BA (Honours) Humanities: Art history pathway

Stage 1

You’ll begin your studies with the compulsory 60-credit module The arts past and present (AA100)The arts past and present::This broadly-focused course introduces you to university-level study in the arts across a range of subject areas - art history, classical studies, English, history, philosophy, music and religious studies. It is structured around four themes, in order to guide you through some of the basic concerns of arts subjects: Reputations; Tradition and Dissent; Cultural Encounters; and Place and Leisure. Your studies will range from poetry to string quartets, and from sculpture to short stories – across a wide variety of cultures and historical periods. This key introductory Level 1 course is also a useful means of acquiring the key skills required for further study of arts and humanities subjects.undergraduate.qualification.pathways.Q03-2,module,AA100,,1, an absorbing and broad-based grounding in the arts and humanities, including:

• history    
• philosophy
• music
• literature
• art history
• classical studies
• religious studies.

You’ll develop essential study skills while engaging with a wide range of topics, periods and approaches and enhancing your enjoyment and understanding of fascinating and diverse aspects of human culture.

We recommend that you build on this with two 30-credit Level 1 modules designed to hone your critical and analytical skills and prepare you for study at Level 2. In the first, Voices and texts (A150)Voices and texts::Designed to follow our key introductory course in arts and humanities, The arts past and present (AA100), which you are strongly advised to study first, this course focuses on language in a wide range of contexts and from the perspective of different academic subjects. These include subjects familiar from studying The arts past and present - classical studies, history, literature, music, religious studies - and two additional subjects, creative writing and English language studies. Voices and texts will help you to prepare for your studies at Level 2 by giving you opportunities to sharpen your analytical skills and to develop new approaches to your own writing.undergraduate.qualification.pathways.Q03-2,module,A150,,1, you’ll explore language, particularly English, in a wide range of contexts and from the perspective of different academic subjects. In the second, Making sense of things: an introduction to material culture (A151)Making sense of things: an introduction to material culture::This course is designed to follow our key introductory Level 1 course, The arts past and present (AA100), which you are strongly advised to study first. It introduces you to the study of objects, or material culture, in both the past and present from a variety of different perspectives. These include heritage studies, art history, classical studies, history, philosophy and religious studies. Making sense of things will prepare you for Level 2 study, giving you opportunities to develop a range of critical and analytical skills within the context of this exciting new subject.undergraduate.qualification.pathways.Q03-2,module,A151,,1, you’ll be introduced to the study of objects, in both the past and present. From October 2014, these 30-credit modules are being merged into one 60-credit module Voices, texts and material culture (A105).

Alternatively, you could choose from other options which include languages, social sciences and design.

Stage 2

At this stage, you’ll begin to study your specialist subject, choosing from two 60-credit options. In Exploring art and visual culture (A226)Exploring art and visual culture::What is art and how has it changed through history? What is visual culture? These and many other issues are explored through case studies focused on artworks, buildings and other visual artefacts from 1100 to present day. Topics addressed range from Gothic churches to modern design, Renaissance altarpieces to Dutch seventeenth-century painting, eighteenth-century landscape parks to recent installations and videos. You will also gain an understanding of the art-historical debates that have shaped approaches to this exciting subject. The course is taught using lavishly illustrated course books, alongside extensive audio, video and interactive material.undergraduate.qualification.pathways.Q03-2,module,A226,,1 you’ll develop an extensive knowledge of the art of different historical periods and explores how ideas about art have changed over time. As well as studying well-known artists and artworks, you’ll investigate new and diverse forms of visual culture. Topics covered range from Gothic churches to Impressionist painting, and landscape gardens to photography. The other, Understanding global heritage (AD281)Understanding global heritage::What is the nature and value of heritage? Why are certain objects, places and practices considered more worthy of protection than others? This course will introduce you to the study of heritage and its function at local, regional, national and global levels. You’ll develop a critical understanding of how heritage is created and consumed across different cultures, and the roles heritage fulfils in contemporary and past societies. Using case material from around the world you’ll explore the global scope of heritage, from the ways in which local communities use heritage to build their own sense of identity, to the ways in which the state employs heritage in nation building.undergraduate.qualification.pathways.Q03-2,module,AD281,,1 introduces you to the study of heritage and its function at various levels. You’ll develop a critical understanding of how heritage is created and consumed across different cultures, and the roles heritage fulfils in contemporary and past societies. You can also opt to study both modules, thereby completing Stage 2.

Alternatively, you could complete Stage 2 by continuing your study of interdisciplinary humanities, or you could focus on subjects including classical studies, classical languages, creative writing, heritage studies, literature, music, English language, philosophy, religious studies, history, French, German and Spanish. Before you decide, you should think ahead to Stage 3, because most modules recommend you should study a particular Level 2 module first.

These modules can be studied in any order and throughout this stage you’ll continue to develop your critical thinking, writing and analysis skills. You’ll also begin to work and think more independently in relation to a range of problems and questions posed by your course of study.

Stage 3

You will continue to study your specialist subject in Stage 3 with a choice of two 60-credit modules: Renaissance art reconsidered (AA315)Renaissance art reconsidered::This is not simply another course on Renaissance art. It questions the traditional geographical and social boundaries of this subject – one of the most traditional in the art history discipline – in line with contemporary developments in academic research. Instead of focusing on the Italian peninsula and Florence in particular (as has been the tendency for most histories of Renaissance art c.1420-1520), this course ventures to England, the Netherlands, France, Italy and Crete. It includes art forms such as prints, tapestries, manuscripts, painting, sculpture and architecture, centred around three main themes: Making Renaissance Art;Locating Renaissance Art; and Viewing Renaissance Art.undergraduate.qualification.pathways.Q03-2,module,AA315,,1 exploring the diversity of artistic practice during the Renaissance, drawing on cutting edge approaches; and Art of the twentieth century (AA318)Art of the twentieth century::Fundamental changes took place in the concepts and practices of art during the twentieth century. This course introduces you to different types of art – ranging from traditional media such as painting and sculpture to video art, photography, installation and performance art – and to a variety of critical and theoretical interpretations. Central topics include the relation of the modernist mainstream to new ‘postmodernist’ standpoints; the status of the art object; the role of gender and identity; and the place of a predominantly European tradition in an increasingly globalised culture. The course discusses artists from Picasso to Warhol, and movements from Surrealism to Conceptual Art.undergraduate.qualification.pathways.Q03-2,module,AA318,,1 which introduces you to the radical new artistic practices and concepts that developed during the last century. You can also opt to study both modules – thereby completing your degree.

Alternatively, you can choose from a wide range of modules covering classical studies, creative writing, literature, music, English language, philosophy, religious studies, history, French, German and Spanish. You should bear in mind that most of these modules recommend that you have studied a particular Level 2 module first.

(If you live in England and intend to apply for a student loan, please note that some of the Level 3 history options are produced in collaboration with other universities and are therefore not eligible for student loan funding.)

These modules can be studied in any order and being at Level 3, you’ll work more independently than you did at Levels 1 and 2, devoting some of your study time to exploring topics and issues in greater detail.

If you have already completed some successful study at higher education level at another institution you may be able to transfer credit for this study and count it towards an Open University qualification. If you wish to apply to transfer credit you must do so as soon as possible, and before you register for your chosen qualification. If you are awarded credit for study completed elsewhere, you may find that you need to study fewer OU modules to complete your qualification with us.

Visit our Credit Transfer site for more information and details of how to apply for credit transfer.