Decolonising the Arts
Key information
- Start date
- End date
- Year of study
- Year 2
- Duration
- Term 2
- Module code
- 158100024
- FHEQ Level
- 5
- Credits
- 15
- Department
- School of Arts & Department of History of Art and Archaeology
Module overview
This module builds incrementally on the first year module Histories of Art: In/Out of Asia and Africa to give robust theoretical and historical training in decolonising the curriculum with regard to the discipline of Art History.
Co-taught by department members, the module will offer students a series of key transferable skills and a range of analytical, theoretical and practical approaches to the decolonisation of the study of art and archaeology.
The module comprises a number of thematic blocks, of which at least one is theoretical and two historical. The themes of these blocks will vary each year but may include: Postcolonial or Decolonial?; The Stakes of Decolonisation; Why Decolonise the Canon?; Decolonising Archaeology; The History of Islamic Art History; The History of Art History in [a region of] East Asia; The History of Art History in [a region of] South and South-East Asia; and The History of African Art History. In addition to essay assessments, alternative assessments will be included; for example, group debates, literature reviews and weekly e-logs.
Objectives and learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module a student will be able to
- Demonstrate fluency in a range of decolonising topics specific to the discipline of Art History.
- Appraise the various approaches, key issues and concerns of these topics, with particular concern for their relevance to Asian and African contexts.
- Apply decolonising frameworks appropriate to their own research and professional interests.
- Demonstrate a range of skills necessary for successful academic and vocational pathways, including general research and transferable study skills.
- See and understand a variety of often opaque cultural values and explore their implications for redressing forms of disadvantage associated with racism and colonialism in academia and the wider world.
Workload
- Lectures: 2 hours per week
Method of assessment
- 800-word annotated bibliography (worth 25% of marks)
- 1,500-word essay (worth 50%)
- Seminar participation and weekly logbook entries (worth 25%)
Suggested reading
- Mignolo, Walter and Catherine Walsh On Decoloniality: Concepts, Analytics, Practice (2018).
- Capistrano-Baker, Florina “Whither Art History in the Non-Western World: Exploring the Other('s) Art Histories," The Art Bulletin 97: 3 (2015): 246-57.
- Grant, Catherine and Dorothy Price (eds), “Decolonizing Art History,” Art History 43: 1 (2020): 8-66.
- Nelson, Robert S., “The Map of Art History,” The Art Bulletin, 79: 1 (1997): 28-40.
- Gregor Langfeld, “The Canon in Art History: Concepts and Approaches," Journal of Art Historiography 19 (2018): 1-18.
Disclaimer
Important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules.