Workshop MA Arts: Text, Image, Material

• Credit value: 0 credits at Level 7
• Convenor: Professor Joanne Leal
• Tutor: Professor Luciana Martins
• Assessment: a 5-10-minute presentation (50%) and 60% attendance requirement (50%)

In this workshop you will discuss with fellow students and tutors selected readings in the light of the ideas you are encountering on your taught modules. We will reflect together on, and deepen our understanding of, what the Arts in their textual, visual and material forms are and what they can do for us as individuals and societies. We will also reflect on and critique issues of inclusivity, equality and diversity in Arts practice and the creative industries.

We will consider the following questions:

• What are ‘the Arts’ and why do we study them?
• Do different cultural artefacts/modes of cultural production require different critical approaches?
• How do the Arts and their study impact on individuals and communities, particularly in relation to identity formation?
• How does the critical study of the Arts relate to creative practice?
• What is the relationship between the Arts as a field of study and the creative industries?
• How can we explore issue of inclusivity, equality and diversity in Arts study and creative practice and in the creative industries?

By the end of this module, you will be able to demonstrate:

• an ability to engage critically with theoretical and critical texts from Arts disciplines
• an understanding of disciplinary and interdisciplinary frameworks and thinking
• an ability to engage in informed discussion of complex and sometimes contentious issues in ways that further understanding
• self-direction and originality in relation to the analysis of texts and/or images and/or material cultural and their contexts
• the exercise of initiative and personal responsibility and the ability to learn independently and apply that learning in the production of knowledge.