BA (Hons) Art History

ARH4001
Lives and Afterlives of Renaissance Artists 20 credits

This module will introduce stage one students to the major artists and themes of the Italian Renaissance through the lens of the crucial early modern source, Vasari’s Lives. Designed as a primer for the higher level Renaissance modules to be taken at stage two or three, it will also ask students to think about Renaissance artists’ changing reputations since the period.

ARH4002
Modernisms and Modernities 20 credits

French art of the later nineteenth century has probably been more popular with the general public, in the past three or four decades, than any other kind of art. This module is designed to offer both an introduction to the art made in France between about 1855 and 1900 and an introduction to the current concerns that make the art of this period so important.

ARH4003
Introduction to Art History and Visual Culture 20 credits

This module provides Art History students with a comprehensive understanding of the paradigms of Art History and their methodological implications for visual culture. Basic research literacy will be developed in a number of exercises and group-based activities.

ARH4004
Image of the Artist 20 credits

To explore and critically engage with representations of artists throughout the history of art. To consider: the change in the status of the artist from ‘craftsman’ to ‘creator’; the construction of their identity in writings and art criticism; their negotiation of the art market; the rise and fall of their reputations.

ARH4005
Cultural Practices in Context 20 credits

This module is geared toward fieldwork and independent study in a museum and/or gallery context. Following a Fieldtrip to public collections in London and/or the Southwest students complete an Object Report on an object of their choice seen in situ. This module will include 2, 2 hour talks that introduce our School and programme level employability related opportunities and support, including details of the optional placement year.

HIS4006
History and Heritage 20 credits

This module introduces students to the field of heritage studies. It directs attention to how historians do heritage (and history) for an external audience. It aims to explore the materials and methods used and how they apply to how we understand, interpret and shape how we live with the past today. Students will study a specific topic in history and heritage individually and/or in small groups through problem based learning with an assessment geared towards public engagement.

ARH5001
Collecting and Exhibiting Cultures in the 19th and 20th Centuries 20 credits

This module examines historical and contemporary cultures of collection, exhibition, and display. Drawing on interdisciplinary debates, students will learn to discuss and analyse the politics and ethics of art ownership, theft, looting, and repatriation.

ARH5005
International Field Trip 20 credits

The module is an intensive 1-week period of study of painting, sculpture, architecture and environments which are not available in this country. The emphasis is upon sustained first-hand study of artefacts and buildings, through staff-led visits and group-work, introducing students to advanced fieldwork skills.

ARH5003
Art After 1950: Abstract Expressionism to a 'Black Arts Movement’ 20 credits

The module examines artistic practices and theories of the later twentieth-century and beyond, investigating the interrelations of art and theory in conditions of diversification, profusion of styles, forms, and agendas, development of new media and representational modes, displacements and reinscriptions of modernism, and challenges to traditional concepts of art. It situates these shifts in the visual language within the broader critical context of racial and gender inequalities.

ARH5007
Regimes and Revolutions in European Art 20 credits

This module examines the visual culture of the long eighteenth century in Europe, and the development of art in relation to the age of revolution (1750 to 1850). Focusing on Britain and France, it will explore the changes occurring in art and society in this period. It will include such topics as Neo-Classicism and Romanticism; the Academy; the rise of portraiture and the changing status of history painting; in a context of politics, war and uprising.

ARH5002MX
Imagery in Online and Offline Worlds: Film, Television and Video Games 20 credits

This module provides students with a comprehensive understanding of current approaches towards mass media and visual culture. Particular emphasis will be put on medium-specificity, content analysis and audience studies.

ARH5008MX
Painting Sex and Power 20 credits

The module examines the link between the perception of sexuality and power in a variety of media, and from diverse historical and geographic contexts. Critical approaches from gender studies will be combined with visual analysis in order to contextualize the biased and stereotypical nature of the imagery.

SSC500
Stage 2 Professional Development, Placement Preparation and Identifying Opportunities 0 credits

This module is for students in the School of Society and Culture who are interested in undertaking an optional placement in the third year of their programme. It supports students in their search, application, and preparation for the placement, including developing interview techniques and effective application materials (e.g. CVs , portfolios, and cover letters).

CRM5003MX
Harm in the 21st Century 20 credits

This module explores the global challenges of harmful behaviours and activities in contemporary society by considering specific areas of concern for criminologists. By drawing on real-world examples in everyday life, the module examines how social problems and issues have arisen due to processes of globalisation that have changed the social, political and economic landscape of the 21st century.

CRM5009MX
Crime, Harm and Culture 20 credits

The module aims to provide students with a critical appreciation of harm and crime by exploring relevant issues from film, television, music, fiction literature and art. By applying a criminological lens to different forms of popular culture, students will be able to examine a variety of media forms in terms of its content and its contemporary political, social and economic context using different theories and concepts.

ENG5002MX
Gothic Fictions: Villains, Virgins and Vampires 20 credits

This module looks at eighteenth- and nineteenth-century novels to trace the variety and scope of literary contributions to the Gothic. It begins by discussing the origins of the Gothic novel, then moves to the heyday of the genre in the revolutionary 1790s, on to authors writing in the early and mid-nineteenth century, through to the decadence of the 1890s.

ENG5013MX
‘Hurt Minds’: Madness and Mental Illness in Literature 20 credits

This module considers changing attitudes towards, and a variety of theories of, the mind, examining how different cultures have understood ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’ mental states. It will look at how the experience and treatment of mental illness has been represented in fiction. The mind is at its most fascinating when it behaves outside of expected social norms. By considering a variety of literary texts over several centuries, this module explores shifts in the definition, understanding, evaluation, and management of exceptional mental states.

ENG5017MX
Writing Genre Fiction 20 credits

This module takes students into in-depth engagement with prose fiction writing in various genres, with possibilities including fantasy, science-fiction, period/historical, young adult fiction, horror, comedy, romance, crime, and thriller. The module is taught through lecture, seminars, and workshops where students are asked to submit and feedback to peers and tutors on a regular basis.

LAW5019MX
Law in Context: Commerce and Intellectual Property 20 credits

This module focuses on the work of commercial lawyers in practice in helping businesses to trade. It analyses a range of contractual agreements dealing with the manufacture, sale, supply and distribution of goods, assets and services in general and intellectual property in particular.

PER5008MX
Play and Games for Performance 20 credits

This module will introduce students to practical methods for designing games and play structures for participatory performances that invite audiences to become actively involved in the work. In addition to learning new tools for designing and facilitating play, students will be prompted to consider playfulness from a theoretical perspective, recognising the connection between the play of mimesis and theatrical performance.

PIR5013MX
Politics Beyond Parliaments 20 credits

This module analyses the role of civil society and the public sphere in democratic governance and in democratization from a variety of theoretical perspectives.

PIR5014MX
Voter Behaviour and Effective Election Campaigning 20 credits

This module undertakes an advanced examination of contemporary trends and developments in theories of electoral behaviour globally; then more specifically the relationship between electoral rules, electoral systems and election outcomes; the evolution of campaign techniques, and the role, mechanics, and accuracy of opinion polls in modern electoral politics. These global understandings are applied directly to the case of British politics.

SSC600
School of Society and Culture Placement Year

Students have the opportunity to gain work experience that will set them apart in the job market when they graduate by undertaking an optional flexible placement year. The placement must be a minimum of 24-weeks (which can be split between a maximum of two different placement providers) and up to a maximum of 48-weeks over the course of the academic year. The placement is flexible and can be undertaken virtually, part or full time and either paid or voluntary. This year allows them to apply and hone the knowledge and skills acquired from the previous years of their programme in the real world.

ARH6001
Art History Dissertation 40 credits

On this module students research and write a dissertation on a topic of their own choosing, negotiated in consultation with Art History staff.

ARH6003
Art After 1950: Abstract Expressionism to a 'Black Arts Movement’ 20 credits

The module examines artistic practices and theories of the later twentieth-century and beyond, investigating the interrelations of art and theory in conditions of diversification, profusion of styles, forms, and agendas, development of new media and representational modes, displacements and reinscriptions of modernism, and challenges to traditional concepts of art. It situates these shifts in the visual language within the broader critical context of racial and gender inequalities.

ARH6007
Regimes and Revolutions: European Art 1750-1850 20 credits

This module examines the visual culture of the long eighteenth century in Europe, and the development of art in relation to the age of revolution (1750 to 1850). Focusing on Britain and France, it will explore the changes occurring in art and society in this period. It will include such topics as Neo-Classicism and Romanticism; the Academy; the rise of portraiture and the changing status of history painting; in a context of politics, war and uprising.

ARH6002MX
Questions in Contemporary Art 20 credits

The module introduces and examines selected questions raised in the last three decades in contemporary art. Case studies drawn from art history, critical and cultural theory, and where appropriate related disciplines, will be examined.

ENG6005MX
American Crime Writing 20 credits

This module considers the development of twentieth-century American crime fiction from hard-boiled detectives, to myths of the mafia, and postmodern reinventions of the genre. This module will explore the cultural contexts of American crime writing, prevailing conventions of the genre, as well as challenges to those conventions.

ENG6008MX
Features Journalism Workshop 20 credits

This module offers students an in-depth experience of professional writing. We will explore technique in features and literary journalism; music reviews, opinion columns and longer immersion features as well as other contemporary works of non-fiction feature writing, both short- and long-form, from sub-genres including profiles and interviews, autobiography and columns, travel writing, and reportage. We will learn to research and produce our own works of professional nonfiction and critically evaluate them.

HIS6014
Heritage and Public History 20 credits

This module will examine the theory and practice of the presentation of the past to a range of audiences, specialist and non-. Students will examine the creation, nature, use and understanding of heritage and public history, nationally and internationally. They will examine these issues in case studies of historical ‘sites’ of different types, to gain a critical awareness and understanding of the theories and controversies surrounding heritage and public history. This is a work facing module, where students will consider the theory and practice of ‘using’ ‘sites’ of heritage and public history from the point of view of a range of stake holders.