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Criticism, Theory and Aesthetics

Understanding how works of art and culture make meaning has always been at the heart of what we do.

The Faculty has led a number of fields in the application of critical thinking and theory, as well as the close analysis of the aesthetics of multiple forms of art and culture.

Researchers in the History of Art and Film and Television Studies departments, and the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, have produced ground breaking writing, and thought provoking public-facing exhibitions, on the ways that philosophy intersects with the work of the Faculty.

Film theory and criticism

The Department of Film and Television Studies runs the longest established degree in the UK, focusing on supporting student research in the fields of film and television theory, criticism and aesthetics. Film analysis is also a key focus in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, the History department and the Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies.

Critical Theory Network

The English and Comparative Literary Studies department hosts the Critical Theory Network, a cross-disciplinary collective based at Warwick, with colleagues at Paris-IV Sorbonne and UCP Lisbon, engaged in developing theoretical models and approaches to key issues in the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Art theory

The History of Art department excels in the development and application of art theory. It has produced a wide range of writing on subjects as diverse as allegory, the analysis of colonial art and work on the theory of colour, and will be co-curating the Summer exhibition at Compton Verney in 2020 showcasing this expertise in their 'Art and the Colour Circle'. History of Art also co-curated the exhibition Sculpture Victorious which opened at the Yale Center for British Art in 2014 and moved to Tate Britain in 2015.

Making an impact...

Expertise in the History of Art department has led to an exclusive agreement between Warwick and the Gallerie dell’Accademia, a state museum and gallery in Venice. A researcher from the department has undertaken collaborative research, impact and public engagement activities with the Accademia, focussed on the specialism of Venetian art and its historical and geographical context, and particularly in Venetian Renaissance painting. This collaboration has resulted in a significant overhaul of the Accademia’s website and redesign of gallery content and layout.

Find out more about this theme in the History of Art department.

Criticism, Theory and Aesthetics relates to our research themes of Histories, Creativity and Theory, Understanding the Human and Ethics, Rights and Social Justice.

Explore our research further and find out how it is making a difference...