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Unit of study_
ARHT3662: On Photography and the Wretched Screen
2025 unit information
This unit will draw on a wide range of photographic material, including university and museum collections, to examine the pivotal role of photography in recording and shaping our image-culture across diverse global contexts. The unit will engage with key debates to examine the social, cultural, theoretical, historical and art practice contexts of the photograph as an image and as an object. Key theories from Walter Benjamin to Hito Steyerl will be used to interrogate themes of memory, documentary and the real, witnessing, conflict, gender and sexuality, decolonisation, and the digital.
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Arts and Social Sciences
| Study level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Academic unit | Art History |
| Credit points | 6 |
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Prerequisites:
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12 credit points at 2000 level in Art History |
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Corequisites:
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None |
| Prohibitions:
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ARHT2662 |
| Assumed knowledge:
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None |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. develop advanced analytical and research skills to engage with the variety of photographic processes and technologies of production through encounters with key primary texts and photographs in local Sydney collections
- LO2. gain a sophisticated understanding of the range of artistic, cultural and social functions, and significance of the photographic image from the advent of the medium in the 19th-century to our present moment
- LO3. build practice, confidence and skill in oral and written presentation of material, both individually and as a group, and in analysing photographs in their multiple contexts of production and reception.
Unit availability
This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.
The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.
There are no availabilities for this year.
| Session | MoA ? | Location | Outline ? |
|---|---|---|---|
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Semester 2 2025
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Normal day | Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney |
Outline unavailable
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Modes of attendance (MoA)
This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.
