Module description
The aim of this module is to provide you with an understanding of four areas of study within the Humanities (Visual Culture; Film Studies; Literary Studies; and History of Ideas) and an outline of the way that they are studied at university. Many of the lectures are in the form of an overview of the subject or cover topics (such as Modernism) which are of relevance to more than one subject. While you must attend and participate in all classes, you need only write assignments on two of the four subjects meaning that you can effectively specialise if you wish. The module serves as an introduction either to one of the four subjects or to an overall Liberal Arts course or Liberal Arts-related course (such as the KCL Liberal Arts BA, Culture, Media and Creative Industries BA or Digital Culture BA).
Assessment details
You are assessed through a combination of an essay (50%)and a final exam (50%).
Educational aims & objectives
- To provide an introduction to the study of key Liberal Arts subjects which will give you a solid foundation, equivalent to A-Level study as a minimum
- To help you to understand the connections and contrasts between Visual Culture, Film Studies, Literature Studies and History of Ideas in terms of their parameters as a discipline and methodology
- To develop your understanding of important concepts and critical frameworks from these four subjects, such as the canon, mise-en-scène; the auteur; semiotics; the male gaze; postmodernism; post-colonialism; the Enlightenment
- To build your visual literacy and sensitivity provide you with the skills to critically analyse as a reader of a variety of texts, (literary and critical texts), including literary works and different forms of media.
- To help you reflect on the role which national, cultural and socio-historical context play in the way art, literature and ideas are produced, received and interpreted
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, you will be able to demonstrate the intellectual, transferable and practicable skills appropriate to this level of module and in particular will be able to:
- Understand key terms, ideas and concepts in the four key subjects, demonstrating familiarity with the style and ideas of key artists, thinkers and movements encountered in the course.
- Differentiate between a range of perspectives and approaches to the four key subjects.
- Demonstrate familiarity with the style and ideas of key artists, thinkers and movements encountered in the course.
- Develop a critical awareness of how the production and reception of art and ideas relate to their national, cultural and socio-historical context.
- Analyse and form an independent critical response to a variety of films, images and literary texts encountered in and out of class with limited guidance.
- Suggested reading list (texts indicated with * are available digitally once enrolled)
Suggested reading list
Visual Culture
Richard Howells and Joaquim Negreiros (2012). Visual Culture. Polity Press*.
Linda Nochlin (1971). ‘Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?’ Available here: https://www.artnews.com/art-news/retrospective/why-have-there-been-no-great-women-artists-4201/
History of Ideas
Kwame Anthony Appiah (2016) ‘There is no such thing as Western civilisation’. The Guardian. Available here: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/09/western-civilisation-appiah-reith-lecture
Michael Ferber (2010). Romanticism. A Very short Introduction. Oxford*.
Literary Studies
Jeffrey Boakye (2023). ‘Do We Need to Dismantle the Literary Canon’? The Guardian. Available here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jun/12/the-big-idea-do-we-need-to-dismantle-the-literary-canon
Terry Eagleton (1996). Literary Theory: An Introduction. John Wiley & Sons*.
Film Studies
Jill Nelmes, ed. (2012). Introduction to Film Studies. Taylor & Francis*.
Sarah Casey Benyahia and Claire Mortimer (2012). Doing Film Studies. A Subject Guide for Students. Routledge*
Tate
Literature Studies
Film Studies
History of Ideas
· Dictionary of the History of Ideas