FA3HAD: Art and History of Art Dissertation

Module code: FA3HAD

Module provider: Art; School of Arts and Communication Design

Credits: 40

Level: Level 3 (Honours)

When you'll be taught: Semester 1 / 2

Module convenor: Dr Florian Roithmayr, email: f.roithmayr@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 20 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

The module aims to enable students to present a critical understanding of a range of historical and philosophical problems that emerge from contemporary art. 

The module aims to enable students to research a specific topic of contemporary art that relates to studio practice.  

The module aims to enable students to gather, analyse and evaluate solutions to historical, theoretical and practical sources, and creatively reflect them to form a coherent argument and/or critical position.  

The module aims to consolidate student skills in debate and discussion, and correctly formatting written coursework, according to the university code of practice.  

The purpose of the module is to provide students with an opportunity to produce a sustained in-depth written research study in contemporary art and aesthetics. 

Students also gain confidence and develop skills in research project management and organization alongside key transferable skills eminently suitable for the workplace such as observation (close and focussed looking, formal analysis), judgement (reflective thinking, textual analysis, argumentation and evaluation), and action (discussing and debating, reading and writing, note-taking, and the forming of independent critical positions).

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to: 

1. Research a topic that has relevance to studio practice, together with contemporary art and aesthetics.  
2. Analyse historical and philosophical accounts of contemporary art and aesthetics. 
3. Creatively argue for an independent critical position. 
4. Format a dissertation, according to the university code of practice. 

Module content

The module begins with a general introductory lecture. Students then complete an individual Dissertation Plan which supports the selection of a subject-specific Dissertation Supervisor. Students meet their Dissertation Supervisor on five occasions (1 in the summer, to set up a reading list and explain a lit review, 2 in the autumn, to feedback on the lit review and agree a structure for the dissertation, 3 in the autumn, to feedback on the initial draft dissertation, 4 in the spring, to feedback on the progress made by the student, and 5 in the spring, to feedback on the final draft dissertation). Students are supported by their Dissertation Supervisors (Art), their Academic Tutors (Art), and the Study Advice team (Library).   

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module contains a lecture and individual supervisions/tutorials. Students are encouraged to be active in all sessions, to ask questions, to take notes, to listen attentively, and to debate critical positions and possible solutions to the problems posed by contemporary art. 

Study hours

At least 7 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Dissertation Literature Review, 2 x Draft Dissertation.  

Reassessment

Additional costs