Although very popular as a degree subject, either by itself or as one component of a combined qualification, Art History is only offered at ‘A’ level by one examining board. This choice-cancelling arrangement could be somewhat irritating but for the fact that the board in question has done a very good job of course design. The AQA syllabus sets out to produce students of Art History who know a little about everything and lots about a few things, and, to that extent, it serves the purposes equally of those who take the ‘A’ level with a view to putting in place a secure foundation for subsequent, more advanced study of the subject, and of those who have a different career trajectory in mind but are likely to remain casual gallery-goers in adult life.
Module One takes the form of an ‘unseen’ paper which calls upon the student to comment critically on three works of art, reproduced in colour on the paper and drawn from diverse sources. The student is as likely to be confronted by a Lascaux cave painting as by a YBA installation, and must be ready for anything. Only those who have acquired a wide-ranging general knowledge of art in all media across the ages can approach the paper with confidence.
The remaining three modules all aim to achieve a localized deepening of the extensive but superficial knowledge imparted by Module One. Thus, Module Two invites consideration of three ‘issues’ from a list of eight (including materials, social contexts and genres) in relation to case-studies from a chosen period*, whilst Modules Three and Four both concentrate on specific, especially rich and fruitful eras in the history of art, encouraging the student to become a mini-expert on a handful of artistic movements.
The board instructs teachers delivering the syllabus to choose topics and periods in which they have a pronounced interest and competence, and, in the case of the present incumbent at Duff Miller, that means a particular focus on the Italian and Northern European Renaissance and on Modernism, but, if you have begun the course at another educational establishment and placed your emphasis elsewhere, we will endeavour to accommodate you in a sympathetic fashion.
*Since questions will only be set on six of the eight areas specified in the syllabus, one in fact needs to address five of them to be certain of being able to answer three questions in keeping with the exam rubric.
