Course Details in 2025/26 Session

Module Title	LH The Pre-Raphaelites: Contexts, Approaches and Reputations
School	Lan, Cult, Art Hist & Music
Department	Art Hist, Cur and Vis Studies
Module Code	10 28858
Module Lead	Dr Kate Nichols
Level	Honours Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 1 or 2
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	None
Contact Hours	Lecture-10 hours Seminar-20 hours Guided independent study-170 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	This module explores the painting and sculpture produced by the Pre-Raphaelites and associated artists from the 1840s to 1890s, and responses to these art works from the early twentieth century to today. It starts by questioning who the Pre-Raphaelites were, by discussing the idea of a Pre-Raphaelite sisterhood, and the notion of Pre-Raphaelitism. We’ll discuss their distinctive technique, based on visits to the outstanding collections of Pre-Raphaelite painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and stained glass at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. The module will then proceed thematically, using recent scholarly approaches to the Pre-Raphaelites to examine their work. We’ll draw on, for example, feminist, queer, post-colonial, anthropological and eco-critical methodologies to evaluate themes such as class, race, gender, sexuality, orientalism and nature in their work. Artists to be discussed include Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Elizabeth Siddal, John Everett Millais, Simeon Solomon, Alexander Munro, William Holman Hunt, Edward Burne-Jones, Kate Bunce, Thomas Woolner.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: Demonstrate a detailed and comprehensive knowledge of the module’s taught content. Describe relationships between relevant artworks and the cultural and social environment of the period covered by the module. Identify and analyse relevant artworks produced during the period covered by the module. Comment on theoretical and other matters embodied in primary or other sources relating to the period covered by the module.
Assessment	28858-01 : Essay : Coursework (50%) 28858-02 : Exam : Exam (Centrally Timetabled) - Written Unseen (50%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	1 x 2500-word essay (50% of the final module mark) 1 x 1.5-hour unseen examination (50% of the final module mark) Alternative assessment if on campus activity is restricted: proctored exams will be converted to take home papers. Re-assessment: Re-submission of failed component
Other
Reading List