Course Catalogue

Cultures of Collecting - Collecting Cultures HISTART5123

  • Academic Session: 2026-27
  • School: School of Culture and Creative Arts
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
  • Typically Offered: Semester 1
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes
  • Collaborative Online International Learning: No
  • Curriculum For Life: No

Short Description

This course will introduce students to aspects of the histories of collecting art and artefacts as a global phenomenon in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. It is designed to provide students with an historical framework which looks at the interplay of 'demand' and 'source' countries in the formation of collections and the extension of knowledge.

Timetable

10 x 2 hour sessions: one lecture, one seminar per week

Requirements of Entry

Standard entry to Masters at College level. 

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

The standard assessments for this course are:

■ Essay (3500 words) - 70%

■ 15-minute presentation - 30%

 

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)

■ Recorded presentation or Power point with substantial notes or one-to-one presentation / discussion/Q&A with staff or presentation in alternative format, e.g. audio only instead of audio-and-video as an alternative to the presentation

 

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

Course Aims

This course aims to:

■ examine the complexities involved in the collecting of artefacts as a global activity during the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries;

■ examine the key developments and mechanisms which enabled the formation of private and public collections, primarily in the West;

■ provide the historical framework for the Programme as a whole.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

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

■ evaluate the drivers and mechanisms that governed the collecting of art and artefacts as a global phenomenon during the periods covered by engaging critically with relevant sources;

■ identify and characterise the way in which social and economic changes in 'demand' and 'source' countries created opportunities and a market for goods;

■ apply and evaluate a range of theoretical and conceptual approaches to the history of collecting;

■ analyse and reflect upon the visual and textual evidence studied to construct reasoned arguments in both oral and written form.

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

No exceptions