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SIS 2025 Correspondences in Art and Literature
Instructors: Marta Siklos b.martasiklos@gmail.com, Melinda Harlov mharlov@yahoo.com
In this course, we set out to trace and explore some of the main themes, movements and representative works of the Western cultural heritage. Through a closer examination of the few selected works of art and literature ranging from antiquity to our times, we aim to find connections between traditions and modernity, and to appreciate the basic unity as well as the diversities of the various forms of artistic expression. In our work, the emphasis will be on the thematic approach over the chronological one, with a strong focus on modern reinterpretations.
We also hope to take advantage of your various cultural backgrounds, and invite you to add your own knowledge and taste of your national culture to enrich the content of the course. Therefore, the content of our course is ever-changing.
The course will consist of 3 main modules:
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Antiquity
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Symbols and allegories, the theme of good and evil
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Late 19th/ 20th c. movements (Impressionism, Secession, Imagism)
Within each module, there will be 1- or 2- week slots, where we deal in turn with the literary and art aspect of a particular theme. We also plan to have a few "joint" sessions.
Requirements:
Reading
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3 longer works of literature
Margaret Atwood – The Penelopiad
Oscar Wilde: The Picture of Dorian Gray)
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Poems, short stories and studies collected in a reader
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Identification and basic knowledge of the selected art pieces, provided on CD
Writing assignments
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shorter assignments for classes (3)
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Midterm research paper
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Final – essay questions
Presentations
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Shorter, informal presentations related to class discussions
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Final exam – short presentation
Course evaluation will be based on the following criteria:
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Preparation – Participation 20%
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Short assignments 20%
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Midterm paper 30%
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Final exam 30%
Attendance is mandatory - more than 2 absences will result in grade reduction, more than 4 in failing the class. We would appreciate being sent a notice about any absences in advance by email.
Planned program
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Week 1 -2- Introduction. Poems on art + Art pieces. Definitions and elements of culture/Cultural heritage.
T.S: Eliot: Tradition and the Individual Talent – The Journey of the Magi + Art pieces
Raymond Williams: The Analysis of Culture
An overview of the major periods and movements in art
Writing task 1.
Module 1. – The antiquity
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Week 3. Brief historical background; - Greek and Roman Sculptures and their reappearances in modern artworks - Antique temples and houses
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Week 4-5/1. The Odyssey (extracts)
Margaret Atwood: The Penelopeiad
Love and passion - poems by Sappho, Anacreon, Catullus …. Edna S.Vincent Millay, C.A. Duffy)
Writing Task 2.
Module 2.a - The theme of good and evil
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Week 5/2- 6/1 Viewing and discussing Lars von Trier' s film Dogville
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Week 6/2- Week 7 William Blake/ János Pilinszky - poems
Flannery O' Connor – The Lame Shall Enter First
Tolstoy – God Sees the Truth but Waits
Midterm paper (week 7)
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Week 8- Week 9 (2 sessions!) Symbolic art; The Dance of Death; religious representations of good and evil on canvas and in stone - Apocalypse on Giotto' s canvas and Picasso' s Guernica
Module 2 B. Symbols and allegories – animal imagery
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Week 10. Animals in poetry –Poems by Ted Hughes; Eliot – Old Possum' s Book of Practical Cats – Webber: CATS – Musical
Term Papers – discussion, preparation
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Week 11/1.
Animals in art and their meanings; Symbols and Allegories
Animals in music and dance
Writing task 3.
Module 3. Glimpses at 19th /20th c. movements
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Week 11/2- Week 12 (2 sessions)
Impressionism
French paintings
Virginia Woolf - Kew Gardens
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Week 13– Secession, art noveau
Masterpieces in Applied Art; Gaudi, Klimt
Oscar Wilde: The Picture of Dorian Gray
(viewing of a film about Oscar Wilde optional, outside class time)
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Week 14.
Imagism
Poems by William Carlos Williams
Japanese Art in Western Culture (Japanese garden, calligraphy) - *Japanism
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Week 15.Exam week
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