SOC769 Visual Sociology: Image, Art & Media

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2007
Extent and Intensity
1/1. 15 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Laura Anne Bunt, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Ing. Radim Marada, Ph.D.
Department of Sociology – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Soňa Enenkelová
Timetable
Wed 14:00–15:40 AVC
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Everyday life in contemporary society is characterized by a constant flow of images. On billboards, TVs, subways, and buses; in magazines, newspapers, emails, and airport terminals; the fast-paced production of images has revolutionized the way we communicate with and influence one another. At the same time, a well-established tradition of looking at objects and images in museums, galleries, and movie theaters encourages us to slow down the pace of life and to reflect on the meaning and value of images. Occasionally we may even find ourselves gazing at photographs, paintings, buildings, or other people for the simple pleasure of seeing. But rarely do we stand back from our visual experience and ask how this visual culture works and how it affects the way we think and interact with one another. This course is an introduction to the theory and practice of Visual Studies. Using the transition from an industrialized modern to an electronic postmodern society as a frame of reference, we examine and discuss a wide range of approaches to the creation and interpretation of visual experience. We consider the many ways that paintings, photographs, films, fashions, and everyday objects both shape and are shaped by the concepts, values, and meanings that constitute cultural life in contemporary urban societies. Some of the concepts covered in this course include formalism, the avant-garde, semiotics, representation, discourse, the gaze, panopticism, surveillance, power, and sexual politics. Students develop the skills necessary to write effectively about the visual world and to think productively about the creation of images and the meanings that surround them. SELECTED COURSE READINGS (AVAILABLE ON IS AND IN COURSE READER) Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture by Marita Sturken and Lisa Cartwright Visual Culture: The Reader by Jessica Evans & Stuart Hall (eds.) After the End of Art by Arthur Danto Symbolic Imprints: Essays on Photography and Visual Culture by Lars Kiel Bertelsen, Rune Gade, and Mette Sandbye (eds.)
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Information on course enrolment limitations: Výhradně pro zahraniční studenty programů "Sociology" a "Erasmus".
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