AR943-7-AU-CO:
Art, Architecture and Urbanism
PLEASE NOTE: This module is inactive. Visit the Module Directory to view modules and variants offered during the current academic year.
2023/24
Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Postgraduate: Level 7
Inactive
Thursday 05 October 2023
Friday 15 December 2023
20
07 February 2020
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
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Urban Heritage: Uses, meanings, and authenticity: This module will examine the impact that tensions between change and continuity have on the management of urban heritage, and how these tensions might be resolved to allow sustainable growth of cities in the future.
These issues will be explored through trans-geographical and trans-historical analysis of case studies that help to define urban heritage as a cultural practice involved in the construction, regulation, and resolution of the different values and significance attributed to an urban centre, whose authenticity lies in the meanings people assign to it in their daily lives.
The module will also compare national and international frameworks and how their implementation affects local policies and practices for the management of urban heritage. Ultimately, the module seeks to examine whether it is possible to implement management strategies that focus on the needs of both the residents and the heritage of a historic urban centre rather than on an idealistic image of an historic town, 'fossilised' and unchanging.
Contemporary urban centres are usually the result of continuous occupation through time. Understanding how our towns and cities have evolved helps us to define, protect, and appreciate the special qualities of the places we inhabit. Our attention to urban heritage has increased over recent years and it has become central to debates around authenticity, social inclusion, conflict and security, climate change, sustainability, and human rights. The importance of these historic urban centres is reflected in the fact that they constitute approximately one-third of the cultural properties on UNESCO's World Heritage List.
The expectation of UNESCO is that the architectural integrity, authenticity and physical form of an inscribed historic urban centre will not change because it is these qualities which convey the site's Outstanding Universal Value. Yet these are inhabited places which are subject to change, reflecting constantly shifting cultural norms, meanings, and values, as well as environmental and political contexts and economic structures.
The module aims to:
1. Investigate the politics of urban heritage management from local, international, and global perspectives;
2. Engage with key theories of heritage (e.g. critical heritage, the authorised heritage discourse, theories of authenticity);
3. Explore the relationship between politics and heritage;
4. Assess relationships between urban and natural landscapes in historical and heritage contexts;
5. Incentivise interdisciplinary and critical approaches to researching and writing about art, architecture and urbanism;
6. Develop skills of critical thinking and writing, as well as visual analysis;
7. Foster the capacity for independent research.
On successful completion of the module, students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate engagement with the main themes that inform the module;
2. Compare and evaluate different arguments and assess the limitations of their own position or procedure;
3. Write and present verbally a succinct and precise account of positions, arguments, and their presuppositions and implications;
4. Be sensitive to the positions of others and communicate their own views in ways that are accessible to them;
5. Think laterally and creatively, identifying interesting connections and possibilities and presenting these clearly rather than as vague hunches;
6. Maintain intellectual flexibility and revise their own position if shown wrong;
7. Demonstrate the ability to think critically and constructively.
During this course you are expected to read the essential readings and are strongly recommended to consult books from the list of further reading below. For assessment, it will be vital that you go beyond set texts and display independent research skills.
1 x 2 hour seminar per week.
1 x 2 hour gallery visit.
This module does not appear to have a published bibliography for this year.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Paola Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco, email: pd17425@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Paola Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco
spahpg@essex.ac.uk
No
Yes
Yes
Dr H Camilla Smith
University of Birmingham
Lecturer in Art History
Available via Moodle
Of 20 hours, 18 (90%) hours available to students:
2 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).
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