Course Description
This course will focus on a historical survey of how artists of the 21st century have represented human experiences. Students will examine contemporary narratives in visual art, film, and literature that speak to the ethical responsibilities of creative representation of the self and others. (3 credits)
Prerequisite
- Enrollment in Charter Oak’s partnership program with College Unbound.
- ENG 101: English Composition 1
- ENG 102: English Composition 2
Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Researched a historical overview of how people have been represented in art.
- Developed an understanding for and critique of who was/is being represented in art.
- Explored diverse representations of sexuality, gender and race in media.
- Investigated how images function as meaning making devices.
- Explored the function of autobiography in the construction of our own identities.
- Developed thoughtful and responsible tactics for representing the experiences of individuals and/or communities.
- Employed reflective approaches to understanding course content.
- Created multimedia portraits of an individual and a community as well as a self-portrait that employs their research in autobiographical narrative.
Course Activities and Grading
| Assignments | Weight |
|---|---|
Discussion Participation (Weeks 1-8) | 15% |
Reflective Responses and Essays (Weeks 1-8) | 15% |
Project 1: Portrait of an individual (Week 5) | 15% |
Project 2: Portrait of a community (Week 6) | 15% |
Project 3: Self-portrait (Week 7) | 15% |
Final presentation documentation (Week 8) | 25% |
Total | 100% |
Required Textbooks
- Heiferman, Marvin. Photography Changes Everything. New York: Aperture, 2012. Print. ISBN: 9781597111997
Scanned copy of much of this text (very large PDF) - Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. Laura Mulvey. (1975)
Additional Resources
- A Female Gaze? Eva-Maria Jacobsson. (1999)
- A Mieke Bal Reader. Mieke Bal. (2006)
- Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Walter Benjamin. (1935)
- Autobiography of Red. Anne Carson (1998)
- Autotopography: Louise Bourgeois as Builder. (2003)
- The Body: Photo works of the Human Form. William A. Ewing. (1994)
- The Body in Contemporary Art. Sally O'Reilly. (2009)
- Crafting Truth. Documentary Form and Meaning. Louise Spence and Vinicius Navarro. (2010)
- Fearless Speech. Michel Foucault. (2001)
- Identities, Cultures and Voices in Leisure and Sport. Edited by Beccy Watson and Julie Harpin. (2011)
- The Influence and Treatment of Autobiography in Confessional Art: Observations on Tracey Emin's Feature Film Top Spot. Christine Fanthome. (2006)
- The Lure of the Local: Sense of Place in a Multicentered Society. Lucy R. Lippard. (1997)
- On Meaning-Making: Essays in Semiotics. Mieke Bal. (1994)
- On Story-Telling: Essays in Narratology. Mieke Bal. (1991)
- Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters. J. Jack Halberstam. (1995)
- Stasis: How to See. Mieke Bal. (2013)
- Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. Scott McCloud. (1993)
- Ways of Seeing. John Berger. (1972)
- Film: The Act of Killing
- Film: Stories We Tell
- Video: John Berger's Ways of Seeing, Episodes 1 and 2
- Video: Scott McCloud: Understanding Comics. TED Talks
Course Schedule
| Week | SLOs | Readings and Exercises | Assignment(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 4 | Images as meaning making devices Readings:
Videos: |
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2 | 1 | Representation: Multiple Histories
Videos: |
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3 | 2,3 | Representation: the Body and Minorities Readings:
Videos: |
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4 | 3 | Representation: the Body, Sexuality, and Gender Readings:
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5 | 6,7 | Considering Spaces: Community
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6 | 6,7 | Constructing Spaces: Documentary Readings:
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7 | 5 | Constructing Identities: Autobiography
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8 | 7,10 | Constructing Identities: Representing Self and Others Readings:
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COSC Accessibility Statement
Charter Oak State College encourages students with disabilities, including non-visible disabilities such as chronic diseases, learning disabilities, head injury, attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, or psychiatric disabilities, to discuss appropriate accommodations with the Office of Accessibility Services at OAS@charteroak.edu.
COSC Policies, Course Policies, Academic Support Services and Resources
Students are responsible for knowing all Charter Oak State College (COSC) institutional policies, course-specific policies, procedures, and available academic support services and resources. Please see COSC Policies for COSC institutional policies, and see also specific policies related to this course. See COSC Resources for information regarding available academic support services and resources.