External summary

The MA History of Art and Chinese Studies programme aims to teach students to speak, write and read Mandarin Chinese while equipping them with an understanding of art’s formal qualities, theoretical framework and its relationship to the wider cultural, social, economic and political circumstances in which the works of art and architecture were created.

The 4-year Edinburgh degree is unique for a number of reasons:

• History of Art at the University of Edinburgh, unlike most programmes in the UK, has a long tradition of teaching eastern cultures, especially Chinese and Middle Eastern, as an integral component. Similarly, the modern and contemporary areas explore the effects of globalization on art.
• Edinburgh’s position as a capital city with national collections and archives and a rich architectural heritage is essential to teaching and students’ independent projects. Our ties with institutions including the National Galleries of Scotland, Historic Scotland and the National Library of Scotland as well as with the city’s thriving contemporary art galleries have been carefully forged and maintained.
• Established, independent projects, such as the History of Art Analytical Report as well as a minimum of 30 weeks studying abroad, provide students with vocational skills necessary to today’s competitive recruitment market.

The programme aims to equip students with:

• a wide-ranging knowledge of the history of art and visual culture from antiquity to present day; an understanding of the historical, theoretical, and critical frameworks of History of Art and its methodologies; a familiarity with the roles of connoisseurship, collecting and criticism as well as materials, display and curating
• the ability to speak, write and read Mandarin Chinese at an advanced level of proficiency; to translate and interpret from and into Mandarin Chinese
• an in-depth knowledge of Chinese culture and history

Educational aims of programme

• To introduce students to the art and architecture of many of the most significant periods of European, Middle Eastern and Chinese cultures.  And to allow them to engage in a more specialised way with those periods and cultures that especially interest them.
• To give students an understanding of historical method and a sensitivity to issues of historical and cultural difference.
• To provide students with skills of visual and textual analysis and interpretation and to develop their ability to communicate their conclusions effectively. 
• To encourage students to develop intellectual and creative independence of mind, with the confidence to articulate their views.
• To teach students to speak, write and read Mandarin Chinese at an advanced level of proficiency.
•  To teach students to translate and interpret from and into Mandarin Chinese.
• To introduce students to Internet and bibliographic resources in both Mandarin Chinese and English.
• To enable students to inform and educate others about Chinese language and culture

Programme outcomes: Knowledge and understanding

During the course of the four-year degree programme, we expect our students progressively to develop:

• Knowledge of the art of a wide range of European, Middle Eastern and Chinese cultures (Antique, Medieval, Renaissance, Early Modern, Nineteenth-Century, Modern).
• A detailed understanding of particular areas or aspects of the history of art.  
• An informed awareness of the variety of methods and theoretical frameworks that have informed the work of art historians, past and present. 
• A capacity to place works of art and architecture in their appropriate historical contexts.
• An ability to understand works of art as the outcome of a complex process of thought, which might be illuminated by documents, preparatory drawings,
• or physical evidence of changes of mind. 
• A knowledge of modern spoken and written Chinese (Mandarin); and of linguistic issues related to the language (its structure, functions, registers, writing systems etc.)
• A knowledge of modern and classical Chinese literature.
• A knowledge of Chinese history and thought.
• An understanding of political and social issues related to Chinese speaking countries.
• An understanding of the methods and concepts of literary, historical and linguistic analysis.

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in research and enquiry

• Provide clear, well-organised arguments concerning the interpretation of works of art and architecture, in the form of both oral and written presentations.
• Make appropriate use of primary documentation and historical sources to illuminate works of art and literature.
• Employing the diverse resources that are available in English and in Mandarin for obtaining information, ideas and images, such as books, journals, the internet, and slide and image libraries.
• Take account of the fact that works of art and architecture, and sometimes literature and culture, will have been through processes of change that will have altered their original forms.
• Collaborating with others in group work.

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in personal and intellectual autonomy

By engaging with and completing the degree in History of Art and Chinese Studies, graduates will be able to develop and demonstrate:

• appropriate intellectual scepticism, and a willingness to challenge received assumptions
• ability to analyse critically both visual and textual materials
• ability to evaluate the different positions and arguments that arise in solving particular art-historical and literature-study problems.
• Ability to read texts critically, with an awareness of the assumptions and attitudes that underlie them and underpin interpretation
• the ability to work independently, especially through project work and dissertations.

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in communication

By engaging with and completing the degree in History of Art and Chinese Studies, graduates will be able to develop and demonstrate their ability to:

• Communicate an approach to a particular issue in a concise, lucid and coherent form, both oral and written
• communicate effectively with other people, using verbal and written means and through presentations;
• select the appropriate means and style of communication, in order to put ideas across effectively to differing audiences

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in personal effectiveness

By engaging with and completing the degree in History of Art and Chinese Studies, graduates will be able to develop and demonstrate

• effective time management
• the capacity to respond positively and creatively to criticism and feedback, while maintaining confidence in their own abilities
• an understanding of the variety of contexts within which individual thought and practice operate
• an awareness of personal strengths and areas for development

Programme outcomes: Technical/practical skills

• Students will be encouraged to learn to develop their visual memories 
• Knowledge of how to use and construct bibliographies.
• The use of information technology, including word-processing, e-mail and on-line resources

Programme structure and features

The undergraduate degree is a four-year degree.  The programme is arranged across eight 13 week teaching semesters, and 4 shorter periods in the summers devoted to examining.  The first two years comprise pre-Honours, and 3rd and 4th years constitute Honours.  The whole of the third year is spent in a Chinese speaking country.

PROGRAMME OF STUDY:

Year 1

COMPULSORY COURSES
This year has 3 compulsory course(s).

COURSE OPTIONS
This year has no course options.

Year 2

COMPULSORY COURSES
This year has 2 compulsory course(s).

COURSE OPTIONS

This year has 2 set of course options with the following rules:

EITHER
Select exactly 40 credits from the following list:

OR
Select a minimum of 0 credits and maximum of 40 credits from Level 7 and 8 courses in Schedules A to Q, T and W, as available

Year 3

COMPULSORY COURSES
This year has 2 compulsory coursess

COURSE OPTIONS
This year has 2 sets of course options with the following rules:
Select exactly 20 credits from these collections:

OR

Year 4

This year has 3 compulsory courses

COURSE OPTIONS

This year has 7 sets of course options with the following rules:

Overarching rule collection group: A
Select exactly 20 credits from these collections

Overarching rule collection group: B
Select exactly 40 credits from these collections:

AND/OR

Overarching rule collection group: C
Select a minimum of 0 credits and a maximum of 20 credits from these collections:

Overarching rule collection group: D

Select exactly 40 credits as below:

OR

Select exactly 20 credits from the following list of courses, as available

AND

Select exactly 20 credits as below

Teaching and learning methods and strategies

Teaching and Learning strategies employed at the University of Edinburgh consist of a variety of different methods appropriate to the programme aims. The graduate attributes listed above are met through a teaching and learning framework (detailed below) which is appropriate to the level and content of the course.

Teaching Methods: As the degree unfolds, there is gradually less emphasis in the teaching on formal lectures, and more on small group seminar teaching. At each stage within the degree, courses and independent learning projects are conceived as progressively more challenging for students. 
In History of Art, written work is usually returned at individual tutorials. Project Work is supported by supervision and group discussions, the Dissertation by the supervision of an individual member of staff who specialises in the area.
In Chinese, classes are given on literary, historical and linguistic concepts and on approaches to translation. Throughout their studies, students take classes and receive instruction in Mandarin Chinese language.The language is acquired through small-group classes, tutorials and regular, assessed coursework. Additional support is provided through the self-access facilities for language learning at the Language and Humanities Centre and the Languages Microlab. The third year abroad further promotes the active learning of the Chinese language to an advanced level.
Comprehensive bibliographies are provided for each course, as are guidelines for the production of essays, coursework assignments and dissertations

Teaching and Research: In the Honours years especially, students benefit from studying fields and topics which relate closely to the current research interests of members of staff. This can provide first-hand insight into the process of developing new approaches and knowledge, which students usually find very stimulating

Choice:  Students choose Honours courses from a wide list of options, and construct their own programme of study in consultation with their Director of Studies.  

Facilities: Students have access to the specialist collections held in the ECA Library, Evolution House and Art and Architecture library, Minto House, as well as to the collections in the Main University Library and other University libraries.  There are a range of other library facilities in the city, including the Fine Art department of Edinburgh City Library and the National Library of Scotland, situated very near ECA’s buildings.   Edinburgh’s many galleries and museums provide not only collections and exhibitions useful for teaching and personal research, but also an extensive range of educational events, from lectures to conferences.

Assessment methods and strategies

Assessment. Students are required to pass all first year courses to proceed into second year. To proceed from second into third year requires students to achieve at least 50% in History of Art 2 and 50% in Chinese 2A OR Chinese 2B, no later than May of the second year, and to pass the third subject.   The final degree is calculated on the basis of the results of the course work, examinations, project work and dissertation written in the third and fourth years.  Third and fourth year Honours courses are assessed by a combination of essay and examination (each weighted at 50. Use of the Mandarin Chinese language and translating and interpreting from and into Chinese are assessed by class and home exercises, tests and degree examinations. Ability to gather information on Chinese speaking countries and to present it effectively in English are assessed through degree examinations on Chinese literature, history, thought, culture and society.

Students in all years for the programme are encouraged to attend and participate in research seminars and the wide range of public lectures, exhibitions and cultural activities arranged by ECA, the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures, and the University throughout academic year, and also with the many wider opportunities for engagement with the wider creative culture of Edinburgh, Scotland and beyond as they present themselves.

Teaching and Learning Activities

In All years

• Lectures
• Tutorials, including presentations
• Personal research work via dissertation

Career opportunities

History of Art and Chinese Studies students are well placed to go on to successful careers in education, museum curating, and arts administration.  The University Careers service offers effective help and advice.

Other items

Study Abroad: The whole of third year is spent abroad, in a Chinese speaking country.