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AH4507: CLIMATES OF CLASSICISM: SCOTTISH TRAVELLERS IN GREECE, 1770-1880 (2022-2023)

Last modified: 31 May 2022 13:30


Course Overview

Throughout the 19th century, countless artists travelled to Greece in search for the splendours of antiquity. Many were disappointed by the rugged and mountainous country -

but for many Scottish travellers Greece proved surprisingly similar to their homeland. We will focus on these Scottish artists and antiquaries travelling to Greece, and their experiences.

The course is based on the study of material in Aberdeen collections, serving also as hands-on training in work with primary sources.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 4
Session Second Sub Session Credit Points 30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Hans Hönes

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

  • Either Art History (HA) or History (HI)
  • Either Programme Level 4 or Programme Level 5
  • Any Undergraduate Programme (Studied)

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

In his important “History of the Art of Antiquity” (1764), art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann argued that the superiority of Greek culture is rooted in the country’s beneficial climatic conditions. Only “under the Greek sky” could art blossom in its highest form. This course takes up Winckelmann’s cue and asks for the significance of theories on climate, landscape and environment for 18th and 19th-century art. The course aims to develop a fresh perspective on the 19th-century’s quest for the Greek ideal.

Winckelmann never went to Greece, but innumerable others followed his rallying cry and began travelling to Greece and Asia Minor, hoping to immerse themselves first-hand in the promised land of beauty. While Greece was a revelation to some, many travellers were bitterly disappointed. The splendours of antiquity they were longing for were long forgotten and eroded by time and Ottoman rule. Even the landscapes described by Homer had changed, with the plains of Troy being a desolate, arid land, and the Greek mainland a rugged mountain range populated by outlaws and bandits.

For many Scottish travellers, however, Greece proved surprisingly similar to their homeland. We will focus on these Scottish artists and antiquaries travelling to Greece, and their experiences. The course is based mainly on the study of artworks and archival material in Aberdeen Collections. The course serves both as an introduction to a fascinating period of art history, as well as hands-on training in work with primary sources.


Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 31 August 2023 for 1st half-session courses and 22 December 2023 for 2nd half-session courses.

Summative Assessments

Field Trip Log

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 40
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

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Feedback

Written feedback; in-person feedback on request

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualApplyDemonstrate a broad and integrated understanding of the conceptual relations between art and travel in late 18th and early 19th-century art history.
ConceptualEvaluateShow a critical understanding of the Scottish reception of Greece in late 18th- and early 19th- century art.
ProceduralAnalyseDemonstrate confidence in researching, organising and delivering written and oral academic work in a class presentation on a defined topic, and an essay on a self-defined topic.
ReflectionAnalyseTo critically evaluate methodological debates about art and environment.

Class Participation and Presentation

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 20
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

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Feedback

Continuous assessment

Written feedback for presentation; in-person feedback on request

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualApplyDemonstrate a broad and integrated understanding of the conceptual relations between art and travel in late 18th and early 19th-century art history.
ConceptualEvaluateShow a critical understanding of the Scottish reception of Greece in late 18th- and early 19th- century art.
ProceduralAnalyseDemonstrate confidence in researching, organising and delivering written and oral academic work in a class presentation on a defined topic, and an essay on a self-defined topic.
ReflectionAnalyseTo critically evaluate methodological debates about art and environment.

Essay

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 40
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback

Written feedback; in-person feedback on request

Word Count 3500
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualApplyDemonstrate a broad and integrated understanding of the conceptual relations between art and travel in late 18th and early 19th-century art history.
ConceptualEvaluateShow a critical understanding of the Scottish reception of Greece in late 18th- and early 19th- century art.
ProceduralAnalyseDemonstrate confidence in researching, organising and delivering written and oral academic work in a class presentation on a defined topic, and an essay on a self-defined topic.

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualApplyDemonstrate a broad and integrated understanding of the conceptual relations between art and travel in late 18th and early 19th-century art history.
ReflectionAnalyseTo critically evaluate methodological debates about art and environment.
ConceptualEvaluateShow a critical understanding of the Scottish reception of Greece in late 18th- and early 19th- century art.
ProceduralAnalyseDemonstrate confidence in researching, organising and delivering written and oral academic work in a class presentation on a defined topic, and an essay on a self-defined topic.

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