Module Information

Module Identifier
AH11720
Module Title
Representing the Body
Academic Year
2020/2021
Co-ordinator
Dr Samuel Raybone
Semester
Semester 2
Other Staff
 

Course Delivery

 

Assessment

Due to Covid-19 students should refer to the module Blackboard pages for assessment details

Assessment Type Assessment length / details Proportion
Semester Assessment Written Essay  (2000 words)  70%
Semester Assessment Oral Presentation  (15 minutes, 1500 words)  30%
Supplementary Assessment Written Essay  (2000 words)  70%
Supplementary Assessment Oral Presentation  (15 minutes, 1500 words)  30%

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

1. Recognise and explain critical problems posed by representing the body.

2. Interpret critical and theoretical texts pertaining to the representation of the body.

3. Apply critical concepts to understand familiar and unfamiliar artistic representations of the body.

4. Analyse artistic representations of the body, and communicate these analyses in speech and writing.

5. Develop and defend a critical, written argument about representations of the body in art.

Brief description

Everybody has a body; yet, the way our bodies are represented, understood, experienced, shaped, and controlled varies both within and between societies, and changes over time. For centuries, if not millennia, art has allowed humans to express and explore what it means to have a body and to exist in a society of other bodies. In turn, representations of the body have been wrapped up in larger debates and struggles: about political power and social control; identity (including gender, class, nationality, and race); sexuality; body modification and technology; health and disease; knowledge and education; and about the nature and purpose of art itself.
Panopto lecturettes introduce artistic themes and frame critical issues. Watching them as individual study, you will encounter a range of artistic media and practices (typically: painting, photography, print, sculpture, performance, illustration, scientific drawings, and time-based media) from around the world and across history. In workshops, we closely and collaboratively analyse additional pertinent artworks, drawing upon the School of Art collection where possible. In seminars, we discuss critical texts that deepen and expand our understanding of the theme.
This module will develop your ability to interpret critical and theoretical texts; and to apply critical concepts and arguments to understand and analyse works of art from a large variety of different contexts.

Content

1.​Lecture: Introduction and Overview
2. 2 Panopto Lecturettes: Spiritual Bodies (i) & (ii)
a. Seminar
b. Workshop
3. 2 Panopto Lecturettes: Ideal Bodies (i) & (ii)
a. Seminar
b. Workshop
4. 2 Panopto Lecturettes: Gendered Bodies (i) & (ii)
a. Seminar
b. Workshop
5. Assessment Preparation Week
6. 2 Panopto Lecturettes: Decomposed Bodies (i) & (ii)
a. Seminar
b. Workshop
7. 2 Panopto Lecturettes: Collective Bodies (i) & (ii)
a.Seminar
b. Workshop
8. Reading Week
9. 2 Panopto Lecturettes: Feeling Bodies (i) & (ii)
a. Seminar
b. Workshop
10. 2 Panopto Lecturettes: Racialized Bodies (i) & (ii)
a. Seminar
b. Workshop
11. 2 Panopto Lecturettes: Desiring Bodies (i) & (ii)
a. Seminar
b. Workshop

Module Skills

Skills Type Skills details
Application of Number N/A
Communication Articulating ideas orally in seminar and workshop discussions and presentation; and textually through essay.
Improving own Learning and Performance Independent study; oral feedback on seminar and workshop contributions; written feedback on presentation and essay.
Information Technology Engaging with flipped content (Panopto recordings); conducting research through library catalogues, online scholarly databases and museum websites; organizing their own research materials and notes to compile diary; engaging with other digital platforms like Blackboard and Turnitin.
Personal Development and Career planning Development of key skills, including visual analysis, textual analysis, oral communication, and professional presentation of research using MLA style.
Problem solving In seminar and workshop discussions of texts and images; in preparation for presentation; essay research and writing.
Research skills Seminar preparation and discussion; conducting research for presentation and essay.
Subject Specific Skills Ability to visually analyze works of art, critically evaluate theoretical texts; set each in their historical contexts, and construct arguments about their meaning and significance.
Team work Collaborative visual analysis exercises and working in groups of varying sizes to complete activities in workshops.

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 4