2008/09 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

ARTF3160 The Success and Failure of Constantin Brancusi 1876-1957 and after

20 creditsClass Size: 38

Module manager: Dr Kerry Bristol
Email: k.a.c.bristol@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2008/09

Pre-requisite qualifications

ARTF2000 or any level two ARTF coded module

This module is approved as an Elective

Module summary

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Objectives

On completion of this module, students should be able to engage in critical discussion on a number of key issues concerning the questions of identity, reception and practice of an artist, active in the first half of the twentieth century. The module should allow students to explore a variety of approaches to critical thinking that they have encountered in the course of their studies. The broad cultural range of the subject and the wealth of easily accessible material to draw from should offer a suitable terrain for a focused approach at senior BA and MA levels.

Skills outcomes
Verbal and written fluency in constructing a logical and coherent argument.
Use of audio visual aids
Participation in group discussions
Co-ordination and dissemination of a range of historical, contextual visual information
Using bibliographies and databases

Syllabus

The purpose of this module is to use the study of a closely focused subject, the work and career of the sculptor Constantin Brancusi, to engage in some of the central issues that informed the critique and thinking of avant-garde practice in the last century. For long, treated as the odd man out of traditional art histories and reluctantly made to fit a modernist story of 20th century art, Brancusi has now become both the hero and villain of new approaches to the field. The module will examine some of these: identity and nationalism, biography and psychoanalysis, aesthetics, materials and market strategies, reception and gender from the tri-national platform - Romania, France and USA - where his art and life unfolded. These questions will be examined from a wide range of very accessible material. Particular attention will be placed on the question of differing cultural identities and sensibilities and how this affects our ability to understand the oeuvre and its posthumous history.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Seminar	11	2.00	22.00
Private study hours			178.00
Total Contact hours			22.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

148 hours - class preparation including researching textual and visual materials/reading/ preparing presentations
30 hours - essay

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

- non-assessed student presentations
- participation in class discussions
- attendance at seminars

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	1 x 2,000-3,000 word essay	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		50.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Exams

Exam type	Exam duration	% of formal assessment
Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc)	1 hr 00 mins	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Exams)		50.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 12/01/2010

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