The four blocks you will study in this module are:
Block 1: Art history today
What is art history? This block offers a snapshot of the discipline as it is practiced today. This requires some understanding of art history’s past: what are its origins, and how has it evolved? What are the key themes that art historians have returned to repeatedly? Core art-historical skills, including visual and textual analysis, will be introduced, and a wide range of objects will be discussed, from fifteenth-century paintings to contemporary sound art installations.
Block 2: Locating art
Where is art located? Block 2 takes up the theme of location, guided by questions such as: Where do we encounter art and visual culture? How does the space in which that encounter occurs shape or transform our understanding of these objects? And what happens when objects move from one place or context to another? Particular attention is paid to the emergence and operation of museums
and temporary exhibitions; however, you will also encounter site-specific and mobile works,
including rock art, murals, and costume books.
Block 3: Making meanings
What does art mean? Block 3 explores how art historians define and interpret ‘meaning’ in artworks. You’ll explore how art historians have answered this over time, from iconographical and biographical approaches to modern debates shaped by feminism, postcolonial theory, and visual culture. By situating these interpretative frameworks within historical contexts, it encourages you to question how interpretation evolves in response to historical conditions and emergent disciplinary and artistic traditions. Finally, by surveying key texts and approaches, you’ll learn to critically evaluate how meaning is constructed and contested within the discipline.
Block 4: Art and its publics
Who is art for? The final block explores the relationship between art, art history, and politics across various periods and through different methodological approaches. The ways art and artists have addressed different publics will be a key theme. The concept ‘public’ includes questions to do with historical changes in the audience for art, as well as art’s reception. It also addresses how art and art history interact with the cultural politics of class, race, gender, and sexuality in public debates. By exploring case studies, you’ll develop your independence as a researcher and learn to formulate a research question that aligns with your interests.
This module will allow you to:
As well as teaching the critical thinking skills central to the humanities, art history develops discipline-specific skills that prepare students for jobs across the arts sector, including museums and art galleries.
Throughout your module studies, you’ll get help and support from your assigned module tutor. They’ll help you by:
Course work includes:
You’ll have access to a module website, which includes:
You can study this module on its own or use the credits you gain towards an Open University qualification.
A845 is a compulsory module in our:
A845 is an option module in our:
MA Art History part 1 starts once a year – in September.
This page describes the module that will start in September 2026.
We expect it to start for the last time in September 2037.
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the academic regulations, which are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.
You must hold a UK honours degree (or equivalent), preferably with at least a 2:1 classification. Although your degree does not need to be in art history or a closely related subject, you will need some knowledge of the subject and an understanding of relevant critical approaches, as the MA in Art History assumes all candidates have the knowledge and skills usually acquired by pursuing the subject at undergraduate level.
If your degree or background is not in art history or a related subject, you could study one of our undergraduate art history modules first in order to gain an introduction to critical debates in art history. We especially recommend Art and visual cultures in the modern world (A236), Art and life before 1800 (A237), or Art and its global histories (A344).
A taster of OU postgraduate material is freely available on OpenLearn. Artists and authorship: the case of Raphael takes the life of Raphael as a case study, exploring past and current approaches to the artist in terms of authorship, identity and subjectivity. This material will give you an idea of both the content and the style of our online teaching.
The Disability Support Team at the OU offer student support for many specialist needs.
The module will make available alternative versions of the online materials (.pdf, Word and ePUB), including transcripts of audio, video and live tutorials.
As a module that tests your visual analysis skills, this module does not provide image descriptions for students with visual impairments.
| Start | End | Register by | England fee |
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| 05 Sep 2026 | 30 Jun 2027 | 13 Aug 2026 | Not yet available* |
| *This start date is open for pre-booking, which means you can reserve your place ahead of the fees being confirmed. We’ll publish updated 2026/27 fees and funding information on the 25th of March. |
There may be extra costs on top of the tuition fee, such as set books, a computer and internet access.
If your income is not more than £25,000 or you receive a qualifying benefit, you might be eligible for help with some of these costs after your module has started.
There may be extra costs on top of the tuition fee, such as set books, a computer and internet access.
If you study this module as part of an eligible qualification, you can apply for a postgraduate loan to support your study costs. To find out more, see Postgraduate loans in England.
If you study this module as part of an eligible qualification, you can apply for a postgraduate loan to help with your tuition fees. To find out more, see Postgraduate tuition fee loans in Northern Ireland.
If you study this module as part of an eligible qualification, you can apply for a postgraduate loan to help with your tuition fees. To find out more, see Postgraduate loans in Scotland.
If you study this module as part of an eligible qualification, you can apply for a postgraduate loan to support your study costs. To find out more, see Postgraduate loans in Wales.
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Please note: your permanent address/domicile will affect your fee status and, therefore, the fees you are charged and any financial support available to you. The fee information provided here is valid for modules starting before 31 July 2026. Fees typically increase annually. For further information about the University's fee policy, visit our Fee Rules.
