University of Essex

AR119-4-SP-CO:
Art and Ideas: I

The details

Year: 2024/25

Department: Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)

Campus: Colchester Campus

Term: Spring

Level: Undergraduate: Level 4

Status: Current

Start date: Monday 13 January 2025

End date: Friday 21 March 2025

Credits: 15

Last updated: 10 April 2024

Requisites for this module

Pre-requisites: (none)

Co-requisites: (none)

Pre and / or co-requisites: (none)

Prohibited modules: (none)

Key module (requisite for): (none)

Key module for

BA V314 Art History,
BA V315 Art History (Including Placement Year),
BA V31B Art History (Including Foundation Year and Year Abroad),
BA V350 Art History (Including Foundation Year),
BA V35A Art History (Including Year Abroad),
MARTV399 Art History,
MARTVB98 Art History (Including Placement Year),
MARTVB99 Art History (Including Year Abroad),
BA VV31 Art History and History,
BA VV32 Art History and History (Including Placement Year),
BA VV38 Art History and History (Including Foundation Year),
BA VV3B Art History and History (Including Foundation Year and Year Abroad),
BA VV3C Art History and History (Including Year Abroad),
BA V3RB Art History and Modern Languages (Including Foundation Year and Year Abroad),
BA VR39 Art History and Modern Languages,
BA V3R9 Art History with Modern Languages,
BA VR3B Art History with Modern Languages (Including Foundation Year and Year Abroad),
BA PV33 Film Studies and Art History (Including Year Abroad),
BA VW36 Film Studies and Art History,
BA VW37 Film Studies and Art History (Including Placement Year),
BA VW38 Film Studies and Art History (Including Foundation Year),
BA VW3B Film Studies and Art History (Including Foundation Year and Year Abroad),
BA QV23 Literature and Art History,
BA QV24 Literature and Art History (Including Placement Year),
BA QV2H Literature and Art History (Including Foundation Year),
BA QV32 Literature and Art History (Including Year Abroad),
BA QV3B Literature and Art History (Including Foundation Year and Year Abroad),
BA VV53 Philosophy and Art History,
BA VV54 Philosophy and Art History (Including Foundation Year),
BA VV55 Philosophy and Art History (Including Placement Year),
BA VV5H Philosophy and Art History (Including Year Abroad),
BA VVHP Philosophy and Art History (Including Foundation Year and Year Abroad),
BA V351 Curating,
BA V352 Curating (Including Year Abroad),
BA V353 Curating (including Placement Year),
BA V359 Curating (Including Foundation Year),
BA V35B Curating (Including Foundation Year and Year Abroad),
BA W350 Art History, Visual Culture and Media Studies,
BA W351 Art History, Visual Culture and Media Studies (including Year Abroad),
BA W352 Art History, Visual Culture and Media Studies (including Placement Year),
BA W353 Art History, Visual Culture and Media Studies (Including Foundation Year),
BA R100 Art History and Language Studies,
BA R101 Art History and Language Studies (Including Foundation Year),
BA R102 Art History with Language Studies,
BA R103 Art History with Language Studies (Including Foundation Year),
BA V305 Curating with Politics,
BA V306 Curating with Politics (Including Foundation Year),
BA V307 Curating with Politics (including Placement Year),
BA V308 Curating with Politics (including Year Abroad),
BA V309 Curating with History,
BA V310 Curating with History (Including Foundation Year),
BA V311 Curating with History (including Placement Year),
BA V312 Curating with History (including Year Abroad),
BA VV40 Art History, Heritage and Museum Studies,
BA VV41 Art History, Heritage and Museum Studies (Including Foundation Year),
BA VV42 Art History, Heritage and Museum Studies (including Placement Year),
BA VV43 Art History, Heritage and Museum Studies (including Year Abroad),
BA V301 Curating, Heritage and Human Rights,
BA V302 Curating, Heritage and Human Rights (Including Foundation Year),
BA V303 Curating, Heritage and Human Rights (Including Placement Year),
BA V304 Curating, Heritage and Human Rights (Including Year Abroad)

Module description

This module is an introduction to art-historical theories and debates. Closely engaging with a selection of key texts, we will explore some of the themes and methods that have shaped the discipline and continue to influence it today: from formalism and originality to feminism and psychoanalysis.

By analysing the different ways in which art historians approach the object of their study, we will think about the relationship between words and images. Consequently, the aim of the module is to encourage students to reflect on the history of art history, recognising how theory might affect the way we 'see' artworks.

Module aims

The aims of this module are:

To provide students with knowledge of some of the key theoretical issues relating to the history of art.

To encourage students to interact and to engage critically with theoretical texts relating to the study of art history.

To develop students' skills of analysis and interpretation of works of art and architecture.

To stimulate students to develop skills in oral and written communication through debates, an essays, and an examination.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

To demonstrate a sound knowledge and grasp of a number of key theoretical texts relating to the study of the history of art.

To speak and write articulately about theoretical issues relating to the study of the history of art.

To analyse and interpret works of art and architecture.

To relate their analyses and interpretations of works of art to theoretical literature.

To approach theoretical literature in a critical fashion.

Module information

No additional information available.

Learning and teaching methods

This module will be delivered via:

One 2-hour combined lecture and seminar per week.

There will also be Reading Week when no teaching will take place. There will be an exam in the summer term.

Bibliography

Greenberg, C. (1988) ‘Modernist Painting (1965)’, in F. Frascina and C. Harrison (eds) Modern Art and Modernism: A Critical Anthology. London: Paul Chapman. Available at: http://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429498909-2/modernist-painting-clement-greenberg?context=ubx&refId=3232985f-ad7b-4d03-aa26-2907a386092c.
Fried, M. (1967) ‘Art and Objecthood’, ARTFORUM, 5(10). Available at: https://www.artforum.com/print/196706/art-and-objecthood-36708.
Collins, B.R. (1991) ‘What Is Art History?’, Art Education, 44(1). Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/3193265.
Clark, T.J. (1980) ‘Preliminaries to a Possible Treatment of “Olympia” in 1865’, Screen, 21(1), pp. 18–42. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/screen/21.1.18.
Nochlin, L. (1989) ‘Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists? (1971)’, in Women, Art, and Power and Other Essays. London: Thames and Hudson. Available at: https://www-taylorfrancis-com.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/chapters/mono/10.4324/9780429502996-7/great-women-artists-linda-nochlin?context=ubx&refId=06ab1745-89cb-4f80-bb06-cdc392f89933.
Broude, N. and Garrard, M.D. (1982) Feminism and art history: questioning the litany. New York: Harper & Row.
Sedgwick, E.K. (1990) Epistemology of the Closet. University of California Press.
De Salvo, D.M. et al. (1992) Hand-painted pop: American art in transition, 1955-62. Los Angeles: Museum of Contemporary Art.
Barthes, R. (1977) ‘The Death of the Author (1967)’, in Image, Music, Text. London: Fontana.
Godeau, A.S. (1984) ‘Winning the Game When the Rules Have Been Changed: Art Photography and Postmodernism’, Screen, 25(6), pp. 88–103. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/screen/25.6.88.
Oguibe, O. (1993) ‘Editorial: In the “Heart of Darkness”’, Third Text, 7(23), pp. 3–8. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/09528829308576410.
Kirchner, E.L. and Nolde, E. (2021) Kirchner and Nolde: expressionism, colonialism. Edited by S. Tates. Munich: Hirmer.
Buren, D. (1979) ‘The Function of the Studio’, October, 10. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/778628.
Hertz, R. (1985) Theories of Contemporary Art. New Jersey: Prentice Hall (Higher Education Division, Pearson Education).
Karp, I. and Lavine, S. (1991) Exhibiting cultures: the poetics and politics of museum display. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Rosler, M. et al. (2013) ‘Notes from the Field: Materiality’, The Art Bulletin, 95(1), pp. 10–37. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/00043079.2013.10786104.
Callen, A. (2023) ‘Degas and the Matter of Contagion: Dirt, Skin, Touch, and the Cosmetic Arts’, in Contagion, Hygiene, and the European Avant-Garde. Taylor & Francis Group. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/reader.action?docID=7262723&ppg=50.
Kessler, M.R. (2021) ‘Degas’s Breath and The Materiality of Pastel Veils’, Dix-Neuf, 25(3–4), pp. 260–279. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/14787318.2021.2017557.

The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's reading list.

Assessment items, weightings and deadlines

Coursework / exam	Description	Deadline	Coursework weighting
Coursework	Quizzes TOTAL		33.34%
Coursework	1500-word essay	24/04/2025	66.66%
Exam	Main exam: In-Person, Open Book, 120 minutes during Summer (Main Period)
Exam	Reassessment Main exam: Remote, Open Book, 24hr during September (Reassessment Period)

Exam format definitions

Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary, for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.

Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.

Overall assessment

Coursework	Exam
60%	40%

Reassessment

Coursework	Exam
60%	40%

Module supervisor and teaching staff

Supervisor: Dr Natasha Ruiz-Gomez, email: natashar@essex.ac.uk.

Teaching staff: Dr Natasha Ruiz-Gomez

Contact details: PHAIS General Office - 6.130; arugadmin@essex.ac.uk.

Availability

Available to incoming Essex Abroad / Exchange students: Yes

Available to Outside Option: Yes

Available to Audit: Yes

External examiner

Name: Dr Dominic Paterson

Institution: University of Glasgow

Academic role: Senior Lecturer in History of Art / Curator of Contemporary Art

Resources

Teaching materials: Available via Moodle

Lecture recording: Of 22 hours, 22 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).

Further information

Department website: Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)

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Module Directory

AR119-4-SP-CO:Art and Ideas: I