Monash University Handbook 2010 Postgraduate - Unit

Synopsis

This subject is intended to enable the positioning of the candidate's practice with respect to past and current practices and also to encourage a philosophical expression of his or her work. Through a process of challenge and debate, the subject leads the candidate to clarify his or her proposal for the studio work. The subject is designed to integrate the theoretical and the practical; it asks candidates to express their ambitions in studio in a critical context and, through discursive challenge, clarifies the intuitive dimensions of studio practice.

Objectives

On successful completion of this unit, students will:

1. be able to develop their initial proposal for studio research with a critical awareness of artistic positionality as well as the potential for challenge, debate and expansion;
2. understand methodology as a critique of method, seeking the cultural values embedded in investigative method, even wheh it is ostensibly value-free or objective;
3. have a sympathetic working knowledge of the language of theory in order to express the cultural values of their work not just their practical dimensions;
4. appreciate that texts on art contain the cultural assumptions of their authors and develop a critical sense for identifying their values;
5. appreciate the difference between professional practice in their discipline and research in their discipline.

Assessment

Preliminary work on studio proposal: 25%
Annotated studio proposal (5000 words): 75%

Chief examiner(s)

Robert Nelson

Contact hours

2 hours per week, 10 hours of private study