The Royals: the British Monarchy through Art and Architecture

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label Diverse autorenew 2025-09-29, 17:01 history_edu Silviu Marinescu
This module studies the role of the British monarchy as patrons of art and architecture, while also providing a general historic overview of British royal history from the 16th to the 21st century. British royal palaces have always been considered places of beauty and power. Filled with stunning collections of art they were showcases of interior design and court taste. The Royal Collection is one of the richest and largest art collections in the world and was influenced heavily by French, German and Far Eastern cultures.

Some of the palaces don't survive but left a mark on other buildings, others are still used and lived in by the British royal family, yet others have undergone a change in function and use. In broadly chronological order we will examine the architectural and cultural history of Royal palaces, together with their interiors, collections of paintings, ceramics and textiles, with the aim of understanding English court style and royal patronage. In British royal history a few kings and queens stand out as the most dedicated collectors and patrons of the art, such as Charles I, George III, George IV and Queen Victoria.

These monarchs will be a particular focus of the module. Throughout the module we will discuss contemporary types of uses and interpretation of the palaces and the Royal Collection. Visiting some of the royal buildings and the art collections they contain is a crucial element of the module. We will therefore make several field trips to major royal palaces in the South East of England, such as Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, Hampton Court and the Brighton Pavilion.

Period
23-06-2014 - 17-07-2014 (4 weeks)

Target group
The University of Sussex International Summer School welcomes applicants from a wide range of educational backgrounds. Although most of you will be currently enrolled at a university or college, we also welcome applicants who have been away from education for some years, as well as highly committed senior high school students - for some courses a good general education, an open mind and lots of enthusiasm are the main qualifications. For some other courses you will see that prerequisites are listed - applicants for these courses are expected to submit transcripts to demonstrate that they have taken, or are currently taking, the necessary precursors.

Course aim
The International Summer School provides an opportunity to meet and study with people from different countries and cultures, on a cosmopolitan campus. The large range of courses on offer allows you to get ahead with credit in core courses, or simply to experiment with something new.



Credits
7.5 ECTS credits

Summer School courses carry 15 credits and last for four weeks. Since the standard annual load for a Sussex student is 120 credits, this means that each course is equivalent to four semester hours or seven and a half ECTS credits. Students can take only one course per session, as the courses are intensive. You can expect to spend 30 to 45 hours each week on your course between attending classes, labs and workshops, as well as time spent outside class preparing the readings and assignments. You can find information about the courses offered by the International Summer School through our course directory or courses by subject pages of our website.

Course fee
GBP 1435: Tuition only (one four week session).

GBP 2670: Tuition only (BOTH four week ISS sessions).Some courses have a lab or field trip fee. A non refundable application fee of 150 is to be paid when accepting an offer of a place. Payment in full (less the application fee) and payment for accommodation (146/ week) is required by 15 June.

Course leader
Alexandra Loske

Scholarships
The University of Sussex offers a limited number of scholarships for participation in the ISS in the form of partial fee waivers to students from developing countries who have high potential for future leadership in their field of study or career.

University of Sussex
Address: University of Sussex Brighton
Postal code: BN1 9RF
City: Brighton
Country: United Kingdom
Website: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/iss/
E-mail: issoffice@sussex.ac.uk
Phone: 00441273678406