| Unit name | Collage and its Histories |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HART20039 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Gowrley |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Department of History of Art (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
This unit offers a dynamic perspective on collage, a vitally important form of artistic production that transcends traditional boundaries of medium, period, and geography. While histories of collage usually attribute its invention to the Cubist artists Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque in 1912, the aesthetic and intellectual tradition of collage production had been prevalent for centuries prior to this. Addressing this art-historical oversight, the unit primarily focuses on collage made between the early modern period and the late nineteenth century, allowing students to examine a vital moment in its history. Drawing links between these works and modern, postmodern, and contemporary examples, the unit will explore collage’s diverse material forms and global reach to provide a thought-provoking exploration of one of art history’s central practices.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit introduces students to a broad range of visual and material objects taken from a variety of cultural contexts and produced over a period of several centuries. As such, it builds on the approaches adopted by units taken at BA1. The unit will also help to develop students’ understanding of vital theoretical, historiographical, and methodological frameworks for art historical study, including ideas such as medium, period, and representation. In so doing, it extends, develops and applies concepts and approaches introduced in year 1 and complements critical models encountered on other second-year units, such as Theorising the Object.
An overview of content
This unit will introduce you to a broad spectrum of artistic practices that we might consider as forms of collage, examining objects and artworks from the early modern period to the present day, focusing primarily on the period 1680-1912. In so doing, it explores a radical history of collage, rejecting previous accounts which have attributed its invention to Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque in France. Alongside traditional paper collage, we will examine objects such as scrapbooks, albums, prints, quilts, and pieces of furniture, and will consider how these have been conceptualised, collected and displayed throughout history. By examining collage in this way, we will unpack a range of topics, such as the divisions between art and craft, the relationship between gender and artistic identity, and will ask how broad global narratives of trade and technology shaped highly domestic pursuits, all the while considering some of the very ways in which art history is written.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit 
As a result of this unit, you will discover the centrality of collage within visual and material culture from the early modern period onwards. You will become familiar with a diverse array of artistic practices and forms of cultural production that go beyond traditional definitions of ‘high’ art, and will consider these across a range of geographical, cultural, and chronological contexts. You will develop a stronger understanding of a range of issues at the very heart of art history as a discipline, as part of which you will develop critical skills and new competencies in engaging with new historiographical and theoretical approaches.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Classes will involve a combination of long- and short-form lectures, class discussion, investigative activities, and practical activities. Students will be expected to engage with readings and participate on a weekly basis. This will be further supported with drop-in sessions and self-directed exercises with tutor and peer feedback.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
One 2000-word essay (50%) [ILOs 1-4]
One timed assessment (50%) [ILOs 1-4]
When assessment does not go to plan:
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the format or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the year.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. HART20039).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an
assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
