MFC4142 - The Aesthetics and Poetics of the Image

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Understand that a variety of different theoretical perspectives and styles apply to the interpretation and analysis of photographs.
Evaluate published photographic works within the context that they are presented.
Evaluate the influence of photography on society through the work of master photographers, photographic movements or genres.
Apply knowledge derived from the study of theories, published works and photographers to describe aesthetic composition and framing and be able to use it in future work.
Demonstrate an understanding of a range of photography theories, movements, trends and styles and be able to present them to an audience.

Content:

The module's aim is to give you the opportunity to begin to develop an aesthetic and intellectual orientation for your future work. You will work on a number of published works and photographers in order to analyse, apply and interpret the content discussed in class.

You will be guided through the practice of analysing and interpreting photographs from historical and aesthetic viewpoints. Key historical movements, trends and styles will be marked out and considered from different perspectives, including: representations of reality, photographic composition, visual culture, narrative structure, etc.

Throughout the module, the students will be exposed to the concept of digital remediation in order to better understand the technical, aesthetic and cultural shift from analogue to digital.

Learning and Teaching Information:

The learning and teaching methods for this module comprise interactive lectures. Photography theories and styles are introduced and students assess their validity and impact at the same time through the use of case studies (published photography and photographers).

Essay writing, research and oral presentation skills will be addressed during taught sessions.

Interactive lectures
Hours: 40
Intended Group Size: 40

Guided independent study
Hours: 160

Further details relating to assessment
Directed activities: these consist of weekly tasks that must be completed and submitted for inspection at timetabled sessions each week. The assessment will be assessed on a pass/fail basis with a pass requiring at least 75% of all weekly tasks to be completed successfully. A pass will lead to the full award of 10% towards the final module mark. A fail in directed activities will contribute 0% to the final mark.

Group presentation: The topic of the group presentation (assessment 1) has to be decided in advance with the module tutor. The presentation will be evaluated by a panel of experts in the area.

Photo-essay: will be a reflective visual and written analysis on one or more of the topics analysed in class.

Assessment:

001 Directed activities; throughout semester 2 10%
002 Group Presentation; 10 mins; end semester 2 45%
003 Photo-essay; 8 original photos and 500 words; end semester 2 45%

Fact File

Module Coordinator - Stefano Odorico
Level - 4
Credit Value - 20
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered - 4S2

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