Art History - BA (Hons)

This module will look at disability in the arts, covering theatre, film and visual art. The students will engage with the historical representation of disability within the arts and the way in which disability scholars have critically engaged with it. The students will also look at arts institutions (i.e. theatres, cinemas and galleries) and the disabling barriers within those institutions that prevent the full participation of people with impairments in the arts. This will culminate in an 'accessibility review', whereby the students analyse the adjustments made by arts institutions for people with impairments and the extent to which they are effective. Finally, the students will engage with examples of contemporary disabled artists whose impairments informs the aesthetic qualities of their work.

Find out more about ARTS5220

This is a practice-based module exploring the photographic medium and the contexts of its use through the production of photographs in response to a project brief and group-based critical discussion of the work produced. Students investigate how the context in which photographs are made affect how the world is represented, and how in turn these images shape perception. Students choose two practical project briefs that are designed to enable them to explore the medium creatively and through informed and reflective practice. The emphasis of the module is upon this creative practice rather than the acquisition of specific technical skills, and as such students are at liberty to use any photographic production and post-production technologies they wish to experiment with or find appropriate. A camera phone and access to a computer and printer are all that is needed for this module, though students who wish to make use of digital image processing or analogue processes, including use of a darkroom, are encouraged to do so. Each of the practical project briefs will be supported through a series of lectures closely examining various genres, styles and other contexts of photographic production through the work of those who have shaped them. In addition students will present the work they have produced in response to their project briefs, and engage in a broad critical discussion or their own and other's work.

Find out more about ARTS5230

This module introduces students to the art and cultures of Latin American countries such as Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Cuba. Students will explore non-Western artistic traditions, practices and theoretical frameworks, and consider art's relation to society. The art works considered are drawn from various countries across Latin America and represent a wide range of visual art forms (with a focus on the art of the Twentieth Century) and assess both their formal analysis and their historical context. Attention will also be given to the Latin American diaspora and transatlantic exchanges. In the course of these investigations issues relating to imperialism, colonialism and post-colonial frameworks across theory and practice will be closely studied, as well as the challenges artists face in negotiating expressions of national identities and problematics versus the adoption of international styles; and the role of collections, exhibitions and art institutions within and beyond national borders.

Find out more about HART5005

This module will explore the major art movements of the Nineteenth Century such as Romanticism, Realism, Pre-Raphaelitism, Impressionism, the New Sculpture and Post-Impressionism. It will look in depth at the work of a number of key artists during this period (for example, these may include J. M. W. Turner, Eugène Delacroix, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Gustave Courbet, Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, Claude Monet, Mary Cassatt, Paul Gauguin, Auguste Rodin, Camille Claudel, Paul Cezanne and Vincent van Gogh). While the focus will be on the visual arts in France and England, the module will situate these artistic trends within a broader historical context, exploring parallels with literary, scientific and philosophical developments. Social attitudes towards the arts will be examined in the light of the class, gender and racial issues that characterised an age of industrial growth, European colonialism and empire building. Seminars will be dedicated to analysing topics like Delacroix and Orientalism, the 'Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood', the representation of poverty, nature and landscape, the modern city and popular culture, the impact of photography, or Gauguin in Tahiti.

Find out more about HART5006

This module explores the natural environment as the subject matter of aesthetic attention and value, as well as creative interventions into nature such as landscaping, gardens and land art. Differing contemporary approaches to understanding the aesthetic value of nature and the natural environment will be explored, as well as older concepts, such as the picturesque, natural beauty and the sublime, that were important in the first attempts to think of the natural environment as site of aesthetic experience and value. The issues of climate change and environmental degradation will provide a backdrop throughout the module, providing increased focus upon the aesthetic value of nature, the natural environment and the interventions of land artists.

Find out more about HART5007

This module explores a range of interconnections and tensions between western and non-western art historical and visual traditions. The lectures and seminars identify and consider examples of transcultural 'encounter' between principally western and non-western countries and territories, as well as appropriations from, and differences between, traditions of representational and non-representational art. In examining the influences, appropriations and cross-fertilizations of western and non-western art and culture the course will also place these within broader political and social histories, the rise of nationalism, continental trade relations, the advent of war, tourism, colonialism and imperialism. More broadly, the module will explore the nature and modalities of 'dialogue' from various critical and art historical perspectives, including the terms, elisions and the failures of such between western and non-western traditions. Visual and textual examples will also encompass the exclusions, altercations, violations and marginalization of non-western cultures and their traditions within and across this framework.

Find out more about HART6600

The module will involve the study of a single artist of significance for the history of art. Through the in-depth study of the works of art of a single artist, the interpretations made of them and the cultural significance of the artist's life and oeuvre, students will be introduced to a wide range of approaches and issues central to the theory and practice of the discipline of Art History. They will also acquire subject-specific and generic learning skills necessary to progress on their degree programme. The convenorship of the module will rotate among members of History of Art and with it the choice of artist to be studied.

The purpose of the module is not to uphold a canon of established masters. The artist chosen could be historic or contemporary, working in a traditional or non-traditional medium or located anywhere in the world. An indicative list of possible artists is: Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Cezanne, Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller, Frida Kahlo, Jackson Pollock, Léon Ferrari, El Anatsui, or Rachel Whiteread.

Find out more about HART6690

The module gives School of Arts students across a range of undergraduate programmes the opportunity to undertake a written independent research project at stage 3.

Students who wish to take the module must approach a permanent academic member of staff with a proposal, typically in advance of module registration, during the Spring term of the previous year. Students pick a research topic of their choice; however, students are only allowed to register for the module with the permission of a staff member who has agreed to supervise the project, and who has the expertise to do so. Potential supervisors must also ensure before they agree to supervise a project that the resources required to complete the project will be available to the student, and that adequate supervisory support will be available to the student throughout their study on the module.

Students will be supported in the preparation and submission of their work by their supervisor, although a central expectation of the module is that students will take increasing responsibility for their learning, consistent with expectations of Level 6 study.

Find out more about ARTS5000

Students will engage in a work-based situation of their choice. The student will be responsible for finding the work-based situation, though support from the School and CES will be available. The internship should bear relevance to their subject of study or a career they expect to pursue upon graduation. The total of 300 hours will be divided as required for purposes of preparation, attendance of work placement and reflection/completion of required assessment.

Find out more about ARTS5010

This interdisciplinary course will examine historical and current theoretical ideas and research on the ways in which art is created and perceived. Artforms that will be considered include visual arts (painting, sculpture, architecture, popular art), performing arts (dance and theater), music, and film. Readings will interface with subdisciplines of psychology such as perception, psychoaesthetics, neurophysiology, social psychology, and studies of emotion. Principal areas of focus will include aesthetics, arts-experimental design, perception of art, meaning in art, the psychology of the creative process, social and cultural issues, and the ramifications of arts-sciences research. The primary focus will be on Western art forms, though other world art traditions and aesthetics will also be discussed. Assessment methods will test understanding through a summary and critical reflection on a selected text and the proposal, research, and design and oral presentation of a potential interdisciplinary research project.

Find out more about ARTS5200

The module provides a practice-based approach to art history to complement the academic approach of other modules in the History of Art programmes. By focusing on prints it will aim to provide students with an "apprenticeship" in two practical areas of art history, namely collecting and curating. The module will involve students in the full cycle of these two interrelated processes: from identifying and acquiring a print, to cataloguing and curating it, to making sense of it to a wider public by placing it in the context of a themed exhibition. In the first assessment task each student will submit an “exhibition bid” proposing an idea for an exhibition based on the existing collection and suggesting new acquisitions (and possibly loans) to realise the idea. The concepts for exhibitions could derive from the subject matter or techniques of prints in the collection, or they could involve focussing on a particular artist or period. The best conceived bid will then be adopted by the group who will work collectively to put on the exhibition. At this stage students will visit dealers and auction houses and carry out object-based research in order to secure new acquisitions. A study diary will be kept by each student to record this process and will be submitted at the end of the module as part of the overall assessment. As prints are acquired they will be catalogued to a professional standard format and these entries will form the basis of a catalogue to accompany the exhibition that will be the culmination of the module. Putting on the exhibition will require practical team-work to frame and hang the prints, to write and produce labels and illustrative material, and to staff and publicise the exhibition.

Find out more about HART5730

This module explores a range of interconnections and tensions between western and non-western art historical and visual traditions. The lectures and seminars identify and consider examples of transcultural 'encounter' between principally western and non-western countries and territories, as well as appropriations from, and differences between, traditions of representational and non-representational art. In examining the influences, appropriations and cross-fertilizations of western and non-western art and culture the course will also place these within broader political and social histories, the rise of nationalism, continental trade relations, the advent of war, tourism, colonialism and imperialism. More broadly, the module will explore the nature and modalities of 'dialogue' from various critical and art historical perspectives, including the terms, elisions and the failures of such between western and non-western traditions. Visual and textual examples will also encompass the exclusions, altercations, violations and marginalization of non-western cultures and their traditions within and across this framework.

Find out more about HART5910

This module introduces students to the art and cultures of Latin American countries such as Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Cuba. Students will explore non-Western artistic traditions, practices and theoretical frameworks, and consider art's relation to society. The art works considered are drawn from various countries across Latin America and represent a wide range of visual art forms (with a focus on the art of the Twentieth Century) and assess both their formal analysis and their historical context. Attention will also be given to the Latin American diaspora and transatlantic exchanges. In the course of these investigations issues relating to imperialism, colonialism and post-colonial frameworks across theory and practice will be closely studied, as well as the challenges artists face in negotiating expressions of national identities and problematics versus the adoption of international styles; and the role of collections, exhibitions and art institutions within and beyond national borders.

Find out more about HART6005

This module will explore the major art movements of the Nineteenth Century such as Romanticism, Realism, Pre-Raphaelitism, Impressionism, the New Sculpture and Post-Impressionism. It will look in depth at the work of a number of key artists during this period (for example, these may include J. M. W. Turner, Eugène Delacroix, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Gustave Courbet, Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, Claude Monet, Mary Cassatt, Paul Gauguin, Auguste Rodin, Camille Claudel, Paul Cezanne and Vincent van Gogh). While the focus will be on the visual arts in France and England, the module will situate these artistic trends within a broader historical context, exploring parallels with literary, scientific and philosophical developments. Social attitudes towards the arts will be examined in the light of the class, gender and racial issues that characterised an age of industrial growth, European colonialism and empire building. Seminars will be dedicated to analysing topics like Delacroix and Orientalism, the 'Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood', the representation of poverty, nature and landscape, the modern city and popular culture, the impact of photography, or Gauguin in Tahiti.

Find out more about HART6006

This module explores the natural environment as the subject matter of aesthetic attention and value, as well as creative interventions into nature such as landscaping, gardens and land art. Differing contemporary approaches to understanding the aesthetic value of nature and the natural environment will be explored, as well as older concepts, such as the picturesque, natural beauty and the sublime, that were important in the first attempts to think of the natural environment as site of aesthetic experience and value. The issues of climate change and environmental degradation will provide a backdrop throughout the module, providing increased focus upon the aesthetic value of nature, the natural environment and the interventions of land artists.

Find out more about HART6007

The module will involve the study of a single artist of significance for the history of art. Through the in-depth study of the works of art of a single artist, the interpretations made of them and the cultural significance of the artist's life and oeuvre, students will be introduced to a wide range of approaches and issues central to the theory and practice of the discipline of Art History. They will also acquire subject-specific and generic learning skills necessary to progress on their degree programme. The convenorship of the module will rotate among members of History of Art and with it the choice of artist to be studied.

The purpose of the module is not to uphold a canon of established masters. The artist chosen could be historic or contemporary, working in a traditional or non-traditional medium or located anywhere in the world. An indicative list of possible artists is: Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Cezanne, Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller, Frida Kahlo, Jackson Pollock, Léon Ferrari, El Anatsui, or Rachel Whiteread.

Find out more about HART6700