Literature and Art History

Description

Our undergraduate course, BA Literature and Art History, offers students flexible pathways of study throughout their three year degree, as well as the option of an additional year studying abroad. Our distinctive curriculum allows you to take advantage of the most up-to-date developments in the field, and to understand the interactions and differences between literature and the visual arts in history. Students on our literature and art courses are offered the opportunity to study the relationship between text and image and the relationships that exist between the two. Our students have the opportunity to develop their interests and explore a variety of interpretative methods which are appropriate to both the text and to the visual artefact. Literature is introduced in the first year through a series of seminal works in drama, poetry and narrative which have helped to articulate the literature of England and Europe both past and present. By adopting and practising close reading skills our students develop their abilities in analysis and interpretation and grow in confidence from the beginning of their undergraduate study. Similarly in art history modules students cover a broad based history from their first year of study and can and choose from a variety of specialist options to suit their own interests. Students will be able to engage with art works that range from Old Master paintings, through the Pre-Raphaelites and Surrealists, to the most up-to-date contemporary art and visual culture. Modules explore a wide variety of media, including architecture, urbanism, photography and video, as well as painting, drawing, printmaking, performance art and sculpture. This understanding of visual history allows our students to complement and enhance their exploration of different textual sources, from the earliest modern works to the literature and theory of the present day, in a variety of contexts.
The study of literature and art history as a combined honours subject is one of our most popular courses. Our students are trained in the reading writing and visual communication skills which enrich their own work and which make them highly desirable to employers.

Detailed Course Facts

• GBP 9000 Year (EEA)
• GBP 11950 Year (Non-EEA)

• English

Course Content

The special characteristics of our courses are flexibility and choice. In your first year, you usually take four or five modules that include pre-requisite(s) for your course but, in many cases, mean you can try subjects you have not come across before. If you are taking a humanities or social science, then you have the greatest choice, as most of our first-year modules do not assume any specialist knowledge.

Year 1
The Enlightenment
Introduction to Literature
Art and Ideas
Ways of Seeing
Year 2
Early Modern Literature
Versions of Modernity
The Renaissance in Tuscany
More Art, More Ideas - Critique & Historiography in the History of Art
The Art of Exhibition: Salon, Biennal, Blockbuster (On offer from October 2015)
Picturing Paris: The Capital of the Nineteenth Century
After Impressionism: European Art from Van Gogh to Klimt
Becoming Modern: European Art from Futurism to Surrealism
Art in Latin America I
Journeys Through Time & Space: Architecture & Urbanism
Year 3
Two art history options including modules on photography film and new media and
two literature, film, and theatre studies options
A third year dissertation project is also available as an option.

English Language Requirements

IELTS band : 6

To study at this university, you have to speak English. We advice you to

Requirements

A-levels: ABB-BBB GCSE English: C
BTEC National Diploma: DDM in Fine Art
IB: 32-30 points (we consider IB certificates at the Higher level on a case-by-case basis)
Achievement of the Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 6 level three credits at distinction and the remainder at merit (or above) or achievement of the Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 45 level three credits at merit (or above).
English language requirements for applicants whose first language is not English: IELTS 6.0 overall with minimum 5.5 in each component (or equivalent). Different requirements apply for second year entry

Work Experience

No work experience is required.

Related Scholarships*

• Academic Excellence Scholarship

  "The Academic Excellence Scholarship can provide up to a 50 % reduction in tuition per semester. These scholarships will be renewed if the student maintains superior academic performance during each semester of their 3-year Bachelor programme. The scholarship will be directly applied to the student’s tuition fees."

• Access Bursary

  Bursary for UK students all subjects where the variable tuition fee rate is payable.

• Alumni Bursary

  Alumni Bursary for UK Undergraduate students

* The scholarships shown on this page are suggestions first and foremost. They could be offered by other organisations than University of Essex.

Funding

For up-to-date information on funding opportunities at Essex, please visit: www.essex.ac.uk/studentfinance.