Undergraduate Course: Empire, Colony, Art: South Asia's Long Nineteenth Century (HIAR10201)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course traces the transformation of the visual culture of South Asia or the Indian subcontinent under colonial rule, first by the East India Company and then the British Government. It examines the entangled histories of colonial, imperial and court art, and the marketplace in late 18th to early 20th century South Asia. |
| Course description |
This course focuses on South Asia's transition period, from the colonisation of India in the 18th and 19th centuries, to the early 20th century. It spans Indian and European artists, patrons and publics. Across ten weeks, this course examines the role of images as markers of social and cross-cultural encounters. We address key shifts within visual culture, patronage and collecting practices, and engage with a wide range of media, including drawings, paintings, prints, ivory souvenirs and photographs. The course situates the study of this era's visual culture within the broader frameworks of orientalism, transculturation, hybridity, the tension between modernity and tradition, the rise of nationalism, the struggle for independence.
Methodologically, the course in based on case studies taking in art and architecture across different political, social and cultural settings of South Asia.
The course is delivered in weekly two-hour seminars. The seminar format will encourage active participation through informal student presentations and class discussion. Students will be expected to prepare for each seminar by reading key set texts and undertaking independent research on specific artworks and topics as directed. Students will be introduced to relevant collections of art within Edinburgh.
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Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 20 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 1,
Summative Assessment Hours 3,
Revision Session Hours 1,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
171 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
50 %,
Coursework
50 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
1 x 2,500-word essay 50% - submitted weeks 8-10
1 x 3-hour exam 50%
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| Feedback |
Students are given feedback on FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT as follows:
Mid-Point Feedback: You will submit a one-page essay outline by week 5. This is intended to give you adequate time to make use of the feedback prior to assessment at the end of the course. Feedback will be given in Week 6, in the form of a 15 minutes per student one-to-one (online or in-person) session on your outline.
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT: There will be an essay and an exam, equally weighted. Written feedback on student essays will be provided.
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| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
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| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | 3 Hour Online Exam | 3:180 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Build an understanding of cross-cultural interactions between India and Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries through written reflections, class discussions and presentations.
- Develop an awareness of issues of race, slavery, caste and colourism in art history in the context of South Asia.
- Understand the range of political, cultural and religious contexts of South Asian art produced between 1700-1900.
- Apply developed skills of analysis, communication, and organisation, verbally and in writing.
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Reading List
Dalrymple, William, ed. Forgotten Masters: Indian Painting for the East India Company. London: Philip Wilson Publishers, 2019.
Eaton, Natasha. Mimesis across Empires: Artworks and Networks in India, 1765¿1860. Durham, N. C., and London: Duke University Press, 2013.
Mitter, Partha. The Triumph of Modernism: India¿s Artists and the Avant-garde, 1922¿1947. London: Reaktion Books, 2007.
Pinney, Christopher. Photos of the Gods: The Printed Image and Political Struggle in India. London: Reaktion Books, 2004.
Ray, Romita. Under the Banyan Tree: Relocating the Picturesque in British India. New Haven: Published for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art by Yale University Press, 2013.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Visual and critical analysis; Clear thinking and the development of an argument; The ability to express ideas clearly in writing; Independent research; Presentation and communication skills; Organisation and planning; Teamwork through group discussion |
| Keywords | South Asian art,patronage,collecting,colonialism,Empire,decolonisation |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Yashaswini Chandra
Tel: (01316) 511782
Email: ychandra@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Nanami Chen
Tel:
Email: ychen7@ed.ac.uk |
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