External summary

The History of Art and English Literature programme aims to develop creative skills of students by engaging with a broad range of texts and a variety of visual images. By enhancing the critical faculties of individual students within the context of the two disciplines, the programme prepares them to contribute to an understanding of texts and image making in a broad social context both within the cultures of the English speaking world, and in the wider context of world cultures too as regards the history of art component.

Studying this joint programme in the highly regarded and venerable departments of History of Art and English Literature, students will

• Develop knowledge and understanding of the history of literary development in English from the fourteenth century to the present, by ensuring that all students study a range of texts from the following periods: renaissance; romantic; modern; medieval; eighteenth-century; Victorian; contemporary (post-1945).
• Develop the capacity to interpret visual imagery and material culture from a wide range of historical periods and geographical centres including, visual cultures both Occidental and non European: from the archaic period of Greek art to the development of film and video as an art form in the West, with also options to study Islamic and Chinese cultures too.

By engaging with and completing the programme students will also develop the independent critical, analytic and communicative skills to fit them for a wide range of employment, further training and life-long learning in the creative industries which are informed by critical discourse in the fields of aural and visual communication.

Educational aims of programme

• Within the broad range of research fields developed by academics within the History of Art and English Literature subject areas, to offer students an unusually broad choice of visual cultures and literary texts to study.
• To develop an awareness of the importance of the nature, characteristics and history of works of art as physical objects.
• To be aware of the dynamic between patrons however defined, the artist and the creative (art or literary) product.
• To relate theoretical and canonical historical texts to the methodologies of art history and literary studies.
• To interrogate the dynamic between creativity and society and issues of artistic and creative autonomy.
• Recognise and understand the significance of literary form, both specific (e.g. comedy, tragedy) and general (e.g. conceptions of narrative, poetic structure).
• Enable students to recognise and evaluate the social, historical and intellectual contexts by which literary and visual texts are shaped.
• Engage students in the theoretical debates about literature and art in order that they can reflect critically on the processes of reading.
• Understand developments at the forefront of the two subjects and to participate in research-led study in each discipline.

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 and architecture of a wide range of European and non-European cultures (Medieval, Renaissance, Early Modern, Nineteenth-Century, Modern). In the pre-Honours years, History of Art 1 and 2, and Architectural History 1 and 2 combine to equip students with such a broad awareness.
• A detailed understanding of particular areas or aspects of the history of art and architecture.   This begins with the seminar-based element in pre-Honours teaching, and underpins the increasingly specialised courses that students select in 3rd and 4th year.
• An informed awareness of the variety of methods and theoretical frameworks that have informed the work of art historians and literary scholars, past and present. 
• A capacity to place works of art and literature in their appropriate historical contexts, and an appreciation of the significance these contexts can have to our understanding of the works.
• An ability to understand works of art and literature 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 sophisticated grasp of specialised terminology current within the disciplines, including a capacity to describe the material, technical and formal features of a given work of art or literature, and to understand and use the rhetoric of critical and theoretical debates.

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

• Provide clear, well-organised arguments concerning the interpretation of works of art and literature, in the form of both oral and written presentations.
• Make appropriate use of primary documentation and historical sources to illuminate works of art and literary texts.
• evaluate and critique other scholars’ deployment of methods of literary and critical analysis.
• formulate questions and structure an argument to express resolutions to these questions critically and analytically.
• Employing the diverse resources that are available 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 literature 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 English Literature, graduates will be able to develop and demonstrate:

• intellectual curiosity and openness to new ideas, methods and ways of thinking.
• appropriate intellectual scepticism, and a willingness to challenge received assumptions.
• ability to evaluate the different positions and arguments that arise in solving particular art historical problems and literary debates.
• Ability to read texts critically, with an awareness of the assumptions and attitudes that underlie them and underpin interpretation.
• identify what is significant/important in a large body of complex material, to locate salient points in individual texts and in large bodies of texts.
• the ability to work independently, especially through project work and dissertations.

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in communication

Graduates in history of Art and English Literature will be able 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, using communication as a tool for collaborating and relating to others;
• select the appropriate means and style of communication, in order to put ideas across effectively to differing audiences
• demonstrate a command of a broad range of vocabulary and an appropriate critical terminology;
• articulate a knowledge and understanding of texts, concepts and theories;
• engage in processes of drafting and redrafting of texts to achieve clarity of expression and an appropriate style.

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

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

• the ability to work autonomously, setting their own goals, and organising their own learning.
• 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.
• the capacity to adapt and transfer the critical methods of their discipline to a variety of working environments.
• 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.
• A sophisticated grasp of specialised terminology current within the disciplines, including a capacity to describe the material, technical and formal features of a given work of art or architecture.

Programme structure and features

PROGRAMME OF STUDY:

Year 1
COMPULSORY COURSES
This year has 1 compulsory course.

COURSE OPTIONS
This year has 2 sets of course options with the following rules:

Select exactly 40 credits from the following, as available:

AND
Select exactly 40 credits from Level 7 and 8 courses in Schedules A to Q, T and W , as available

Year 2
COMPULSORY COURSES
This year has 1 compulsory course.

COURSE OPTIONS
This year has 2 sets of course options with the following rules:

Select exactly 40 credits from the following, as available:

AND
Select exactly 40 credits from Level 7 and 8 courses in Schedules A to Q, T and W , as available

Notes: Progression to Honours normally requires a pass in all subjects taken in the first two years. Students must, however, achieve a pass (40%) in History of Art 2 at the first attempt and a mark of 50% or above in English or Scottish Literature 2 at the first attempt

Year 3
This year has no compulsory courses

COURSE OPTIONS
This year has 5 sets of course options with the following rules:

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

Select exactly 40 credits from the following list of courses, as available

Select exactly 60 credits form the following three sets:

Select a minimum of 0 credits and maximum of 40 credits from the following list of courses, as available

Select a minimum of 0 credits and maximum of 40 credits from the following list of courses, as available

Year 4
This year has no compulsory courses

COURSE OPTIONS
This year has 4 sets of course options with the following rules:

Select exactly 40 credits from the following list of courses, as available

AND

Select exactly 80 credits for the following three sets:

Select exactly 40 credits from the following list of courses, as available:

Select a minimum of 20 credits and maximum of 40 credits from the following list of courses, as available

Select a minimum of 0 credits and maximum of 40 credits from the following list of courses, as available

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.

Teaching and Research: In the Honours years especially, students benefit from studying fields and topics in the history of art and English literature 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

Facilities: Students have access to the specialist art book and journal collections held in the ECA Library, Evolution House and Art and Architecture library, Minto House, as well the collection in the University’s Main Library and those of the 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.  Likewise Edinburgh’s lively literary scene, and status as UNESCO City of Literature, provides diverse opportunities for engaging with a wide range of perspectives and activities.

Assessment methods and strategies

Courses can be assessed by a diverse range of methods and often takes the form of formative work which provided the student with on-going feedback as well as summative assessment which is submitted for assessment

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 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 Year 1

• Lectures
• Tutorials

In Year 2

• Lectures
• Tutorials

In Year 3

• Lectures
• Seminars
• Workshops
• Portfolios

In Year 4

• Seminars
• Lectures
• Workshops
• Portfolios

Career opportunities

History of Art and English Literature students from Edinburgh have gone to all manner of successful careers in the art and literary worlds, working in education, museums, commercial galleries, the heritage industry and arts administration.  The University Careers service offers effective help and advice.

Other items

The University has well-established exchange schemes with leading world universities, which usually take place in the third year.