Programme Specification for the 2023/4 academic year
BA (Hons) Art History & Visual Culture and Classical Studies
1. Programme Details
| Programme name | BA (Hons) Art History & Visual Culture and Classical Studies | Programme code | UFA3HPSCTH04 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Study mode(s) | Full Time Part Time |
Academic year | 2023/4 |
| Campus(es) | Streatham (Exeter) |
NQF Level of the Final Award | 6 (Honours) |
2. Description of the Programme
This programme will give you a thorough grounding in the main themes and methods of Art History & Visual Culture and Classical Studies. It will be of particular interest if your background or interests are in the history of art, creative practice, cinema, cultural history, philosophy, sociology, literature or ancient history, and it draws upon interdisciplinary research in visuality across these areas. Art History & Visual Culture and Classical Studies enables you to divide your time equally between two related subject areas.
In Art History & Visual Culture, you will learn how to interpret works of art (including architecture and design) and visual images (including images, objects and practices) in order to understand contemporary and past societies and you will be able to follow your interests through a wide range of optional modules: you can choose to study art and material culture in ancient societies; look in detail at the way art history works; or focus on visual culture within a specific society or time period right up to the modern day. Modules are designed to provide you with a sense of the range and variety of artistic and visual works, and to encourage you to engage critically with these works understood in their historical and theoretical contexts. You will explore the media, techniques, and historical contexts relevant to the production of these works, the terminology used to describe and evaluate them and the institutions that present them to the public.
The Classical Studies side of the programme offers access to the culture and thought of the ancient world through its literature and artefacts. Modules combine the traditional virtues of rigorous attention to the nuances and subtleties of language with some of the most exciting and innovative approaches to the ancient world available today. Not only will you access the subject from a variety of angles (literary, literary-critical, philosophical, cultural-historical, art-historical), but you’ll also be encouraged to question the many intellectual and political uses to which the Classical world is put in the modern world. If you choose, you may study ancient literature in the original languages. Classical Studies modules combine the best traditional values of rigour and attentiveness with the latest approaches to ancient literature. In this way, you acquire a number of skills that are transferable to many situations in life and employment: not only the detailed awareness of the way language systems work and an understanding of some of the most brilliant and complex works written in any language, but also an ability to unpack the meaning of all manner of texts, from political speeches to advertising slogans.
Advice and guidance on your programme can be sought from your personal tutor and programme director. All staff offer regular office hours that you can drop into without a prior appointment for this purpose.
3. Educational Aims of the Programme
This programme aims to develop your competence in the subject specific and research skills required in both Art History & Visual Culture and Classical Studies, through extended engagement with primary sources and methodologies, relevant critical material, and both theoretical and historical contexts. You will acquire a thorough grounding in the core principles of Art History & Visual Culture and Classical Studies, through a programme which engages you imaginatively in the process of understanding and analysing languages, literature, history, culture, and the visual, through study of both broad and detailed focus.
In Classical Studies modules, you will develop a range of critical approaches to ancient literature, and a broad knowledge of Greek and Roman literary texts; you will also have the opportunity to develop a command of Ancient Greek and Latin languages relevant to an understanding and appreciation of the literature, history and cultures of Greece and Rome. In Art History & Visual Culture, you will be engaged in learning with broad coverage, content, and methodology: throughout the programme, you will study a wide range of art, film, video, performance and digital arts, sculpture, architecture, and illustration, while also developing the skills necessary to analyse particular aspects of art works across a range of time periods and geographical areas.
You will also acquire advanced competence in core academic, personal and key skills, providing a basis for career progression in the academic and professional worlds. You will be exposed to a variety of teaching and assessment methods within appropriate learning environments, supported by feedback and monitoring. You will also be given an opportunity to develop your independent study skills through a piece of individual research, and to develop your professional skills through engagement with galleries, museums and the University’s own art and heritage collections.
The programme provides an intellectually stimulating, satisfying experience of learning and studying, and forms a sound basis for further study in Art History & Visual Culture and Classical Studies or related disciplines. It aims to develop a range of subject specific, academic and transferable skills, including high order conceptual literacy and communication skills of value in graduate employment. Art History & Visual Culture and Classical Studies, like other programmes offered within the College of Humanities, encourages you to become a global citizen, a productive, useful and questioning member of society, and provides thorough training for further study or a specialist career. You may utilise the skills you develop in a range of sectors, including heritage management, museums and galleries, arts administration, consultancy, market research, the civil service, education, teaching, new media industries, journalism and publishing, research, charities, information science, advertising and public relations.
4. Programme Structure
5. Programme Modules
The following tables describe the programme and constituent modules. Constituent modules may be updated, deleted or replaced as a consequence of the annual programme review of this programme.
http://intranet.exeter.ac.uk/humanities/studying/undergraduates/modules/
You may take optional modules as long as any necessary prerequisites have been satisfied, where the timetable allows and if you have not already taken the module in question or an equivalent module. Optional modules offered are subject to change depending on staff availability and student demand. You are expected to balance your credits in each stage of the programme, taking 60 credits from Art History & Visual Culture, and 60 credits from Classical Studies.
You may take elective modules up to 30 credits outside of the programme in any stage of the programme as long as any necessary prerequisites have been satisfied, where the timetable allows and if you have not already taken the module in question or an equivalent module.
Stage 1
30 credits of compulsory Art History & Visual Culture modules, 30 credits of compulsory Classical Studies modules, 30 credits of optional Art History & Visual Culture modules, and 30 credits of optional Classical Studies modules.
Compulsory Modules
Subject to choosing 120 credits for the stage overall, you must:
a select either CLA1005 or CLA1006; the modules run in alternate years so you must select the one which is running in this academic year.
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| AHV1011 | Questions and Methods in Art History and Visual Culture | 30 | No |
| CLA CLA1005-CLA1006 [See note a above] | |||
| CLA1005 | Greek and Roman Narrative | 30 | No |
| CLA1006 | Greek and Roman Drama | 30 | No |
Optional Modules
b select either AHV1005 and AHV1009, or AHV1012, selecting 30 credits in total.
c select 30 credits from this list of optional Classical Studies modules.
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| AHV Stage 1 CH Option Modules 2023-4 [See note b above] | |||
| AHV1006 | Visual Media | 15 | No |
| AHV1008 | Topics in Art History and Visual Culture I | 15 | No |
| MLM1010 | China of the Senses: Approaching Chinese Culture and Environments | 15 | No |
| AHV1005 | Inside the Museum | 15 | No |
| AHV1009 | Topics in Art History and Visual Culture II | 15 | No |
| MLF1121 | French Visual History | 15 | No |
| CLA Y1 BA Classical Studies CH opt 2023-4 [See note c above] | |||
| CLA1202 | Classical Language and Texts: Greek II | 30 | No |
| CLA1204 | Classical Language and Texts: Greek III | 30 | No |
| CLA1252 | Classical Language and Texts: Latin II | 30 | No |
| CLA1254 | Classical Language and Texts: Latin III | 30 | No |
| CLA1517 | Ancient Sources (Material Evidence): Hellenistic Palaces in West Asia | 15 | No |
| CLA1001 | Greek History: Problems and Sources | 30 | No |
| CLA1025 | Classical Language and Texts Greek I (A) | 15 | No |
| CLA1026 | Classical Language and Texts: Greek I (B) | 15 | No |
| CLA1027 | Classical Language and Texts: Latin I (A) | 15 | No |
| CLA1028 | Classical Language and Texts: Latin I (B) | 15 | No |
| CLA1302 | Ancient Sources (Written Evidence): Greek Historiography to the End of the Fifth Century BC | 15 | No |
| CLA1307 | Ancient Sources (Written Evidence) Ancient Medicine | 15 | No |
| CLA1406 | Text and Context: Roman Love Elegy | 15 | No |
| CLA1410 | Text and Context: Writing Women in Ancient Literature | 15 | No |
| CLA1507 | Ancient World: Greek Philosophy | 15 | No |
| CLA1514 | Ancient Sources (Material Evidence) - Pompeii: Destruction, Discovery and Afterlife | 15 | No |
Stage 2
30 credits of compulsory Art History & Visual Culture modules, 30 credits of compulsory Classical Studies modules, 30 credits of optional Art History & Visual Culture modules, and 30 credits of optional Classical Studies modules.
Compulsory Modules
Subject to choosing 120 credits for the stage overall, you must:
d select either CLA2005 or CLA2006; the modules run in alternate years so you must select the one which is running in this academic year.
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| AHV2015 | Art History and Visual Culture Field Study for Blended Learning | 30 | No |
| CLA CLA2005-CLA2006 [See note d above] | |||
| CLA2005 | Greek and Roman Narrative | 30 | No |
| CLA2006 | Greek and Roman Drama | 30 | No |
Optional Modules
e select 0-30 credits from this list of optional Art History & Visual Culture modules (including HUM2000 and HUM2001 Humanities in the Workplace); we recommend selecting at least one module from AHV2002 and AHV2007.
f select 0-30 credits from this list of optional Classical Studies modules (including HUM2000 and HUM2001 Humanities in the Workplace).
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| AHV Stage 2 CH Option Modules 2023-4 [See note e above] | |||
| AHV2002 | Debates and Contestations in Art History | 15 | No |
| AHV2013 | Photography and Evidence | 15 | No |
| AHV2018 | Comics Studies: Histories, Methodologies, Genres | 30 | No |
| AHV2021 | American Photographs | 15 | No |
| AHV2022 | Animals in Nineteenth-century Art and Visual Culture | 15 | No |
| AHV2208 | Ideal Cities? Urban Cultures of Renaissance Italy | 15 | No |
| EAS2089 | Creative Industries: Their Past, Our Future | 30 | No |
| AHV2007 | Contemporary Visual Practices | 15 | No |
| AHV2009 | The New York Avant-Garde 1955-1980 | 30 | No |
| AHV2012 | Revolutions: Art and Society in France, 1770-1848 | 30 | No |
| AHV2019 | Common Threads: Art, Craft and Activism | 15 | No |
| AHV2020 | Deconstructing the Dutch Golden Age: Nationalism, Exceptionalism and Decline | 15 | No |
| MLF2066 | Intimate Spaces of the French Enlightenment | 15 | No |
| MLM2003 | Chinoiserie and Europeenerie: Artistic and cultural exchanges between China and Europe | 15 | No |
| CLA S2 BA CH Classical Studies options 2023-4 [See note f above] | |||
| CLA2302 | Ancient Sources (Written Evidence): Greek Historiography to the End of the Fifth Century BC | 15 | No |
| CLA2307 | Ancient Sources (Written Evidence) Ancient Medicine | 15 | No |
| CLA2406 | Text and Context: Roman Love Elegy | 15 | No |
| CLA2410 | Text and Context: Writing Women in Ancient Literature | 15 | No |
| CLA2514 | Ancient Sources (Material Evidence) - Pompeii: Destruction, Discovery and Afterlife | 15 | No |
| CLA2517 | Ancient Sources (Material Evidence): Hellenistic Palaces in West Asia | 15 | No |
| CLA2202 | Classical Language and Texts: Greek II | 30 | No |
| CLA2205 | Classical Language and Texts: Greek IV | 30 | No |
| CLA2252 | Classical Language and Texts: Latin II | 30 | No |
| CLA2254 | Classical Language and Texts: Latin IV | 30 | No |
| CLA3204 | Classical Language and Texts: Greek III | 30 | No |
| CLA3254 | Classical Language and Texts: Latin III | 30 | No |
| CLA2507 | Ancient World: Greek Philosophy | 15 | No |
| HUM HUM2000-HUM2001 | |||
| HUM2000 | Humanities in the Workplace | 30 | No |
| HUM2001 | Humanities in the Workplace | 15 | No |
Stage 3
30 credits of compulsory dissertation, 90 credits of optional modules (including 30-60 credits of Art History & Visual Culture modules, and 30-60 credits of Classical Studies modules).
Compulsory Modules
Subject to choosing 120 credits for the stage overall, you must:
g select a Dissertation in either Art History & Visual Culture or Classical Studies: AHV3000 or CLA3009 (you cannot choose more than one module from this group).
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| AHV3000 | Art History and Visual Culture Dissertation [See note g above] | 30 | No |
| CLA3009 | Dissertation [See note g above] | 30 | No |
Optional Modules
h if selecting CLA3009, select 60 credits from this list of optional Art History & Visual Culture modules.
i if selecting AHV3000, select 60 credits from this list of optional Classical Studies modules.
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| AHV Final Stage CH Option Modules 2023-4 [See note h above] | |||
| AHV3003 | The Face | 15 | No |
| AHV3008 | Performance Art | 15 | No |
| HUM3015 | The Place of Meaning: Gardens in Britain and China | 15 | No |
| MLG3036 | Dictatorships on Display: History Exhibitions in Germany and Austria | 15 | No |
| EAF3515 | Something to See: War and Visual Media | 30 | No |
| EAS3245 | The 21st Century Museum | 30 | No |
| EAS3421 | Picturing the Global City: Literature and Visual Culture in the 21st Century | 30 | No |
| EAS3504 | Surrealism and its Legacies | 30 | No |
| AHV3002 | Understanding Space in Renaissance Italy | 15 | No |
| AHV3007 | Global Modernisms | 15 | No |
| AHV3009 | Paris to the World: Modelling the Modern City | 15 | No |
| AHV3012 | Installation Art | 15 | No |
| AHV3016 | Conceptual Art | 15 | No |
| AHV3017 | 'Queen City of Europe': Art, Culture and Society in Renaissance Antwerp, c.1500-70 | 15 | No |
| CLA Final Stage BA Ancient History-Classical Studies CH options 2023-4 [See note i above] | |||
| CLA3008 | The Age of Cicero | 30 | No |
| CLA3033 | Magic, Witchcraft and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds | 30 | No |
| CLA3045 | Thucydides and the Idea of History | 30 | No |
| CLA3056 | Ovid and the Erotic Passions | 15 | No |
| CLA3059 | Classical Language and Texts: Greek V: Imperial Greek Prose | 30 | No |
| CLA3113 | Art in Greek Society | 15 | No |
| CLA3123 | Applied Classics | 15 | No |
| CLA3124 | Receptions of the Classical Body | 30 | No |
| CLA3125 | Reading and Writing Greek Literature in the Hellenistic World | 30 | No |
| CLA3202 | Classical Language and Texts: Greek II | 30 | No |
| CLA3204 | Classical Language and Texts: Greek III | 30 | No |
| CLA3205 | Classical Language and Texts: Greek IV | 30 | No |
| CLA3206 | Classical Language and Texts: Latin IV | 30 | No |
| CLA3251 | Classical Language and Texts: Latin V: Epic | 30 | No |
| CLA3252 | Classical Language and Texts: Latin II | 30 | No |
| CLA3254 | Classical Language and Texts: Latin III | 30 | No |
| CLA3255 | Greek Political Thought | 15 | No |
| CLA3257 | Living in the Roman World: Society and Culture | 30 | No |
| CLA3263 | Being and Not-Being in Greek Philosophy: from Parmenides to Aristotle | 15 | No |
| CLA3267 | Dialogues with the Past: Creative Interpretative Project | 15 | No |
| CLA3274 | The Persians in a Near Eastern Context | 30 | No |
| CLA3275 | Women Writing Classics | 15 | No |
| CLA3277 | Lost Works and Fragments | 15 | No |
| CLA3278 | Roman Political Thought | 15 | No |
| CLA3279 | Knowledge, Wealth and Power in the Ancient World | 30 | No |
6. Programme Outcomes Linked to Teaching, Learning and Assessment Methods
Intended Learning Outcomes
A: Specialised Subject Skills and Knowledge
| Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) On successfully completing this programme you will be able to: | Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be... | |
|---|---|---|
| ...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class): | ...and evidenced by the following assessment methods: | |
1. Identify Art History & Visual Culture and Classical Studies as broad subject disciplines. | ILOs 1-8 are acquired through lectures, seminars, workshops, study groups, tutorials and other learning activities throughout the programme. The degree of specialisation of subject knowledge increases during the programme, culminating in the dissertation modules. Option modules in the final stage are most closely related to the research specialism of the staff teaching the module. The precise method of teaching varies according to each module. On team-taught modules you will normally engage in both lectures and seminar groups. In smaller options you will normally spend most of your contact time in seminar groups and workshops. Your learning is further developed through engagement with assessments, following guidance from tutors and lecturers and through feedback on work submitted. ILOs 2, 4, 6 and 8 are specifically introduced in Stage 1 modules ‘Introduction to the History of Art’ and ‘Introducing Visual Culture’, and reinforced in the range of option modules available in the second and final stages. ILOs 4 and 7 are specifically introduced in the Stage 1 modules ‘Inside the Museum’ and ‘Visual Media’ and similarly reinforced through option modules available in the second and final stages. ILOs 2-3, 5 and 8 are at the core of the Classical Studies side of the programme at all stages. However, more sophisticated analysis and understanding is expected in the final stage. These skills are developed in stages 1 and 2 by means of lectures, discussion in seminars, researching and writing essays, gobbet answers and oral presentations. In the final stage these skills are developed in relation to particular topics and periods through specialised modules and through the dissertation. | The assessment of these skills is through a combination of presentations and participation in seminars, log-books, web-based assessments, essays, other written reports/projects, and a dissertation. Essays and presentations are especially significant within the programme because they assess each of the skills, 1-8. The assessment criteria explicitly recognise the skills outlined. |
Intended Learning Outcomes
B: Academic Discipline Core Skills and Knowledge
| Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) On successfully completing this programme you will be able to: | Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be... | |
|---|---|---|
| ...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class): | ...and evidenced by the following assessment methods: | |
9. Apply critical skills in the close description and analysis of texts and visual artefacts. | These skills are developed throughout the programme in all modules. They are developed through lectures and seminars, written work, and oral work (both in presentation and seminar discussion), and reinforced through the range of option modules across all stages. They will culminate in the substantial and independent research skills demonstrated within the dissertation. ILOs 9 and 11 will be specifically introduced in the modules ‘Debates and Contestations in Art History’ and ‘Contemporary Visual Practices’. ILOs 11, 13 and 15-16 are specifically introduced in the core modules, ‘Introduction to the History of Art’ and ‘Introducing Visual Culture’. These modules ensure that you have a firm grasp of the range of academic skills that are required of you during the programme. | The assessment of these skills is through a combination of presentations and participation in seminars, log-books, web-based assessments, essays, other written reports/projects, and a dissertation. |
Intended Learning Outcomes
C: Personal/Transferable/Employment Skills and Knowledge
| Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) On successfully completing this programme you will be able to: | Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be... | |
|---|---|---|
| ...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class): | ...and evidenced by the following assessment methods: | |
17. Apply advanced literacy and communication skills in appropriate contexts including the ability to present sustained and persuasive written and oral arguments. | Personal and key skills are delivered through all modules, and developed in lectures, workshops, study groups, tutorials, work experience and other learning activities throughout the programme. | The assessment of these skills is through a combination of presentations and participation in seminars, log-books, web-based assessments, essays, other written reports/projects, and a dissertation. ILOs 17-22 are also strongly developed in the course of the portfolio of assessed essays and other written work produced through all stages. These assessments work on the principle of offering formative feedback to support the development of your written work within as well as between modules. Feedback on one assignment is intended to inform the next piece of work you undertake on the module; the next piece of work on the programme, or the future learning of graduates. ILO23 is associated especially with the range of group presentations taking place in modules during all stages. Group presentation assessment brings into focus an important range of skills for students, including sharing workloads, responsibility for tasks, team-working, collaborative and communicative skills. Individual contributions to group work are also assessed individually, most often in the form of a reflective presentation report. ILOs 24-26 are also accomplished in the course of ‘real-time’ formal assessments such as presentations, which occur through the programme. ILO 27 is particularly related to the optional module ‘Humanities in the Workplace’, and to the range of work conducted in the field through Art History & Visual Culture and Classical Studies options. |
7. Programme Regulations
Classification
Full details of assessment regulations for all taught programmes can be found in the TQA Manual, specifically in the Credit and Qualifications Framework, and the Assessment, Progression and Awarding: Taught Programmes Handbook. Additional information, including Generic Marking Criteria, can be found in the Learning and Teaching Support Handbook.
8. College Support for Students and Students' Learning
The marking criteria, which closely reflect the skills outlined in the Programme Outcomes section, and the Department’s expectations with regard to study groups, are available in the Student Handbook, which can be found at: www.intranet.exeter.ac.uk/humanities/studying/taughthandbook/.
In addition to the centrally provided services detailed in section 9, the Department of Classics and Ancient History provides:
- Team Skills Development Programme
- Student Handbooks and module guides (available in print and on the department websites)
- ELE based learning support materials and activities (Hercules)
- Access to teaching staff – times when staff are available are posted on office doors and contact email addresses provided in student handbooks
- Student representation at department meetings and College Teaching Committee
- Student progress review and reporting via reserved agenda items at department meetings
All students within Art History & Visual Culture have a personal tutor for their entire programme of study and who are available at advertised ‘office hours’. There are induction sessions to orientate you at the start of your programme. A personal tutoring system will operate with regular communication throughout the programme. Academic support will be also be provided by module leaders. You can also make an appointment to see individual teaching staff.
9. University Support for Students and Students' Learning
Please refer to the University Academic Policy and Standards guidelines regarding support for students and students' learning.
10. Admissions Criteria
Undergraduate applicants must satisfy the Undergraduate Admissions Policy of the University of Exeter.
Postgraduate applicants must satisfy the Postgraduate Admissions Policy of the University of Exeter.
Specific requirements required to enrol on this programme are available at the respective Undergraduate or Postgraduate Study Site webpages.
11. Regulation of Assessment and Academic Standards
Each academic programme in the University is subject to an agreed College assessment and marking strategy, underpinned by institution-wide assessment procedures.
The security of assessment and academic standards is further supported through the appointment of External Examiners for each programme. External Examiners have access to draft papers, course work and examination scripts. They are required to attend the Board of Examiners and to provide an annual report. Annual External Examiner reports are monitored at both College and University level. Their responsibilities are described in the University's code of practice. See the University's TQA Manual for details.
14. Awarding Institution
University of Exeter
15. Lead College / Teaching Institution
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS)
16. Partner College / Institution
Partner College(s)
Not applicable to this programme
Partner Institution
Not applicable to this programme.
17. Programme Accredited / Validated by
0
18. Final Award
BA (Hons) Art History & Visual Culture and Classical Studies
19. UCAS Code
QV83
20. NQF Level of Final Award
6 (Honours)
21. Credit
| CATS credits | ECTS credits |
|---|
22. QAA Subject Benchmarking Group
[Honours] Classics and ancient history (including Byzantine Studies and Modern Greek)
[Honours] History of art, architecture and design
23. Dates
| Origin Date | 01/08/2015 |
Date of last revision | 27/03/2023 |
|---|
