Monash University Handbook 2011 Undergraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Synopsis

This unit will examine intersections between visual and popular/consumer culture, both locally and globally, in a range of contemporary forms and venues chosen from fashion, photography and advertising, shopping and malls, entertainment and celebrity culture, product design and promotion, film and television, the music industry, magazines, the internet and digital technology. Specific examples, such as Benetton shock advertising and Mambo and Australian design will be analysed using appropriate theoretical approaches, including semiotics, the gender and race politics of fashion, punk aesthetics and studies of the connections between consumption and desire.

Assessment

Seminar paper (1000 words):25%
Visual test (equivalent 1000 words):25%
Essay (2500 words):50%

Chief examiner(s)

John Gregory

Contact hours

4 hours (1 x 1 hour lecture, 1 x 1 hour tutorial and 1 x 2 hour screening) per week

Prerequisites

6 credit points in Theory of Art and Design, Visual Culture or Cultural Studies

Prohibitions

VSA2030, VSA3030, TAD3030