Graduate Diploma World Art Studies

Key details

GRADUATE DIPLOMA WORLD ART STUDIES

Start Year

2023

Attendance

Full Time

Award

Graduate Diploma

Duration (years)

Lay the foundations for successful postgraduate study of art history and related topics with this graduate diploma.

This course is ideal if you don’t yet have a grounding in art and material culture but are passionate about the subject and aspire to postgraduate study in the field.

You’ll study art history and related topics, choosing optional modules related to your interests and ambitions. You’ll be able to choose from the full range of undergraduate modules offered in Art History and World Art Studies (including those involving archaeological or anthropological approaches to art). In this way you’ll find your own pathway through this rich and fascinating field.

About

On this course, you’ll discover the art and architecture of societies and cultures across the globe, from antiquity to today.

Throughout the course, you’ll enjoy close and imaginative encounters with artworks. You’ll engage critically with art history and cultural theory.

You’ll ask questions such as, how does art connect with wider social, political and cultural forces? What is the role of art in allowing us to discover who we are, how we have been shaped, and what our potentials are, as both individuals and as communities? What are the most rewarding ways to think and write about art?

You’ll choose between four and six optional modules from the range on offer. The modules on offer address a wide variety of topics and could include topics such as 20th-century UK and American art, Venetian art and architecture, art in the contemporary world, abstraction, Medieval art, the history of portraiture, and introductions to art history, archaeology, anthropology, museum studies, and more. Depending on your choice of modules, you’ll have the chance to go on field trips and be able to study artefacts first-hand.

You’ll develop crucial skills in imaginative looking, critical thinking, robust writing and fluent, confident communication.

You’ll also have the opportunity to study the world-famous collection of art held in the Sainsbury Centre, itself a celebrated icon of modern museum architecture.

You’ll graduate with the knowledge and skills needed to study art history at MA level and beyond.

Clearing and Admissions Live Chat

At A Crossroads

Since 2011, researchers from UEA’s Sainsbury Research Unit have been conducting yearly archaeological field trips to the banks of the Niger River in northern Benin, West Africa, as part of the Crossroads of Empires research project.

Medieval Parish Churches of Norwich

Fifty-eight parish churches are known to have stood within the walls of medieval Norwich. Despite damage and loss, thirty-one remain today, which is the largest concentration of urban medieval churches north of the Alps.

Sainsbury Centre

The Sainsbury Centre is one of the most prominent university art galleries in Britain, and a major national centre for the study and presentation of art.

LEARN MORE >

Important Information

Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the courses listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the regular review of course programmes. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes, there will normally be prior consultation of students and others. Changes may for example consist of variations to the content and method of delivery of programmes, courses and other services, to discontinue programmes, courses and other services and to merge or combine programmes or courses. The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will inform students.

Assessment for Year 1

You’ll be assessed on coursework only. You’ll complete preparatory assignments and study tasks to help prepare you for submission of assessed coursework. You’ll receive constructive feedback on all your marked coursework to support your ongoing academic development. Where necessary, you’ll be able to speak directly with the marker.

The majority of coursework is essay-based, while assessments might also contain other elements: in-class presentations, projects, or pieces of reflective writing.

Structure

On this course, you’ll select modules from the full list of undergraduate teaching in the department. In this way, you’ll be able to tailor your programme to your own interests. You’ll choose 120 credits’ worth of modules from those on offer, all modules being worth either 20 or 30 credits each.

Your choice of modules should be evenly spread across the autumn and spring semesters. For example, you might take three 20-credit modules in the autumn semester and two 30-credit modules in the spring semester. This will enable you to increase the intensity of your studies as your knowledge develops.

Through the course, you’ll develop a range of transferable skills in written and verbal communication and argumentation. You’ll also acquire detailed subject knowledge and an awareness of the complexity of relationships between art and human lived experience.

To support you in your studies, you’ll be assigned a personal academic advisor. They will give you guidance and advice about study skills and offer pastoral support.

Teaching and Learning

Teaching

You’ll learn through lectures presented by leading academics from the department. You’ll also participate in small group seminars where you’ll have the chance to engage in focused discussion and intellectual exchange. You’ll prepare for classes by reading and taking notes on a specific topic. In seminars, this will enable you to contribute to in-class discussion.

Learning activities for this course can include lectures, seminars or tutorials depending on the modules you choose. You’ll be expected to spend approximately 30% of your time working toward your assessments and 50% of your time on independent learning. Formal classes comprise between 15% and 20% of the module, again depending on the module.

In taught sessions, you’ll engage with key questions relating to art and material culture through a combination of theoretical models and special subject case studies, meaning that you will have the opportunity to learn about theoretical and philosophical approaches to art and culture, as well as case studies which address specific artists, genres, media and themes, for example. The balance between learning about theoretical issues or subject-specific studies will depend on the modules you choose.

You’ll learn alongside students who share your interests, having the chance to engage in lively debate in a supportive and vibrant learning environment.

In lectures and seminars, you’ll pay close attention to specific artworks as well as engaging in analysis of art historical and theoretical texts. Many modules involve site visits or fieldtrips, giving you first-hand access to art, architecture and material culture in the company of your fellow students and academic staff.

Independent study

Working beyond the classroom is vital to your success at postgraduate level. Having already completed a degree in a different field you’ll be skilled in independent study. You’ll have the chance to build on those skills here. You’ll be given set readings for each module. This will act as your starting point for reading more widely.

We also strongly recommend you engage with art in the contemporary world by visiting exhibitions, installations and festivals, and reading newly published research in art history and its related disciplines.

Clearing and Admissions Live Chat

Open Days

Students will select 120 credits of level 1, level 2 and level 3 modules subject to the approval by the Course Director. You may select no more than 40 credits at level 1 over the two years. Level 1 modules start with the code AMAA4*. Level 2 modules start with the code AMAA5*. Level 3 modules start with the code AMAA6*.

Assessment for Year 1

The majority of coursework is essay-based, while assessments might also contain other elements: in-class presentations, projects, or pieces of reflective writing.

Compulsory Modules

Optional A Modules

(60 credits)

INTRODUCTION TO ART HISTORY

Code AMAA4001A

Credits 20

This module introduces you to the study of art history. You will discover what makes art history distinct as an academic discipline. By learning about the themes art historians have explored over time, and some of the methods they use to study art, you will start to understand the subject better – and to appreciate how it fits into your degree. As a seminar, this module also gives you the chance to experience the small-group discussions that are central to our teaching.

MAKERS AND MAKING

Code AMAA4002A

Credits 20

Making works of art – from objects to performances, bodies to buildings – involves a range of materials, activities and ideas. On this module, you’ll learn about the physical and technical properties of different materials as well as their social, economic and symbolic significance. You’ll hear from a range of experts in a series of lectures by our staff in Art History and World Art Studies. You will gain a wider perspective on how people at different times, in different cultures, have designed, crafted and created works of art - challenging narrow ideas about what (and who) an artist is. You will also develop the skills you need to write effective essays at university.

LEARNING ON SITE: THE SAINSBURY CENTRE FOR VISUAL ARTS

Code AMAA4007A

Credits 20

In this module, you will discover the art and architecture that makes up our department’s home in the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts (SCVA). Designed by Lord Norman Foster and opened in 1978, this building and the Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection have shaped the study of Art History and World Art Studies at UEA. Through readings, group discussions, and the close study of objects in the SCVA, you will be encouraged to challenge assumptions and preconceptions about different kinds of art – from around the world, and from prehistory to the 20th century. This module will also develop your abilities in library research and academic referencing.

MATERIAL WORLDS

Code AMAA5009A

Credits 20

We live our lives surrounded by material objects. In many ways, our lives are dictated by the consumption of goods. How then, should we understand our relation to materiality? In this module, you'll learn about contemporary archaeological and anthropological perspectives in the study of material culture. Questions that come up include: why the Summer Solstice is celebrated at Stonehenge; how houses differ across cultures; why we give each other gifts and wrap them; and how clothing gives us identity? Studying human-object relations from a range of perspectives, this module equips you to understand the role of materiality in your life and to think in nuanced ways on our consumer society.

MEDIEVAL BODIES

Code AMAA5086A

Credits 20

Born, bathed, dressed, worshipped, sexed, cut, bruised, ripped, split, buried: the human body offer historians a gateway onto understanding the cultures of the past. On this course you will examine several groups of objects from the visual culture of medieval Europe and the Middle East through this contemporary theoretical lens, building up a body of medieval artistic practice piece by bodily piece, and examining how the techniques and society of the medieval craftsman at once idolised and distorted the medieval body's forms. In previous years this course has also featured a study trip to museums and galleries in London to meet with curators and handle objects.

THE LIVES OF OBJECTS

Code AMAA5089A

Credits 20

Your main objective in this module will be to develop your critical skills as they pertain to thinking, reading, writing and looking. To enable this, the module will fall into two main sections. In the first section, you’ll focus on one particular methodology – object biographies – used in archaeology, anthropology, museum studies and art history. You’ll examine this methodology in detail, breaking it down into its component sections. You’ll then consider its strengths and its weaknesses, as we subject it to a thorough critical evaluation. In the second half of the module, you will study a range of theories and methodologies used in the study of material culture. In this part of the module, you will focus more broadly on what critical thinking is, both in general and within each of the four disciplines taught in the Department of Art History and World Art Studies. You’ll be taught through a combination of two weekly lectures and one discussion seminar. The lectures will offer you an introduction to the relevant topic, and will end with an opportunity to discuss/debate the issues raised. During the discussion seminars, you’ll consider key issues raised in preceding lectures and the weekly class readings which accompany them.

ARTISTS/MUSEUMS

Code AMAA5106A

Credits 20

You will examine how contemporary artists have explored the way in which contemporary galleries and museums function. Since the 1960s artists have adopted the museum as both subject and medium in their artworks. These seminars will examine how such projects impact on our idea of what galleries and museums are, how they operate, and what role they have in public life today. Throughout, key ideas regarding aesthetics, politics, memory, and audience participation will be approached by way of specific artworks and exhibitions. These sessions will be supplemented by workshops exploring art criticism, as well as a study trip to London.

MAPPING WORLDS

Code AMAA6121A

Credits 30

Mapping helps us to conceive of abstract concepts in tangible visual form. Be it geographical notions of the globe and the heavens, or more complex outlines of the body, the mind, time, even history, a map helps to bound and give features to otherwise inexplicable space and knowledge. This course uses historical maps and modern theories of cartography as the jumping-off point for an in-depth investigation of the visual and imaginative cultures of Europe and the Middle East from the prehistoric and classical eras through to the Middle Ages and Renaissance. In previous years this course has also featured a study trip to museums and galleries in London to meet with curators and handle objects.

MODERN ART AND STATES OF MIND

Code AMAA6141A

Credits 30

This module explores art’s relationship with aspects of mental and emotional life in the 20th Century. Each seminar is dedicated to a particular ‘state of mind’: anxiety, boredom, anger, joy, love, grief, or shame, for example. The module examines both the way in which inner life is subject to social, historical and technological forces, and how artworks engage such crucial dimensions of lived experience. The seminars will draw upon rich conceptual resources derived not only from art history but also from psychology, literary theory, sociology, and philosophy.

MUSEUM WORK: THEORY & PRACTICE

Code AMAA6144A

Credits 30

This module explores a variety of practical and conceptual aspects of museum work by focusing on specific aspects of institutional structures and practices: from building, housing and caring for collections, to designing and curating exhibitions and widening participation.

Optional B Modules

(60 credits)

ENVIRONMENT, ART AND CULTURE

Code AMAA4004B

Credits 20

Most works of art – whether objects, buildings, or performances – are designed to serve a set of purposes. How their forms and functions relate may be straightforward and practical, or complex and elusive. Through a range of case studies, presented in lectures by our staff in Art History and World Art Studies, you will examine the connections between the uses, meanings, and appearances of art, culture, space, and landscape. You will also consider how these connections may change over time, especially in the context of cross-cultural contact. The opportunity to analyze texts on your own and in discussion groups will help you understand different points of view and construct an argument supported by evidence.

GALLERIES & MUSEUMS: HISTORIES/POLITICS/ETHICS

Code AMAA4010B

Credits 20

This module will introduce you to some of the key concepts underpinning art galleries and museums. You’ll learn about the history of museums and their impact on society. You’ll consider how museums and galleries today use not only their displays but also a range of activities to attract, educate, and inspire visitors. You will also have a chance to study galleries and museums from around the world.

INTRODUCTION TO ARCHAEOLOGY

Code AMAA4023B

Credits 20

How do archaeologists investigate and interpret the ancient past? This module introduces you to what makes archaeology unique. You will learn about the methods archaeologists use to gather and record data. By looking at case studies drawn from different excavations, you’ll begin to understand the complexities involved in interpreting the past from archaeological remains. You’ll also encounter changes in archaeological approaches over time, and consider some of the contemporary issues facing archaeology around the globe.

INTRODUCTION TO ANTHROPOLOGY

Code AMAA4024B

Credits 20

What is anthropology? What do anthropologists study? How is anthropology different from other disciplines? This module presents an overview of key anthropological approaches and their connections with history and archaeology. Throughout this module, you'll learn about classical and contemporary anthropological themes by looking at approaches to nature, human ecology, material culture, art, ritual, religion, and globalization. You'll learn how important culture is in shaping the world. This enables you to comprehend the complexities of today's world.

PORTRAITURE AND IDENTITY

Code AMAA4025B

Credits 20

How do you represent a person? On this module, you will explore the genre of portraiture as it has been practiced by visual artists from the ancient world to the present day. You will develop the skill of visual analysis as you consider issues such as 'likeness'; the face; the self-portrait; portraiture as the embodiment of political, social and aesthetic power; the ways in which portraiture has variously reinforced and challenged concepts of class, race and gender; the photographic portrait, and the role of portraiture in contemporary art and culture. You will also continue to develop your writing skills, as we analyze works of art alongside histories and concepts of the individual self – perhaps the supreme artefact of all.

ART IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

Code AMAA5090B

Credits 20

Art is a resource which can be used both positively and critically to affect the contemporary world around us. It may be exploited, most obviously for its economic value, but also for broader social or political gain. You will explore these different uses of art by addressing the factors that condition our contemporary reception of art works and visual culture. You will begin by examining some of the key methodologies for interpreting art’s contemporary functions, including its capacity to create contemporary identities and world-views. You will then turn to focus on the museum and gallery as spaces for these contemporary issues to emerge, before considering the same ideas at work in more quotidian ways. And, finally, you will conclude with a reflection on your own position as art historians, anthropologists, and archeologists working with art in the contemporary world.

ART AND ARCHITECTURE IN VENICE

Code AMAA5093B

Credits 20

Positioned at the hub of trade routes which spanned out across the known world, the city of Venice was a major commercial and political power during the medieval, renaissance, and early modern periods. It also grew to be one of Europe's most important centres of artistic production, with Venetian painters, sculptors, glassmakers, and architects channelling their city's diverse multiculturalism into a vast range of influential artworks. You will examine the development of art and architecture in the city from its earliest foundations through to the present day, tracing the aesthetic and urban history of what its inhabitants came to call 'La Serenissima,' the most serene city on earth. In previous years this module has featured a study trip to Venice.

ARCHAEOLOGIES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN WORLD

Code AMAA5098B

Credits 20

Using a range of case studies from the Mediterranean World, this module introduces students to some of the most significant themes and debates in the archaeology of the Mediterranean and archaeology more generally. Case studies will be drawn from a range of time periods and will address ‘the big themes’ in archaeology, such as cultural transmission, cultural development, societal collapse, trade and exchange, conflict, migration, empire and expansion, the emergence of urban societies, climate and society and ritual and religion. Often more than one theme will be included in a case study and the aim will be to understand how they relate to each other. For example, how does conflict or climate change contribute to migration or societal collapse?

ACTION / ABSTRACTION:ART AFTER 1945

Code AMAA5103B

Credits 20

You will explore the rich history of art made after 1945, with a particular emphasis upon the problem of the relationship between the idea of art's autonomy and claims for its capacity to engage directly with social and political conditions. You will be introduced to key tendencies in art and a wide variety of artistic media made since 1945, with a (non-exclusive) focus upon Europe and North America.

EXPERIMENTAL FILM AND VIDEO ART

Code AMAA6109B

Credits 30

Since the 1960s the increased number of artists working with film and video has resulted in the moving image becoming a common feature in museums and contemporary art exhibitions. Surveying the work of a broad range of American and European film and video makers this module will explore how they have sought to develop a mode of practice that distinguishes their work from more conventional forms of cinema and television. This module will examine in detail how the work of experimental film and video artists relates to established histories of avant-garde art, performance, and sculpture. It will also ask how the relationship between their peculiar production and exhibition methods informs a critical engagement with both the spectator and the institutions that present their work.

MODERNISM AND GENDER: FRANCE AND GERMANY 1900-1939

Code AMAA6128B

Credits 30

On this module you will study some of the most important modernist artists of the first part of the twentieth century. We will explore the work of male and female artists and also consider how gender structures representation and art practice. The module provides an opportunity to reconsider key works by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Paula Modersohn-Becker, Suzanne Valadon, Hannah Hoch and Claude Cahun, amongst others.

ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY OF ANCIENT IRAQ AND IRAN

Code AMAA6137B

Credits 30

Ancient Mesopotamia, what is now Iraq and parts of Iran, is recognisable today by two of its most impressive and powerful cultures, the Sumerians and the Assyrians. Situated between the Euphrates and the Tigris Rivers, Mesopotamia remained largely autonomous for nearly 3000 years, during which time its power and influence over neighbouring regions ebbed and waned. At the heart of Mesopotamian society was competence and skill in a broad range of arts and crafts, but it is most famous for being the world's first literate society. Along with writing, the glue of Mesopotamian society was cultic practice and religious belief, most visibly attested to in the art of temples and burials. At all periods art was fundamental to Mesopotamian culture; it coloured their rituals and beliefs, it was integral to their writing system, and was used in both politics and warfare. You will explore the significance of artistic practice in the development of Mesopotamian society.

Clearing and Admissions Live Chat

Open Days

Important Information

Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring and review of modules. Where this activity leads to significant change to a programme and modules, the University will endeavour to consult with affected students. The University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. Availability of optional modules may be restricted owing to timetabling, lack of demand, or limited places. Where this is the case, you will be asked to make alternative module choices and you will be supported during this process.

Entry Requirements

Degree classification

Bachelors degree - 2.2 or equivalent

Degree subject

Humanities or Social Sciences

Students for whom english is a foreign language

We welcome applications from students whose first language is not English. To ensure such students benefit from postgraduate study, we require evidence of proficiency in English. Our usual entry requirements are as follows:

IELTS: 6.0 (minimum 5.5 in two components only, with 6.0 in the other two)
PTE (Pearson): 64 (minimum 59 in only two components with 64 in the others)

Test dates should be within two years of the course start date.

Other tests, including Cambridge English exams and the Trinity Integrated Skills in English are also accepted by the university. The full list of accepted tests can be found here: Accepted English Language Tests

INTO UEA also run pre-sessional courses which can be taken prior to the start of your course. For further information and to see if you qualify please contact intopre-sessional@uea.ac.uk.