This course introduces students to a broad range of critical and theoretical texts that have impacted art practices and the discipline of art history in the 20th century through to the current day. The role of enlightenment aesthetics and the rise of mass culture are explored in relation to the formation of cultural modernism and how Marxist, psychoanalytic, and poststructuralist theories have challenged modernist conceptions. This course investigates the implications for Christians engaging with visual culture today; considers the theoretical underpinnings of postmodern theory; and cultivates the critical thinking skills necessary to engage in current critical debates within visual culture.