| Unit name | Visual Politics |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HART30062 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Maasri |
| 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 History of Art (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
Since the 1960s, artists across the world have been increasingly active politically, using their skills to publicly contest various forms of oppression and inequality. While art has served to agitate for war and rally public opinion, it continues to be used to denounce wartime violence and call for a more just world. This unit will focus on visual culture as a site of political struggle in global contexts from the mid-twentieth century to the present day. It critically examines the role of images and that of artists/image-makers in critical times of war, protest movements, popular uprisings, and revolutions. It explores diverse modes of artmaking and media, including street art, periodicals, artists’ books, posters, photography, film, and electronic media. In comparing different modes and contexts of visual production and dissemination, students will gain an understanding of the ways in which visual culture shapes, and is shaped by, political discourses and subjectivities in modern everyday life.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
This unit introduces you to a body of modern and contemporary visual culture in relation to conflict. It builds on the global content and skills developed in years 1 and 2 of the programme, particularly in critical visual analysis, and provides a specific historical, geographical, and cultural context for examining this visual material. The unit will also expose you to key conceptual, historiographical, and methodological issues related to studying the intersection of images, history, and politics. As a result, you will gain confidence in evaluating critical models and challenging traditional historical narratives as you develop your independent research.
An overview of the content
Extending beyond canonical Western case studies, students will be introduced to broader geographies of the Global South (e.g. Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America) which offer new frameworks of knowledge and fresh insights into the fraught relation between art and politics. Comparative case studies will enable students to gain a broad understanding of key theoretical issues in visual culture and awareness of art historical debates, including visuality, power and cultural hegemony; revolutionary art; visual activism; aesthetics and politics; visual evidence and the ethics of witnessing; art and post-war memory.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
Teaching will be interactive to allow you to develop your knowledge and understanding through critical reading and discussion that engages with current debates in the subject. You will develop your analytical skills, building confidence and competencies that will help you in the approach to the assessments and provide further grounding for specialist units and independent study in Year 3.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to
Classes will involve a combination of long- and short-form lectures, class discussion, investigative activities and practical activities, which include visual analysis. Students will be expected to engage with readings and participate on a weekly basis. This will be further supported with drop-in sessions and self-directed exercises with tutor and peer feedback.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Essay, 3,000-words (50%) [ILOs 1-5]
Timed assessment (50%) [ILOs 1-5]
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 academic 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. HART30062).
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.
