THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2021/2022

Information in the Degree Programme Tables may still be subject to change in response to Covid-19

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Edinburgh College of Art : Art

Undergraduate Course: Approaches to Visual Culture (ARTX08086)

Course Outline
SchoolEdinburgh College of Art CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis course will give you a grounding in approaches to the discipline of Visual Culture. You will be introduced to various ways of developing and applying criticality to visual culture. This course will help you understand not only how we experience visual culture but also how it is produced. We will speci¿cally focus on how the discipline of Visual Culture informs the production and reception of contemporary art practices.
Course description This is a lecture-based course, with accompanying seminars. Lectures will be pre-recorded and available online, seminars will be held synchronously online.

The course will introduce you to key concepts, themes, and approaches in Visual Culture. The course teaching and resources will encourage you and your peers to collectively analyse and question what is visual culture; what is your role within it; and, how does it inform contemporary art practices? The course is intended to give you a foundational understanding of how visual culture is produced and experienced in relation to contemporary art practices. Central to the course will be an introduction to inventive techniques and approaches for enacting forms of critical practice and thinking, helping you to apply these approaches to greaten your understanding of contemporary art and your own ways of working within the ¿eld of Visual Culture.

The weekly readings and resources will draw from a range of interdisciplinary approaches to Visual Culture to provide you with a holistic contextualisation of visual culture in relation to your own practice. You do not need to have an artistic practice or previous experience of studying art to be a part of this course.

The course assignments will also provide you with the necessary research skills to construct your own research projects and identify or establish appropriate approaches to investigating your interests.

The course attends to the live agendas in contemporary art, covering subjects pertaining to the production, experience and understanding of visual culture and how these issues affect processes of learning about, making and displaying artworks. This will include exploring how to critically understand images and the contexts they operate in, including intersectional approaches to visual culture.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Students MUST NOT also be taking History of Art 1 (HIAR08009)
Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2021/22, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  120
Course Start Semester 2
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 10, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10, Online Activities 2, Feedback/Feedforward Hours 1, Formative Assessment Hours 1, Summative Assessment Hours 1, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 171 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Feedback Formative Essay - submitted mid semester approx. week 6 via Learn Written/verbal feedback/forward via Learn in 15 working days of submission

Summative Essay - submitted approx. week 12 via Learn
Grades and written feedback via Learn in 15 working days of submission

Formative assessment (feed forward) will be given in relation to the written assessment at the mid-point of semester. Students will receive verbal or written feed forward / feedback on this in advance of the summative submission date. Summative assessment: Grades and written feedback via Learn in 15 working days of submission.
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Develop and present evidence of independent scholarly research into approaches to visual culture.
  2. Critically analyse and synthesise ideas, concepts, information, and issues concerning approaches to visual culture and contemporary art practices.
  3. Structure and convey complex information and knowledge of approaches to visual culture and contemporary art practices.
Reading List
Barnard, M (2001) Approaches to Understanding Visual Culture, Basingstoke: Palgrave
Rose, G. (2001) Visual Methodologies: An Introduction to the Interpretation of Visual Materials, London: Sage
Mirzoeff, N (2016) How to See the World: An Introduction to Images, from Self-Portraits to Selfies, Maps to Movies, and More, New York: Basic Books
Brisbin, C. & Thiessen, M. (2011) The Routledge Companion to Criticality in Art, Architecture, and Design, London: Routledge Heywood, I. & Sandywell, B. (2011) The Handbook of Visual Culture, London: Bloomsburry
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Demonstrate an understanding of theories, concepts, principles, and terminology within the discipline of Visual Culture and their relationship to the production and reception of contemporary art practices.

Apply knowledge and understanding that is generated through research that makes a significant contribution to the development of the students Visual Culture work.

Undertake critical analysis, evaluation and synthesis of practices and thinking in Visual Culture to consolidate and extend knowledge of contemporary art theory and practice.
KeywordsVisual Culture,Criticality,Cultural Theory
Contacts
Course organiserMr Jake Watts
Tel:
Email: jake.watts@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Hannah Morrison
Tel: (0131 6)51 5763
Email: hmorris4@ed.ac.uk
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