Theoretical art history?

What is the meaning and role of theory for art history today? A designation that included ‘post-structuralist theory’, ‘critical theory,’ and ‘French theory’, between the 1980s-1990s theory was integral to seismic shifts within the discipline: its self-critique, the explosion of its disciplinary borders, the rise of new methodologies, and the branching of new subdisciplines.  Decades since these radicalising impacts have been levelled into disciplinary academic practice, the provocations and targets of theory surely remain as pertinent as ever. I argue that the historical function of theory in the rethinking of the discipline requires us to affirm its continuing role. Counter to the ever-expanding ‘menu of methods’ and interpretive toolkits, I explore what might be entailed by a move away from preoccupations of methodology to problematology.

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