Department of Social & Policy Sciences, Unit Catalogue 2007/08 |
SP50154 Death and the Arts |
| Credits: 6 |
| Level: Masters |
| Semester: 2 |
| Assessment: CW 100% |
| Requisites: |
|
Aims: To enable students to develop a critical appreciation of the relationship between death and the arts in the context of the students' individual fields of expertise and interests.
Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to: * Demonstrate a systematic understanding of issues involving representation, death and the visual arts * Develop individual practical and critical skills in connection to death and the visual arts. Skills: * Construction of lens based images * Ability to reflect upon and to engage critically in cultural analysis of representations of death * Systematically synthesise information for a relevant understanding of theoretical and practical approaches. * Identify and access relevant information sources. * Communicate complex issues and perspectives effectively. * Develop skills of time management, workload prioritisation and related planning skills. * Develop good writing and presentation skills. Content: Rationale: Three key areas are selected to explore death and the arts: * Photography, memory and reminiscence through analysis of the genre of the family album followed by a practical session on this area. * The second area looks at how the visual arts engage with processes of mourning after death. ('Working through' refers to the Freudian term for the process of mourning.) * Investigations into the arts and the role they may play with people experiencing dying and death. Throughout, the focus will be on the visual arts. This may include painting, sculpture, photography and film, although other art forms can be included to reflect students' expertise and interests. 1) Death and photography: opening up the family album 1 2) Death and photography: opening up the family album 2 3) Death and photography: opening up the family album 3 4) Practical class using 'Photoshop' 5) Working through: mourning, death, film and visual art 1 6) Working through: mourning, death, film and visual art 2 7) Working through: mourning, death, film and visual art 3 8) Moving on: arts practices and art as therapy; exploring boundaries 1 9) Moving on: arts practices and art as therapy; exploring boundaries 2 10) Moving on: arts practices and art as therapy; exploring boundaries 3. |