Richmond’s MA in Art History is concerned with intercultural issues in the study of art and art history, and with establishing methods for the study of non-Western culture. The Richmond MA includes a special focus on methodologies for intercultural investigation and for the visual representation of identity and difference. Richmond’s central London location supports the program through its close proximity to some of the world’s leading museums, galleries and research facilities such as the research library of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Applications and Admissions
Admission to the MA in Art History normally requires a bachelor degree with a major in Art History or a related area in the arts or humanities. Applicants with other undergraduate majors will be evaluated individually and may be required to take several key undergraduate courses as pre-requisites. Applications must be accompanied by a£50 non-refundable application fee.
Academic Calendar
Students must complete an approved program of 33 credits, including one 6-credit course, six 3-credit courses and a 9-credit thesis (15,000 to 20,000 words). In addition, students must maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0. Courses are organized as described below:
Semester I
Intercultural Context and Methodology
ARH 509 (3 CREDITS)
Research Methods for MA Theses
In a general sense, this course introduces students to the research seminar and to discipline-related methodologies and the logistics of research. More specifically, it aims to assist students in the planning and organization of thesis research. As well as faculty and student presentations, invited speakers will present an aspect of their research in progress to familiarize students with the processes of advanced research. In addition to complementing the methodology courses, this seminar assists students with the identification of their own interests as they move towards choosing a thesis topic.
ARH 512 (6 CREDITS)
Colonialism, Orientalism, and Primitivism
Examines visual representations associated with cultural relationships springing from Britain’s colonial history, and Western constructs of the "primitive" and of the Orient. Beginning with colonial enterprises in the 18th and 19th centuries, the course traces the significance of constructions of "the other" and the relevant impact on visual arts. Moving into the 20th century, notions of alterity based on orientalist representation provide further links to modern art.
ARH 526 (3 CREDITS)
Art History Theories and Methods
Explores a range of art historical methodologies, including the more traditional methods associated with formal analysis and connoisseurship (formalist, biographical, and iconographic). Students also consider contemporary approaches which engage with the social history of art, gender studies, and theory and representation. Students examine a variety of texts as strategies for determining and analyzing different methodologies.
ARH 536 (3 CREDITS)
Approaching Art across Cultures
Addresses issues that relate to the perception and representation of race and to the making and display primarily of non-Western art. Students are encouraged to investigate issues which relate to reading across cultures, and consider the issues surrounding the colonial encounter and the representation of indigenous peoples. Various constructions of identity and difference are examined.
Semester II
Modernism
ARH 620 (3 CREDITS)
Nineteenth Century Modernisms
During the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a range of cultural and ideological patterns emerged which constituted the ground of what we now recognize as cultural modernity. The course is directed toward a consideration of the ways in which artists graplled with representation and the ways in which they sought to develop pictorial forms and stragies capable of capturing their experience of this new social formation.
ARH 621 (3 CREDITS)
Twentieth Century Modernisms
Examines the history and theory of modern art practices from the late nineteenth century to the 1960s. Throughout the course, students engage with a range of historical and methodological questions which may include the relationship between modernism and the emerging mass cultural formations of industrialized Europe, America, and the former USSR; the utopian projects of the avantgardes; the transformation of constructions of the "other"; and the formation of new audiences.
ARH 624 (3 CREDITS)
Postmodern Visual Art and Culture
Introduces students to the diversity of artistic practices in the period from the 1960s to the late 1990s. It considers Pop Art’s dialogue with mass culture, the development of Minimal and Conceptual Art, and the emergence of a postmodern sensibility and theoretical framework. Key questions include the status of historical memory, explorations of cultural identity, the changing conception of the avant-garde, and the critique of the art object and market.
ARH 693 (3 CREDITS)
Thesis Research
For students working independently on their Masters thesis. Here students apply the skills learned in ARH508, from the early research and writing of the thesis through to its completion. These courses are comprised of intensive and regular meetings on a one-to-one (by appointment) basis with the thesis supervisor to discuss the progress of research and writing. The supervisor will provide comments on draft chapters of the thesis, suggest advice regarding the research and writing process, as well as suggesting resources (from readings and visual data, to other documentation and www resources) and research directions for the thesis.
Semester III (Summer)
Thesis
ARH 696 (6 CREDITS)
Thesis Research
For students working independently on their Masters thesis. Here students apply the skills learned in ARH508, from the early research and writing of the thesis through to its completion. These courses are comprised of intensive and regular meetings on a one-to-one (by appointment) basis with the thesis supervisor to discuss the progress of research and writing. The supervisor will provide comments on draft chapters of the thesis, suggest advice regarding the research and writing process, as well as suggesting resources (from readings and visual data, to other documentation and www resources) and research directions for the thesis.
Students are required to be in London from early May to Mid-June for thesis supervision and seminars. The thesis is handed in no later than September 1. Students must be registered for ARH 696.
Graduate Certificate in Art History
Students wishing to pursue graduate study in art history who prefer not to prepare for and complete the research component of the MA, may choose to take the Graduate Certificate in Art History. The minimum requirements for the certificate are the following.
Minimum Requirements
ARH 526 (3 CREDITS)
Art History Theories and Methods
Explores a range of art historical methodologies, including the more traditional methods associated with formal analysis and connoisseurship (formalist, biographical, and iconographic). Students also consider contemporary approaches which engage with the social history of art, gender studies, and theory and representation. Students examine a variety of texts as strategies for determining and analyzing different methodologies.
ARH 536 (3 CREDITS)
Approaching Art across Cultures
Addresses issues that relate to the perception and representation of race and to the making and display primarily of non-Western art. Students are encouraged to investigate issues which relate to reading across cultures, and consider the issues surrounding the colonial encounter and the representation of indigenous peoples. Various constructions of identity and difference are examined.
Four courses in art history chosen with the approval of an adviser (12 CREDITS)
(No more than two of these courses may be undergraduate courses.)
The graduate courses may subsequently be applied to the MA for students who decide at a later date to continue their studies towards the degree.
