Course summary

Overview Study words and images in unison and gain a deeper understanding of the intertwined histories of art and literature. You’ll encounter the most significant periods and movements of European, British and American art and literature. At the same time, you’ll broaden your horizons by exploring the arts of other cultures, including those of the Pacific, Africa and the Americas. On our History of Art and English Literature with a Placement Year degree, you’ll benefit from the expertise of both the department of Art History and World Art Studies and the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing. You’ll explore the intimate relationships forged between artistic movements both literary and visual, from the strong links between literature and the visual culture of the medieval period to the literary impressionism of the modernist period, to experimentation with word and image in postmodernity. About You’ll be equipped with key skills in imaginative understanding, critical thinking, and confident communication. You’ll expand and deepen your understanding of texts and artworks from a uniquely wide array of contexts while developing your intellectual and professional skills via your interaction with outstanding academics in both literature and history of art. You’ll establish firm foundations in both disciplines through your engagement with different documents and sources. At the same time, you’ll encounter works of art at first-hand in the collections of the internationally renowned Sainsbury Centre, which includes works of modern European art and also outstanding works from Africa, Asia and the Americas. In your second and fourth years, you’ll select from a range of optional modules in order to pursue your own interests in more depth. This will enable you, for example, to explore the medieval period through texts such as Julian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales alongside examples of the period’s visual art and cartography. Or you might choose to examine the 20th century through the history of modernist texts and modernist art, by studying movements such as Expressionism and Surrealism. As you progress through the course, you’ll be encouraged to engage with different methods and approaches and to develop informed views of your own. You’ll consolidate your independence as a scholar through the completion of a research dissertation in your final year. You’ll have the opportunity to study the world-famous collection of art held in the Sainsbury Centre, itself a celebrated icon of modern museum architecture. This means you’ll have access to important artworks from Asia, Africa, the Pacific, the Americas, and Europe. You’ll be able to study relevant objects at first-hand, while learning about the processes of collecting objects for museums. This course is delivered by UEA’s world-leading department of Art History and World Art Studies in cooperation with the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing, which is famous for innovation in teaching and for cutting-edge research– that’s why in the most recent Times Higher Education Analysis (REF2021), UEA was ranked 19th in the UK for the quality of its research in English Language and Literature. Norwich is England's first UNESCO City of Literature, and it boasts a vibrant literary community. Great literature has been produced here, from the 14th century when Julian of Norwich became the first woman to write a book in English, right up to 20th and 21st century work by UEA graduates like Nobel Laureate Sir Kazuo Ishiguro, Booker Prize winner Ian McEwan and Costa Award winning author Emma Healey.