2017/18 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

MODL1050 Introduction to Audio-Visual Culture

20 creditsClass Size: 60

Module manager: Stuart Green
Email: s.n.s.j.green@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2017/18

This module is approved as a discovery module

Module summary

A study of a culture traditionally begins with an exploration of its key literary texts, but what about, for example, its films and music? This module sets out to explore a range of audible and visual environments in a cross-cultural setting. Are images perceived similarly in different cultures around the globe? How do sound cultures vary depending on the historical contexts in which they were produced? Sounds and images index past times and distant places and the un/seen fabric of our life; they are produced, imagined, experienced and remembered.The module provides students with the essential framework for thinking about audio-visual culture. The material used on the module is structured according to the key theoretical concepts – object, space, flow, and platform – that define production and consumption of audio-visual artefacts, and it covers a wide range of media, including film, television, net art, video games, networked social media, etc. Examples are drawn from various national cultures and are used to illustrate a specific use of audio-visual material in a given cultural setting.

Objectives

The objectives of the module are to:
- Develop awareness of the existence of different audio-visual phenomena and develop analytical tools for structuring and codifying them culturally;
- develop the analytical tools required by students of audio-visual media, with a particular focus on those skills related to the study of modern languages and cultures;
- introduce key theoretical concepts that can be applied to the study of audio-visual culture;
- provide students with an understanding of modern economy of sounds and images and their roles in the age of digital reproduction.

Learning outcomes
At the end of the module the students will have acquired
- an understanding of key theoretical concepts that can be applied to the study of audio-visual culture;
- knowledge of the essential terminology used for working with audio-visual texts, for example, frame, mise-en-scene, composition, network, and so forth;
- knowledge of the global economy of sounds and images and their role in the production of meaning;
- an understanding of underpinning social and political issues that regulate the production and consumption of audio-visual culture.

Skills outcomes
On completion of the module, students should have acquired:
- skills of working with audio-visual culture, both theoretical (for example, tools enabling students to categorise audio-visual phenomena in the historical as well as national perspective) and practical (for example, making film stills and film clips, storing and retrieving audio files);
- transferable skills: ability to work in multi-media, multi-cultural environments; ability to conduct independent research that involves a study of audio-visual culture; ability to work effectively within multi-lingual, multi-media environments and artefacts;
- the ability to utilise selected audio-visual concepts and tools;
- the ability to engage critically with other audio-visual cultures.

Syllabus

Students will study a variety of audio-visual media, such as film, internet, theatre, gaming, opera, music videos, and so forth. These examples of audio-visual production are grouped according to the key theoretical concepts – object, space, flow and platform, dividing the module into four interrelated blocks. Each of these blocks will start with a lecture that will introduce key concepts for thinking about a specific type of audio-visual culture; the discussion will continue in four seminars that will provide the students with an opportunity to practise different approaches to audio-visual culture – for example, psychoanalytical, (post-)structuralist, feminist – and help them consolidate their knowledge of audio-visual phenomena and develop skills for analysing audio-visual texts. The teaching blocks will be united by a set of thematic strands such as cultural memory, popular culture, gender and identity.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lecture	4	1.00	4.00
Seminar	16	1.00	16.00
Private study hours			180.00
Total Contact hours			20.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

Reading and viewing for lectures and seminars; writing up notes of and preparation for presenting outcomes in seminars; researching and writing essays; preparing for the unseen exam.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Student progress will be monitored on a regular basis via classroom participation, group discussion and prepared presentations (formative).

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	1,500 words	50.00
Essay	Audio Visual Analysis Essay	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 02/03/2018 17:22:55

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