Module MELA53630: Critical Readings in Photography

Department: Modern Language and Cultures

MELA53630: Critical Readings in Photography

Prerequisites

• MELA53730

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To further extend students' knowledge of photographic theory; to allow them to apply the theoretical knowledge gained in the core module to the concrete reading of photographic images; and to appreciate the possibilities and limitations of their chosen theoretical approach.

Content

• The precise scheme of reading will depend on both the images selected for analysis and the theoretical approach adopted.
• The module will consist of weekly supervsion sessions in which students report on the research and reading they have undertaken, and discuss it with the supervisor, identifying the uses and problems of a given approach and contextualising it within the wider debate on the funcions of photography -- a debate with which the core module will have familiarised them.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will have acquired a detailed understanding of a specific corpus of images; be able to situate that corpus within a broader photographic context; and be able to identify the theoretical approaches required to elucidate and analyse it.

• Students will have developed the ability to undertake critical analysis of photographs in the light of theoretical understanding, and also to engage critically with the theoretical models and frameworks encountered on the course.

• Students will have developed proficiency in the critical analysis of photographic images; the processes of researching and delineating a corpus of primary material; and the critical assessment of relevant theoretical approaches and paradigms.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Under the guidance of the supervisor, students will establish a body of photographic images that they wish to analyse, and will decide on a theoretical approach. They will then follow a rigorous programme of further reading within their chosen area, and will prepare specific tasks and questions in advance of each seminar. Seminars will be used to discuss the ways in which the chosen method can be applied to the images in question. Assessment will test students' ability to apply theoretical approaches to the practical criticism of images, and their awareness of the problems and potential of applying a given theory.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One essay of 2500 words

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University