Visual Media
| Module title | Visual Media |
|---|---|
| Module code | AHV1006 |
| Academic year | 2023/4 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Mr James Anthony-Edwards (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 30 |
|---|
Module description
In this core module you will be introduced to ways in which different media construct contrasting visual worlds. Media may include painting, sculpture, installation, photography, film, video art, television, digital media, social networking, virtual and mixed reality. The module will help you develop the critical tools to understand these various media in different historical periods that could include pre-classical, classical, modern and contemporary art, post-war cinema and new media. You will become familiar with a range of practices and methodologies that will allow you to gain visual literacy and analyse a wide range of visual media.
Module aims - intentions of the module
The module aims to provide you with knowledge about how media construct the world(s) we inhabit. It engages you with questions of medium specificity, exploring technology from a theoretical point of view, and asking what media from different periods might share and how they may differ. It will also engage you with conditions of production and reception addressing questions of patronage, power and ownership, including copyright in the digital age. Themes addressed may include practices and theories of spectatorship and interactivity; representation of presence and identity, gender, sexuality, politics, race and the post-human; surveillance culture and the role of computing and human computer interaction in contemporary society.
The module consists of a series of lectures and seminars. It combines independent research, lecture and student-led project presentations, with periods of investigation of visual culture around us. The module will enable you to experience a supportive learning environment and will encourage you to foster your academic development whilst providing you with the opportunity to explore the visual world around you. Thinking about visual media will help you to position yourself in relation to debates about the role of the visual in society and it will provide you with a useful framework for further specialisation in the second and final stages of your degree.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. critically evaluate the dominant concepts, methods and debates informing the study of visual culture
- 2. analyse coherently the form and content of particular artworks and visual culture representations
- 3. apply a variety of methodologies and theoretical approaches to the interpretation of examples of visual culture
- 4. demonstrate an awareness of the operation of different media
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. research, present and evaluate relevant visual materials
- 6. interrogate coherently texts, artworks, images and representations, performances and installations and relate them with issues in the wider context of cultural and intellectual history
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 7. through writing and project assessments, demonstrate appropriate research and bibliographic skills, construct a basic coherent, substantiated argument, and write clear and correct prose
- 8. through research for projects and essays, demonstrate basic proficiency in information retrieval and analysis
- 9. through project work, work collaboratively orally and/or in written form, and in teams towards the development, research, organisation, and expression of ideas under pressure of time
Syllabus plan
Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:
- Medium, media, mediation
- Media archaeology
- Design
- Drawing
- Painting
- Architecture
- Landscape
- Installation
- Video
- Performance
- Digital media
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 26 | 124 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching | 11 | Lectures (11 x 1 hour) |
| Scheduled learning and teaching | 10 | Seminars these will be led by the tutor. You will need to prepare for each seminar and to present on a given topic on at least one occasion (5 x 2 hours) |
| Scheduled learning and teaching | 5 | Field trip (if allowed) |
| Guided independent study | 124 | To include reading and research in preparation for lectures, seminars and assessments |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mini-essay | 750 words | 1-8 | Feedback sheet with opportunity for tutorial follow-up |
| Oral presentation of group project | 5-10 minutes | 1-9 | Peer-assessment recorded on feedback sheet with tutorial follow-up |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 90 | 2500 words | 1-8 | Feedback sheet with opportunity for tutorial follow-up |
| Participation | 10 | 5 short reflective pieces | 1-8 | Oral |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | Essay | 1-8 | Referral/deferral period |
| Participation | Participation | 1-8 | Referral/deferral period |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to redo the assessment(s) as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
- J.D. Bolter and R. Grusin, Remediation, 2000
- J. Crary, Techniques of the Observer: On Vision and Modernity, 1992
- G. Giannachi and N. Kaye, Performing Presence, 2011
- O. Grau, Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion, 2004
- M. Hansen, Bodies in Code, 2006;
- New Philosophy for New Media, 2006
- J. Lyons and J. Plunkett, (eds) Multimedia Histories: from Magic Lantern to the Internet, 2007
- L. Mulvey, Visual Culture and Other Pleasures, 1989
- G. Pollock, Vision and Difference, 2003
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 4 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 01/12/2012 |
| Last revision date | 14/07/2020 |
