University of Technology Sydney

87100 VC Design Theory: Critical Approaches to Visual Culture

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.

Subject handbook information prior to 2024 is available in the Archives.

UTS: Design, Architecture and Building: Design
Credit points: 6 cp

Subject level:

Undergraduate

Result type: Grade and marks

Requisite(s): 87631c VC Design Studio: The Politics of Image and Text
The lower case 'c' after the subject code indicates that the subject is a corequisite. See definitions for details.
These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses. See access conditions.

Description

This subject provides a framework for understanding the techniques and technologies of visual culture. The subject investigates major theories of the image, both historical and contemporary. The subject examines ways that visual culture can be contextualised and critically examined, enabling students to place their own design practices, as well as giving them the tools to analyse and respond to the work of other practitioners. Through lectures and tutorials, students investigate historical and emerging discourses that bear on visual culture. This includes discussions of what an image is and the media environments in which images appear within visual culture, from Renaissance painting to photography, television to digital networks.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:

1. Develop your ability to visually analyse images and apply a range of frameworks in visual culture to consider images.
2. Develop your ability to critically analyse written texts, give public presentations and develop sound essay writing skills. By the end of the semester you should be able to identify arguments in academic texts and critically respond to them. You should be able to develop an argument in your own essay writing, as well as employ visual examples to support your argument.
3. By the end of the semester, you will be able to undertake visual and theoretical research and be able to employ the Harvard style of referencing in your assessments.
4. Develop your knowledge of the social and technical history of visual culture.

Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)

This subject also contributes to the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes:

  • Communicate ideas effectively in a variety of ways, including oral, written and visual. (C.3)
  • Advance ideas through an exploratory and iterative design process. (I.2)
  • Source, evaluate and utilise appropriate academic and professional references. (R.1)
  • Analyse, synthesise and formulate complex ideas, arguments and rationales and use initiative to explore. (R.3)
  • Demonstrate knowledge of design history and theory and to place creative practice within a historical and theoretical framework. (R.4)

Contribution to the development of graduate attributes

The term CAPRI is used for the five Design, Architecture and Building faculty graduate attribute categories where:

C = communication and groupwork

A = attitudes and values

P = practical and professional

R = research and critique

I = innovation and creativity.

Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs) are linked to these categories using codes (e.g. C-1, A-3, P-4, etc.).

Teaching and learning strategies

Weekly lectures and tutorials.

Students are expected to commit 9–12 hours per week to each 6 credit point subject. This includes 3 contact hours per week. The 6–9 hours remaining each week are for the completion of preparatory activities and assessment tasks.

LECTURES

The subject will consist of 12 one hour lectures.

TUTORIAL ETIQUETTE

Tutorials are there for you to discuss the content from the lecture, to go over set readings and preparatory activities for the week and to work on your visual analysis and essay writing skills. During tutorials, all students are responsible for generating discussion, so please be prepared to talk through your ideas, things you understand and don't understand. Tutorials are there for you to learn from each other in real life, so please try and avoid using your mobile phones or laptops unless you are doing class work. Digital devices can be distracting to everyone around you.

PREPARATORY ACTIVITIES

Each week before class, you will be asked to undertake specific preparatory activities. These will be outlined in CANVAS as well as this subject outline.

Content (topics)

  • The privilege of vision
  • What is an image
  • How do we read images
  • Visual literacy
  • Iconography
  • The relationship between images & the words that describe them
  • Semiotics: the "science" of signs & signifiers, denotation & connotation
  • Society of the spectacle
  • The image in reality and hyperreality
  • Aesthetics
  • Ethics
  • Ideology + power + interpellation: feminism, orientalism & postcolonialism: the subaltern
  • New Materialism
  • Data Feminism
  • Data visualisation
  • Media in visual culture: how medium makes meaning in photography, film, television

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Visual analysis and presentation

Intent:

The aim of this assessment task is to develop your public presentation skills while also developing your visual analysis skills. In this exercise, you will be given 10 minutes to present a visual analysis of an image in class using key frameworks provided over weeks 2 and 3.

You will present your visual analysis in class using the following prompts:

1. Discuss the formal qualities of the image and describe the information that is visually available in front of you. Help your audience see what it is that you see.

2. Once you have described what is visible in the image, then describe to your audience what is suggested by that imagery.

3. Tell your audience who made the image, unpack the historical context in which that image appeared. Are there any images like it? What came before the image, what came after it? Who saw the image? How did it circulate in society? What was its historical impact?

You will upload your presentation to Canvas. The presentation will be checked for plagiarism and use of AI text generation such as ChatGPT.

Objective(s):

This task addresses the following subject learning objectives:

1, 2 and 3

This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.):

C.3, R.3 and R.4

Type: Presentation
Groupwork: Individual
Weight: 40%
Length:

6 minute public presentation (10 mins including class discussion - so you speak for 6 mins, set-up, discussion and change over accounts for 4 mins).

Criteria linkages:
Criteria Weight (%) SLOs CILOs
Ability to demonstrate visual literacy and use a range of frameworks to analyse images. 33 1 R.4
Ability to source, evaluate and utilise appropriate academic and professional references. 33 3 R.3
Ability to analyse, synthesise and formulate complex ideas, arguments and rationales and use initiative to explore alternatives 34 2 C.3
SLOs: subject learning objectives
CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Assessment task 2: Visual essay

Intent:

In this assessment task, you will respond to a list of topics posted on Canvas and create a visual essay, along with an annotated bibliography and rationale. See the assessment sheet for further information, a step by step guide and some suggestions.

Objective(s):

This task addresses the following subject learning objectives:

1, 2, 3 and 4

This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.):

C.3, I.2, R.1 and R.4

Type: Project
Groupwork: Individual
Weight: 60%
Length:

500 words creative rationale and explanation, 750-1000 word annotated bibliography - 5 entries at 150 - 200 words, 100 images, sourced from various databases, referenced with a URL.

Criteria linkages:
Criteria Weight (%) SLOs CILOs
Demonstrate basic knowledge of the visual context in which an image has been made. 25 4 R.4
Demonstrated ability to use images as a form of critical analysis 25 1 I.2
Demonstrated ability to use UTS Harvard referencing in an essay and appropriately integrate research into the body of an essay. 25 3 R.1
Demonstrated ability to produce visual responses 25 2 C.3
SLOs: subject learning objectives
CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Minimum requirements

The DAB attendance policy requires students to attend no less than 80% of formal teaching sessions (lectures and tutorials) for each class they are enrolled in to remain eligible for assessment.

Please note that you are expected to attend a minimum of 10 lectures AND tutorials to pass this subject.

Failure to bring required preparatory material to class will be regarded as partial (50%) attendance.

References

UNDERSTANDING PLAGIARISM

You can test your understanding of plagiarism here.

Other resources

24/7 Building Access
During the session, Building 6 is open to all DAB students 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Computer Labs
During the session, all DAB students have 24 hours a day, 7 days a week access to the computer labs on Level 3.

Student Collaborative Pods
Collaborative pods in Building 6 are available for students to book for independent and group work. Each room contains an LCD monitor and Internet access.
There are 4 rooms on Level 4 available to all UTS students, including DAB students. There are 8 rooms on level 6, exclusively for DAB students.
Bookings are made through the library room booking system: http://www.lib.uts.edu.au/roombooking/

Photographic, Audio and Lighting Equipment
DAB has a range of photographic, audio and lighting equipment that is available for student use. Equipment lists and bookings through: http://www.uts.edu.au/DAB-workshops
The equipment store is located on Level 2 in the Photomedia Studio, room CB0.02.19A. The studio is open 9am to 9pm during session.

Product Photography Studio
Located on Level 7 in room CB06.07.57, this mini studio contains lighting setup suitable for photographing products or models.
Students need to BYO camera or borrow a DAB camera and make a booking at: http://www.uts.edu.au/DAB-workshops