Visual Culture (cocu108)
Professor: Brian Goldfarb | Winter 2005, UCSD
Tues/Thurs 9:30 AM - 10:50 AM, Center Hall 214
Website: http://communication.ucsd.edu/goldfarb/cocu108/
email: bgoldfarb![[at]](at.jpg)
ucsd.edu (note: please type "cocu108" in the subject header to insure that I get the email in a timely manner)
Office: MCC 205
Office Hours: Tues 12:00-2:00 or by appointment
TAs:
Beth Ferholt email: bferholtweber.ucsd.edu
Beth's office hours: Tuesdays 11-12 and BY APPT. (MCC room 248)
Eduardo Santana email: edsantanweber.ucsd.edu or
eduardosantana_usyahoo.com
Office: Sequoyah Hall 115
Office Hours:
Tuesdays 11:00a-12:00p and by appointment
Overview:
Visual images pervade our everyday experiences in an increasingly technological and communications-based culture. From newspapers to the Web, from our science and humanities courses to encounters with advertisements and movies, we encounter visual images in every area of our lives. This course will take up key ideas and debates in Visual and Cultural Studies, an interdisciplinary area of study that critically considers this range of art, media, and visual images as significant forces in culture and communication.
Course Objectives :
Students will gain an understanding of how visual media inform our everyday lives and experiences. Readings, lectures and discussions will introduce critical theoretical and historical approaches to the study of visual culture and communication by examining key ideas and debates in media studies, art history, gender and ethnic studies, anthropology, and cultural studies. Students will l earn techniques for analyzing images we encounter in art, popular culture, and the disciplines in which we study and work.
Course Requirements:
Students must complete all readings and attend all class meetings. Exams may include questions on topics addressed in lectures that were not covered in the readings; and/or topics that were addressed in the readings but not covered in the lectures.
Students are required to make two visits to designated exhibitions/museums either with the class or on their own time [dates/details TBA]. In addition there will be a few films to watch outside of class meetings (in film/video reserves).
This course is intended for upper division undergraduate students who have a working knowledge of introductory communication and cultural theory. The reading load will be appropriate to an advanced academic course (approx. 60-70 pages a week, and sometimes challenging in nature). Films and other visual media are central components of the course material and will figure in the exams. In Summery, this class entails dedication of time and academic effort at an advanced level. If you do not have sufficient time to dedicate to a course of this nature, please consider dropping now.
Evaluation:
Grading is based on:
- Pop quizzes (20%), (unannounced)
- Midterm (40%), Tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, Feb 8th
- Final exam (40%), Final Exam Week (Date TBA)
No incompletes will be granted for this course without a medical or other legitimate reason!
Attendance and Participation:
- Participation in class is mandatory. Material from lectures/discussions may appear on exams.
- Students are required to read assignments and to come to class prepared to participate in discussions. Students are encouraged to contribute to class meetings by bringing in examples and ideas from experiences outside of class.
- Please notify me during the first week of the course if you know you will need to miss a class because of a legitimate conflict with athletic team games, etc.
- If you miss a class for any reason, please contact classmates to get notes for the lectures that you missed. I will not be providing comprehensive notes for my lectures.
Reading:
- We will be reading Marita Sturken and Lisa Cartwright 's Practices of Looking (Oxford University Press. ISBN: 019874271-1). It is available in the Price Center Bookstore.
- Additional required texts are on e-reserve, or linked to the online syllabus.
- A log-in ID and password is needed to access some of the course pages (this will be given out in class). Please do not share this with others who are not enrolled in the course.