Course Details in 2024/25 Session

Module Title	LI Power, Society, Politics: Religious Art in Northern Europe, c. 1400-1600
School	Lan, Cult, Art Hist & Music
Department	Art Hist, Cur and Vis Studies
Module Code	09 24247
Module Lead	DR. L'Estrange
Level	Intermediate Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 1
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	n/a
Contact Hours	Lecture-10 hours Seminar-20 hours Tutorial-1 hours Guided independent study-169 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	This course explores the different social and political functions of religious art produced in Northern Europe (France, Germany, Low Countries) from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It will focus in particular on how artists and patrons responded to the changing religious climate at this time, and how religious works of art like altarpieces, reliquaries, and manuscripts were used as means of constructing of power, politics and social identity in times of instability. Case studies will analyse themes such as: the power and performative nature of images; religious allegory and secular rulers; religion and social identity; and Northern responses to the Council of Trent and the Counter Reformation. Students will be encouraged to draw on the collections of the Barber Institute and Birmingham Art Gallery. By spanning the shift between the late medieval and early modern periods, students will be encouraged to examine and problematise broader questions pertaining to the study of periods and categories such as ‘medieval’ and ‘Renaissance’, ‘North’ and ‘South’, and ‘public’ and ‘private’.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: Exhibit familiarity with the various social functions of religious art from Northern Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries Display a good historical understanding of the religious movements that had an impact on artists and patrons during the period in question Exhibit a critical understanding of the variety of methods, ideas and secondary sources employed to analyse the subject of the module, and be able to apply these to different art objects studied at first hand; Identify appropriate primary visual and written sources and apply the methods, ideas and sources used in the module to the analysis of them Demonstrate skills of research, group discussion, presentation, and teamwork
Assessment	24247-01 : 4000 word essay : Coursework (100%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	One 4000 word essay
Other
Reading List