Degree syllabus for:
Masters programme Textile in the Expanded Field
Valid from 2009-03-17. Approved by the Education Committee for Textile on 2009-03-17.
The Masters group Textile in the expanded field at the Department of Textile offers a two-year in-depth course at advanced level for 120 ECTS within Art and Design.
The Latin root of the word "textile" indicates that textile and text have a common origin,
namely texere - to weave. A text can be seen as a weave of meanings, and working with textiles can be about both meanings and materials. Textile as an area of knowledge opens up a whole raft of different ways of working; textile in our current day create opportunities for new positions, where borderline areas can also be explored. The conceptual as well as the purely material expression of textile technology can be used in a design or artistic context.
The framework for the projects within Textile in the Expanded Field can, for example, consist of textile in a sculptural or architectural context. Pattern and ornamentation in a spatial volume can be the starting point. It can also be about extracting meaning from the material, about letting its social and cultural charges emerge in an artefact. Identity, body and dress are other areas to explore.
The Masters programme is aimed at artists and designers who wish to develop deeper
awareness within the field of textiles. The students are expected to display openness to adjacent areas, and curiosity to seek new forms of collaboration and context in which to work.
Using their previous training and professional experience as the starting point, the students are given the prerequisites to develop, critically reflect on and deepen their level of knowledge. Great demands are placed on active participation in dialogues, discussions and seminars. Writing, as a method, is included as a way of reflecting on and placing the artistic practice into context.
The ambition of the Masters group of courses is to challenge students to take new attitudes and make new claims about both the subject area and within their artistic practice. The aim is to develop the best prerequisites for professional practice, or for research and development work. The breadth of the courses mean that the students have a great responsibility to find a
specialisation within the framework for the courses that creates the best possible platform for the future.
The students can select in-depth courses leading either towards art or towards design. Completion and pass of the courses therefore lead either to an MFA in Art or an MFA in Design.
Subject courses (coloured=reformulated) M1
-Introduction to Textile in the Expanded Field, 7.5 ECTS -Textile in the Expanded Field I, 12 ECTS
Textile in the Expanded Field II, Specialisation Fine Art, 12 ECTS or Textile in the Expanded Field II, Specialisation Design, 12 ECTS (former name for this course: Individual Project)
M2
Textile in the Expanded Field II, Specialisation Fine Art, 7.5 ECTS or Textile in the Expanded Field II, Specialisation Design, 7.5 ECTS - Masters Degree Project, Specialisation Fine Art, 40.5 ECTS or - Masters Degree Project, Specialisation Design, 40.5 ECTS
Appendix to Degree Syllabus and Course Syllabuses for:
Masters programme Textile in the Expanded Field
As a step towards safeguarding the quality of, and also to clarify the the Masters programme
Textile in the Expanded Field, it is run by two professors, one specialising in Design, and one
specialising in Art. Historically, the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design has a strong tradition of textile arts, but only in 2005 was the position of Professor of Textile Art reinstated after ten years of pure design competence at professorship level. Ahead of the formation of the Masters programme, research of other colleges with textile based programmes was carried out, primarily in Sweden and the Nordic countries. This was one of the starting points for the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design's Masters programme Textile in the Expanded
Field focusing on an educational programme with a clear emphasis towards Art and Design.
The specialisation in the two main areas is now implemented at Bachelor level as well. As the Masters programmes are still closely linked to the departments, this entails an important clarification of the entire Textile Department.
In order to create the prerequisites for students fulfilling the learning objectives and receiving a degree in either Art or Design, an educational structure has been formed where courses
resulting in at least 60 ECTS are offered within the main subject area. These 60 ECTS correspond to three long periods with projects, where the students elect to follow courses specialising in either Design or Art. (Course names: Textile in the Expanded Field I
Specialisation Fine Art/Textile in the Expanded Field I Specialisation Design, Textile in the Expanded Field II Specialisation Fine Art/Textile in the Expanded Field II Specialisation Design, Masters Degree Project with Specialisation Fine Art/
Masters Degree Project with Specialisation Design)
In order to achieve synergy effects, joint seminars and reviews are also held during these periods. During the last two years, a fruitful foundation has developed, where art and design with the common link to the textile framework of reference have been interacting. However, this requires great emphasis placed on students having the opportunities and tools to identify areas and contexts in which to work. In the syllabuses, these elements are made visible under various learning objectives, such as "argue for and reflect on the artistic position".
During the courses, there are important elements where students work with presentations of projects in various contexts. These are both oral presentations before groups of students and lecturers, and also during the final phase of the projects in a visual presentation in the form of an exhibition or display. The aim is to achieve skills and security in the presentation of an artistic project, and communicating it from idea to implementation. This is shown under learning objectives such as: "reflect on how the artistic project communicates in a chosen
display context" Over the last two years, student projects have been well visible in various exhibition contexts and display contexts, and have also gained notice in the media.
The students on the Masters programme Textile in the Expanded Field arrive with various types of Bachelor degrees from different parts of the world. Currently, the Masters programme has students from Thailand, Japan, Estonia and Iceland, as well as from Sweden. They hold Bachelor degrees in Free Art, Textile Art, Textile Design, Fashion Design or Architecture. We encounter an interesting mixture of skills and backgrounds, but of course this places great demands on the education to satisfy differing needs. The students shall be offered the
opportunity to receive, not just in-depth artistic education, but also in-depth craft skills linked to this. During the first part of the programme, students are therefore offered a number of supplementary technique-based courses, which are necessary in order to complete the progression. Primarily during the first part of the programme, a large number of lectures by external artists, designers and researchers are offered, in order to provide an in-depth picture of how it is possible to work in the field. It is then common for students to collaborate with companies or other external partners, in particular during the longer course projects.
An important feature of the Masters programme Textile in the Expanded Field is the individual teaching, which constitutes an important tool for method development and critical reflection. Apart from purely artistic guidance in the project in progress, this also discusses the plan of studies, choice of courses, long-term objectives and progression, etc. A large part of the teaching is also done in small seminar groups, where students are actively engaged in each others' projects. During the last year of the Masters programme, great focus is placed on writing as a method for reflection. In the Masters degree project, the students write an essay in parallel with the practical work. The essay should deal with the issues linked to the practical work, and the two parts together shall form a unity. The context of the project shall be described with the support of literature and references.
