Course Resources Archive

To engage with the wide range of visual cultural and media theory introduced and explored at level 1 and 2. Selecting relevant and useful texts, ideas and approaches to analyse their chosen media text. Explaining how these key theories and ideas have originally been used, and to demonstrate an understanding of what they can tell us about the way all visual texts communicate. Demonstrating an ability to apply these ideas to a topic or visual text of their choice and to communicate an understanding of the impact, implications and issues these ideas and visual texts have in our contemporary culture. To demonstrate an understanding of the process of production and consumption of media texts and their role in constructing and shaping our understandings of ourselves, of other people and the context in which we experience the world.

Students can select to do a combined practical and theoretical project. This option allows for a flexible but no less rigorous approach to combine theory with a practical outcome. The project can take various forms but must involve a use of theoretical and visual research, a detailed critical analysis and evaluation of student’s practical work. N.B. This option must be agreed with your dissertation tutor at level 3 before it can proceed.

i. Knowledge and Understanding
By the end of the module students should:
a) have gained an ability to look beyond the ‘text’ and explore the cultural conditions from which a variety of visual media forms emerge
b) understand the constructed nature of all visual texts
c) be able to apply and focus a developing critical awareness of how visual media communicates
d) be able to communicate an understanding of the politics of representation, semiotics, ideology, hegemony, postcolonial and postmodern theory and the role of these theories for thinking about visual texts
e) be able to discuss and demonstrate an understanding and evaluation of the relationship between visual media and our sense of identity.

ii. Skills
Students should be able to demonstrate:
a) an ability to apply visual analysis and deconstruct the communication process of visual texts
b) an ability to select apposite theoretical texts and apply them to their area of study

c) research Skills, both visual and text

d) written communication, organisation and presentation skills
e) an ability to make theoretical decisions about practice choices.

The Library Catalogue contains full details of the current reading list for this module. Further details may also be found in the Module Guide.