Undergraduate - UnitVSA1000 - Introduction to Visual Culture: Back to the Future

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2012 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

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

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture
Offered	Clayton First semester 2012 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Dr Leonie Cooper

Synopsis

This unit introduces any interested student to the study of visual culture in its various forms, from painting and architecture, to film, fashion, and popular culture. After initial consideration of Renaissance and Baroque space and spectacle, the focus will shift to modernist approaches to visuality in the 19th and early 20th century city. Machines, bodies and subcultures will be addressed through avant-garde movements such as Dada, Surrealism, and Pop. Fashion, the city and popular culture will be considered as sites for the generation of desire and diverse forms of spectatorship, and the unit will conclude with contemporary forms and concepts.

Outcomes

On completion of this subject, students:

Should have begun to develop the ability to engage with a range of visual texts through the application of appropriate forms of visual analysis.

Should be able to make informed, critical judgements about various forms of visual culture.

Should be able to engage with appropriate written texts.

Assessment

Essay (1500 words): 25%
Essay (2000 words): 50%
Visual test (1 hour): 25%

Chief examiner(s)

Professor Anne Marsh

Contact hours

3 hours (1 x 2 hour lecture/screening, 1 x 1 hour tutorial) per week