- UCAS course code
- VT41
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
BA Art History and Chinese
Duration: 4 years
Year of entry: 2025
UCAS course code: VT41 / Institution code: M20
- Key features:
Study abroad
Study with a language
- Typical A-level offer: ABB
- Typical contextual A-level offer: BBC
- Refugee/care-experienced offer: BBC
- Typical International Baccalaureate offer: 34 points overall with 6,5,5 at HL
Fees and funding
Fees
Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2025 will be £9,535 per annum (subject to Parliamentary approval). Tuition fees for international students will be £26,500 per annum. For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.
Policy on additional costs
All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).
Scholarships/sponsorships
Find out more from student finance
Eligible UK students can apply for bursaries and scholarships
Funding for EU and international students is on our country-specific pages
Many students work part-time
or complete a student internship
Course unit details:
Art in Theory
| Unit code | HART20431 |
|---|---|
| Credit rating | 20 |
| Unit level | Level 2 |
| Teaching period(s) | Semester 1 |
| Available as a free choice unit? | Yes |
Overview
Art in Theory aims to provide a toolkit of concepts or discursive operations for contemporary students of art history. These concepts or operations might include: mimesis; iconography; space; biography/autobiography; the author; beauty/taste; the sublime; dialectic; the fetish; animism; the uncanny; aura; the sign; coloniality; race; gender; sexuality; globalisation; neoliberalism; ecology. At every level of the course, but in particular in seminar work, our thinking will respond to the urgent imperative to decolonise art historical practice.
Aims
Art in Theory aims to provide a toolkit of concepts or discursive operations for contemporary students of art history. These concepts might include: mimesis; iconography; space; biography/autobiography; the author; beauty/taste; the sublime; dialectic; the fetish; animism; the uncanny; aura; the sign; coloniality; race; gender; sexuality; globalisation; neoliberalism; ecology. At every level of the course, but in particular in seminar work, our thinking will respond to the urgent imperative to decolonise art historical practice.
Syllabus
1. Introduction
2. Mimesis
3. Iconography
4. Space
5. Biography/ Autobiography
6. Author
7. Beauty/Taste
8. The Sublime
9. Dialectic
10. Fetish
11. Animism
12. The Uncanny
13. Aura
14. Sign
15. Coloniality
16. Race
17. Gender
18. Sexuality
19. Globalisation
20. Neoliberalism
21. Ecology
22. Revision
Teaching and learning methods
2 x 1 hour weekly lecture 1 x 2 hour fortnightly seminar
Assessment methods
| Assignment | Weighting | Wordcount |
|---|---|---|
| Essay Plan | 0% | 500 words |
| Essay 1 | 40% | 1500 words |
| Essay 2 | 60% | 2500 words |
Feedback methods
Formative feedback on the essay plan.
Written feedback on the essay
Recommended reading
TEXTS FOR THE COURSE
In addition to the books and articles recommended for each lecture you should consult recent publications concerned with art history as a discipline and its history (* especially recommended):
M. Baxandall. Patterns of Intention. On the Historical Interpretation of Pictures, 1985.
M. Cheetham, M. Holly, and K. Moxey (eds), The Subjects of Art History, 1998
*Eric Fernie. Art History and its Methods. A Critical Anthology, 1995.
*Jonathan Harris, The New Art History - A Critical Introduction, 2001
Jonathan Harris. Writing Back to Modern Art, 2005
C. Harrison et al (eds.), Art in Theory (3 vols.) 1648-1815, 1800-1900, 1900-1990
M. Hatt and C. Klonk, Art History, 2006
W. J. T. Mitchell, Picture Theory, 1994
W. J. T. Mitchell, What do Pictures Want?, 2005
K. Moxey. The Practice of Theory, 1994.
* R. Nelson and R. Shiff (eds). Critical Terms for Art History, 1996.
F. Orton and G. Pollock. Avant-gardes and Partisans Reviewed. The Social History of Art, 1996
R. Parker and G. Pollock. Old Mistresses: Women, Art and Ideology, 1981.
M. Podro. The Critical Historians of Art, 1982.
M. Pointon. History of Art: A Students' Handbook, 1994.
D. Preziosi. Rethinking Art History. Meditations on a Coy Science, 1989.
*D. Preziosi, The Art of Art History. A Critical Anthology, 1998.
Study hours
| Scheduled activity hours | |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 22 |
| Seminars | 11 |
| Independent study hours | |
|---|---|
| Independent study | 167 |
Teaching staff
| Staff member | Role |
|---|---|
| Charles Miller | Unit coordinator |