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 seminar-based course examines the entangled histories of colonial, imperial, court art and the marketplace in late 18th to early 20th century South Asia. |
| Course description |
Across ten weeks, this course examines the role of images as markers of social and cross-cultural encounters. We will address key shifts within visual culture, patronage and collecting practices, and engage with a wide of media including drawings, paintings, prints, ivory souvenirs and photographs. Focusing on South Asia's transition period, charting its colonisation in the 18th and 19th centuries leading up to its declaration as a British imperial territory, and spanning regional court culture to the end of colonial rule under the Raj, the course will situate the study of this era's visual culture within the broader framework of orientalism, the tension between modernity and tradition, the rise of nationalism, and the struggle for independence.
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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: 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 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 2-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 examination | 3:15 | |
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
Mary Louise Pratt, Imperial Eyes: Travel Writing and Transcultration (New York, Routledge, 1992)
Matthew Edney, Mapping an Empire: The Geographical Construction of British India, 1765-1843 (University of Chicago Press, 1997)
Tapati Guha-Thakurta, Monuments, Objects, Histories: Institutions of Art in colonial and postcolonial India (Columbia University Press, 2004)
Christopher Pinney, Photos of the Gods: The Printed Image and Political Struggle in India (Reaktion Books, 2004)
Yuthika Sharma and William Dalrymple. Eds. Princes and Painters in Mughal Delhi 1707-1857 (Yale University Press, 2012).
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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 | Yijia Chen
Tel:
Email: ychen7@ed.ac.uk |
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