2023/24 Undergraduate Module Catalogue
ARTF1027 Cultural History
20 creditsClass Size: 80
Module manager: Dr Claudia Sternberg
Email: c.sternberg@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable
Year running 2023/24
Module replaces
ARTF1023 Cultural HistoryThis module is not approved as a discovery module
Module summary
This introductory module maps out some of the social and cultural formations underscoring the history of ‘the West’ since the period known as the Enlightenment. It invites undergraduate students at the very beginning of their studies to engage with history from a cultural perspective, develop a 'sense of history' and reflect on what might be understood as ‘historical consciousness’. We draw on historical events, developments and concepts to interrogate some of the ideological and political assumptions informing modernity and postmodernity. Using a wide variety of materials, we also consider how race, ethnicity, class, gender and sexuality have been figured and represented since the Enlightenment. The texts that students encounter range from philosophical, constitutional and sociological writings to autobiography, fiction, photography and film. The contexts in which these will be explored include Enlightenment philosophy, the 'Age of Revolutions', enslavement and colonialism, 20th century war and the modern city. The contemporary legacies of the Enlightenment age will also be examined in relation to cultural memory, postmodernism, post- and transhumanism.Objectives
Students are made familiar with a selection of key thinkers, concepts and methods relevant to the study and analysis of culture and history, modernity and postmodernity. They learn to critically and analytically approach a range of printed and (audio-)visual texts with reference to the historical formations presented in the module. In addition, this module introduces first year students to a selection of foundational study skills and encourages them to look for signs and manifestations of the module themes in Leeds, Yorkshire and other places they are familiar with.Learning outcomes
Upon completion of this module, students will be able to:
1. recognise and describe historical formations that are central to the understanding of (Western/European) modernity and postmodernity,
2. ‘think historically’ and explain various meanings behind this phrase,
3. historicise cultural artefacts and discourses,
4. identify traces of the formations discussed in the module in the physical and social world that surrounds them.
Skills outcomes
Students on this module
learn to engage with different texttypes and genres,
practice to situate cultural and scholarly production historically, culturally and ideologically,
acquire a critical vocabulary and awareness of formations and concepts relevant to cultural and media studies,
develop their ability to manage their time,
develop the core skills of active reading, note making and critical thinking that help to work through unfamiliar and/or complex material and prepare for coursework and examinations.
Syllabus
Lectures, seminars and film screenings may cover:
- Culture, History and Society
- Revolution, Enlightenment and the Dream of Reason
- Enslavement, Colonialism and ‘Race’
- Feral Children and the Human
- The City and Urban Life
- The Unconscious Mind
- War and Cultural Memory
- Postmodernity and Postmodernism
- Posthumanism and the Anthropocene
Teaching methods
Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
Lecture | 10 | 2.00 | 20.00 |
Tutorial | 10 | 1.00 | 10.00 |
Independent online learning hours | 10.00 | ||
Private study hours | 160.00 | ||
Total Contact hours | 30.00 | ||
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200.00 |
Private study
Independent online learning:Working through Skills@Library guidance on ‘Critical Thinking’, ‘Notemaking’ and ‘Revision and Exams’ as well as a small selection of further skills-related materials on ‘close reading’ and the ‘SQ3R study method’.
Private study:
Readings (including one short novel), making notes and revisiting weekly materials for tutorials: 100 hours
10 x weekly online tests (incl. engaging with integrated further material): 20 hours
Exam revision/preparation: 20 hours
Film viewing: 6 hours
Other: 14 hours (engaging with local/regional connections, exploring Leeds and vicinity in response to module content)
Opportunities for Formative Feedback
Students submit weekly tests on the weekly topics and can see their results immediately. It gives them a sense of progression.The weekly tutorials offer an opportunity to raise questions and see how each student’s understanding compares with that of the peer group.
Introductory support for the development of skills accompanies the weekly teaching so that students can feel confident they know how to do well on the module.
Students are actively encouraged to make use of office hours.
Methods of assessment
Coursework
Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
Online Assessment | delivered as test on Minerva, using the essay question function | 40.00 |
In-course MCQ | set weekly. Tests 1-5 due week 6, Tests 6-10 due week 12 | 60.00 |
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100.00 |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Reading list
There is no reading list for this moduleLast updated: 19/09/2023
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- Undergraduate module catalogue
- Taught Postgraduate module catalogue
- Undergraduate programme catalogue
- Taught Postgraduate programme catalogue
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