Research expertise in the Department of Art History concerns core issues of representations, their histories, and theories. The Department’s record in producing exhibitions of international significance is fundamental to its character and status as a research centre, and is evident in exhibitions curated by staff which include Art of the Garden (Tate, 2004); Conquering England (NPG, 2005); Undercover Surrealism (Hayward, 2006); and Ruination: Photographs of Rome (Djanogly Gallery, 2008). Staff have ongoing collaborative projects with galleries and art schools, including the AHRC funded network ‘Cultures of Landscape’.
The Department has a close relationship with the University’s Djanogly Art Gallery, and is active in funding bids for Nottingham Contemporary (CCAN), which will become the region’s leading exhibition space for contemporary art and a key strategic resource. MPhil Students research their chosen topic and write a dissertation of at least 60,000 words. Supervisions are held at a minimum of one hour three times each term, approximately every three weeks.
MPhil
The MPhil is an internationally recognised research degree. PhD Most students who pursue a PhD register first for the MPhil and upgrade.
PhD
The PhD requires an original contribution to knowledge and a dissertation thesis of at least 80,000 words.
Research culture
The vibrant research culture of the Department contributes to the popularity of the programmes, which is evident in both a consistent record of attracting and retaining doctoral students, and a steady increase in MA applications.
Our staff not only publish and curate internationally, but contribute to the life of the Department through conferences and symposia held at the University. Key areas of overlapping research that continue to provide a rich context for graduate study include:
- Nationalism and cultural difference
- Revolutionary politics and the representation of ruins
- American visual culture
- Representations of landscape
- Post-war drawing
- Representations of the everyday
- Politics of collaboration
Research in Art History within the University is supported by the Nottingham Institute for Research in Visual Culture (NIRVC), a forum for the presentation of research by and to postgraduate students. NIRVC has an exemplary record of hosting international conferences including Cinematic Rome (2005), Display and Spectacle (2007), and Pollution and Propriety (2007).
Research training
Research students at have access to an extensive range of modules provided by the Graduate School, including beginner language courses, The Tradition of Critique, and general modules such as Getting Going on Your Thesis, and An Introduction to Creating and Publishing Web Pages.