Bi9290 Anthropology of Art

Faculty of Science
Autumn 2010 - only for the accreditation
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
prof. PhDr. Jiří Svoboda, DrSc. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Jiří Svoboda, DrSc.
Department of Anthropology – Biology Section – Faculty of Science
Contact Person: prof. PhDr. Jiří Svoboda, DrSc.
Prerequisites (in Czech)
V závěru výuky by student měl být schopen: porozumět a vysvětlit vývoj názorů na umění v 19. a 20. století pod vlivem převládajících vědecko-naučných přístupů; diskutovat problém "proto-umění" a výtvarných aktivit u vyšších primátů; definovat pojmy umění, technika, operační řetězce; charakterizovat umění jednotlivých období pravěku; analyzovat souvislosti umění a rituálu
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
  • Anthropology (programme PřF, M-BI)
  • Anthropology (programme PřF, M-BI, specialization Physical Antropology)
  • Anthropology (programme PřF, M-BI, specialization Socio-Cultural Antropology)
  • Anthropology (programme PřF, N-AN)
  • Anthropology (programme PřF, N-BC)
  • Anthropology (programme PřF, N-BC, specialization Fyzická antropologie)
  • Anthropology (programme PřF, N-BC, specialization Sociokulturní antropologie)
  • Anthropology (programme PřF, N-BI)
  • Anthropology (programme PřF, N-BI, specialization Physical Antropology)
  • Anthropology (programme PřF, N-BI, specialization Socio-Cultural Antropology)
Course objectives
At the end of this course the students should be able to: understand and explain the development of approaches to art in the 19th and 20th centuries under the influence of the prevailing scientific-educational approach; discuss the problem of "proto-art" and creative activities of great apes; define the terms art, technique, operational chain; characterize art in the individual eras of prehistory; analyze the associations between art and ritual.
Syllabus
  • 1. Review of approaches in the 19th and 20th centuries: evolutionism, l art-pour-l artism, early ethnological analogies, structuralism, impact of exact methods, impact of modern ethnoarchaeology, neurobiology, actual contextual approach.
  • 2. Discusion on the terms „art“, „symbolism“, „spirituality“. Creative activities of great apes, problem of the „proto-art“ of archaic humans.
  • 3. Technique and the „operational chains“.
  • 4. Characteristic of art in the Aurignacian, Gravettian, Magdalenian, Mesolithic and Neolithic. Preconditions for complex change in the antique states.
  • 5. Art and rituals.
Literature
  • Svoboda, J.: Mistři kamenného dláta. Umění pravěkých lovců. Panorama, Praha 2006.
  • Leroi-Gourhan, A.: Préhistoire de l art occidental. Paris 1965.
  • Lewis-Williams, D.: Mysl v jeskyni. Academia, Praha 2007.
  • Jelínek, J.: Velký obrazový atlas pravěkého člověka. Artia, Praha 1983.
  • Svoboda, J.: Paleolit a mezolit: Myšlení, symbolismus a umění. In: J. Malina, ed., Panorama biologické a sociokulturní antropologie 6, Masarykova univerzita Brno 2002.
  • Renfrew, C. – Morley, I.: Image and Imagination. McDonald Institute Monographs, Cambridge 2007.
  • Guthrie, D.: The Nature of Paleolithic art. Chicago University Press, London – Chicago 2005.
Teaching methods
Theoretical preparation in form of lectures complemented with class discussion.
Assessment methods
The course is concluded by an oral exam.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2007 - for the purpose of the accreditation, Autumn 2002, Autumn 2003, Autumn 2004, Autumn 2005, Autumn 2006, Autumn 2007, Autumn 2008, Autumn 2009, Autumn 2010, Autumn 2011 - acreditation, Autumn 2012, Autumn 2014.