Friday lates: psychogeography – the art of getting lost
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
Choose a start date
- Course Code: VB675
- Dates: 22/11/24 - 22/11/24
- Time: 18:00 - 20:00
- Taught: Fri, Evening
- Duration: 1 session
- Location: Online
- Tutor: Christopher Collier
Course Code: VB675
Choose a start date
Duration: 1 session
Please note: We offer a wide variety of financial support to make courses affordable. Just visit our online Help Centre for more information on a range of topics including fees, online learning and FAQs.
What is the course about?
When a handful of young artists, runaways and revolutionaries began drunkenly wandering the streets of Paris, guided only by the emotional effects of the terrain, they gave their activity a suitably grand-sounding name: ‘psychogeography’ was born!
Following in the lost steps of their Surrealist forebears, and the 19th Century drifts of the Parisian Flâneurs, the avant-garde Situationist group created psychogeography as a means to transform everyday life. They wanted to free art from the confines of the gallery and marketplace, turning the city itself into a vast arena for play and adventure.
In this Friday evening talk, we'll take a tour through the history of this intriguing and occasionally mysterious activity, from its Surrealist roots, through the work of the Situationists and their successors, right up to the urban drifters updating these experiments today.
This is a live online course. You will need:
- Internet connection. The classes work best with Chrome.
- A computer with microphone and camera is best (e.g. a PC/laptop/iMac/MacBook), or a tablet/iPad/smart phone/iPhone if you don't have a computer.
- Earphones/headphones/speakers.
We will contact you with joining instructions before your course starts.
What will we cover?
• The origins of psychogeography in 19th Century Flâneurie, Surrealist drifting and the postwar European avant-garde.
• Psychogeography’s emergence in the 1950s, how it was practiced and the characters involved in its development.
• Psychogeographic maps, as tools for getting lost and Psychogeographic architecture, as adjustable labyrinths for play and adventure.
• Psychogeography into the present: those who followed in the Situationists footsteps and the diverse range of practices active today.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
• Discuss the origins of psychogeography and list three influences giving rise to it.
• Articulate a workable definition of psychogeography, incorporating its ideas and practices.
• Engage in informed discussion on the nature of urban space and its impact on our emotions and behaviour.
• Analyse the merits and limitations of critical art practice.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
This course is suitable for all levels.
You should be able to follow simple written and verbal instructions, demonstrations, hand-outs and health and safety informationas well as basic functions of Zoom, specifically microphone and camera.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
You will be taught online with slide presentations and group discussions.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
You might wish to buy a notebook. You might wish to buy some of the books mentioned in class.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
Search our website for 'Friday Lates' to see a range of short courses on a variety of art historical topics.
Christopher Collier trained as an artist, before gaining an MA in Cultural Studies at Goldsmiths and a PhD in Art History and Theory from the University of Essex. He has taught at institutions including the University of Essex, Cambridge School of Art, and Winchester School of Art, as well as presenting internationally at a range of workshops and conferences, including at the ICA, London and CCA, Glasgow. His broad range of interests includes the intersections of art and the more-than-human world, along with art's relations to wider political economy and cultural theory. He is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.
