HA3D3-30 Practices of Art History
Introductory description
This module will introduce students to the ways in which art history has developed as an academic discipline, illustrating the manifold ways in which it has been practiced by scholars from its beginnings in the 19th century to the present.
Module aims
Students will become familiar with a range of approaches used to write the history of art. Students will read extracts from some of the most significant figures in the discipline and will gain a critical understanding of the ways in which theoretical premises and methodological processes have informed their approaches to works of art.
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
Hegel and Art History
Connoisseurship
Wolfflin and Formalism
Panosfky and Iconology
The Social History of Art
Feminism, Sex, Gender and Sexuality
Post-colonialism
Conceptions of the Artist and the Viewer
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- Command a broad knowledge of the main theories of art and its history
- Apply theories to the interpretation of art and its history
- Understand the ways in which the interpretation of works of art is determined by theory and method.
- Initiate and sustain group discussion through intelligent questioning and debate at an appropriate level
- Ability to undertake research and to write up the results in the form of a well-structured argument at an appropriate level
- Familiarity with essential ICT skills
- Ability to collaborate effectively with others
- Show understanding of diverse viewpoints
- Ability to find, select, organize and synthesize evidence
- Ability to formulate a sustained argument
- Think conceptually and independently at an appropriate level
- Sophisticated textual analysis
- Bibliographical skills at an appropriate level
- Critical analysis of historical ideas in their context
Indicative reading list
Bryson/Holly/Moxey, Visual Theory: Painting and Interpretation (Polity, 1991).
Bryson/Holly/Moxey, Visual Culture: Images and Interpretations (Weslyan University Press, 1994).
Cheetham, M, Subjects of Art History: Historical Objects in Contemporary Perspectives (CUP, 1998).
Edwards, S, Art and its Histories: a Reader (Yale University Press, 1999).
Ferney, E, Art History and its Methods (London, Phaidon, 1995).
Frascina/Harrison, Modern Art and Modernism: a Critical Anthology (Harper & Row, 1982).
Gombrich, E H, Ideals and Idols (Phaidon, 1979).
Harrison/Wood, Art in Theory 1648-1815; Art in Theory 1815-1900; Art in Theory 1900-1990,(Blackwell, 2000, 1998, and 1997).
Harrison, C/Orton, F, Modernism, Criticism, Realism (Harper & Row, 1984).
Hatt/ Klonk, Art History: An Introduction to Its Methods (Manchester, 2004).
Mirzoeff, N, The Visual Culture Reader (Routledge, 1998)
Nelson, R/Shiff, R, Critical Terms for Art History (Chicago, 1996).
Podro, Michael, The Critical Historians of Art (Yale University Press, 1982).
Preziosi, D, The Art of Art History: a Critical Anthology (OUP, 1998)
View reading list on Talis Aspire
Subject specific skills
- Command a broad knowledge of the main theories of art and its history
- Apply theories to the interpretation of art and its history
- Understand the ways in which the interpretation of works of art is determined by theory and method.
- sophisticated textual analysis
- critical analysis of historical ideas in their context
Transferable skills
- initiate and sustain group discussion through intelligent questioning and debate at an appropriate level
- ability to undertake research and to write up the results in the form of a well-structured argument at an appropriate level
- familiarity with essential ICT skills
- ability to collaborate effectively with others
- Show understanding of diverse viewpoints
- ability to find, select, organize and synthesize evidence
- ability to formulate a sustained argument
- think conceptually and independently at an appropriate level
- bibliographical skills at an appropriate level
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 7 sessions of 1 hour (2%) |
| Seminars | 7 sessions of 2 hours (5%) |
| Tutorials | 3 sessions of 2 hours (2%) |
| Project supervision | 1 session of 1 hour (0%) |
| Private study | 272 hours (91%) |
| Total | 300 hours |
Private study description
Required and recommended reading for seminars, research for presentation, research for written assessments.
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You do not need to pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Assessment group A1
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 Reflective Writing | 20% | Yes (extension) | |
|
Reflective writing on approach to dissertation |
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| Engagement | 10% | No | |
| 1,500 Word Analysis of an Artwork | 30% | Yes (extension) | |
|
Analysis of an Artwork |
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| 2,500 Critical Comparison | 40% | Yes (extension) | |
|
Critical comparison of a pair of articles |
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Feedback on assessment
Written feedback and dedicated feedback tutorials.
Pre-requisites
n/a
Courses
This module is Core for:
- Year 3 of UHAA-V401 Undergraduate History of Art
- Year 3 of UHAA-V3R3 Undergraduate History of Art with Italian
This module is Core optional for:
- Year 1 of THAA-V4P3 History of Art (Diploma)
- Year 1 of UHAA-V41P Undergraduate History of Art
This module is Option list B for:
- Year 4 of UHAA-V3R1 Undergraduate History of Art and French