AH4184 The Art of the Apocalypse from the Middle Ages to the Present

Academic year

2025 to 2026 Semester 1

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

30

The Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SCOTCAT) system allows credits gained in Scotland to be transferred between institutions. The number of credits associated with a module gives an indication of the amount of learning effort required by the learner. European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits are half the value of SCOTCAT credits.

SCQF level

SCQF level 10

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.

Availability restrictions

Not automatically available to General Degree students

Module coordinator

Dr E N Savage

Dr E N Savage
This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module Staff

Dr Emily Savage

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module description

This module examines how the fantastical imagery and fearsome rhetoric of the Book of Revelation have been reimagined from the Middle Ages to the present. Composed in the first century AD, Revelation, also known as the Apocalypse, presents a divinely ordained map of history that has been used to support different and competing social, political and religious agendas over time. Although its convoluted and bizarre qualities seem to deliberately push the limits of representation, many artists have nevertheless taken up the challenge. In this module, students will examine Revelation in its original context before exploring critical approaches to understanding its historical functions and modern legacies. The module then focuses on topics from the medieval West, where artists fixated on figures and stories from Revelation familiar to us today, including the Four Horsemen, the Whore of Babylon and the Antichrist. Finally, it traces the themes of prophecy, monstrosity, ruin and rebirth, and environmental catastrophe through case studies in the visual arts of the post-medieval period, from the polemical print wars of the Reformation to the pop culture zombie phenomenon of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Relationship to other modules

Pre-requisites

BEFORE TAKING THIS MODULE YOU MUST PASS AH2001 AND PASS AH2002

Assessment pattern

Coursework = 100%

Re-assessment

Coursework = 100%

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

1 x 2-hour lecture and related contact time (x 10 weeks), 1 x 1-hour tutorial (x 10 weeks), 2 x office hour (x 12 weeks). Lectures will be delivered online and tutorials via Teams or in person when and where suitable circumstances and conditions allow.

Scheduled learning hours

33

The number of compulsory student:staff contact hours over the period of the module.

Guided independent study hours

280

The number of hours that students are expected to invest in independent study over the period of the module.