IT requirements
Any standard web browser can be used to access course materials on our virtual learning environment, but we recommend Google Chrome. We also recommend that students join the live webinars on Microsoft Teams using a laptop or desktop computer rather than a phone or tablet due to the limited functionality of the app on these devices.
Programme details
This course begins on the 15 April 2027, which is when course materials are made available to students. Students should study these materials in advance of the first live meeting, which will be held on 22 April 2027, 16:00-17:00 (UK time).
Week 1: The Late Nineteenth-Century and the Gilded Age
Week 2: Early American Modernism: art and the everyday
Week 3: The American Avant-Garde: the challenge of Europe
Week 4: Modernism, Regionalism, the American Scene
Week 5: Urban Realism, the New Deal for Artists, and the New Negro Movement
Week 6: Abstract Expressionism
Week 7: Neo-Dada and Pop Art
Week 8: Minimalism and Conceptual Art
Week 9: Postmodernism, political art, feminist art and art from the streets
Week 10: American art at the end of the 20th century
Teaching methods
This course takes place over 10 weeks, with a weekly learning schedule and weekly live webinar held on Microsoft Teams. Shortly before a course commences, students are provided with access to an online virtual learning environment, which houses the course content, including video lectures, complemented by readings or other study materials. Working through these materials over the course of the week will prepare students for a weekly 1-hour live webinar you will share with your expert tutor and fellow students. All courses are structured to amount to 100 study hours, so that on average, you should set aside 10 hours a week for study. Although the course finishes after 10 weeks, all learning materials remain available to all students for 12 months after the course has finished.
All courses are led by an expert tutor. Tutors guide students through the course materials as part of the live interactions during the weekly webinars. Tutors will also provide individualised feedback on your assignments. All online courses are taught in small student cohorts so that you and your peers will form a mutually supportive and vibrant learning community for the duration of the course. You will learn from your fellow students as well as from your tutor, and they will learn from you.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course students will be expected to:
-
Analyse of a range of American artists, including Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Helen Frankenthaler and Jacob Lawrence, and explain how their work contributes to or complicates established narratives of American art.
-
Situate twentieth-century American art in relation to its wider historical, social, and cultural contexts, including urbanisation, civil rights, and national identity.
-
Develop a critical vocabulary appropriate to the subject of twentieth-century American Art
Assessment methods
You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Mr Gordon Reavley
Gordon Reavley is a departmental tutor for Oxford University’s Department for Continuing Education (OUDCE) tutoring several short online history of art courses and is supervising tutor for other short online history of art courses. He is also the history of art assessor for the University’s Certificate of Higher Education. He has published one book on American Social History – The Social History of America: the 1910s (2009) and has also published a wide range of peer-reviewed essays, chapters and papers on American art, culture and politics. He undertook postgraduate studies in Critical Theory and American culture at the University of Nottingham.
Assessment methods
You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Level and demands
This course is open to all, and no prior knowledge is required.
This course is offered at FHEQ level 4 (first year undergraduate level), and you will be expected to engage in independent study in preparation for your assignments. Our 10-week Short Online Courses come with an expected total commitment of 100 study hours.
English Language Requirements
We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but we warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website. If you are confident in your proficiency, please feel free to enrol. For more information regarding English language requirements, please see here.
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course Fee | £430.00 |
Module code: O26P848ARZ
Please use the ‘Book now’ button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form.