| Unit name | Writing for Art |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ENGL39019 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Deborah Lam |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Department of English |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
Writing and art have always had an uneasy relationship. Despite their cultural, historical and analytical correspondences, their proximity necessitates a defensiveness over the boundaries between the verbal and the visual. This unit will interrogate the complex relations of these two uncomfortable bedfellows, from analogies to tensions, in order to explore issues of representation that underpin understandings of literature and visual art. By attending to a range of textual-visual encounters, students will develop both analytical and theoretical interdisciplinary tools with which to engage with writing for art.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
Specialisation units challenge and empower you to engage with specific elements of advanced literary study. Specialisation units include taught options, which are closely informed by the world-leading research of individual academic staff, as well as final-year dissertation units that will enable you to pursue your own research or creative interests. Specialisation units cultivate ambition and independent learning, and showcase the department’s wide-ranging and varied expertise.
An Overview of Content
For John Ruskin, whose art writing was an act of devotion, ‘All great art is praise.’ In this unit, we will trouble Ruskin’s belief in the devotional nature of the arts to explore the relationship between writing and visual art from 1800 to the present. We will consider themes such as the rivalry between the sister arts of painting and poetry, issues of representation, aesthetics and Aestheticism, art history, photography, Pre-Raphaelitism and Ruskinism throughout the term. Through practical examples and theoretical discussions, we will examine the tenuous mutuality between writing and visual art, as well as the different modalities of this relationality – that of service, servitude, love, hierarchy, collaboration, competitiveness, empathy and understanding.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
By the end of the unit, students will have had the opportunity to engage with the multiform relations between literature and the plastic arts, and to explore theories of such relationships through examples of a range of word and image encounters. Students will be able to refine their understanding of the formal, cultural and historical confluences of writing and art, and to recontextualise their work on other units, such as Literature 1740-1900, Victorian Fiction and Celebrity Culture. This unit will provide interdisciplinary frameworks for the critical and theoretical analysis of visual and textual material, which can be used to support study on other units and research projects including the dissertation.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:
Teaching will involve asynchronous and synchronous elements, including group discussion, research and writing activities, and peer dialogue. Students are expected to engage with the reading and participate fully with the weekly tasks and topics. Learning will be further supported through the opportunity for individual consultation.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Students will be given the opportunity to submit an outline of your final summative essay, and receive formative feedback.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative)
Essay, 3,500 words (100%) [ILOs 1-4]
When assessment does not go to plan
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the format or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are confirmed by the School/Centre shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the year
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. ENGL39019).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
