Gwybodaeth Modiwlau
Module Identifier
AH11520
Module Title
Looking into Landscape: Reading, Researching, Responding
Academic Year
2025/2026
Co-ordinator
Semester
Semester 1
Reading List
Other Staff
Course Delivery
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Annotated bibliography in MLA style (Works Consulted) in preparation for the essay project. (1000 words) - 10 sources, at least 5 of which annotated (i.e., summary, assessment, excerpts). | 35% |
| Semester Assessment | Essay Research essay on the function of figures in works of landscape art. (1750 words) - plus MLA-style bibliography (Works Cited) and list of figures (illustrations) with captions. | 65% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Annotated bibliography in MLA style (Works Consulted) in preparation for the essay project. (1000 words) - 10 sources, at least 5 of which annotated (i.e., summary, assessment, excerpts). | 35% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Essay on the function of figures in a work of landscape art. (1750 words) - plus list of Works Cited (bibliography) and list of figures (illustrations) with captions. | 65% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Examine works of art and visual culture in their historical, national and sociopolitical contexts.
Discuss the functions, development and canonical status of Western landscape art/visual culture.
Describe works of art and visual culture effectively and analyse them formally.
Carry out art historical research; evaluate, document and cite secondary sources.
Brief description
This core module provides a broad survey of the development of Western landscape art and artistic approaches to the environment from its origins to the present day. It also introduces students to ways of thinking, researching and writing about art and visual culture.
A series of lectures examines artistic modes and movements in a variety of media (painting, photography, cartography and land art) and explores them in their historical contexts. The lectures are arranged chronologically so as to chart changing attitudes and approaches to land, nature and the environment in art practice and theory.
The lectures are followed up by seminars that are designed not only to debate points raised in the lectures but also to build practical skills essential to all art history modules and thus to prepare students for their undergraduate coursework. Such skills include: observation and description, definition and classification, expanding an active and academically sound vocabulary, interpretation, contextualization and argumentation, along with researching, quoting and paraphrasing and the documentation of sources.
A series of lectures examines artistic modes and movements in a variety of media (painting, photography, cartography and land art) and explores them in their historical contexts. The lectures are arranged chronologically so as to chart changing attitudes and approaches to land, nature and the environment in art practice and theory.
The lectures are followed up by seminars that are designed not only to debate points raised in the lectures but also to build practical skills essential to all art history modules and thus to prepare students for their undergraduate coursework. Such skills include: observation and description, definition and classification, expanding an active and academically sound vocabulary, interpretation, contextualization and argumentation, along with researching, quoting and paraphrasing and the documentation of sources.
Content
Lecture 1—Origins and Traditions: ‘Landscape’ in Western Visual Culture
Follow-up seminar 1—Definition and Description
Lecture 2—Nature and Culture: Seventeenth-century Dutch ‘Views’
Follow-up seminar 2—Classification
Lecture 3—Taste and Feeling: Romantic Landscapes
Follow-up seminar 3—Research and Contextual Analysis
Lecture 4—Illusionism and Abstraction: Modernist Landscapes
Follow-up seminar 4—Citation and Documentation
Lecture 5—Habitat and Environment: Postmodern and Contemporary Responses to Nature
Follow-up seminar 5—Argumentation and Outlining
Follow-up seminar 1—Definition and Description
Lecture 2—Nature and Culture: Seventeenth-century Dutch ‘Views’
Follow-up seminar 2—Classification
Lecture 3—Taste and Feeling: Romantic Landscapes
Follow-up seminar 3—Research and Contextual Analysis
Lecture 4—Illusionism and Abstraction: Modernist Landscapes
Follow-up seminar 4—Citation and Documentation
Lecture 5—Habitat and Environment: Postmodern and Contemporary Responses to Nature
Follow-up seminar 5—Argumentation and Outlining
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Communication | Articulating and debating ideas in seminar discussions, project tutorials as well as written assignments. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Independent study through research, vocabulary building and essay preparation. |
| Information Technology | Information retrieval from academic research portals and online museum collection databases. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | Emphasis on professionalism in the presentation and documentation of research. |
| Problem solving | In seminar discussions, essay drafting and revision, as well as in individual tutorials. |
| Research skills | In essay preparation and the gathering of relevant, scholarly sources. |
| Subject Specific Skills | In defining the term ‘landscape’ and classifying landscape art encountered in a variety of media and (art) historical contexts. |
| Team work | By working in teams (of two or three) for in-class projects and exercises in researching, writing, outlining and editing during the seminars. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 4