Studying online
There are now 2 possible online modes for units:
Units with modes Online timetabled and Online flexible are available for any student to self-enrol and study online.
Click on an offering mode for more details.
Unit Overview
- Description
This unit examines the theoretical and visual understanding of urban experience in France during the second half of the nineteenth century. Building on Baudelaire's definition of modernity as the transient experience of urban living, the unit explores how the city shaped the European visual imagination after 1850. Conceived as a simulated stroll through late nineteenth-century Paris, the unit explores how civic planning, industry, material consumption, and politics redefined spatial and visual form. Though the unit is grounded in the art of painting, it also explores how new visual developments, particularly photography, challenged and shaped the definition of modern France. As part of this visual exploration of the city, the unit also considers how theories of Cosmopolitanism, gender equality, and class struggle informed the nineteenth-century notion of urban life.
- Credit
- 6 points
- Offering
Availability Location Mode Not available in 2025 UWA (Perth) Face to face - Details for undergraduate courses
- Level 2 option in the History of Art; Art History and Curatorial Studies major sequences
- Level 2 elective
- Outcomes
Students are able to (1) identify key artists and artworks associated with nineteenth-century modernity in France; (2) articulate how the changing experience of the nineteenth-century city—its streets, sights and scenes—shaped the understanding and definition of urban experience; (3) apply this notion of urban experience to the interpretation of painting and other visual forms; (4) incorporate multicultural, class and gender theories into an historical understanding of the late nineteenth century; (5) make arguments about late nineteenth-century visual culture and painting; and (6) communicate knowledge about relevant artworks and their relationship to theories of urban experience.
- Assessment
Indicative assessments in this unit are as follows: (1) short essay; (2) long essay; and (3) discursive learning. Further information is available in the unit outline.
Student may be offered supplementary assessment in this unit if they meet the eligibility criteria.
- Unit Coordinator(s)
- Associate Professor Emily Brink
- Unit rules
- Contact hours
- lectures: 2 hours per week
tutorials: 1 hour per week
- The availability of units in Semester 1, 2, etc. was correct at the time of publication but may be subject to change.
- All students are responsible for identifying when they need assistance to improve their academic learning, research, English language and numeracy skills; seeking out the services and resources available to help them; and applying what they learn. Students are encouraged to register for free online support through GETSmart; to help themselves to the extensive range of resources on UWA's STUDYSmarter website; and to participate in WRITESmart and (ma+hs)Smart drop-ins and workshops.
- Visit the Essential Textbooks website to see if any textbooks are required for this Unit. The website is updated regularly so content may change. Students are recommended to purchase Essential Textbooks, but a limited number of copies of all Essential Textbooks are held in the Library in print, and as an ebook where possible. Recommended readings for the unit can be accessed in Unit Readings directly through the Learning Management System (LMS).
- Contact hours provide an indication of the type and extent of in-class activities this unit may contain. The total amount of student work (including contact hours, assessment time, and self-study) will approximate 150 hours per 6 credit points.
Face to face
Predominantly face-to-face. On campus attendance required to complete this unit. May have accompanying resources online.
Online flexible
100% Online Unit. NO campus face-to-face attendance is required to complete this unit. All study requirements are online only. Unit is asynchronous delivery, with NO requirement for students to participate online at specific times.
Online timetabled
100% Online Unit. NO campus face-to-face attendance is required to complete this unit. All study requirements are online only. Unit includes some synchronous components, with a requirement for students to participate online at specific times.
Online Restricted
Not available for self-enrolment. Students access this mode by contacting their student office through AskUWA. 100% Online Unit.
NO campus face-to-face attendance. All study and assessment requirements are online only. Unit includes some timetabled activities, with a requirement for students to participate online at specific times. In exceptional cases (noted in the Handbook) students may be required to participate in face-to-face laboratory classes when a return to UWA’s Crawley campus becomes possible in order to be awarded a final grade.
External
No attendance or regular contact is required, and all study requirements are completed either via correspondence and/or online submission.
Off-campus
Regular attendance is not required, but student attends the institution face to face on an agreed schedule for purposes of supervision and/or instruction.
Multi-mode
Multiple modes of delivery. Unit includes a mix of online and on-campus study requirements. On campus attendance for some activities is required to complete this unit.