Academic Handbook Art and Design Mobility Courses
Visual Intelligence Course Descriptor
Last modified on July 26th, 2023 at 9:14 am
| Course Code | LADES4108 | Discipline | Art and Design |
| UK Credit | 15 | US Credit | 4 |
| FHEQ Level | 4 | Date Approved | July 2022 |
| Core Attributes | IC | ||
| Pre-Requisites | None | ||
| Co-Requisites | None | ||
Course Overview
This course uses the distinctive visual and material fabric of London to develop students’ visual intelligence. Through written exercises, the making of images, study of new technologies and practices of looking, students will map their experiences during the semester in visual terms. They will discover how to look critically, to be aware of the medium that delivers the message, and to analyse images contextually. As a result, they will develop greater awareness of how people’s individual lives, the wider culture and socio-political ideologies are linked together through visual experience and communication practices.
Course Aims
This course aims to:
- Teach students how to look carefully, identify visual features that might be meaningful and describe images accurately.
- Develop students’ awareness of the impact of new technologies on the making, distribution, manipulation, reception and perception of images
- Increase students’ skills in critical analysis by combining careful looking with the application of relevant methods of contextual analysis
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
Knowledge and Understanding
| K1a | Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of theories and techniques of perception. |
| K2a | Demonstrate understanding of new technologies, and their effects on practices and systems of communication. |
| K3a | Demonstrate critical awareness of how systems of visual communication link dominant ideologies to individual experience. |
Subject Specific Skills
| S1a | Systematically and critically analyse images and describe them in ways that are precise and meaningful. |
| S2a | Evaluate the impact of particular media and new technologies on visual communication, thinking or creativity. |
| S3a | Identify and apply appropriate methods of contextual analysis to the study of visual images and artefacts. |
Transferable and Professional Skills
| T1a | Increase awareness of cultural difference and different points of view in practices of seeing and communication |
| T2a | Display a developing technical proficiency in written English and an ability to communicate clearly and accurately in structured and coherent pieces of writing. |
| T3a | Develop communication skills in synthesising visual and written evidence through description, word choice, creative projects and writing. |
Teaching and Learning
Teaching and learning strategies for this course will include:
A minimum of 36 contact hours, typically to include interactive group teaching, co-curriculars, individual meetings, in-class presentations and exams.
Course information and supplementary materials are available on the University’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).
Students will receive individualised developmental feedback on their work for this course.
Students are required to attend and participate in all the formal and timetabled sessions for this course. Students are also expected to manage their directed learning and independent study in support of the course.
Assessment
Formative
Students will be formatively assessed in class through class activities, and during office hours. Formative assessments are ones that do not count towards the final grade but will provide students with developmental feedback.
Summative
| AE: | Assessment Activity | Weighting (%) | Duration | Length |
| 1 | Written Assignment | 50% | 1500 words | |
| 2 | Written assignment | 50% | 2000 words |
Further information on the structure of summative assessment elements can be found in the Summative Assessment Briefs.
Feedback
Students will receive feedback in a variety of ways: written (including via email correspondence); oral (within office hours or on an ad hoc basis) and indirectly through class discussion.
Feedback on examinations is provided through generic internal examiners’ reports and are made available to the student on the VLE. For all other summative assessment methods, feedback is made available to the student either via email, the VLE or another appropriate method.
Indicative Reading
Note: Comprehensive and current reading lists for courses are produced annually in the Course Syllabus or other documentation provided to students; the indicative reading list provided below is used as part of the approval/modification process only.
Books
The required course book is: Sturken, M. & Cartwright, L. (2018). Practices of looking : an introduction to visual culture (Third edition.). Oxford University Press.
A digital version is available for purchase online via VitalSource: Practices of Looking 3rd edition | 9780190265717, 9780190265755 | VitalSource
Practices of Looking, Third Edition, bridges visual, communication, media, and cultural studies to investigate how images and the activity of looking carry meaning within and between different arenas in everyday life. The third edition has been updated to represent the contemporary visual cultural landscape and includes topics like the increasingly rapid global circulation of media, the rise of design and DIY cultures, digital media art and activism, and challenges to photojournalism and news media.
Journals
From blockchain to browser: exhibiting NFTS, part one
Electronic Resources
Indicative Topics
- Ways of seeing
- Visual language
- Mass media
- Impact of new technologies
- Images and identity
| Title: LADES4108 Visual Intelligence Course Descriptor
Approved by: Academic Board Location: Academic Handbook/Programme Specifications and Handbooks/Mobility Courses |
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| Version Number | Date Approved | Date Published | Owner | Proposed Next Review Date | Modification (As per AQF4) & Category Number |
| 2.1 | April 2023 | July 2023 | Dr Lars Kjaer (Acting Head of Art History) | July 2027 | Category 1: Corrections/clarifications to documents which do not change approved content or learning outcomes |
| 2.0 | October 2022 | January 2023 | Dr Lars Kjaer (Acting Head of Art History) | July 2027 | Category 1: Corrections/clarifications to documents which do not change approved content or learning outcomes
Category 3: Changes to Course Learning Outcome |
| 1.0 | July 2022 | August 2022 | Dr Lars Kjaer (Acting Head of Art History) | July 2027 | |