Postgraduate Course: Approaching World Objects (HIAR11113)
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 | This course, which is one of three compulsory courses for the Global Premodern Art: History, Heritage and Curation MSc, runs in Semester 1. It introduces you to the arts, histories and theories of cross-cultural exchange circa AD 300 to AD 1800. Object-based lecture-seminar sessions and an exhibition project will further your understanding of the course themes and enable you to gain practical knowledge of contemporary heritage and curatorial practice. |
| Course description |
Approaching World Objects takes advantage of one of the largest concentrations of global art historical expertise in the UK coupled with Edinburgh's world-leading collections. Working with academics, curators and archivists, students learn to handle and research medieval and early modern artefacts and primary source materials. Practical issues of display, interpretation, conservation and provenance are considered through close study of objects in local collections, coming from diverse cultural contexts. Case studies are intentionally wide-ranging with respect to medium and scale, including, for example, manuscripts, paintings, sculptures, textiles, ceramics and prints. Theoretical, historical and hands-on approaches are demonstrated and practiced, furnishing students with analytical skills essential for success in the programme and all further art historical pursuits.
This course is team taught through weekly 2-hour seminars. Sessions comprise various teaching activities, e.g., informal lectures, discussion and tasks. Some classes convene in collections and stores external to the University of Edinburgh, but easily accessible from the central campus. Students undertake readings, preliminary exercises and independent visits in advance of classes to prepare.
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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 | As numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Course Secretary directly for admission to this course. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, 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
(
Lecture Hours 10,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 3,
External Visit Hours 4,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 5,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
162 )
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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) Portfolio, c. 1500 words, 40%, weeks 7-9, relates to all Learning Outcomes
2) Essay, 2000 words, 60%, exam period, relates to all Learning Outcomes |
| Feedback |
Formative Feedback
Students receive ongoing feedback during seminars from peers and teaching staff during class discussions as well as the opportunity to ask questions. Feedback from teaching staff is also provided on formative assessments
Summative Assessment Feedback
Teaching staff provide written feedback on summative assessments. Further, oral feedback is available on request. All feedback is provided in accordance with University regulations.
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| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Assess decisive moments in the history of artistic exchange between Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia before 1750
- Reflect critically on the factors that led to cross-cultural encounters
- Undertake independent and group research using a range of primary materials
- Assemble a range of primary and secondary information sources to support art historical communication and deploy core research skills, such as visual, material and textual analysis to debate historical questions and issues
- Communicate art historical research to a non-academic audience through a curatorial exhibition project
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Reading List
Blick, Sarah and Laura Gelfand. Art and Material Culture in Medieval and Renaissance Europe, 2023
Cooke, Edward, Jr. Global Objects: Toward a Connected Art History, Princeton University Press, 2022
Gerritsen, Anne and Giorgio Riello. The Global Lives of Things The Material Culture of Connections in the Early Modern World, 2016
Hall, Kim. Things of Darkness: Economies of Race and Gender in Early Modern England, 1995
Newall, Diana. Art and its Global Histories: A Reader, 2017
Peterson, Jeanette and Leibsohn, Dana (eds), Seeing Across Cultures in the Early Modern World, 2012
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Personal/intellectual autonomy:
Thinking creatively in developing a curatorial proposal, demonstrating reflective awareness of historical content, social responsibility and sustainability issues in curatorial practice.
Communication:
Effective, interactive verbal communication including listening, questioning, and articulating complex ideas. The ability to produce clear, structured written work that speaks to a range of academic and non-academic audiences.
Research and Enquiry:
Working with a range of textual, visual and material sources related to the key themes strengthens and broadens research and enquiry skills.
Analytical and critical thinking skills develop through verbal and written discussions of artworks and texts. |
| Keywords | Medieval,Renaissance,Early Modern,Visual Culture,Material Culture,Bodies,Power,Religion |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Amelia Hope Jones
Tel:
Email: A.Hopejones@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Rian Matsui
Tel:
Email: rmatsui@ed.ac.uk |
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