MA Aesthetics and Art Theory

Why choose this course?

Recognised as one of the most significant and innovative courses in its field and highly-regarded in the international art world, this Aesthetics and Art Theory MA course combines a grounding in philosophical aesthetics in the modern European tradition with study of contemporary art theory and the philosophy of art history.

You'll study canonical authors including Adorno, Aristotle, Benjamin, Deleuze, Derrida, de Duve, Duchamp, Greenberg, Heidegger, Kant, Krauss, Rancière, and Schlegel, and gain a clear overview of the main philosophical approaches to modern and contemporary art. The course will distinguish between ‘aesthetic', ‘Romantic' ‘Modernist' and ‘Contemporary' (global) problematics, and will offer a distinctive grounding in ongoing debates over the reception of contemporary art.

Teaching and assessment

The course is delivered through relatively small seminars, which involve a mixture of structured lectures or presentations, textual analysis, and group discussion.

You'll be assessed through short exercises, essays, independent study, and a 15,000-word dissertation. For this course you will be assessed entirely on submitted coursework (i.e. there are no exams, and no assessed oral presentations or practical components).