Module Information

Module Identifier
AH11520
Module Title
Looking into Landscape: Reading, Researching, Responding
Academic Year
2017/2018
Co-ordinator
Semester
Semester 1
Other Staff

Course Delivery

Delivery Type Delivery length / details
Lecture 6 x 1 Hour Lectures
Seminar 5 x 2 Hour Seminars
 

Assessment

Assessment Type Assessment length / details Proportion
Semester Assessment Response to work of art.  500 word response to a specified work of art, involving description and analysis  25%
Semester Assessment Lexicon.  Lexicon containing key vocabulary encountered in the lectures, seminars and assigned readings. Approx. 500 words (5 words/phrases per lecture, with definition and 3 sample sentences per entry.  25%
Semester Assessment Research essay.  MLA-style research essay on one of the lecture topics. 2000 words plus list of Works Cited and list of figures (illustrations)  50%
Supplementary Assessment Response to work of art.  500 word response to a specified work of art, involving description and analysis  25%
Supplementary Assessment Lexicon.  Lexicon containing key vocabulary encountered in the lectures, seminars and assigned readings. Approx. 500 words (5 words/phrases per lecture, with definition and 3 sample sentences per entry.  25%
Supplementary Assessment Research essay.  MLA-style research essay on one of the lecture topics. 2000 words plus list of Works Cited and list of figures (illustrations)  50%

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

1. Examine works of art and visual culture in their historical, national and sociopolitical contexts.

2. Discuss the functions, development and canonical status of Western landscape painting and photography.

3. Distinguish between intention and reception as well as form and idea.

4. Describe works of art and visual culture effectively and analyse them formally.

5. Use key terminology to classify, define and interpret works of art and visual culture.

6. Carry out art historical research; assess and cite secondary sources.

Brief description

This core module provides a broad survey of the development of Western landscape art from its origins to the present day. It also introduces students to ways of thinking 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.

Content

1. Lecture 1—Origins and Meanings: Landscape in Western Visual Culture
2. Follow-up seminar 1—Definition: Topics and Terminology

3. Lecture 2—Nature and Culture: Seventeenth-century Dutch Townscapes and Cartography
4. Follow-up seminar 2—Classification: The Canon and the Hierarchy of Genres

5. Lecture 3—Soil and Spirit: Nineteenth-century German, British and US American Landscape Painting
6. Follow-up seminar 3—Contextualisation: Art, Politics and National Identity

7. Lecture 4—Illusionism and Abstraction: Cubist Landscapes, Futurist Cityscapes and Surrealist Dreamscapes
8. Follow-up seminar 4—Research: Twentieth-century Styles and Movements

9. Lecture 5—Habitat and Environment: Contemporary Responses to Nature
10. Follow-up seminar 5—Theory: Aesthetics, Activism and Reception

Module Skills

Skills Type Skills details
Application of Number N/A
Communication Articulating ideas through seminar discussions as well essay writing.
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 exercises in writing, outlining and editing during the seminars.

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 4