Stories of Art: Writing and Seeing (V4041)

30 credits, Level 4

Autumn teaching

On this module, you’ll explore a wide range of artworks, and visual and material culture. This includes paintings, sculptures, architecture, artefacts and decorative art.

You’ll also examine different ‘texts’ beyond academic literature that communicate art historical knowledge to the public. This includes exhibitions, film, journalism, television and digital culture. Through this, you’ll reflect on how different types of writing serve different purposes. 

The module is based on the principle that there are Stories of Art, rather than one single History, asking: What does art do?

Through lectures and seminars, you’ll:

  • explore specific stories of art from a wide range of artists, artworks, ideas and movements
  • cover the various social, cultural and political contexts of art stories
  • build visual analytical skills
  • think about key terms, how words describe what we see and how a conceptual vocabulary describes works of visual art
  • develop your writing and research skills
  • further your ability to analyse texts and visuals
  • explore different forms of non-academic writing.

Teaching

57%: Lecture
43%: Seminar

Assessment

100%: Coursework (Essay)

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 55 hours of contact time and about 95 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We鈥檙e planning to run these modules in the academic year 2026/27. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We鈥檒l make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

Courses

This module is offered on the following courses: