Admission requirements
Admission to the MA Asian Studies (research) or another relevant Research MA. No language requirement. Students from other departments are kindly referred to the course description of the regular MA course.
Description
Drawing on a variety of visual and textual sources, this course introduces students to different approaches in material arts in China. When talking about agency, we usually associate it with subjects but rarely with the seemingly inert and passive objects/things. However, things have the power to gather or separate people, arouse emotions, and orient social practices. Focusing on concepts such as agency, gifts, fetishes, icons, appropriation, replicas, and collection, this seminar reconsiders artifacts and their movements in the broader art historical, social, and political contexts in China. Students will also be introduced to major art historical approaches in visual and material culture in relation to developments in anthropology, history, aesthetics, and other disciplines.
Course objectives
At the end of this course, student should be able to:
Recognize art historical debates in the field of material culture in general, and have a solid understanding of major issues in Chinese material culture;
Identify primary and secondary sources related with students’ specific interests and engage them with the approaches and knowledge introduced in this class;
Develop three key skills central to advanced art historical research: careful reading, confident oral presentation, and clear critical writing.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
- Seminar
Attendance is compulsory for all sessions. Students must prepare well and contribute to in-class discussion. If a student cannot attend because of illness or misadventure, they should promptly inform the convener. Extra assignments may be set to make up for missed class time, at the convener’s discretion. Absence without notification may result in lower grades or exclusion from assessment components and a failing grade for the course.
Assessment method
Academic Integrity
Students should familiarize themselves with the notion of academic integrity and the ways in which this plays out in their own work. A good place to start is this page. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Students may not substantially reuse texts they have previously submitted in this or other courses. Minor overlap with previous work is allowed as long as it is duly noted in citation.
Assessment and weighing
| Partial Assessment | Weighing |
|---|---|
| Class participation and contribution | 20% |
| Class discussion groups (2x 10%) | 20% |
| Final research essay | 60% |
In order to pass the course, students need to complete all requirements (participation and contribution, discussion groups, final essay) and receive a pass mark (“voldoende”, i.e. “5.50” or higher) for the course as a whole.
The research paper is written in two stages: a first version, on which the convener will offer feedback, and a final version. Feedback on the first version is conditional on this being handed in before the deadline. The grade will be determined on the basis of the final version only. (The paper deadline mentioned in uSis is for administrative purposes only. The actual date will be communicated by the convener.)
All categories of assessment must be completed in the same academic year. No partial marks can be carried over into following years.
Resit
Only if the total weighted average is 5.49 or lower and this is the result of the final paper graded 5.49 or lower, a re-sit of the paper is possible (60%). In that case the convener of the course may decide to assign a (new) topic. The deadline for this version will be determined by the course convener, after consultation with the student.
A re-sit for other course components is not possible.
Inspection and feedback
If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
See Brightspace.
For the Research MA students additional readings will be determined by the convener at a later stage taking into account the students’ fields of interest. Extra sessions will be organized to discuss this extra literature.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Vrieshof