Undergraduate Course: Aztec Imperial Art (HIAR10195)
Course Outline
School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
Summary | This course introduces students to the artwork of the Aztec and related Indigenous societies of Mexico during the late prehispanic period (1200-1521), examining political and religious imagery produced in a wide variety of different materials. |
Course description |
On the eve of the arrival of Spanish colonists, the Aztec were the most powerful Indigenous society of North America, as their empire extended throughout what is now Mexico. This course will provide an intensive look at artworks produced by the Aztec and their imperial subjects predominantly during the last several centuries prior to contact with Europe (1200-1521), with consideration also given to various colonial works produced later in the sixteenth century. We will examine works produced in a wide range of materials, including monumental architecture and sculpture, lapidary mosaic work, ceramics, precious metals, textiles, and painted manuscripts. These works provide powerful windows into the ideologies and worldviews of this ancient society, and students will gain a firm understanding of Aztec religion and politics as a result. The course will pay special attention to some of the most famous works of Aztec art housed here in the UK, and will conclude with critical considerations of current issues surrounding globalisation and heritage.
This course is delivered over ten weeks, meeting in a two-hour seminar once per week. Seminars will involve a mix of lecture from the instructor, student presentations, and critical discussion. Students will independently read assigned readings in preparation for each seminar.
Trigger Warning: The course occasionally broaches sensitive subject matter, including depictions of human sacrifice and other violent imagery. Trigger warnings will be provided for materials that confront such subject matter. Students who opt to avoid triggering materials will be provided with opportunities to discuss any critical information they might have missed during office hours.
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Course Delivery Information
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Academic year 2025/26, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 17 |
Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Formative Assessment 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) |
This course has 2 assessment components.
1) Essay, 2000 words, 50%, due Weeks 8-10, relating to all LOs
2) Exam, 2 hours, 50%, May exam diet, relating to all LOs
Resit Information
The resit arrangements for this course are as follows.
- The resit task for assessment component 1 is Essay, 2000 words.
- The resit task for assessment component 2 is Exam, 2 hours
Students will receive further resit information as per University regulations where necessary. |
Feedback |
Formative Feedback
Students give short, in-class presentations during Weeks 2-7. Students receive verbal feedback from the instructor and questions/comments from their peers in class. Feedback on the is relevant to the essay and/or exam since analytic skills and knowledge developed through the presentations can be applied to both.
Summative Feedback
The Course Organiser will provide written feedback on both summative assessment components via TurnItIn. Students will be given the opportunity of a 1:1 meeting with the Course Organiser to discuss feedback on request. Summative feedback will be provided according to University regulations. |
Exam Information |
Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Minutes |
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Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | Aztec Imperial Art (HIAR10195) | 120 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate detailed knowledge and understanding of a selection of the art and culture of Aztec and late prehispanic Mexico in the period 1200-1521;
- Engage in critical discussions and debates surrounding current interpretations of this material;
- Critically assess skills, practices and thinking in history of art as well as visual and material culture in light of non-Western traditions;
- Clearly present and convey information on the history of art in written and oral forms.
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Reading List
Boone, Elizabeth Hill. Cycles of Time and Meaning in the Mexican Books of Fate. University of Texas: Austin, 2007.
Matos Moctezuma, Eduardo and Felipe Solis Solguin. Aztecs. Royal Academy Publications: London, 2003.
Pasztory, Esther. Aztec Art. University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, 1998.
Townsend, Richard. The Aztecs. Third edition. Thames and Hudson: London |
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Research and enquiry You will analyse, synthesize and critically evaluate visual sources and current scholarship related to Aztec Art.
Communication You will develop skills in communicating complex ideas, both orally and in written form, through participation in seminars and assessments. Presentations will help you develop skills communicating ideas through a range of visual media. |
Keywords | Aztec,prehispanic Mexico,colonialism,fine and applied arts,Latin America,architecture,museums |
Contacts
Course organiser | Dr Jamie Forde
Tel:
Email: Jamie.Forde@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mx Hannah Pennie Morrison
Tel: (0131 6)51 5763
Email: Hannah.PM@ed.ac.uk |
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