Summoning survival after the death of Hungarian art history education: A hauntological reading of the end of art history

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School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
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Date

2025-07-31

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Nordic Master in Visual Studies and Art Education

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Nordic Master in Visual Studies and Art Education

Language

en

Pages

98

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Abstract

Recently, in Hungary, an important educational reform meant the revision of the National Core Curriculum (NAT). The NAT change brought about the removal of the art history subject in public secondary education. The decision prompted widespread reaction, largely taking place in public and social media. It was this site where many voiced their objection to the erasure of the art history subject. Some speculate on the futures the so-called “death of art history” will bring about. This thesis, by looking into the stratifications of discourse, asks the question, “What kind of understandings of progress may die with art history education in the NAT discourse, and what (im)possible histories might survive this end?” The work draws on Jacques Derrida’s deconstruction and hauntology and Walter Benjamin’s concept of history and takes on a post qualitative approach to inquiry, entailing an approach where one composes with theory. Through this approach and framework, it looks at the public discourse forming around the perceived “death” of art history education and explores the ghosts that linger in it, informing understandings of art history and its supposed end. In the aftermath of the school subject’s removal, the thesis fiddles with the moment of loss, not to disregard it, but to point out what is taken for granted as art history education’s “essence/center,” with it aiming to bring about an opening towards different understandings of art history and its education.

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Supervisor

Tervo, Juuso

Thesis advisor

Hvid Bech Dille, Maria

Keywords

post qualitative inquiry, art history education, temporality, hauntology, Jacques Derrida, Walter Benjamin

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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202508296971

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[master] Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu / ARTS