| Unit name | Introduction to Visual Cultures: from Bristol to the World |
|---|---|
| Unit code | MODL10019 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | C/4 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. O'Rawe |
| 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 | School of Modern Languages |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
It’s all around us…on our phones and laptops, in museums and parks, on the streets we walk to class, and even in our homes. In fact, it can even be any of these things or places! We’re talking about visual culture: from television and film, to street art, fine art, and selfies; from graphic novels, comics and anime, to monuments, architecture, and even advertising. We often take our visual landscape for granted, as if it is the easiest thing in the world to understand. But visual culture is highly complex, and scholars have been seeking to decode how we see the world for centuries. This unit introduces you to some of the key theories about how we make sense of what we see. And, excitingly, it uses the sights and streets of Bristol to help you understand how what we see both reflects and transforms the world around us.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit provides a solid foundation in the theory and analysis of visual culture, and engages with a wide range of sites, texts and images. You will become a confident researcher and able to develop and sustain your own argument under the guidance of your tutors. You will consolidate your intercultural expertise through the comparative study of texts and cultural contexts, developing skills of both close reading of form, and broader cultural, historical interpretation. The unit will also introduce you to the visual culture of our vibrant city, setting you up for the rest of your time here at Bristol!
An overview of content
This unit is team-taught so that each topic can be led by an expert in the field. The specific topics will vary from year to year, but may include such things as: film, photography, graphic novel, book culture and digital texts, street art, performance art, painting, social media, animation, monuments & memorialisation, and music videos.
Each topic will also introduce you to a specific approach, theory, or methodology that is well-suited to analysing the particular sites, texts, or images for that topic.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
You will broaden your horizons by gaining insight into key theories of visual culture, and their application to a range of different media and contexts. You will in turn become confident, reflective, and effective communicators, both through seminar discussion and the unit assignments. You will be encouraged to reflect upon your own experiences as participants in our visual landscape, and you will also gain an appreciation for the power of the visual, while refining your media-specific interpretive skills, and above all enjoying the inexhaustible richness of visual culture, both in Bristol and far beyond. All this will make you alert to the ways in which we shape our worldview and identities around the things we see.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this unit students will be able to:
In-class activities will increase your familiarity with the subject matter, thereby allowing you to increase in confidence and knowledge before the summative assessment. You will be required to prepare material every week for seminars, and you will engage in class discussions to develop your confidence in engaging with the topics.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Participation in at least one of the two guided field trips
Participation in at least one of the self-directed field trips (if students are unable to participate in person, they will be able to work with online Bristol-related materials).
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Group online presentation, 10-12 minutes OR group video essay, 3-4 minutes (30%) [ILOs 1-3 and 5].
This assignment will be based on one of your field trips.
Essay, 1,500 words (60%) [ILOS 1-5]
Contribution mark (10%) [ILO 6]
Mark to reflect attendance and contribution to successful running of unit, awarded in line with Faculty policy.
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 form or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are normally confirmed by the School 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. MODL10019).
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.
