
- UCAS course code
- VR20
- UCAS institution code
- M20
This course is available through clearing
BA Art History and French / Course details
Year of entry: 2022
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Course description
Art History is known for its strong interdisciplinary character. Students explore subjects, objects and texts from different cultures and different historical periods. Students benefit from our strengths in Renaissance Studies, Romanticism, modern and contemporary art, as well the intersections of art and science. Teaching takes place in a variety of formats, and many course units benefit from unrivalled access to The John Rylands Library and The Whitworth, which contain world-famous works by Bacon, Blake, Gauguin, Munch, Picasso, Rembrandt, Turner, Van Gogh and other major artists. Teaching is supported by cutting-edge research and we have been recognised as one of the top Art History Departments in the UK thanks to our research community.
On the Modern Languages side of the degree, students will study compulsory French units (the number of credits will depend on whether students are ab-initio or post-A-Level and whether they are studying European or non-European languages) and the study of the culture and history of a specific region. Teaching in these latter areas is characterised particularly by the historically and politically contextualised study of culture and cultural practices, including in literature, visual culture and music, with thematic focus on such issues as the environment, popular culture, gender, immigration and transnationalisms, and religion. Crucial here is the understanding of language skills being informed by intercultural awareness and cultural knowledge being mediated by linguistic skills.
In the first, second and final year students will follow core compulsory and optional introductory modules on both sides of the degree. In their final year students will also have the option of taking a dissertation on either side of the degree alongside their core language units and other optional units. Students will be allocated a dissertation supervisor according to existing procedures for the respective subject areas. Students will also be able to take one free-choice unit at levels 2 and 3, though they will not be required to do so.
In the third year of the degree, students will undertake a period of residence abroad according to the School's established residence abroad requirements and provision. It is likely that many students on this degree combination will want to undertake work placements with relevant organisations where possible; but students will also be able to take up the offer of a study placement at one of the existing partner universities in the region of study, or work as a British Council English-language assistant.
Special features
Residence abroad
You can study and/or work for up to a year in a country or countries relevant to your chosen language to improve your communicative language skills in a native-speaker environment.
Collaborations and partnerships
The University has links with language and cultural institutions across the city, including:
- HOME - international and contemporary art, theatre and film;
- Alliance Francaise- home of French language and culture.
Societies
Join the Francophone Society and benefit from French classes, discussion groups, cheese and wine nights, film screenings, themed socials, and a yearly trip to Paris.
The University is home to over 30 international and language-related student societies offering a breadth of cultural activities and experiences.
The Manchester Art Group, curates events, talks, exhibitions and trips, and aims to link up with contemporary art practice in Manchester and across the North West.
You could also join Arts Emergency, which aims to encourage the production of a new generation of thinkers by highlighting the reversal of decades of social and educational access to arts and humanities, or the Whitworth Young Contemporaries Student Society , which brings together students who have an interest in the arts, culture and creativity to make the Whitworth part of students' academic, cultural and social life.
Course content for year 1
Your time will be divided equally between your two subjects.
Art History
This is a foundation year that introduces key art historical concepts and methods of analysis and interpretation as well as skills in academic writing.
It includes a substantial amount of gallery-based teaching.
French
In Year 1, you follow 2 weekly hours of grammar classes (post-A-level) or 4-5 weekly hours (ab initio), complemented by oral classes for conversation and fluency.
Regular independent practice is paramount in order to progress well and fast.
A compulsory module on 'Modern French Identity' introduces you to 300 years of French history, politics and culture, alongside extracts of literature, cinema and other art forms.
You will take only the language units relevant to your level of language in each year of study.
Course units for year 1
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
---|---|---|---|
French Cultural Studies | FREN10070 | 20 | Mandatory |
Identity in Modern France | FREN10150 | 20 | Mandatory |
French Language 1 | FREN51011 | 20 | Mandatory |
French Language 2 | FREN51022 | 20 | Mandatory |
French Language 3 | FREN51030 | 20 | Mandatory |
Ice Age to Baroque: Artworks in History | SALC10041 | 20 | Mandatory |
Rococo to Now: Artworks in History | SALC10042 | 20 | Mandatory |
Art Spaces | AHCP10051 | 20 | Optional |
Art History Tutorial 1 | AHCP10381 | 20 | Optional |
Art History Tutorial 2 | AHCP10382 | 20 | Optional |
Course content for year 2
In Year 2 you can weigh your credits differently and do a maximum of two-thirds in one subject, and one-third in the other.
Art History
Take a mix of core and optional course units.
The objective is to provide you with a deeper understanding of theories and approaches in the study of art history, and a broad-based knowledge of both pre-modern and modern art, architecture and visual culture.
French
Build on the grounding established in Year 1, while getting prepared for the challenges of the year abroad (dedicated sessions on writing CVs and cover letters, and mock interviews for jobs in French).
Other course units are optional and broadly falling under three categories: literature, history and popular culture, or linguistics and translation.
Topics include French literature (17th century to the present), colonisation and exoticism, Francophone cinema, theatre, philosophy and contemporary popular culture.
Course units for year 2
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
---|---|---|---|
Art in Theory | AHCP20432 | 20 | Mandatory |
European Art History Fieldtrip | AHCP20701 | 20 | Mandatory |
French Language 4 | FREN51040 | 20 | Mandatory |
French Language 5 | FREN51050 | 20 | Mandatory |
Art in Britain | AHCP20221 | 20 | Optional |
Art in South Asia | AHCP20802 | 20 | Optional |
Renaissance and Baroque Architecture 1450-1750 | AHCP22121 | 20 | Optional |
The Neo-Avant-Garde and the Crisis of Medium, 1945-1974 | AHCP22811 | 20 | Optional |
Art in Vienna 1880-1938 | AHCP24102 | 20 | Optional |
Digital Ways of Seeing: Theory and Practice | AHCP24232 | 20 | Optional |
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Course content for year 3
You will spend the third year abroad in approved study or work in a Francophone country or countries.
Work opportunities include teaching as an English language assistant.
Course content for year 4
In Year 4 you can balance your credits to do a maximum of two-thirds in one subject area, and one-third in the other.
Art History
Take seminar courses that allow you in-depth contact with a wide range of subjects (many of which are the specialist areas of the members of teaching staff).
These 'Option' courses are focused on an area of study defined by genre, artistic identity, medium or approach.
They are taught in small groups and encourage participation and active learning.
French
Continue with your core language course for increased accuracy and sophistication, with regular practice in essay writing, translation, oral debate and presentations.
You also choose additional cultural units that build on Year 2 study and relate to the research interests of staff members (representation of race and conflict, performance, gender, national identity, linguistic creativity across theatre, literature, cinema, poetry, popular music).
You can also write a dissertation on an approved topic of your choice.
Course units for year 4
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
---|---|---|---|
French Language 6 | FREN51060 | 20 | Mandatory |
History of Art Dissertation | AHCP30000 | 40 | Optional |
The English Baroque: Architecture and Society 1660-1730 | AHCP30011 | 20 | Optional |
Art and Ecologies | AHCP30052 | 20 | Optional |
The Global Renaissance | AHCP30551 | 20 | Optional |
Art After Modernism: Approaching Contemporary Art | AHCP30561 | 20 | Optional |
Picasso | AHCP33132 | 20 | Optional |
Producing Digital Projects | AHCP33922 | 20 | Optional |
Introduction to Interpreting: Context, Skills and Modes | ELAN30242 | 20 | Optional |
Dissertation in French Studies | FREN30000 | 40 | Optional |
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What our students say
From career events and placements at local galleries to the amazing internship at the Guggenheim Collection in Venice, Manchester really helps students to acquire the essential skills employers look for.
It's my first year and I have already started an Internship at the Whitworth Art Gallery as a member of the curatorial team for a new exhibition.
Francesca Casaburi, History of Art with French Studies BA
This course is perfect in its broad range of specialist tutors who focus on everything from the Middle Ages to contemporary art.
The trip abroad in the second year of the degree and the opportunity to apply for the Guggenheim internship in Venice were big draws for me.
Gemma Burns, History of Art BA
Studying History of Art in Manchester has been an amazing experience.
The University has a partnership with my university in China and when I heard about what the course offered, I just had to take part!
I have been exposed to various artists, works, stories and ideas. They have really changed my views of the world.
Now I understand art and artworks more.
They are full of fun and not that mysterious.
I found the lecturers to be super approachable, it's made studying at the University a superb experience.
Anran Zhao, History of Art BA
Facilities
The rich cultural heritage and attractions of Manchester and the north-west are within easy reach.
The Manchester Museum and the Whitworth Art Gallery offer unique access to the environment of the working museum and art gallery, as well as to important works of art.
The Whitworth is a major resource, and its outstanding collections of paintings, prints, textiles and wallpapers are used extensively in our teaching.
You can also explore original art in the city's famous galleries, such as the Lowry, Manchester Art Gallery and the Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art.
The main library provision is the University Library, one of the UK's top university libraries with arguably the best access to electronic resources of any library in Europe.
This is one of the largest academic libraries in Britain and houses a Special Collections Department on Deansgate which contains a superb and diverse collection of manuscripts, illustrated books and other material relevant to Art History.
Art History students also enjoy a discipline-specific library in the same building as our department.
It provides a pleasant and quiet working environment for students, with access to the most used publications.
A convenient and comfortable study environment, it also houses a very large, well-organised slide, video and computer-based image collection.
Learn more on the Facilities page.