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Unit outline_

ARHT3662: On Photography and the Wretched Screen

Semester 1, 2021 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

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

Academic unit Art History
Credit points 6
Prerequisites
? 
12 credit points at 2000 level in Art History
Corequisites
? 
None
Prohibitions
? 
ARHT2662
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator Donna Brett, donna.brett@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Presentation group assignment Tutorial presentation paper
Critical analysis
25% Ongoing 500 words equivalent
Outcomes assessed: LO2 LO3
Assignment Object analysis
Critical analysis and report
25% Week 05
Due date: 01 Apr 2021 at 23:00
1000 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1
Assignment Major essay or exhibition proposal
Research Essay
50% Week 13
Due date: 05 Jun 2020 at 23:00
3000 words
Outcomes assessed: LO3
group assignment = group assignment ?

Assessment summary

  • Object analysis: Consider one analogue photograph either on display in a public collection, an archive or from your family collection that is not digital (i.e. a snapshot). An object analysis sheet will be available on Canvas to assist students with their analysis. Students must include a reproduction of the front of the object and if possible the back of the object. Student can choose to write an acquisition report for a photographic object in the University of Sydney collection. This is primarily an object analysis that will include minor visual analysis but the main objective is what the photograph is and what its function is.
  • Tutorial presentation paper: Students are required to select a work on display at the Art Gallery of NSW or the Museum of Contemporary Art either in the collection or in the Biennale of Sydney. They are to incorporate concepts from the readings and consider these in relation to one photograph on display. The works must not be the same as the object analysis. The presentation must be delivered in front of the work in a gallery space. The purpose of this assignment is to visually analyse the photographs and discuss their context in a public collection or in an exhibition.
  • Essay/exhibition proposal: Students can write either an essay based around the lecture topic of their choice or an exhibition proposal. A template will be supplied. They are required to ensure that the essay considers the photographs discussed in regards to their materiality, the context of their production, reception and relevant theoretical and critical texts.

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name

Mark range

Description

High distinction

85 - 100

Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an exceptional standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.

Distinction

75 - 84

Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a very high standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.

Credit

65 - 74

Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a good standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.

Pass

50 - 64

Awarded when you demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an acceptable standard, as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars outlined by your faculty or school.

Fail

0 - 49

When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Week 01 Luminous magic: origins and invention Lecture (2 hr)  
Week 02 19th century photography: from ectoplasm and orientalism to circus freaks Lecture (2 hr)  
Site Visit: Chau Chak Wing Museum Field trip (1 hr)  
Week 03 Picturing the Self and Others Lecture (2 hr)  
Weekly reading and discussion Tutorial (1 hr)  
Week 04 New ways of seeing: photography and the Avant-Garde Lecture (2 hr)  
Weekly reading and discussion Tutorial (1 hr)  
Week 05 War, conflict and trauma Lecture (2 hr)  
Weekly reading and discussion Tutorial (1 hr)  
Week 06 CCW: Object Learning Studios Lecture (2 hr)  
CCW: Object Learning Studios Tutorial (1 hr)  
Week 07 Documentary, street photography and the snapshot Lecture (2 hr)  
Weekly reading and discussion Tutorial (1 hr)  
Week 08 Witnessing, evidence and memory Lecture (2 hr)  
Weekly reading and discussion Tutorial (1 hr)  
Week 09 The rhetoric of the image and the pictures generation Lecture (2 hr)  
Weekly reading and discussion Tutorial (1 hr)  
Week 10 Controversial Images Lecture (2 hr)  
Weekly reading and discussion Tutorial (1 hr)  
Week 11 The body: sexuality, feminism and queer identities Lecture (2 hr)  
Weekly reading and discussion Tutorial (1 hr)  
Week 12 Picturing the world: postcolonial/global Lecture (2 hr)  
Weekly reading and discussion Tutorial (1 hr)  
Week 13 Contemporary photography: digital futures Lecture (2 hr)  
Weekly reading and discussion Tutorial (1 hr)  

Attendance and class requirements

  • Attendance: According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner’s Board. The Examiner’s Board will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold. If a unit of study has a participation mark, your attendance may influence this mark.
  • Lecture recordings: Most lectures (in recording-equipped venues) will be recorded and may be made available to students on Canvas. However, you should not rely on lecture recording to substitute your classroom learning experience.
  • Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours preparation time (reading, studying, homework, essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings and videos are available on Canvas.

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

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.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

This unit has been adapted to include some material on the moving image as it pertains or relates to the development and practice of photography.

Site visit guidelines

Site visits may feature in this course. Visitor guidelines will be available on Canvas.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.