Archaeology and Art History, _MA

15 Credit Points

Britain has been inhabited by humans for more than half a million years. This course provides an introduction to the peoples and societies that have occupied this island from the first pioneer populations to the dawn of history.

15 Credit Points

Ever wondered how Archaeologists know what Neandertals ate, or what killed Ötzi the Iceman? Test Tubes & Trowels provides an accessible overview of the key scientific approaches used in modern archaeology to better understand archaeological sites and materials and to reconstruct past lives. Using a combination of lectures and practical workshops, the course will cover scientific methods of dating, artefact provenancing and ancient technologies, methods used for the study of diet, health, and movements of humans and animals in the past, and the identification of the environmental impacts of past human activities.

15 Credit Points

Archaeology is ultimately the study of human social lives. This course provides students with a detailed introduction to archaeological approaches to the study of human society. Through case studies and key texts we will investigate how archaeology can generate detailed insights into the richness and diversity of the diverse human communities and individuals of the past.

15 Credit Points

This course is a detailed introduction to the ecological, economic and spiritual dimensions to the archaeology of the northern world. Lectures will draw on a series of case-studies to examine the human adaptations to northern landscapes, ritual and spirituality, and finally the impact of colonisation and contact upon northern cultures.

30 Credit Points

‘Art’ is a controversial category. In museums, you might see urinals and cardboard boxes exhibited – but what earns them this accolade? Is it about skill? Creativity? Beauty? Who decides what counts as ‘good’ art? And why are museums full of stuff made by white men? This course discusses these and related questions. It will introduce you to a wide range of historical definitions of art, and discuss key works, from antiquity to Instagram - many of which challenged the boundaries of ‘art’.

30 Credit Points

This course focuses on how artworks are made. Students will be introduced to a wide range of materials, techniques and processes over the centuries relating to paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, photography and more. Each method and material will be examined using case-study examples, with discussion opening out to issues of the agency of materials and media and their cultural logics. In doing so, students will learn how artistic intentions are shaped and determined by material qualities.

15 Credit Points

We only have three days to find out! Excavation and field survey in modern archaeology can lead to spectacular discoveries regarding our past. This course, built around a short fieldschool and follow-up practicals and classes, will introduce and develop key skills in field archaeology, including excavation, field survey and sampling. Students will go through the whole process of designing, carrying out and reporting on a site and landscape in a course that will provide invaluable professional development.

15 Credit Points

Lectures and laboratory practicals will provide experience in the techniques used to process and analyse archaeological artefacts and samples. We will introduce analytical basics for lithic, ceramic, faunal and historic artefact analysis as well as techniques for conserving, cataloguing and curating archaeological collections. This course also introduces practical skills required to obtain employment and placement in an archaeological workplace through practical exercises in writing CVs, job cover letters and job interview skills.

30 Credit Points

This course focuses on the theory and practice of curation, making use of the internationally renowned University Museums and Special collections, which include artworks and material culture from the earliest times to the present day. The course comprises a series of seminars covering topics, including museum and exhibition history, object selection, exhibition texts and education, which prepare the ground for student curatorial teams to design an exhibition proposal. The course is assessed by portfolio work, a presentation and a position paper. It is co-taught by Art History and Museums and Special Collections.

30 Credit Points

The history of art history is often presented as a story of 'great men' and 'great ideas'. However, since the nineteenth century, the discipline was shaped decisively by female professionals who researched, published, and curated in various capacities. The course aims to uncover their contribution to the development of the discipline, with a special focus on the history of art history in Britain.

30 Credit Points

This course examines the use of art as a tool for propaganda, diplomacy and education in England between 1520 and 1640. It explores how paintings were commissioned, created and consumed in a world of changing religious and political circumstances, and considers the role of art in both consolidating and challenging power. Case studies range from Queen Elizabeth I’s construction of a distinct visual identity as a female monarch, and Peter Paul Rubens’ creation of a grand mural scheme for King Charles I, to the function of jewel-like portrait miniatures, and the recording through pictures of the first encounters between English colonialists and Indigenous American peoples.

30 Credit Points

Surrealism was one of the most significant international avant-garde movements of the twentieth century (1924-1968) and has interdisciplinary reach as a theory of knowledge and mode of political activism making it pertinent to study today. This course introduces the core themes and activities of this vibrant art and literary history. Through study of key examples, students hone understandings of Surrealism’s enduring impact on, and practical manifestation in, early twenty-first century culture, from contemporary art to social justice campaigns #MeToo and Black Lives Matter.

30 Credit Points

Architecture can be a synonym for power. Castles that loom over the landscape, the country house and its links with the British Empire and the Victorian prisons designed to incarcerate and extinguish hope. This course takes a thematic approach to the history of architecture to examine the institutions that define our landscapes and cities. Far from being neutral blocks of stone, brick and wood, the architecture of power is designed to define the ways we navigate the world, to intimidate and to reinforce institutions and power structures.

30 Credit Points

This course focuses on the physical and social contexts for the production and consumption of works of art and architecture. At the core of this course is a subsidised fieldtrip to a European city, allowing for an in-depth study of the urban contexts of art across time. Seminars and the fieldtrip will discuss themes such as urbanism, the specificities of public and private, sacred and profane spaces, and histories of collecting.

30 Credit Points

Surrealism was one of the most significant international avant-garde movements of the twentieth century (1924-1968) and has interdisciplinary reach as a theory of knowledge and mode of political activism making it pertinent to study today. This course introduces the core themes and activities of this vibrant art and literary history. Through study of key examples, students hone understandings of Surrealism’s enduring impact on, and practical manifestation in, early twenty-first century culture, from contemporary art to social justice campaigns #MeToo and Black Lives Matter.

30 Credit Points

Architecture can be a synonym for power. Castles that loom over the landscape, the country house and its links with the British Empire and the Victorian prisons designed to incarcerate and extinguish hope. This course takes a thematic approach to the history of architecture to examine the institutions that define our landscapes and cities. Far from being neutral blocks of stone, brick and wood, the architecture of power is designed to define the ways we navigate the world, to intimidate and to reinforce institutions and power structures.

30 Credit Points

Archaeology is a contemporary discipline and the focus in archaeological questions, subject areas and theoretical debates constantly change with time. In this course we focus on some of the topics that are important for the ongoing research within our department, from domestication and climate change to community archaeology and relating to death. The different issues are discussed in text-based seminars, where the students themselves are responsible for presenting the topic and leading the seminars. The course aims to explore and challenge current trends in the archaeological discourse.

30 Credit Points

Your dissertation is intended to give you the opportunity to carry out a piece of sustained research on a topic of your own choice and to demonstrate to the examiners your ability to present the results of such research in a proper, scholarly manner. Your research may be of various kinds. It may address works of art (or a single work of art) directly, through first-hand study in galleries, museums, or private collections, or it may be of a more literary kind, addressing critical or theoretical problems. Or it might involve both.

30 Credit Points

Building directly on the skills learnt in AY3512, the student undertakes an original research project, under the guidance of their personal supervisor and course co-ordinator, and at the end of the course submits an archaeological dissertation. The session begins with a research seminar when students present how their research has progressed over the summer and what they will now be doing to complete it.