MA The Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas

Key details

MA THE ARTS OF AFRICA, OCEANIA AND THE AMERICAS

Start Year

2023

Attendance

Full Time

Award

Degree of Master of Arts

Duration (years)

On this unique programme, you’ll study the historical and contemporary arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas. You’ll benefit from teaching that emphasises museum anthropology and material culture. At the same time, you’ll engage with the issues involved in the analysis and display of these works of art, both in their original contexts and in museums and exhibitions.

This MA is cross-disciplinary. That means you’ll engage with regional developments and shared themes across anthropology, art history, archaeology and museology. Throughout the programme, you’ll encounter contemporary theories and current methods of research.

You’ll also have the opportunity to study the world-famous collection of art held in the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, itself a celebrated icon of modern museum architecture. UEA’s Art History department is world-leading in its field.

About

This flexible programme offers you a range of topics for your own essay-writing and dissertation. Your dissertation also allows you to study a topic of your choice intensively, possibly as a precursor to PhD research.

Our department is one of the leading centres in the world for the study of art and material culture. It’s also the only centre in the UK concerned with the study of art worldwide.

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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.

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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 across eight separate elements. These include three short written presentations on an object or set of related objects in the Sainsbury Centre, three longer written presentations on each of the three regions, a 72-hour timed essay on a general museology theme, and your dissertation.

Your dissertation will be a significant effort of independent, supervised, research. It will represent the culmination of your programme of study.

Structure

Your programme will consist of two main strands: three region-focused modules and the Core Course.

Your Core Course runs across the autumn and spring semesters, leading up to a museology timed essay and your dissertation. This is complemented by your region-focused modules, The Arts and Archaeology of Africa, The Arts of Oceania, and The Arts of the Americas.

In your autumn Core Course, you’ll examine key topics and contexts regarding theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of art and material culture. You’ll focus on assembling, organising, documenting, disseminating and analysing collections.

Then in your spring Core Course, you’ll delve deeper into these theoretical and methodological approaches. You’ll place special emphasis on curating collections, conceptualising exhibitions, and conservation. You’ll also become fluent in key concepts of agency, sociality, materiality, heritage, past, style, and analogy.

During your autumn and spring semesters, you’ll go on several stimulating study visits to museums in the United Kingdom and France. These visits are an intensive learning experience, in which you’ll discuss and debate theoretical and practical aspects of museology in situ. You’ll also gain in-depth knowledge of museum exhibitions and develop your critical reasoning.

From early May to late July, you’ll dedicate your time exclusively to the readings and research that will lead to your dissertation. Your dissertation is your opportunity to delve deeper still into the area or question which interests you most. You’ll complete a unique and substantial piece of research, supervised by two Sainsbury Research Unit (SRU) faculty members.

Teaching and Learning

Places on this course are restricted to a maximum of 10. As a result, you’ll benefit from an unusually high degree of regular individual supervision and tutorials.

Over the autumn and spring semesters, you’ll attend a series of weekly lecture-discussions. You’ll cover Africa, Oceania and the Americas in three distinct modules. This is where you’ll develop the background against which you will write your pieces of coursework.

In addition to the three regional units, you’ll also cover diverse topics broadly centred on material culture and museums. These will include display, the anthropology of art, style, value systems, looting and cultural property, the history of collections, authenticity, and the art market.

As well as having access to the Sainsbury Art Collection, you’ll travel to museums for guided study visits. When possible, these will also include temporary displays and auctions of ethnographic materials.

September 2023 opportunities. Discover more

Open Days

Assessment for Year 1

Your dissertation will be a significant effort of independent, supervised, research. It will represent the culmination of your programme of study.

Compulsory Modules

THE ARTS OF OCEANIA

Code AMAA7017A

Credits 30

This section of the Sainsbury Research Unit MA course provides you with detailed knowledge of the visual arts of the Pacific/Oceania, contemporary and historical, while also focusing on the methodological and theoretical issues involved in their analysis and display, both in their original contexts and in the contexts of museums and exhibitions.

THE ARTS OF THE AMERICAS

Code AMAA7019B

Credits 30

You'll examine the distinctive arts and cultures of the Americas. Lectures, discussions, readings and assignments are to provide an overview of selected indigenous traditions of the New World – both ethnographic and archaeological – with a focus on their remarkable achievements and material things, including architecture, sculpture, ceramics, metalwork, basketry and textiles. We will examine how scholars have interpreted them as ‘arts,’ using a range of approaches and viewpoints. The SCVA and its assemblage of objects from different parts of the Americas are crucial in the teaching of the module. There will be special focus on how Amerindian cultures can be studied on the basis of shared dimensions in cosmology, organisation and aesthetics. We will highlight ways that objects inform about the people and societies who produced them, particularly in terms of negotiating identity, ritual practices and socio-political status. We will also have documentary films to illustrate and analyse the close relations between art, performance and socio-cosmological meanings.

SRU MUSEOLOGY TIMED ESSAY

Code AMAA7018B

Credits 10

This assessment, based on a timed written essay, reflects on course content (e.g., seminars, core sessions, field trips, readings) on museum anthropology, exhibitions, and curatorial practices.

THE ARTS AND ARCHAEOLOGY OF AFRICA

Code AMAA7021B

Credits 30

This section of the Sainsbury Research Unit MA course provides you with detailed knowledge of the visual arts of Africa - both contemporary and historical, while also focusing on the methodological and theoretical issues involved in their analysis and display, both in their original contexts and in the contexts of museums and exhibitions.

SRU DISSERTATION

Code AMAA7020X

Credits 80

A dissertation on a topic relevant to the practice and theory of your degree programme. You'll choose your own topic, subject to the approval of the Course Director. You'll research and write your dissertation independently, with the support of a supervisory team.

September 2023 opportunities. Discover more

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 (Hons) degree - 2.1 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.

Interviews

Interviews are required for students applying to the MA in The Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas. If you are living overseas, these may be undertaken by telephone/Skype at a mutually convenient time. Please note that applicants who have not yet met the English Language requirement will still be expected to conduct an interview in English.