AR207-5-AU-CO:
Picturing the City I
2016/17
Art History and Theory
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Undergraduate: Level 5
Current
15
-
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
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)
Module Description:
Optional module for all art history courses (single and joint honours). Also available as an outside option to students on other courses with the Module Supervisor`s permission.
Module Outline:
TRADERS AND TOURISTS: VENICE AND HER VISITORS
When most people consider Venice, they think of canals, gondolas, and carnival masks. For centuries, however, the city was one of the most important centres of art, commerce, and military power in Europe. Today Venice is a study in contradictions: a crowded tourist trap and a faded ghost town; a vibrant centre for contemporary art and a frozen specimen of Renaissance culture; a city made beautiful by the very waters that cloud its future. In this module we will examine the ways in which Venice has, since the medieval period, been mythologised, imagined, pictured, and consumed, considering the perspectives of both Venetians and the many visitors to the city (including immigrants, traders, diplomats, pilgrims, slaves, and tourists). Particular emphasis will be placed on urbanism, cross-cultural exchange, and visual culture in the late medieval and early modern period (1300-1700). We will focus on the production of art (patrons, media, materials and techniques), celebrated practitioners (the Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, Canaletto), and major monuments (St. Mark's Basilica, the Palazzo Ducale, the Scuola Grande di San Rocco). Topics will include, but are not limited to: the 'myth' of Venice; urban development and infrastructure; mosaics and the Byzantine influence; social structures and charitable institutions; Titian and Venetian Renaissance painting; the printing industry; the evolution of the Carnival festival; the Grand Tour; water control projects; the Venice Biennale.
There will be a long weekend trip to Venice on offer in 2016-7 (and led by Diana Bullen Presciutti), and this module connects well with that trip. Taking the module is advised, but not strictly required for going on the trip.
Aims
The aims of this module are:
-to provide students with a grounding in urban material culture;
-to elucidate the role of art and architecture in the formation of urban identity;
-to develop skills of visual and conceptual analysis for concepts of considerable critical difficulty; and
-to encourage debate about the place of art and architecture in society.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module the student should have:
* a sound grasp of a historical period in the life of a city;
* the ability to interpret works and texts based on sound knowledge of the appropriate historical and interpretative contexts;
* the confidence to subject the texts studied to critical analysis;
* good bibliographical and basic research skills; and
* the ability to communicate complex ideas concerning urban history, concepts of urban development, of art, architecture and cartography.
By the end of the module, students should also have acquired a set of transferable skills, and in particular be able to:
* define the task in which they are engaged and exclude what is irrelevant;
* seek and organise the most relevant discussions and sources of information;
* process a large volume of diverse and sometimes conflicting arguments;
* compare and evaluate different arguments and assess the limitations of their own position or procedure;
* write and present verbally a succinct and precise account of positions, arguments, and their presuppositions and implications;
* be sensitive to the positions of others and communicate their own views in ways that are accessible to them;
* think 'laterally' and creatively (i.e., to explore interesting connections and possibilities, and to present these clearly rather than as vague hunches);
* maintain intellectual flexibility and revise their own position based on feedback;
* think critically and constructively.
No information available.
No information available.
Optional module for all art history courses (single and joint honours). Also available as an outside option to students on other courses with the Module Director`s permission.
Learning & Teaching Methods:
9 x 2 hour seminars
1 x Gallery visit
Week 8 is Reading Week
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
Slide Test |
|
10% |
| Coursework |
Essay 1: 2500 words |
|
40% |
| Coursework |
Essay 2: 3000 words |
|
50% |
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
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Diana Bullen Presciutti
Sarah Mumford, Deputy School Administrator, email: smumfo@essex.ac.uk
Dr Diana Bullen Presciutti Office No: 6.141
Yes
Yes
No
No external examiner information available for this module.
Available via Moodle
Of 18 hours, 18 (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).
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