Module Identifier | TF12710 | ||
Module Title | READING THE VISUAL | ||
Academic Year | 2001/2002 | ||
Co-ordinator | Dr Daniel Chandler | ||
Semester | Semester 2 | ||
Course delivery | Lecture | 10 Hours | |
Tutorial | Fortnightly | ||
Assessment | Continuous assessment | Assignment of 2, 000 words | 25% |
Exam | 2 Hours | 75% |
The main focus of this module is on how visual experience is mediated. 'Reality' is always a constructed representation. The materials used (such as visual illusions) may make the module seem similar to a 'visual literacy' course. It should appeal to students who are interested in how we interpret (and differ in interpreting) what we see in the world and in 'texts' (whatever the medium). Most people assume that visual perception, reading and watching TV involve relatively 'passive' processes of
assimilation by the 'receiver'. Our study of the openness of visual texts to interpretation will challenge such assumptions. We will explore some of the processes of mediation involved when viewers and readers construct 'reality', 'the world', 'meaning' and 'information'. For TFTS students, this module offers a foundation for a viewer-oriented study of television and film.
Aims of the module
- to examine the active processes of construction involved in visual perception;
- to demonstrate 'the beholder's share' in 'going beyond the information given'.
Objectives/Learning Outcomes
Typically, upon completion of this module, a student will be able to:
- display an understanding of the active interpretative dimension in visual perception;
- identify some of the processes of mediation involved in the visual construction of reality;
- articulate their own standpoints on the constructedness of reality.
Syllabus
The lectures are based on the following:
Visual Perception 1: Searching for Patterns
Visual Perception 2: The Third Dimension
Visual Perception 3: Cultural and Environmental Factors
Visual Perception 4: Individual Differences, Purposes and Needs
Visual Perception 5: Context and Expectations; Categorization and Selectivity
Visual Perception 6: Gestalt Principles of Visual Organization
Active Reader (1)
Active Reader (2)
Active TV Viewer
The tutorials provide opportunities to investigate and discuss themes from the lectures.
Website
Essential study materials are available online on the module's own website at:
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Modules/TF12710/
Introduction; models of communication; notions of ''reality''
Visual Perception 1: Searching for Patterns
Visual Perception 2: The Third Dimension
Visual Perception 3: Cultural and Environmental Factors
Visual Perception 4: Individual Differences, Purposes and Needs
Visual Perception 5: Context and Expectations; Categorization and Selectivity
Visual Perception 6: Gestalt Principles of Visual Organization
Active Reader (1)
Active Reader (2)
Technological Determinism
Marshall McLuhan
The tutorials provide opportunities to investigate and discuss themes from the lectures.
Students successfully completing this module should be: