School of the Arts
McMaster University
VISUAL LITERACY
ART HIST 2A03 / CMST
2I03, Spring Term I, 2014
Lectures: Monday & Wednesday 6:00-9:00 pm (DSB B105)
Office hours: Wednesday 5:00-6:00 pm., or by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION: What is ‘visual
literacy’ and what does it mean to be visually literate in today’s society?
These questions will be addressed through a series of lectures and open
discussions aimed at increasing student awareness of the impact of visual
images upon our understanding of ‘self’ and the world around us.
The visual material and issues treated in class discussions will be
broad-ranging. Course participants should be aware that discussion topics and
visual material may reach well beyond those conventionally treated in art
history and communications lectures. A survey of the lecture titles below will
indicate the general spectrum of topics to be addressed. Individual lectures
will often focus on ‘case studies’ (eg., Byzantine icons, ‘Dolly’ the Sheep,
etc.), with the intention of drawing group discussions on larger, relevant
issues addressed in the readings and previous class discussions. Students
should thus be prepared to look, read, think critically and speak up!
Please note that there are two course texts to be purchased (listed below).
As the course progresses students will also be asked to consult relevant web
sources. These will also constitute a course requirement.
COURSE TEXTS: The required course texts (available at the bookstore)
are:
W. J. T. Mitchell, What do Pictures Want? The Lives and Loves of
Images, (Chicago, 2004).
James Elkins, ed., Visual Literacy, (London, 2007).
COURSE EVALUATION: The final grade for
this course will derive from three pieces of work. There will be one in-class
test, one take-home test and a final examination. The marking scheme for each
is listed below.
Test: 25% (MAY
21, IN CLASS; 30 minutes)
Take-home test: 35% (DUE JUNE 2,
IN CLASS)
Final exam: 40% (JUNE 18,
IN CLASS: 2 hours)
The requirements for each will be discussed in class. Please be aware
that a guideline for the take-home test, including information on late
penalties and the correct procedures for submission, will be distributed in
class on May 12, 2014.
MODIFICATIONS TO THE COURSE OUTLINE:
The instructor and university reserve the right to modify elements of
the course during the term. The university may change the dates and deadlines
for any or all courses in extreme circumstances. If either type of modification
becomes necessary, reasonable notice and communication with the students will
be given with explanation and the opportunity to comment on changes. It is the
responsibility of the student to check their McMaster email and course websites
weekly during the term and to note any changes.
EMAIL COMMUNICATION:
It is the policy of the Faculty of Humanities that all email
communication sent from students to instructors (including TAs), and from
students to staff, must originate from the student's own McMaster University email account. This policy protects
confidentiality and confirms the identity of the student. Instructors will
delete emails that do not originate from a McMaster email account.
EXTENSIONS OR ACCOMMODATONS:
Extensions or other accommodations will be determined by the instructor
and will only be considered if supported by appropriate documentation. Absences of less than 5 days may be
reported using the McMaster Student Absence Form (MSAF) at www.mcmaster.ca/msaf/ . If you are unable to use the MSAF,
you should document the absence with your faculty office. In all cases, it is YOUR
responsibility to follow up with the instructor immediately to see if an
extension or other accommodation will be granted, and what form it will take.
There are NO automatic extensions or accommodations.
ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
You are expected to exhibit honesty and use ethical behaviour in all
aspects of the learning process. Academic
credentials you earn are rooted in principles of honesty and academic
integrity.
Academic dishonesty is to knowingly act or fail to act in a way that
results or could result in unearned academic credit or advantage. This behaviour can result in serious
consequences, e.g. the grade of zero on an assignment, loss of credit with a
notation on the transcript (notation reads: “Grade of F assigned for academic
dishonesty”), and/or suspension or expulsion from the university.
It is your responsibility to understand what constitutes academic
dishonesty. For information
on the various types of academic dishonesty please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy,
located at http://www.mcmaster.ca/academicintegrity
The following illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty:
1.Plagiarism, e.g. the submission of work that is not one’s own or for
which other credit has been obtained.
2.Improper collaboration in group work.
3.Copying or using unauthorized aids in tests and examinations.
AVENUE TO LEARN:
In this course we will be using Avenue
to Learn. Students
should be aware that, when they access the electronic components of this
course, private information such as first and last names, user names for the
McMaster e-mail accounts, and program affiliation may become apparent to all
other students in the same course. The
available information is dependent on the technology used. Continuation in this course will be
deemed consent to this disclosure. If
you have any questions or concerns about such disclosure please discuss this
with the course instructor.
SUPPORT SERVICES:
The University provides a variety of support services to help students
manage their many demands. Reference librarians can provide invaluable research
assistance. The Student Accessibility Services Centre (SAS) provides assistance
with personal as well as academic matters. MUSC B107 and http://sas.mcmaster.ca/
GRADING SCALE: The McMaster grading scale may be consulted at: http://registrar.mcmaster.ca/calendar/2012-13/pg145.html
LECTURE SCHEDULE & READINGS:
All readings are taken from the course texts:
W. J. T. Mitchell, What do Pictures Want? The Lives and Loves of
Images. [MITCH.]
James Elkins, ed., Visual Literacy, [ELK.]
Preface: Why ‘Visual
Literacy’?
May 5 Introductory class
discussion (no readings assigned)
May 7
James Elkins, “Introduction: The Concept of Visual Literacy and Its
Limitations” [ELK.], pp. 1-10.
W.J.T. Mitchell, “Visual Literacy or Literary Visualcy?” [ELK.], pp.
11-13.
A Picture Says a
Thousand Words
May 12
Peter Dallow, “The Visual Complex: Mapping Some Interdisciplinary
Dimensions of Visual Literacy,” [ELK.], pp. 91-104.
Jon Simons, “From Visual Literacy to Image Competence,” [ELK.], pp.
77-90.
Living Images
May 14
W.J.T. Mitchell, “Ch. 6. Offending Images,” [MITCH.]
May 19 NO CLASS (VICTORIA DAY)
May 21 TEST
(In class: 30 minutes)
(‘Living Images’ discussion continues after
test: W.J.T.
Mitchell, “Ch. 6. Offending Images,” [MITCH.])
Iconoclasm
May 26, 28
W.J.T. Mitchell, “Preface,” pp. xii-xvii; “Images,” pp. 1-3.; “Vital
Signs: Cloning Terror,” pp. 5-27. [MITCH.]
Narrative and Image
June 2 (TAKE-HOME TEST DUE IN CLASS)
W.J.T. Mitchell, “Ch. 13. The Ends of American Photography: Robert Frank
as National Medium,” [MITCH.]
June 4
W.J.T. Mitchell, “Ch. 14. “Living Color: Race, Stereotype, and Animation
in Spike Lee’s Bamboozled,” [MITCH.]
Visualizing Desire
June 9
W.J.T. Mitchell, “Ch. 2. What Do Pictures Want?,” [MITCH.]
W.J.T. Mitchell, “Ch. 3. Drawing Desire,” [MITCH.]
June 11
W.J.T. Mitchell, “Ch. 8. Romanticism and the Life of Things,” [MITCH.]
W.J.T. Mitchell, “Ch. 9. Totemism, Fetishism, Idolatry,” [MITCH.]
Imagine: Picturing
the Unseen
June 16
W.J.T. Mitchell, “Ch. 7. Empire and Objecthood,” [MITCH.]
W.J.T. Mitchell, “Ch. 15. The Work of Art in the Age of Biocybernetic
Reproduction,” [MITCH.]
June 18 FINAL
EXAM (in class: 2 hours)
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