University of Calgary

Faculty of Communication and Culture

Communications Studies (COMS) 367 L01
Introduction to Visual Culture
Fall 2007
Monday 14:00-16:50

 

Instructor:	Josh Heuman
Office Location:	TBA
Office Phone:	TBA
E-Mail:	jheuman@ucalgary.ca
Office Hours:	Monday 17:00-18:00 and Sat 12:00-13:00 by notification, and by appointment

Course Description

This course offers a broad introduction to the field of visual culture, pursuing the "secret lives" of the images that surround us. We'll start with a brief survey of the field (What's visual-culture studies, and what new approaches to the world of images does it offer? What are we talking about when we talk about an image culture, and what's at stake when we do?). We'll spend most of the course exploring visual cultures of the mass media and everyday life (How have different media developed as institutions in society? What systems of visual style shape how they tell stories about what they represent, and how do those stories participate in different politics of the image? From industrial design to fashion to surveillance, how can we understand the permeation of visuality in everyday life?). Finally, we'll turn to explore the economic, legal and ethical regulation of relationships between image producers and subjects (How can images become property, who's privileged to own them, and how are they shaped by propertization? What responsibilities do cameras have to their subjects? What lines should separate the world of private lives from the world of public images? Under what circumstances is digital manipulation of images acceptable or unacceptable practice?). Throughout the course, we'll pay special attention to questions of cultural value, and especially the shifting values of realism and authenticity.

Objectives of the Course

At the end of this course, you should first and foremost have an appreciation for why it's worth thinking and talking about visual culture, as well as a preliminary sense of how it's talked about within scholarly visual-culture studies. You should have some experience and competence working with the toolkit of visual analysis, and be able to apply those tools to the images that confront you outside this course. You should understand how systems of visual style contribute to the meaning of images in different media (photography, film, television, comic books, and so on), and how those meanings might take part in a politics of the image-especially with regard to the mass-mediated representation of different social groups. You should be able to recognize and evaluate some of the different ways that you fit within everyday visual cultures. And finally, whether on screen or in the streets, you should be able to account for the different ways that visual culture depends on relations of power between producers and subjects.

Textbooks and Readings:

 

Readings are collected in a course packet available at Bound and Copied in the Student Union.

Assignments and Evaluation

Participation: 4%

 

In-class image labs (1 October, 29 October, 3 December; 3 @ 5%): 15%

 

Homework (dates by choice; 3 @ 10%): 30%

 

Final paper-informal proposal (due no later than 5 November): 1%

 

Final paper (due 3 December): 30%

 

Exams (15 October and 3 December; 2 @ 10%): 20%

 

*

 

Participation: 4%.

In-class image labs (1 October, 29 October, 3 December; 3 @ 5%): 15%. In small groups, you'll discuss and answer a series of questions asking you to synthesize and apply recent course material (like an open-book, open-note, short-essay group quiz).

 

Homework (dates by choice; 3 @ 10%): 30%. In short and informal papers (3-4 pages), you'll explore a series of questions in visual culture (sometimes in close reading, sometimes with light research). In the first, you'll discuss either an interesting still image (for 24 September) or an interesting film scene (for 15 October), reading closely to explore how it means what it means. In the second, you'll discuss either an interesting program in urban cultural policy (for 5 November) or an interesting case in privacy law (for 26 November). In the third, you'll discuss either an interesting object of industrial design or an interesting item of fashion or apparel, within its context of production and consumption (both for 19 November). We'll discuss each assignment further in class.

Final paper and informal proposal (informal proposal due no later than 5 November; final paper due 3 December): 31%. In an 8-11 page final research paper, you'll pursue in depth some question in visual culture. In conversation with existing scholarship, your paper should develop an original argument, which bears the stamp of your own substantive engagement. Your topic is left to your choice, but choose thoughtfully, mindful of scope, researchability, and your own interests. Your approach is also left to you, but should reflect the specificity of the visual as a medium of social power. Revisiting prior work might be acceptable, with prior approval; in whole or in part, unapproved multiple submission represents a form of academic dishonesty, and will be treated as such. An informal proposal asks for two or three paper topics of interest, with brief explanations; early discussion and submission are strongly encouraged. More guidelines for the proposal and paper will be discussed in class.

 

Exams (15 October and 3 December; 2 @ 10%): 20%. ...and in the middle and at the end of it all, you'll take two short exams.

It is the student's responsibility to keep a copy of each submitted assignment.
Note: Please hand in your essays directly to your tutor or instructor if possible. If it is not possible to do so, a daytime drop box is available in SS110; a date stamp is provided for your use. A night drop box is also available for after-hours submission. Assignments will be removed the following morning, stamped with the previous day's date, and placed in the instructor's mailbox.

Registrar-scheduled Final Examination:  No

Please note: If your class is held in the evening, the Registrar's Office will make every attempt to schedule the final exam during the evening; however, there is NO guarantee that the exam will NOT be scheduled during the day.

Policy for Late Assignments

 

Late work will be accepted only at my discretion, with a grade penalty for each day late (e.g., A- to B+). No work will be accepted outside of class without my approval.

 

Writing Skills Statement

Faculty policy directs that all written assignments (including, although to a lesser extent, written exam responses) will be assessed at least partly on writing skills. For details see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/info. Writing skills include not only surface correctness (grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, etc) but also general clarity and organization. Research papers must be properly documented.

If you need help with your writing, you may use the Writing Centre.  Visit the website for more details: www.efwr.ucalgary.ca

Grading System

The following grading system is used in the Faculty of Communication and Culture:

A+ (96-100); A (92-95); A- (86-91); B+ (81-85); B (77-80); B- (71-76);
C+ (65-70); C (62-64); C- (59-61); D+ (55-58); D (50-54); F (0-49)

 

Plagiarism

Using any source whatsoever without clearly documenting it is a serious academic offense. Consequences include failure on the assignment, failure in the course and possibly suspension or expulsion from the university.

You must document not only direct quotations but also paraphrases and ideas where they appear in your text. A reference list at the end is insufficient by itself. Readers must be able to tell exactly where your words and ideas end and other people's words and ideas begin. This includes assignments submitted in non-traditional formats such as Web pages or visual media, and material taken from such sources.

Please consult your instructor or the Writing Centre (SS 106, efwr.ucalgary.ca) if you have any questions regarding how to document sources.

Students with Disabilities

If you are a student with a disability who may require academic accommodation, it is your responsibility to register with the Disability Resource Centre (220-8237) and discuss your needs with your instructor no later than fourteen (14) days after the start of the course.

Students' Union

For details about the current Students' Union contacts for the Faculty of Communication and Culture see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/su

"SAFEWALK" Program -- 220-5333

Campus Security will escort individuals day or night -- call 220-5333 for assistance. Use any campus phone, emergency phone or the yellow phone located at most parking lot booths.

Ethics

Whenever you perform research with human participants (i.e. surveys, interviews, observation) as part of your university studies, you are responsible for following university research ethics guidelines.  Your instructor must review and approve of your research plans and supervise your research.  For more information about your research ethics responsibilities, see the U of C Research Ethics "Information for Applicants," sections 3.0 to 9.0, inclusive: http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/research/html/ethics/info_undergrad.html

Schedule of Lectures and Readings

 

To be distributed in class.