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Debates in Art History

Course dates: Wednesday 13 January - Wednesday 24 March 2027

Class timetable: 10 sessions (View class timetable for Wednesday 13 January 2027 to Wednesday 24 March 2027)

Timetable data for Wednesday 13 January 2027 to Wednesday 24 March 2027

Day of class Date of class Time Venue
Wednesday 13-Jan-2027 6:00pm - 9:00pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Wednesday 20-Jan-2027 6:00pm - 9:00pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Wednesday 27-Jan-2027 6:00pm - 9:00pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Wednesday 03-Feb-2027 6:00pm - 9:00pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Wednesday 10-Feb-2027 6:00pm - 9:00pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Wednesday 24-Feb-2027 6:00pm - 9:00pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Wednesday 03-Mar-2027 6:00pm - 9:00pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Wednesday 10-Mar-2027 6:00pm - 9:00pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Wednesday 17-Mar-2027 6:00pm - 9:00pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Wednesday 24-Mar-2027 6:00pm - 9:00pm Birkbeck Campus, Central London

Location: Birkbeck Campus, Central London

Fees: £1640.00

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Course Overview

Our Debates in Art History short course will develop your understanding of a range of art historical approaches and methods, and how these relate to their historical context. You will learn about the writing of art history and undertake close reading of texts. Some of the ideas involved are challenging, so time for independent thought and critical reflection is built into the course structure. We also recommend that you take part in informal group meetings and/or use the Discussion Area on Moodle.

The course is made up of the following four parts, each comprising two lectures and one seminar:

  • Form and Style
  • Gender and Politics
  • The Significance of the Artist
  • Mechanisms of Meaning.

Lectures introduce you to a selection of approaches and seminars allow you to explore these approaches in more detail through the discussion of a key text or texts. The summer term is devoted to preparation for the examination.

Assessment is via a compulsory course journal and two-hour unseen examination (two out of eight questions).

As a student on this course, you will study alongside Birkbeck students enrolled on one of our undergraduate or postgraduate courses, giving you the opportunity to network with a range of Birkbeck current students whilst you learn.

This can be taken as a standalone short course or as part of:

Credits: 30 credits at level 4

Fees

Students are charged a tuition fee for each short course on registering. Please view details for this course, including dates, location and fees at the top of this page. Short course fees may be subject to annual inflationary increases. For more information, please see our Fees Policy.

Birkbeck's Lifelong Learning Guarantee

If you've studied at Birkbeck before and successfully completed an award with us, take advantage of our Lifelong Learning Guarantee to gain a reduction on the tuition fee of this course.

School of Historical Studies

The school is intensively interdisciplinary and its research and teaching covers every period from prehistory to the early twenty-first century.

Entry Requirements

Most of our short courses have no formal entry requirements and are open to all students.

This short course has no prerequisites.

As part of the registration process, you may be required to submit a copy of a suitable form of ID.

International students who wish to come to the UK to study a short course can apply for a Visitor visa. Please note that it is not possible to obtain a Student visa to study a short course.

How to Register

You register directly onto the classes you would like to take. Classes are filled on a first-come, first-served basis - so register early.

If you want to take more than one short course, you can select each one separately and then register onto them together via our online application portal. There is usually no formal selection process, although some modules may have prerequisites and/or other requirements, which will be specified where relevant.