Introductory description

This interdisciplinary module aims to support students on the Arts and Humanities pathway to develop familiarity with the requisite skills in the practice of close textual analysis, a core methodology for the higher-level study of literature, history, drama, art, photography, performance and visual culture, such as Media Studies, the History of Art, Museum and Gallery Studies and Screen Studies.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

The module is divided into 3 main blocks, which are preceded by a brief introduction

1. Introduction to the module aims (2 weeks). What is the purpose of this module? The remainder of the first 2 weeks will comprise of an introduction to contemporary international culture, the impact of modernity, critical theory, concepts of identity and globalisation.

2. History of Art and Museum and Gallery Practices: What is art? A broad introduction to the history of art, museum and gallery practices comprising visual analysis of examples of art objects and their display to apply understanding of theory in practice; consideration of the range of historical and cultural contexts that inform and are also shaped further by creation and reception of artworks. Emphasis on visual analysis of art objects to identify art genres, different types of subject matter, museum and gallery interpretation methods, application of media (including the use of text and film formats in art) and stylistic distinctions of artworks in reference to relevant scholarship. Demonstrating the international nature of Art History, examples of artworks by artists and museum and gallery practices from all over the world will be examined.

3. Screen Studies: Comprising of an introduction to Screen Studies, followed by how to make and analyse short film clips. How to formulate an interpretation of a sequence from a film using visual evidence and appropriate technical language. Topics include the history of film-making, practical techniques, mise-en-scène; shot scale; on and off screen space; editing.

4. English Literature: What is poetry and how is identity represented in poetry? What is a story? What is fiction? The rise of the novel against the context of the impact of modernity, including the industrial revolution, realism (urban reality and fantasy); genre markers, science and culture, (fear and the irrational; Gothic fiction and the supernatural); representations and interpretations of contemporary culture in text. Placing emphasis on the interdisciplinary scope of the module, the interpretation of text in other visual culture, such as film and art will also be examined.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• 1. Demonstrate knowledge of form and contexts/conditions in which a text was created and received.
• 2. Identify and assess the values and assumptions a text represents.
• 3. Interpret and evaluate a text according to criteria appropriate to its form (subject matter, formal elements and purposes).
• 4. Compose and communicate an interpretation of a text using appropriate evidence and language.

Indicative reading list

History of Art and Museum and Gallery Practices:
Marcia Pointon, History of Art: A Students’ Handbook, Routledge, London and New York, 1986, 1-18.
Mark Roskill, What is Art History?, The University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst, 1989, 9-16.
Art Institute of Chicago, Post Impressionism, Chicago, 3-5.
Delo E. Mook and Thomas Vargish, Inside Modernism: Relativity Theory Cubism, Narrative.
Chapter 2, ‘Epistemic Trauma,’ 14-50.
Nikos Stangos (ed.), Concepts of Modernism, Thames and Hudson, London, first published 1974, third edition, 1997, 30-49.
Terry Smith, What is Contemporary Art?, Chicago, 2009.
Janet Marstine (ed.), New Museum Theory and Practice. An Introduction, Oxford, 2006, 1-36.
Sharon Macdonald, A companion to museum studies, 2006.
Ross Parry, Museums in the Digital Age, London and New York, 2009.

Screen Studies:
David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, Film Art: An Introduction, (New York, NY: MacGraw Hill, 2017)
John Gibbs, Mise-en-scene: Film Style and Interpretation (London: Wallflower, 2002), Rudolph Arnheim, Film as
Art (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1971),
Andre Bazin, What is Cinema vol. 1 (Berkeley: University of California Press 2005).
Films: Das Cabinet der Dr Caligari/The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (Robert Weine, 1920) Modern Times (Charlie Chaplin, 1936), and Hirsoshima mon amour (Alain Resnais, 1959). The last of these chosen to compliment the Inquiry and Research Skills project

English Literature:
The Norton anthology of English literature, Volume I.
Eavan Boland, in Modern Irish poetry: an anthology.
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, (2008, edition).
Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway, 1925.
Angel Carter, The bloody chamber and other stories, 1979.

Interdisciplinary

Introducing and analysing a wide variety of examples of contemporary visual and textual culture, and their areas of intersection, this module is by its nature interdisciplinary in scope.

International

Acknowledging that the History of Art, Museum and Gallery Studies, Screen Studies and English Literature are international, the scope of this module introduces and analyses a wide variety of examples of contemporary visual and textual culture produced by artists, film-makers and writers globally, alongside examining museum and gallery practices from all over the world.

Subject specific skills

History of Art and Museum and Gallery Practices Component:
Students will develop the ability to distinguish art objects and their display through a combination of critical visual analysis and examination of the socio-political contexts extant at the time of creation. They should be able to identify the key characteristics of art genres, different forms of artistic expression, subject matter and critically appraise museum and gallery practices. Furthermore, the set reading and seminar content are designed to enable students to have a developing understanding of some of the principal historical concepts and methods used in the academic discipline of the History of Art, such as iconography, formalism and postcolonialism.

Screen Studies Component:
Using visual analysis, research and examination of cinematography and computer games, students will be able to make stylistic distinctions, for example identify key genres of film within a historically developing framework. Moreover, through practical application, culminating in a formative assessment that takes the form of the creation of a short video-format film, students will also gain a developing knowledge of core film-making processes, for example framing, shot scale and editing.

English Literature Component:
In studying and analysing a range of English Literature texts, ranging from poetry to novels, students will have developed their critical reading skills. At the same time they will have gained greater awareness of general literary theory and improved comprehension of how to read and analyse texts giving consideration to the contexts of a work’s creation and ongoing interpretation.

Transferable skills

Communication (oral, written and IT), analytical and team working skills will all be developed throughout the module by the application of students undertaking reading, seminar discussions, researching, writing, visual analysis and group presentation exercises.