Course Catalogue

View Specification Document | Reading List

This course will study the rise of Symbolism as an international phenomenon, with particular attention to its principal manifestations in Europe, and of the Vienna Secession as a movement which had close connections with aspects of European Symbolism, whilst also developing a distinctive identity of its own.

1 x 1hr lecture; 1 x 1hr seminar per week over 10 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus.

Available to all students fulfilling requirements for Honours entry into History of Art, and by arrangement to visiting students or students who qualify under the University's 25% regulation.

None

None

The standard assessments for this course are:

■ Essay, 2500 words, 60%
Review of an exhibition, display, or website, 1000 words, 30%
Oral presentation, 7 minutes, 10%

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available:

■ There is no alternative to the essay, but a flexible deadline can be offered as reasonable adjustments (students should follow the usual process for extensions)

■ There is no alternative to the review, but a flexible deadline can be offered as reasonable adjustments (students should follow the usual process for extensions)

■ Recorded presentation or one-to-one presentation (to the lecturer) as an alternative to the oral presentation.

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.

This course aims to:

■ examine the principal features of European Symbolism and of the art of the Vienna Secession in their wider cultural, social and historical contexts

■ promote acquisition of transferrable skills of critical analysis

■ develop students' understanding of an important area of 19th/early 20th- century Western art

By the end of this course student will be able to:

■ distinguish between the aims, styles, and iconographies of leading Symbolist and Vienna Secessionist artists, designers, and groups

■ assess the importance for Symbolist and Vienna Secessionist art and design of period ideals and concepts

■ evaluate key arguments by influential writers on Symbolism and the Vienna Secession, and by modern historians of these movements

■ critique examples of exhibitions, displays, or websites that seek to interpret Symbolism, the Vienna Secession, or individual artists from these movements, for modern audiences