Project Title: Essay 1: Exhibition Analysis Module: History, Theory and Context 2 Level: HE2/NQF lev

Project Title: Essay 1: Exhibition Analysis
    Module: History, Theory and Context 2
    Level: HE2/NQF level 5
    Duration: 10 weeks
    Academic Responsibility: James Frost

    Project outline:

Essay Title: “Compare at least two different exhibitions or site-specific works you have visited. Draw theoretical or thematic connections between the works and discuss how they represent the underlying ideas or motivations of the artists/movements.”

Total word count excluding bibliography & appendices: 2000 words

Learning Strategies:
Lectures will be given by the tutor/s and visiting professional experts. Seminars will draw on a range of visual, textual and cinematic sources, with set reading and discussion which allow students to present and discuss issues or assignments. Students will engage in directed and independent reading and research. Tutorials will provide group and individual help and feedback. Students will be expected to find and engage with additional educational opportunities within the University, or Department, or elsewhere (museums, galleries, online resources etc.), as appropriate to their needs.

Project Aims and Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the module students should be able to:
1.    recognise and employ an appropriate conceptual framework and vocabulary in relation to contemporary art debates and critical theory and relate contemporary art practices to wider socio-political issues and art theory
2.    critically reflect upon key artists, movements and media in contemporary visual culture and appreciate and critique theoretical understandings of artistic practices;
3.    demonstrate an understanding of main research methods and apply them appropriately.
4.    present a well-structured, clear proposal for a chosen area of research showing a critical awareness of how their own visual art practice relates to, and is supported by, their research

Assessment criteria (linked to Module Learning Outcomes):
The essay submitted will contribute 50% of the submission for the module History, Theory and Context 2. It will address LO 1 & 2 by documenting direct encounters with works of art, reflecting upon them in a critical manner and by connecting exhibition material to wider theoretical discourses. LO 3 will be demonstrated by the integration of subjective responses into a theoretical argument. LO 4 will be addressed in Essay 2. The overall essay mark will consist of:
40% Research
40% Content/Argument
10% Literacy
10% Presentation

Likely reference material to be used:
Berger, John (1972) Ways of Seeing. Harmondsworth: Penguin
Emerling, Jae (2005) Theory for Art History. New York: Routledge.
Fineberg, Jonathan (2000) Art Since 1940: Strategies of Being. 2nd ed. London: Laurence King.
Foster, Hal et al (2004) Art Since 1900: Modernism, Antimodernism and Postmodernism. London: Thames & Hudson.
Nelson, R. & Shiff, R. (2003) Critical Terms for Art History. 2nd Edn. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Stiles, K. & Selz, P. (1996) Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art. Berkeley: University of California Press.

ESSAY LAYOUT

Use unlined A4 paper and covers.

Use clip or comb binders. (DO NOT PUT INDIVIDUAL SHEETS IN PLASTIC COVERS)

Use either TIMES NEW ROMAN or ARIAL fonts, with DOUBLE LINE SPACING.

ATTACH COURSEWORK ASSESSMENT SHEET TO THE FRONT AND SIGN THE PLAGIARISM DISCLAIMER (available from the Art office)

Lay out the top cover as a title sheet. Include the essay question in full and your name.

BIBLIOGRAPHY should be on a separate sheet at the back of the essay.

APPENDICES may be used for any additional information or data that the tutor will not have access to through the internet or library resources e.g. transcriptions of interviews or other correspondence. Include them in the referencing as: (Appendix 1), (Appendix 2) etc.

Use your own discretion on the layout of ILLUSTRATIONS, being aware that the impact of your essay will depend on it. The following are acceptable methods, in either case ensure they are adequately labelled:

1. Keep your illustrations together at the back, making sure your text refers clearly by number to the appropriate one.

2. Intersperse them in the text keeping references to them as close as possible.

If the illustrations require a large amount of information include full details in a separate LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. For example:
Beneath the illustration: Fig. 1 artist, title, date
In the List of Illustrations: Fig.1 artist, title, date, medium, dimensions, museum/gallery, source for reproduction (website/book)

Find out how to get good reproductions from the internet, scan them on the computer or colour photocopy them. If you are using heavy photographs or cards the whole page may need to be on heavy paper.

[These notes are offered to assist in presentation of written presentations to the Art Dept.]