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RPHC4003 - Year 1 - Contextual Studies: Photography: Part 1 Unit Leader: Francis Summers Introduction This essay is the first

of two that form part of a unit that runs throughout the first year and provides a theoretical context for the visual units. In the first term it provides an introduction to the nature of representation and considers the questions and issues that arise from this process. It examines the ways in which we perceive and structure information. In particular it works in relation to the other Units you are studying this term, exploring communication of meaning and the use of visual language in portraiture and landscape photography. This is related directly to the construction and reading of the image and the potential of the visual sign for the expression of meaning. The ways in which the image reflects and expresses complex social and cultural issues and contexts is also a significant focus which is explored through visual references that engage with themes concerned with physical space and landscape and with the body. The essay brief encourages you to build on the ideas discussed in the supporting lectures given this term through your own, independent research. It is also intended to help you improve your research skills, your ability to analyse, and use references to develop and support discussion and debate. Support during the development of your essay and the feedback you will receive are designed to build your skills and confidence in written communication. What will happen in the unit: This unit will consist of a series of lectures, seminars and essay tutorials / workshops. The assessed requirement for the unit will be an essay of 1,500 words utilising academic referencing. Please see the schedule for the exact timetable. Attendance is mandatory.

The aims of this unit are: A1. To explore ideas of visual language and the visual construction of meaning through theoretical concepts and photographic practice. A2. To promote a critical understanding of theories of perception, representation, contemporary communication and cultural meaning. A3. To promote the investigation and understanding of how cultural history informs the present and historical and contemporary visual practice. A4. To promote and support the development of essential academic skills i.e. research, analysis of texts, structuring of argument and the ability to critically analyse and debate verbally and in writing. Learning outcomes for unit: On successful completion of this unit you will be able to demonstrate: LO1 A growing understanding of critical ideas regarding perception, meaning, and communication. LO2 A growing appreciation of the application and operation of concepts of visual communication to both historical and contemporary practice particularly in photography. LO3 A developing knowledge of theoretical cultural ideas and perspectives and their importance in both historical and contemporary practice LO4 Developing essential academic skills to support, explore, and expand concepts, support critical analysis, the understanding and development of ideas and their expression in verbal and written form Assessment requirement: Essay of 1,500 words. This accounts for 30% of the units marks

Lecture Schedule: All lectures will be held in 806 unless otherwise indicated Please see iCal for exact times and locations, in particular to see when your group is due to attend.
Week 1: 23.09.13 Lecture 1: The Picturesque Period & the Taming of the English Landscape (Steffi Klenz) Briefing: Essay Questions (Francis Summers) Week 2: 30.09.13 Lecture: Composition & Visual Construction of Images (Jonathan Simms) Seminar: Intimacy & Family within Portraiture (Jonathan Simms) Week 3: 07.10.13 Lecture: The Sublime: Extreme Nature and the Discovery of the American West (Steffi Klenz) Seminar: Environment (Steffi Klenz) Research to support Concepts / Essay Workshop (Tracey Ashmore) Week 4: 14.10.13 Lecture: Between Frontier and the Back-Garden - Contemporary Responses to the Land (Steffi Klenz) Week 5: 21.09.13 Lecture: What is an Object? (Jonathan Simms) Seminar: Object Unit (Jonathan Simms) Week 6: 28.09.13 Reading Week Week 7: 04. 11.13 Contextual Studies Support Workshops: Understanding the Essay Questions & Initial Research Strategies (Tracey Ashmore) Week 8: 11.11.13 Lecture: Intro to Semiotics & the Construction of Images (Francis Summers) Seminar: Semiotics & Image Analysis discussion (Francis Summers) Week 9: 18.11.13 Image & Essay Seminars: Review and Discussion of Imagery from the lecture series in relation to essay questions (Francis Summers) Week 10: 25.11.13 Essay Support workshops: Planning & Writing (Tracey Ashmore / Adele Martin-Bowtell) Essay Deadline: 07.01.13 RPHC4003 (Contextual Studies) ESSAY Pt.1 Tuesday 7th January)

Essay Questions: Address one of the three following questions. 1. Compare and contrast the work of Edward Weston and Richard Misrach Some pointers: Consider how each different photographer has used different approaches to landscape photography. What stylistic differences can you perceive? How does each photographer respond to the landscape through there different approaches? What other photographers might be relevant? (Examples: Anselm Adams, Alfred Stieglitz, Simon Norfolk. Sophie Ristelhueber) 2. How does a thing (a sign, an image or an object) come to represent a person? Explore this question through the work of one or more photographer/s using portraiture or still life Some pointers: First of all: what is a sign? Look at notions of the sign within semiotics, in particular at ideas of the process of signification. How do objects or images represent people? Consider how portraiture or still life operates through a range of different methods and devices, through different manipulations of signifying structures - camera position, lighting, pose, context, text-title, gesture... Some examples to help you begin: Gillian Wearing, August Sander, Diane Arbus, Imogen Cunningham, Lucy Letinsky, Robert Mapplethorpe, Martin Parr, Irving Penn, Danny Treacy, Vik Muniz, Raymond Meier, Richard Avedon, Nadar 3. How does a photographic image appear natural and yet be the product of a cultural process? Explore this question in relation to at least two different photographic examples. Some pointers: examine the claims for photography in relation to its indexical qualities: the notion that the photographic is the imprint of light on a recording surface. How is an image constructed? How do certain images appear 'natural'? Examine the notion of semiotics in relation to image making and visual language in general. The photographic examples could range from family snaps to advertising images, also including documentary, fine art and fashion photography.
Essay Deadline: 07.01.13

Submission of work. DATE FOR HANDING IN WORK: 07.01.13 THE ESSAY MUST BE 1500 WORDS LONG WITH VISUAL EXAMPLES, APPROPRIATE REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY. REFERENCING AND BIBLIOGRAPHY MUST FOLLOW UCA ACADEMIC CONVENTIONS BY USING THE HARVARD SYSTEM OF REFERENCING SEE STUDY GUIDES FOR INSTRUCTIONS. IT MUST BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY THROUGH TURNITIN (SEE MYUCA FOR GUIDANCE) A HARD COPY MUST ALSO BE SUBMITTED TO THE ACADEMIC REGISTRY. FAILURE TO SUBMIT WORK CAN LEAD TO FAILURE OF THIS UNIT AND MAY JEOPARDISE PROGRESSION ON THE COURSE. IF YOU ARE HAVING DIFFICULTIES TALK TO YOUR TUTORS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO ASK FOR ADDITIONAL SUPPORT OR APPLY FOR EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT. THIS ESSAY CONTRIBUTES 30% TOWARDS THE OVERALL MARK FOR THIS UNIT.

Assessment Criteria Knowledge of Contexts, Concepts, Technologies and Processes Applied knowledge and theoretical understanding LO1 of perception, communication and meaning Critical understanding of historical and cultural LO2 photographic practice Understanding through Application of Knowledge Use of research to initiate, support, and develop LO3 ideas Strength of argument through structure, flow, and LO4 development Application of Technical and Professional Skills Use of academic conventions to communicate LO5 clearly in written form

Study Skills are available through the library Some useful links to study skills are: Study Advice - general page http://community.ucreative.ac.uk/article/25877/Study-Advice Essay writing - includes tips on the production of essays, from time management to formatting http://community.ucreative.ac.uk/index.cfm?articleid=12239 Study Guides - links to various forms of advice, from punctuation to essay writing style, to how to take notes... http://community.ucreative.ac.uk/article/25871/Study-Guides Harvard reference Guide - a how-to page concerning using Harvard referencing for quotation and bibliography http://community.ucreative.ac.uk/article/27187/Referencing

Suggested further reading: Please note that the reading for the Units you have this semester (in particular the Commission Unit and Object & Body Unit) are directly relevant for the production of this essay. Other general reading for an introduction to photography:
Whilst this is a fairly long list, it is only meant as an indicative list to help you begin mapping out your understanding of the field. It is not expected that you read all of these books, but it is expected that you make yourself familiar with a good number of them.

Edwards, Steve (2006) Photography: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford: Oxford University Press Bate, David (2009) Photography: The Key Concepts, Oxford and New York: Berg Bull, Stephen (2010) Photography, London: Routledge Cotton, Charlotte (2003) The Photograph as Contemporary Art, London: Thames & Hudson, Bright, Deborah (2005) Art Photography Now, London: Thames & Hudson, Marien, Mary Warner (2002) Photography: A Cultural History, London: Laurence King Ritchin, Fred (2008) After Photography, New York: W.W.Norton & Co. Sontag, Susan (1978) On Photography, Allen Lane: London Tagg, John (1988) The Burden of Representation: Essays on Photographies and Histories, Basingstoke: Macmillan Classic Essays on Photography (1980) Trachtenberg, ed., New Haven: Leete's Island Books which includes: -Benjamin, Walter 'A Short History of Photography' -Bazin, Andre 'The Ontology of the Photographic Image' -Baudelaire, Charles 'The Modern Public and Photography' Thinking Photography (1982) Victor Burgin (ed.), Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1982 Wells, Liz ed. (2002) The Photography Reader, London: Routledge Goldberg, Vicki ed. (1981) Photography in Print: Writings from 1816 to the Present, Alberquerque, University of New Mexico Bolton, Richard ed. (1999) The Contest of Meaning: Critical Histories of Photography, Cambridge Massachusetts, MIT Press Weski, Thomas (2006) Click Doubleclick: The Documentary Factor, London: Walter Konig Vitamin Ph (2006) London: Phaidon

Gernsheim, Helmut (1971)A Concise History of Photography, London: Thames and Hudson, Newhall, Beaumont (1982)The History of Photography: From 1839 to the Present, New York: The Museum of Modern Art Barthes, Roland (1977) Image-Music-Text, New York: Hill & Wang Barthes, Roland (1984) Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography, London: Flamingo Dyer, Geoff (2005) The Ongoing Moment, Little Brown

ESSAY PARTICULARS *Make sure you answer the question! *Make sure you adhere to the word count as you will be penalised for going significantly under or over. *Always reference your sources when quoting. This is essential. Use Harvard style of referencing. *At the end of your essay produce a bibliography; a list of all the books you have read to produce the essay (even if you havent quoted from them). This is essential. Neither footnotes / endnotes nor bibliography count towards the final word count. *Be aware of plagiarism please refer to myUCA for guidance on this issue. When using pictures make sure you include their producer (artist / photographer), their title and their date. If they are of a specific material or size, include this also (i.e., marble, 24 foot high etc.). Also make sure it is clear to what pictures you are referring to in the text when using images in your essay. It may be useful to label them numerically, i.e. fig.1. (If doing this, also be sure to still include photographer, title, date with the image itself) ESSAY TIPS: Compare and contrast specific images read these images carefully, in terms of your responses to them and also in terms of other writing on the photographers work. Look at the photographers photographs, not their life stories. A good essay is an analysis of the work and its many contexts (from the personal to the historical) not just that of biography. Try to avoid producing lists of life events (for example: they were born in X, then went to college in Y etc.) and if using life events make them intersect with your argument. What do you want to say about their work? Look at how photographers use technique as a visual language examine visual strategies, look at perspectives, camera position, composition, the use of certain styles and motifs. Look at the use of details, textures, colour and contrast. Be sure to describe the images you use. Locate their work within a context who are they associated with, what ideas do they use? What other photographic histories does their work interact with? Locate a central idea in the essay and read around it dont rely solely on catalogue essays, look around the issues you find. The more adventurous your research the more interesting the essay will be. Follow your gut instinct, but be sure to back it up with the relevant research Remember, an essay consists mostly of research. The better and more focused the research the more creative you can be with your arguments Be sure to structure your essay provide an introduction and conclusion. In your arguments try to stay focussed and dont wander all over the place.

FINAL TIPS: Always have a good starting point: If given a choice of questions, try and choose the one that either speaks to you or that you think presents the real challenge (i.e. gets you worked up about the issues). If asked to write on a subject of your choice pick a topic that you really want to cover, not one that you think is relevant but a little dull. Dont be afraid of the obscure and the personal they are often rewarding starting points Always do the research: Trying to write a presentation or essay on the night before deadline is a recipe for stress ulcers and heart attacks. Any essay is always 90% research with 10% of the time spent writing up the research into an essay. (This is obviously an exaggeration time should be left to write and rewrite the piece!) Always PLAN the research: A very simple point, but if you can structure the research well, the essay can easily mirror it, thus telling the story of your research (the interesting bits at least). Think about opposing positions, about non-agreeing photographers / writers, about using many different sources that you can pull together into a grand plan, an argument that takes us through the story of the research. Always use an introduction and a conclusion: The introduction and the conclusion bookend the work with one mirroring the other. You should state your intended journey plan in the introduction, i.e. that you will be looking at the birth of the portrait through the work of Nadar and Cameron looking at this + that aspect of the work (insert topic here, i.e. deadpan, subjectivity vs. objectivity, historical context, etc.). The body of the text follows through this procedure. The conclusion then mirrors this reminding the reader of the journey taken. ALWAYS USE GOOD HOUSEKEEPING Always use spell-check. Re-read the work before handing it in! Use Harvard method for quoted sources and for your bibliography Reference your sources + title your pictures! Always save your work as you write!!! KEEP A BACK-UP! Keep your own copy of your work.

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