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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2020/2021

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Edinburgh College of Art : History of Art

Undergraduate Course: History of Art 1A Art and Belief in Europe, 500 to 1700 (HIAR08025)

Course Outline
SchoolEdinburgh College of Art CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryExplore the relationship of art, power and belief through this introduction to art and from late antiquity to the Renaissance.

History of Art 1A provides an introduction to Art History at university level. The lectures in History of Art 1 cover almost 1400 years of the history of art, from c.500 to c.1700, from the Early Medieval period to the Baroque. The course (though it follows a roughly chronological sequence) is not a chronological survey and does not pretend to provide comprehensive coverage of this vast and complex subject. Instead the work of prominent artists, important types, key periods and diverse geographies of art are selected to provide representative examples for study. All our teaching considers the visual arts as a reflection of the societies in which they were produced.
Course description This course addresses developments in European art (including Britain, Italy, France and Germany) from the rise of Christianity, through the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance, concluding with the religious upheavals of the early modern period. We look at the work of both early anonymous and later celebrated artists, such as Giotto, Jan van Eyck, Dürer, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, and consider issues surrounding art and identity, gender, sexuality, nationality, religious and political belief as well as issues surrounding the art objects themselves, such as patronage, materiality, display and reception.

The course is delivered in three hour-long lectures per week for 11 weeks of the semester, plus one small group tutorial per week. In the lectures you will learn about the key works and ideas that underpin this period in the history of art. Lectures are supported by readings and activities on the course website. In the tutorials you will put the ideas and skills you have seen in the lectures into practice. Some of the tutorials will take place in Edinburgh's museums and galleries. You will be assessed by means of one essay and one end-of-course examination.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2020/21, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  303
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 33, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 9, Online Activities 5, Feedback/Feedforward Hours 1, Summative Assessment Hours 3, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 145 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 50 %, Coursework 50 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Formative Assessment
The formative assessment is a 500-word essay plan, to be submitted prior to submission of the essay, usually between weeks 4 and 6.

Summative Assessment
The summative assessment consists of one research essay to be submitted before the examination period (50%), as well as performance on a final exam (50%).
-Component 1: A 2,000-word essay that focuses on one of the themes presented during the course and incorporates primary and/or secondary sources. This submission is due during the second half of the semester, prior to the examination period, usually between weeks 7 and 10.
-Component 2: A final 24 hour online exam.
Feedback Formative feedback:
You will receive formative feedback from your tutor and peers in tutorials. You will also receive individual formative feedback from your tutor on your essay plan.

Summative feedback:
You will receive detailed written feedback on you coursework essay from your tutor.
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)24 hour online examination paper0:05
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate an understanding of how visual culture interacts with its historical context.
  2. Question the ways in which objects, images and cultures are classified in art history.
  3. Demonstrate techniques of visual analysis.
  4. Demonstrate critical reading and writing skills appropriate for art history.
  5. Take responsibility for individual and group learning at University level.
Reading List
These are introductory/overview texts. More detailed and specific readings are provided for each lecture.
Geraldine A. Johnson, Renaissance Art: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005)
Susie Nash, Northern Renaissance Art (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008)
Lawrence Nees, Early Medieval Art (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002)
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Generic cognitive skills:
- skills of analysis, synthesis and summary
- critical judgement: awareness of the difference between alternative arguments and approaches
- problem-solving: the ability to apply knowledge and experience and address problems.

Communication, numeracy and IT skills:
- the ability to locate and record information relevant to a given task using standard ICT applications
- the ability to convey complex information to a range of audiences and for a range of purposes.

Autonomy, accountability and working with others:
- open-mindedness: the ability to be receptive to unfamiliar artefacts, issues and ideas
- awareness of own and others' roles, responsibilities and contributions when carrying out and evaluating tasks
- time management, working to deadlines and following instructions.
Keywordsmiddle ages,renaissance,Britain,Italy,France
Contacts
Course organiserProf Carol Richardson
Tel: (0131 6)50 4119
Email: C.M.Richardson@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryDr Eadaoin Lynch
Tel: (0131 6)51 5735
Email: eadaoin.lynch@ed.ac.uk
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