Module Information
Course Delivery
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Essay 2500 Words | 50% |
| Semester Exam | 2 Hours Seen exam | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Essay 2500 Words | 50% |
| Supplementary Exam | 2 Hours Seen exam | 50% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Explain the development of photographic practices from around 1945 to the present
Assess specialised debates in secondary literature
Compare and evaluate alternative critical approaches to the photographic form
Apply relevant critical frameworks to analyse and interpret specific photographs and the history of photography
Brief description
This module examines the development of applications of photography to fine art from 1945 to present. It encapsulates the changes in imaging associated with the notion of ‘identity’ through genres such as landscape, documentary, portraiture, self-portraiture, and the domestic interior. The period is examined in relation to changes in critical thinking and the applications of specific theories to the photographic form.
Aims
To introduce students to the key developments in fine art photography from 1945 to present, the practices of individual photographers, and the critical tools needed to understand their practice in context.
Content
In 6 1-hour lectures, we will explore the key genres of fine art photography in our period (landscape, documentary, portraiture, self-portraiture, domestic interior), focusing on how photographers working in these genres addressed the critical problem of 'identity'.
In 3 2-hour seminars, we will examine the new ways of thinking about photographs and the photographic form that emerged in our period through close reading of seminal texts of photography theory.
In 4 2-hour workshops, we will investigate the practices of individual photographers in detail, using their work as a case study of broader trends and ideas. As an indication you will encounter the work of photographers such as Cindy Sherman, Diane Arbus, Wolfgang Tillmans, Sally Mann, Jeff Wall, Martin Parr, Carrie Mae Weems, and Andreas Gursky. These workshops will include investigating examples from the collection of the School of Art and National Library of Wales.
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Communication | Written communication skills. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Written, critical, IS and research skills further developed. |
| Information Technology | Writing in an academic context using computer. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | Professional presentation of research and annotated bibliography using MLA style documentation. |
| Problem solving | Contextualizing historical precedent in the history of photography (e.g. visual, cultural, media, conceptual effects of the medium). |
| Research skills | Researching through the use of library resources (National Library, Hugh Owen) as well electronic resources (e.g. the internet), object studies (School of Art collections, NLW collections of photographs. |
| Subject Specific Skills | Being introduced to the specifics of photographic influences on political, social and cultural functions. |
| Team work | Seminar discussion groups and debate. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 6