THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2021/2022

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

Undergraduate Course: History of Art Analytical Project B (HIAR10141)

Course Outline
SchoolEdinburgh College of Art CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThe Analytical Project course is designed to allow you to research and write extensively about individual objects or texts. It is an exercise in independent research that gives you the opportunity to develop your own art historical interests and independent research skills, to explore different modes of writing about art, and to think critically about practices of writing about the visual arts.
Course description This course allows you to frame your own area of investigation through choosing a text or object for close analysis.
1) Object - a detailed study of a single work of visual art (painting, sculpture, monument, building, illustrated manuscript or book, suite of prints or drawings, applied arts object) from any period or geographical region. The object should normally be on permanent display in, or in the care of, a local or national collection, and public sculptures, monuments and buildings ideally located in the local area and accessible to students during the semester.
2) Text - a detailed study of a major theoretical or art-historical text, with broad methodological interest and implications for the history of art.
Students choose their objects in cooperation with the Course Organiser and are allocated a member of staff as a supervisor who will comment on their bibliographies and essay plans.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesVisiting students should have at least 3 History of Art courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses.
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Develop the scholarly and practical skills associated with more independent forms of study than is characteristic of the first two years of their degrees. This includes skills such as time management, compiling a bibliography, the effective use of library and visual resources, as well as the process of selecting and evaluating sources in order to construct a coherent, rigorous, and clearly presented original analysis.
  2. Build a valuable foundation for their dissertation work in the final year of study, by reinforcing skills of visual analysis, and building confidence in undertaking independent study.
  3. Consolidate skills in dealing with the divergent traditions of art-historical interpretation, and the controversies that arise concerning issues such as dating, attribution, identification, iconographic interpretation, and conservation.
  4. Develop a more sophisticated understanding of methodological and theoretical issues as they inform art-historical writing in first and second year.
  5. Acquire an informed and multi-faceted awareness of the element of institutional interpretation that necessarily informs viewers' encounters with works of art.
Reading List
Anne d'Alleva, How to Write Art History, 2nd edition. London: Laurence King Publishing, 2010.
Anne d'Alleva, Methods and Theories of Art History. London: Laurence King Publishing, 2010.
James Elkins, Visual Studies: A Skeptical Introduction. New York and London: Routledge, 2003.
Grant Pooke and Diana Newall, Art History: The Basics. New York and London: Routledge, 2008.
Donald Preziosi, The Art of Art History: A Critical Anthology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Independent research

Close visual and textual analysis

Detailed understanding of museology and cultures of curating and display
Additional Class Delivery Information 5 x 2 hour tutorials, one each fortnight in Semester 2.
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserMiss Michelle Foot
Tel:
Email: mfoot@exseed.ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMrs Sue Cavanagh
Tel: (0131 6)51 1460
Email: Sue.Cavanagh@ed.ac.uk
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