The unit aims to examine the impact on society of what were, in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, initially called 'industrial arts' because of their links with technology. To do this, an examination will be done of the social and artistic impact of cinema and photography, considering such issues as the nature of an 'industrial art', its relation to technology and the ways that these arts have changed, or affected, social life, especially with regard to forms of subjectivity. Key films of the pre- and post WWII era will be used as case studies, along with the work of photographers, such as William Klein.
Also to to be studied in some detail will be the way architecture, as an art form, has influenced the nature of the urban environement in certain European and non-European cities in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Students will be encouraged to carry out their own investigations in this area. Finally, the unit will look at aspects of the way various forms of industrial design, like furniture, have been developed in both popular and artistic contexts. Here, movements such as the Bauhaus and Surrealism will be examined.
