The BA History of Art with Cultural Studies at Leeds explores practices and interpretations of art and culture across an exceptionally wide array of topics, combining a critical approach to the historical study of art with the focused study of more diverse forms of cultural practice and theory. You’ll learn about the histories of various kinds of practice (such as film, painting, literature, photography, the media and music) as well as understanding their different contexts of production and consumption.
You’ll study key moments in the chronology of art history, from a broad and global perspective, and examine their significance. We’ll guide you to become a well-rounded art historian who is confidently able to understand, consider and challenge historical perspectives through a range of critical frameworks. In a world increasingly defined through images and material culture, you’ll approach art history as a vital and dynamic framework for understanding our shared histories and some of the most pressing questions we are faced with now.
[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
View Timetable
Candidates will be required to study the following compulsory modules
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARTF1028 | From Art History’s Myths to Critical Art History | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ARTF1049 | Art History as Practice | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ARTF1056 | Critical Approaches to Display, Institutions, and Engagement | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ARTF1101 | Introduction to Cultural Analysis 1 | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ARTF1102 | Introduction to Cultural Analysis 2 | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) |
Students may choose to study up to 20 credits from the following optional modules:
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARTF1027 | Cultural History | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ARTF1300 | Ways of Seeing | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) |
OR you may take 20 credits of discovery modules instead of one of the semester 1 options.
OR Candidates may take up to 20 credits of discovery module in Semester 1.
[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
View Timetable
You will be required to study the following compulsory modules:
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARTF2127 | Keywords | 20 | Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) | |
| ARTF2212 | Methods in Practice: Art-Historical Research | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ARTF2213 | Origins, Structures, and Critique: Framing the Discipline of Art History | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) |
You will be required to take 20 credits from either Basket 1 OR Basket 2. Note that the list is indicative, and may change year by year.
Basket 1:
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARTF2055 | Variant Modernism: British art in the short 20th Century | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ARTF2069 | The Art Market: Moments, Methodologies, Meanings | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ARTF2092 | The Museum | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ARTF2094 | Art, Power and Portraiture | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ARTF2141 | Thinking the Culture Wars: Local and Global Contexts | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) |
Basket 2:
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARTF2049 | The State of Utopia | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ARTF2052 | Showing Asia | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ARTF2147 | Art Criticism and its Criticisms | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ARTF2210 | Absence, Representation, Violence | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ARTF2211 | Art and the Social | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) |
In Semester 2 you will be required to take one option from Basket 3 AND one option from Basket 4.
Basket 3:
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARTF2140 | Earth and Environment in Nineteenth-century British Art | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ARTF2142 | Cinema/Post-Cinema | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ARTF2145 | Bodies of Difference | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ARTF2146 | Professional Opportunities in the Arts Sector | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) |
Basket 4:
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARTF2205 | Renaissance / Anti-Renaissance: Critical Approaches to Early Modern Art in Europe | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ARTF2208 | African Art: Context, Representation, Signification | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ARTF2525 | Essaying Feminisms | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| CSER2206 | Developing Your Professional Identity: Preparing for a Career in Within The Arts, Heritage and Creative Industries | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) |
You can take 20 credits of Discovery modules in place of an option from ONE of any of the baskets.
[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
View Timetable
Candidates MUST choose one of the following dissertation modules
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARTF3130 | Short Dissertation | 40 | Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) | PFP |
| ARTF3170 | Dissertation | 60 | Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) | PFP |
You will be required to take one module from each of THREE baskets (if taking the 60 credit dissertation) or one module from all FOUR baskets (if taking the 40 credit dissertation) You may take 20 credits of Discovery Modules in place of one of these options. Note that the list is indicative, and may change year by year:
Basket 1
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARTF3034 | From Trauma to Cultural Memory: The Unfinished Business of Representation and the Holocaust | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ARTF3056 | Unmaking Things: Materials and Ideas in the European Renaissance | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ARTF3063 | Postcolonial Feminisms | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ARTF3216 | The Grand Tour: travels, excavations, collections | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) |
Basket 2
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARTF3003 | Deconstruction Reading Politics | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ARTF3042 | Cultural Diversity in Museum and Material Culture - Case Study | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ARTF3059 | Critical approaches to photography | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ARTF3064 | Art, Ecology and Empire | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ARTF3168 | Africa and the Atlantic World: History, Historiography and the Visual Arts | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| ARTF3212 | Art and Existentialism | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) |
Basket 3
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARTF3054 | Anthropology, Art and Representation | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ARTF3109 | Prehuman to Post-Anthropocene | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ARTF3173 | Movies, Migrants and Diasporas | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ARTF3174 | Collecting and Curating Popular Culture | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) |
Basket 4
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARTF3099 | Antique Dealers: The Market for 'Decorative Art' from Curiosities to Retro | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ARTF3102 | After Authoritarianism | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ARTF3211 | The Cultural Politics of Artificial Intelligence | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| ARTF3215 | Engendering East Asia: Feminisms and Contemporary Art | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) |
Candidates may study 0-20 credits of discovery modules:
Last updated: 12/05/2026 15:10:17
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