Topics in Korean Material Culture
- Course Code:
- 15PARC035
- Unit value:
- 1.0
Objectives and learning outcomes of the course
At the end of the course, a student will be able to:
- Critically analyse Korean religious and secular arts from the Three Kingdoms (trad. 57 BC-AD 668) to 21st century using appropriate vocabulary.
- Examine a range of approaches to understanding Korean material culture from these periods.
Learning Outcomes - Knowledge; Understanding; Skills
- Knowledge of the chronological framework for the development of pre-modern Korean art, archaeology and architecture.
- Knowledge of the political, social and religious contexts for the production and use of art on the Korean peninsula during the periods covered in the course.
- The ability to place the development of Korean art, archaeology and architecture within the context of East Asian history and culture.
- Understanding of key themes and approaches to the study of secular and religious arts in Korea, using appropriate vocabulary.
- The ability to visually recognise significant Korean artefacts and stylistic developments in the history of Korean art and archaeology.
- The ability to constructively criticise the approaches and methods of archaeologists and art historians.
Scope and syllabus
Key themes in pre-modern Korean material culture are introduced in this new course which examines Korean religious and secular arts from the Three Kingdoms period (trad. 57 BC-AD 668) to the Chosŏn period (AD 1392-1910).
The course is not arranged chronologically, but focuses on three key themes within Korean art and culture:
- Burial customs (centring on the Three Kingdoms to the Choson periods)
- Ritual and worship (centring on the Bronze Age to the Choson periods)
- Secular traditions (centring on the Unified Silla to the Choson periods)
Though the contents of these themes may change from year to year depending on exhibitions, conferences and other relevant events taking place in the UK, the course will always cover a wide range of material, from mortuary remains to Buddhist paintings, and will place it within a religious, social and historical context. Designed to facilitate an appreciation and in-depth understanding of key themes, traditions and aesthetic concepts within Korean art and archaeological traditions, the course provides a means to assess and understand developments in Korea’s cultural history and to question such changes in relation to non-Korean practices and artistic influences. The production and consumption of Korean artefacts will be examined against a cross-cultural milieu that is formed by religious interaction, political networks and trade relations particularly within East Asia as well as within Asia as a whole. In situating the material within the framework of East Asian cultural and art historical frameworks, the local production of the arts is thus addressed within a wider set of questions, particularly with regards to the adoption and manipulation of foreign techniques and iconographical traditions, the development of a Korean aesthetic and the representation of local identities in material culture. The course will include several visits to collections of Korean art.
Method of assessment
3 essays of 3-4,000 words = 75%/ written tests =25%Required reading
- Itoh Ikutaro and Mino Yukata. The Radiance of Jade and the Clarity of Water: Korean Ceramics from the Ataka Collection. Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1991
- Kim, Kumja Paik (ed.). Goryeo dynasty: Korea's age of enlightenment, 918-1392. San Francisco: Asian Art Museum, 2003
- Kim Wŏnyong. Art and Archaeology of Ancient Korea. Taekwang publishing, 1986
- Smith, Judith (ed.). Arts of Korea. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1998
