Unit Title The Time Machine

Unit Code RDES1102

Location Rochester
Level & Credit Level I, 15 Credits
When taught Stage 1, Semester 2
Duration Weeks 1 - 15
Learning hours 150 hours

Content

“The past is not dead. In fact, it's not even past”

William Faulkner

“What’s past is prologue”

William Shakespeare

This unit introduces students to representation and in particular, how contemporary

culture investigates and communicates to its audiences about the past. The unit
encourages students to ‘travel back in time’ to investigate aspects of culture and history.
These are thematically organised events that aim to enhance research skills, knowledge
and understanding of cultural contexts and provide students with both a philosophical
and historical insight into past cultures and their ideas. Armed with these perspectives,
the time machine brings us back to the present, where students are encouraged to
critically consider how contemporary communications represent the past and mediate
their significance.

Aims

A1 To promote the investigation and understanding of past cultures and

philosophies

A2 To promote critical understanding of contemporary communication and

representation

A3 To provide an academic arena for cross discipline interaction, discussion and

debate

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to demonstrate:

LO1 Developing knowledge and understanding of historical cultural perspectives

LO2 Developing critical understanding of contemporary communication and

representation

LO3 Developing abilities to structure arguments and communicate ideas

Teaching and Learning Methods

Project briefing, research seminars, seminars, students led discussion groups, study
visits, tutorials

Reflective practice, online journal/blog in which students archive, annotate and critically
consider their research and understanding and that of their peers.

Interim review, critique and feedback

Assessment Requirements

Assessable components Weighting and Learning

Research and development 60% ( LO1) ( LO2)

As part of an investigative team, you will prepare for and participate in a series of
symposia on a given topic, in which you will present your research in the form of 10
minute Powerpoint presentations. Important: Presentations MUST satisfy the following
research criteria:

1) A clear introduction to your presentation, which should also mention the

different published sources you have used and your reasons for choice. You
should use no less than 5 published sources to inform your presentation.
2) A clear definition of key ideas relating to your given topic, with supporting
evidence in the form of, no less than, 3 quotations from 3 different published
sources. Quotations must be interpreted and their importance discussed, they
should also be referenced correctly using the Harvard method. 1
3) The cultural context (political and social) in which the topic came out of/was in
reaction to.
4) An illustrated ‘who’s who’ of key individuals associated with given topic, with a
clear explanation of what you think their significance is and why.
5) Historical examples of key words/images/artefacts associated with given topic
and an assessment of their importance.
6) Contemporary examples of key words/images/artefacts associated with given
topic and a comparison to the historical examples.
7) A ‘bullet point’ conclusion.
8) A bibliography and illustration list correctly set out using the Harvard method.
9) A PDF version of presentation for uploading to myUCA.

You will also be required to author and develop a collaborative blog through which you
will work closely and creatively with your group in developing your presentations for the
Time Machine symposia. Harvard Method must be used for all quotations and all

1
Follow this link for ‘how to reference’ conventions for all kinds of sources.
http://community.ucreative.ac.uk/article/25881/Referencing-specific-sources-of-information/
images to be referenced correctly. Blogs must include bibliographies and
illustration lists.

Written critical assignment 40% (LO3)

You are asked to produce a 2,000 word written assignment. Choose an example of
contemporary visual culture from within your own area of study. Discuss ways in which
historical and cultural perspectives might be used to interpret its meaning. In your
response, make reference to key ideas encountered in the lecture programme. Specific
attention should be paid to academic conventions.

You must submit a paper-copy of your written assignment, and a clearly labeled
submission disc containing a digital copy of your written assignment and pdf
archive of your group blog.2

Important – you must complete and attach the plagiarism declaration form
provided with this brief.

Your Study Advisor Tracey Ashmore is available to support you with academic and
studio based work. Tracey can be contacted for tutorials either by phone: 01634 888664,
email: tashmore@ucreative.ac.uk

There are also a series of Study Guides available to help you with different aspects of
your studies such as essay writing, research journals, giving presentations etc. The
guides can be accessed from:

www.community.ucreative.ac.uk/studyadvice
www.community.ucreative.ac.uk/referencing

The library homepage is www.community.ucreative.ac.uk/library , with e-journals etc.

at www.community.ucreative.ac.uk/eresources

Hand in date: FRIDAY 6TH MAY 2011 Between 10am -12pm

(Faculty Admin office, ground floor)

Assessment Criteria

On completion of this unit you will have produced evidence of:

Knowledge of Contexts, Concepts, Technologies, Processes

Growing critical knowledge and understanding of historical periods and ideas (LO1)

Understanding the Application of Knowledge

2 http://ucarochester-cgartsandanimation.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-turn-your-blog-into-pdf-document.html
The application of research skills and information collation that support the development
of a critical study LO2

Basic ability to structure arguments and present an essay using academic conventions
LO3

Application of Technical Professional Skills

Basic project management. (LO1) (LO2) ( LO3)

Bibliography
st
Cahn, S. M Philosophy for the 21 Century, Oxford University Press, 2003

Hobsbawm, E The Age of Revolution, London, Abacus, 1999

Marwick, A It: A History of Human Beauty, Hambledon and London, 2004

Graham, G Philosophy of the Arts, Routledge, 2005, New York

ed. Hall, S Representation – Cultural Representation & Signifying

Practice, Sage Publications, 1997, London

Eco, U On Beauty, Secker & Walburg, 2004, London

A Guide to Essay Writing

The following guidelines have been prepared in order to assist you with the production
and presentation of essays.

Writing an essay involves responding to a question and takes the form of an argument,
leading the reader from an introduction through a sequence of points towards a final
conclusion.

The following notes are provided to help you develop your essay writing abilities.

The Question

It seems obvious but it is nevertheless worth emphasising that the essay must answer
the question.

In order to understand what is required you should first of all decide what type of
question is being asked. Often, the question will be phrased in a particular way, for
example, you will be asked to analyse, compare and contrast, discuss or evaluate to
what extent. These are some of the commonest forms of phrasing of an interrogative.
Make sure you understand them! (See glossary of terms)

Secondly, consider the range of the subject to be investigated. Identify the frame of
reference and the perimeters of the study i.e. the historic period, the artists/designers
and the context within which you must answer the question.

Thirdly, identify the specific aspects of the topic that you are required to investigate and
the main issues with which you are required to engage in order to answer the question.

Finally, always remember to write out the question at the top of the essay.

Research

Research is the foundation upon which all informed arguments rest. Initially you should
engage in a broad range of research (the accessing and collecting of information).
Having identified the subject area it is good to develop an overview within which you can
develop particular lines of enquiry. Then you should focus on the areas identified in the
question, paying particular attention to the issues raised by the question. The range of
research should now narrow whilst increasing in depth and complexity.

Whilst the information held in books will provide you with a broad range of research
material, that helps to establish the contextual background to the essay and more
specific information about topic, you should also consider using articles as sources of
research. References for useful articles may be found using online indexes such as Art
Abstracts and Design and Applied Arts Index, which can be accessed via the library
website. An article is normally a focused examination of a topic that presents a particular
argument about a subject. These may be used in three ways. Firstly, the in-depth
research of the writer will provide you with a rich source of information. Secondly, the
argument presented may be cited in your essay to illustrate a point you wish to make,
and thirdly the references at the end of the article can be used to further your enquiry.

Structured Argument

Structuring an argument is something with which many students have difficulty. When
you have researched your essay you should organise it into a sequence of points that
develop a clear line of thought: by doing this you will, in effect, be constructing an
argument.

When developing the structure it is useful to begin with an Introduction that maps out
the territory of the essay and highlights the main points to be addressed. The main body
of the essay should focus on the key issues raised by the question and the research
that you have engaged with in order to discuss them. If you carefully organise the
findings of your research material this will help to guide you through the writing of the
essay; the sequence in which you deal with the issues to be discussed is important and
a logical progression should be maintained throughout. For each of the major points it
is important that the discussion is carried out in satisfactory depth and the issues you
deal with are fully explained.

After the main body you should write a Conclusion. This should present a summary of
your ideas and arguments. It is always wise when writing the conclusion to re-read the
question and then the essay so that your final comments are focused and accurately
reflect your thoughts and findings. The conclusion is very important as it demonstrates
your ability to synthesise your findings into a concise set of statements.

Following your conclusion your essay should contain a Bibliography. This is a list (in
alphabetical order by author’s surname) of all the books, magazines, journals, and any
other sources you have consulted for the essay.

Evidence

Just as lawyers produce evidence that they hope will conclusively prove their client's
innocence so the good essay writer provides evidence to support their argument.
Therefore, you must organise your material into a form that will convince the reader of
your point of view. In order to do this it is important that you also support your argument
with evidence; there are several academic conventions that enable you to do this. The
most common forms are the analysis of illustrations and the inclusion of appropriate
quotations selected from creditable academic sources. Additionally, where appropriate,
statistical data and other research material may also be used.

Quotations

When you use a quotation or paraphrase as part of your essay you must always
acknowledge the original author (citation). Therefore, you must provide the reader with
the details of where the information came from. The system of citation that you are
required to follow is The Harvard Method. When citing a direct quotation from a book
using the Harvard Method, the author’s surname, year of publication and page
number are given in brackets after each quotation in the text. Example:
 ‘ITV got off to a shaky start. In order to receive it, viewers needed to fit a special
ariel and either buy a new television or have their existing set adapted’ (Crisell,
2002:93)

The full details of where the quotation came from should be given in your bibliography.
This would consist of the author’s full name, year of publication, title of book, place
in which it was published and publisher. Example:

Crisell, Andrew. (2002). An Introductory History of British Broadcasting. London:

Routledge

For a more detailed guide to referencing using The Harvard Method see the library’s
Inform Guide: Citing References and Compiling Bibliographies, which can be accessed
from the library webpage by clicking on the link Referencing.

Illustrations

All illustrations used in your work should have their sources acknowledged. Illustrations
included in your essay should be numbered sequentially and have a title, these numbers
should relate to an Illustrations List at the end of your work. This list should include
information about each illustration as well as where the illustration was accessed
(bibliographic details). For example: the name of artist/designer (if using an illustration of
a person’s work), year of work, title of work, brief description of work (size, material etc),
followed by the author/editors of the publication (in which you accessed the illustration),
title of publication, page number (of where the illustration can be found in the
publication), place and publisher details. An example of how this would be set out in the
Illustrations List is as follows:

Illustration List

1. Koenig, Robert. (1982) The Sign post. Sculpture in wood. In: Grant, Bill and Harris,
Paul ed. The Grizedale Experience, p42. Edinburgh: Canongate Press.

Plagiarism

The direct copying of the work of others, except in the form of acknowledged quotations,
is not allowed. If you do copy, without acknowledging the sources from which the
material came, the Institute has strict guidelines and penalties for this action. Plagiarism
is a serious offence and is deemed by the institute as a method of gaining an unfair
advantage. It contradicts the Institute's ethos of learning and development and the
penalties for engaging in plagiarism are justifiably severe. This offence may lead
to your work being deemed inadmissible for assessment at this time or at any
other time in the future. See your student handbook for further details.

Tutorials

While preparing your essay it is advisable to consult with your tutor to make sure that
you are progressing in the right direction and to ask their advice about issues raised by
the unit. Remember that the lectures and seminars will deal with the subject area to be
explored in the set assignment; therefore, regular and attentive attendance is necessary.
There is also additional support offered by a Study Advisor (contact details are given at
the end of this guide). Finally, when your work is assessed you will be given a written
report about your work that highlights area of strength and weakness. You should
carefully consider what it says and use its content to constructively enhance the quality
of your next essay.

Presentation

Your essays should be illustrated where appropriate and should include a bibliography.
Essays should be written on A4 paper (portrait), double-line spaced and in 11 or 12 point
font, use an easily readable typeface such as Ariel or Times New Roman. Write out the
question, your name, course, date of submission at the top of the essay, insert page
numbers and staple or clip the pages together. A single plastic wallet with the essay
inside is an ideal way to present the work. Remember to:

Ensure you have referenced all of your illustrations and quotes

Ensure you have included a Bibliography

Fill in and attach the plagiarism declaration form

Glossary of terms

Analyse- break the subject into its component parts and explain how they relate to each
other and the broader context within which they were produced.

Assess- estimate the importance or particular value of something, to make judgements.

Compare- examine similarities and differences.

Contrast- pay particular attention to the differences.

Describe-give a detailed account of the subject.

Discuss-explore the subject employing rational arguments in its description and

analysis.

Evaluate/ to what extent- through the logical exploration of the subject weigh up the
evidence which attests to the validity of a statement or premise.
PLAGIARISM DISCLAIMER

This form must be used with all written submissions, including the Dissertation.

Student's Name
(Please PRINT)

Course Title and Year

Title of unit

Title of written submission

Word count (if specified for this

assessment task)
(excluding title page, list of contents and
references/bibliography)

I have read and understand the Plagiarism section in the Students Regulation
Handbook.
I confirm that the above mentioned essay or other written work is entirely my own
work. I confirm that no part of the written submission has been copied from either a
book or any other source, including the Internet, except where such sections are clearly
shown as quotations and the sources have been correctly identified within the text or in
the list of references.
I also confirm that I have kept a copy of this submission.

Signature

Date

Note: Fraudulently completing this form is considered a grave offence. It will be dealt
with according to the University College Academic Misconduct Policy.
 GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSMENT 2010/2011

• Students who submit work for assessment will normally be given three attempts
to pass a unit.

These are described as:

o Submission at FIRST ATTEMPT – a full range of marks may

be awarded for any component

o Submission at REFERRAL (second attempt) – a maximum mark

for any previously failed component will be 40% if the component
passes at referral (second attempt).

o Submission at RETAKE (third and FINAL attempt) – a maximum

mark of 40% may be awarded if the component passes at retake
(third attempt)

• If a student fails at RETAKE, they will be removed from the course.

• Note: IF A STUDENT FAILS TO SUBMIT WORK AT FIRST ATTEMPT, THEY

WILL FORFEIT THEIR RIGHT TO A REFERRAL AND WILL MOVE DIRECTLY
TO RETAKE. This means that there will not be three opportunities to pass that
unit.

• NO LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED. Any work submitted after the

submission deadline will be regarded as a non-submission.

• If a student passes one component but fails another, the rules described above
will apply to the failed assessment component. The student’s final mark will be
calculated on the basis of the passed component (at the original mark) and the
passed component at referral or retake (40%). This will enable the student to
achieve higher than 40%.

• Students cannot pass a unit unless all components have been passed at
assessment.

• Students cannot progress from one stage of the course to the next unless all
units for each stage have passed and they have accumulated the appropriate
number of credits to move to the next stage.

• EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES MUST BE SUMITTED WITH

ACCOMPANYING EVIDENCE PRIOR TO THE SUBMISSION DEADLINE.