Postgraduate Course: Impressionism and the Third Republic, Culture, Politics and Social Change, 1865-1900 (HIAR11021)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Impressionism and the Third Republic: Culture, Politics, and Social Change, 1865-1900 is a course about the relationship between art and society in late nineteenth-century France. From ballerinas and anarchists to acrobats and flower-sellers, the course explores how the themes of Impressionist artworks are indicative of cultural and political change in France. |
| Course description |
Taking account of the final years of the Second Empire and the first three decades of the Third Republic, the course considers how Impressionism engages with and comments on social change in France. The course explores how the subjects seen in Impressionist artworks relate to social, economic and political processes. Impressionist themes, including the ballet, working-class labour, the countryside, circuses and the portrayal of different bodies, are investigated through weekly seminars. Each topic is considered alongside social changes relating to the key themes of ethnicity, gender and class. Impressionist painting, including examples from the National Gallery of Scotland, is central to the course, with drawing, sculpture and printmaking also having a place.
This 20-credit course takes place over 10 teaching weeks. The course is taught through weekly 2-hour seminars. Seminars comprise of various teaching activities, including short lectures, class discussions and group tasks. Seminar discussions typically include the close analysis of artworks and essential readings. Essential readings range from art-historical scholarship, primary source exhibition reviews and audio-visual material. Students are expected to complete the essential reading each week in advance of the seminar. On specified weeks, students may also need to prepare for group tasks. Group tasks may take the format of a short PowerPoint presentation or discussion preparation. Formative feedback is given during one-to-one sessions outside scheduled seminars. The course organiser will explain details of the summative assessment at the beginning of the course.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| 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 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
173 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
This course has 2 assessment components.
1,500-word written portfolio (40%), Weeks 6-8. The portfolio comprises a 500-word visual analysis, a 500-word literature review and a 500-word reflective report on in-class engagement.
3,000-word essay (60%), exam diet. |
| Feedback |
Formative feedback:
Students will receive ongoing formative feedback during seminars from peers and the course organiser in the form of class discussions and the opportunity to ask questions, as well as verbal feedback from the course organiser for any group tasks or presentations. This ongoing formative feedback will contribute directly to the course learning outcomes and the summative assessments. Additionally, each student is entitled to a one-to-one meeting to obtain verbal feedback from the course organiser on a 200-word essay plan for the 3,000-word essay in Weeks 6-9. This formative feedback is given during a one-to-one session outside scheduled seminars.
Summative feedback:
Students will receive separate written feedback for both summative assessments from the course organiser. Summative feedback will be provided according to university regulations. The three mini-essays in the first summative assessment correlate to the skills needed in the second summative assessment. As such, summative feedback for the first assessment will contribute directly to the second assessment, allowing for reflection and improvement before the second summative submission. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Think critically about how Impressionism corresponds to social and political change.
- Apply appropriate and different methodologies to the analysis of Impressionist works, including feminism and postcolonialism.
- Communicate in-depth and advanced knowledge of Impressionism and French society effectively in writing and verbally.
- Analyse different visual and textual sources, including various art media, primary source material and secondary scholarship.
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Reading List
Balducci, Temma. Gender, Space, and the Gaze in Post-Haussmann Visual Culture: Beyond the Flâneur. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2017.
Garb, Tamar. Bodies of Modernity: Figure and Flesh in Fin-de-Siècle France. London: Thames and Hudson, 1998.
Herbert, Robert. Impressionism: Art, Leisure, and Parisian Society. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1988.
Murrell, Denise. Posing Modernity: The Black Model from Manet and Matisse to Today. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2018.
Nord, Phillip. Impressionists and Politics: Art and Democracy in the Nineteenth Century. New York and London: Routledge, 2000.
Tompkins Lewis, Mary. Critical Readings in Impressionism and Post-Impressionism: An Anthology. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007. |
Additional Information
| Course URL |
http://www.arthistory.ed.ac.uk |
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Research and Enquiry:
Working with a range of textual and visual sources relating to Impressionism strengthens and broadens research and enquiry skills.
Analytical and critical thinking skills develop through verbal and written discussions of artworks and texts.
Personal and Intellectual Autonomy:
Independent seminar preparation and independent researching encourage intellectual autonomy.
Group work and in-class discussions develop confidence in asserting original ideas about Impressionism, and open-mindedness to alternative interpretations.
Aspiration and Personal Development:
Seminars and summative assessments create independent opportunities to self-reflect, develop and improve. |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
Location will be confirmed in Handbook
One-to-one tutorials are used to help students select the subject of the course essay and to monitor the progress of their research and thinking. The other purpose of these tutorials is to aid students make the transition from undergraduate to postgraduate study and to develop their self-confidence and sense of their potential contribution as art historians. |
| Keywords | Impressionism,Naturalism,Nineteenth Century,France |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Hannah Halliwell
Tel:
Email: Hannah.Halliwell@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Nathan Ross-Hammond
Tel: (0131 6)51 5880
Email: nrossha@exseed.ed.ac.uk |
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