Module overview
The module is designed to provide knowledge and skills necessary for the critical development of well-informed contemporary art. It explores how practice is informed by context and theory.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- a range of contemporary issues, contexts and practices:
- a range of methods for critically reflecting on your own practice.
- aspects of the interaction between theory and practice:
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- articulate evidence-based conclusions.
- observe appropriate academic referencing;
- develop a written argument using a clear, coherent structure;
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- evaluate relationships between context, theory and practice;
- identify appropriate research material from library, digital and exhibition sources;
- generate concepts for your own practice in relation to current debates.
Syllabus
This module is designed to extend and expand upon the critical skills you are developing in your studio practice by examining contemporary art in broader cultural and historical contexts. It examines major concepts and key positions and assesses the relevance and significance of differing perspectives in art. The lectures explore key themes in contemporary art through specific examples and related texts, examining the themes historically and through the relationships between contemporary art and contemporary visual culture..
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching methods include
- lectures
Learning activities include
- lectures
- group discussion
- peer-group learning
- self-evaluation
Relationship between the teaching, learning and assessment methods and the planned learning outcomes
In this module learning and teaching activities focus on helping you to investigate, question and analyse the nature of contemporary art contexts, its theory and how this influences practice, including your own. Feedback on your progress and development will be given in group discussions. Informal feedback will provide opportunities for peer-group learning and self-evaluation. The summative assessment will be by way of an illustrated 2,000-word essay
Type | Hours |
---|---|
Seminar | 10 |
Completion of assessment task | 24 |
Wider reading or practice | 92 |
Preparation for scheduled sessions | 10 |
Lecture | 14 |
Total study time | 150 |
Resources & Reading list
Internet Resources
Textbooks
CKocur (Z) & Leung (S). Eds (2004). Theory in Contemporary Art: from 1985 to the present,. Oxford: Blackwell.
Heartney, Eleanor (2013). Art & Today.. London and New York: Phaidon Press.
Wood P edited by Harrison C. (2002). Art in Theory 1900-2000: an anthology of changing ideas. Oxford: Blackwell.
Carroll D, Ed (1990). The States of Theory: history, art and critical discourse.. New York: Columbia University Press..
Helena Reckitt (2001). Art and feminism. London: Phaidon.
Pollock, Griselda (1999). Differencing the Canon: feminist desire and the writing of art's histories.. London: Routledge.
Frascina, Francis (1992). Art in Modern Culture: an anthology of critical texts.. London:: Phaidon.
Edwards, Steve (2012). Art and Visual Culture: 1850 – 2010.. London: Tate Publishing; Open University.
Marí B and Schaeffer Jean-Marie Eds (1998). Think Art: theory and practice in the art of today. Rotterdam: Witte de With..
Assessment
Formative
This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.
Essay proposalSummative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Illustrated essay | 100% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Illustrated essay | 100% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Illustrated essay | 100% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External