Saint Louis University

School of Teacher Education and Liberal Arts

Reading Visual Art

COURSE GUIDE

I. Course Title: Reading Visual Art

II. Course Overview

A. Introduction

This course covers visual art including film as text, techniques of reading
and analysis. It aims to help SEA students to develop their ability to read,
analyze, and critique works of visual arts. Through interdisciplinary and
multimodal approaches, this provides opportunities for students to develop
and use their creative potential, to see the value of their own ideas and
feelings, and to respect those of others. It allows students to seek out
creative solutions beyond the boundaries of accepted wisdom and relate
the meaning of visual arts to their professions and life experiences.

B. Course Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course, the students should be able to:
1. examine the functions and visual components of artworks in various
contexts;
2. justify the value of relevant visual artworks by using different processes of
reading visual art;
3. analyze different forms of visual arts in relation to your field;
4. contribute your own ideas and skills in reading visual art and even
beyond visual art and aesthetics;
5. analyze arts of different culture to enrich their visual art experiences and
enable them to keep pace with the development of visual arts; and
6. elicit their emotions, personal requirements, morals, and sense of
commitments towards the nation and the world by integrating Christian
values, professionalism, ethics and social responsibility.

C. Module and Unit Topics

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School of Teacher Education and Liberal Arts
Reading Visual Art

To ensure that the mentioned course learning outcomes will be achieved

after the semester, the learning packet is consisted of the following:

MODULE 1: Reading, Art, and Visual Art. This module has two (2) units. In the
first unit, the meaning of the terms reading, art, and visual art will be
discussed. This unit also includes different forms of visual art. Moreover,
functions and compositions of visual art will be examined. The students will
study what characteristics are considered in categorizing visual artworks.
The second unit focuses on the elements and principles of art. It will also
discuss how to examine visual art pieces using the elements and principles
of art.

Module 2: Reading Visual Artworks. This second module also has two (2)
units. In the first unit, the significance and functions of visual artworks to the
society and to the students’ chosen field of specialization will be
elaborated. The unit also presents different perspective towards art
criticism. The second unit will discuss different techniques of reading and
analyzing visual artworks. In this unit, the students will learn how to read and
evaluate visual arts using the different levels of seeing as reading.

Module 3: Reading Theater and Film as Visual Artworks. This module focuses
on the analysis of theatrical plays and films using their visual components. In
the first unit, the different elements of theater are presented together with
activities on its aesthetics and analysis. The second unit will discuss various
elements of film and the bases in analyzing film with the aid of the tools in
reading a film, and approaches in analyzing films.

III. Course Study Guide

A. You are strongly reminded of the following guidelines from SLU Student
Handbook.

Chapter IV: Code of Discipline

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School of Teacher Education and Liberal Arts
Reading Visual Art

Sec. 8. Defaming any student, teacher, personnel, or university authority or

his agents; giving oral, or sending, disseminating or posting any written or
electronically transmitted message or graphics, or demonstrating offensive
gesture, which causes a person or his reputation or good name to be
threatened, harassed, maligned, besmirched, disgraced, degraded,
insulted, ridiculed, or defamed.

1st violation: Warning/Reprimand to Suspension

2nd violation: Suspension to Dismissal/Non admission
3rd violation: Suspension to Expulsion

Sec. 24. Cheating during examinations and quizzes, or plagiarism in

connection with academic work, or abetting the commission of the same.

1st violation: Warning with invalidation of grade

2nd violation: Censure to Suspension with invalidation of grade
3rd violation: Suspension to Dismissal/Non-readmission with
invalidation of grade

N.B. Addition by Language and Communication Department (August 2020)

● Included in the forms of cheating are the following:

a. Patch writing: a form of plagiarism; refers to the act of making
small changes and substitutions to copied source material
(Merriam-Webster, 2020)
b. Sharing your work/task designated as individual work to other
students
c. Copying your classmate’s or schoolmate’s individual work

Commission of any of these will mean zero credit.

● Your teachers have the prerogative of having your written tasks under
Plagscan.

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Reading Visual Art

Sec. 25. Abusive behavior or discourtesy towards university officials, faculty

members, personnel, guards, and duly elected or appointed KASAMA/SSC
officers.

1st violation: Warning to Suspension

2nd violation: Censure/Reprimand to Suspension
3rd violation: Suspension to Dismissal/Non-readmission

B. The key to successfully finish this online/blended course lies in your hands.
This learning material was prepared for you to learn diligently, intelligently,
and independently. As students in your program, doing these will greatly
help and prepare you to become great in your chosen field. Aside from
meeting the content and performance standards of this course in
accomplishing the given activities, you will be able to learn other
invaluable learning skills which you will be very proud of as a responsible
learner. The following guides and house rules will help you further to be on
track and to say at the end of the module, "I did well!"

1. Schedule and manage your time to read and understand every part of the
module. Read it over and over until you understand the point. Please note
that due to the problems on erratic internet connections and to be able to
cooperate with the government in observing the community protocols, this
online/blended course will be delivered synchronously and asynchronously.

2. Study how you can manage to do the activities of this course in

consideration of your other modules from other courses. Be very conscious
with the study schedule. Post it on a conspicuous place so that you can
always see. Do not ask your course facilitator about questions that are
already answered in the guide.

3. Log in to the course site at least thrice a week (if you can log in daily, do so)
and as scheduled to keep abreast of important announcements,
discussions, and other class activities. Check the STREAM page every time
you log in for possible announcements.

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Reading Visual Art

4. Do not procrastinate. Remember, it is not others who will be short-changed

if you will not do your work on time.

5. Before you start doing your tasks, read and understand the assessment tools
provided. Do not settle with the low standards, target the highest standards
in doing your assigned tasks.

6. You are free to browse and read the different materials even prior to doing
the tasks in each unit of the module. However, you need to ensure that you
will not miss any part of the module and you will not miss to accomplish
every activity in every unit as scheduled.

7. For online mode, all course discussions will be conducted using Google
Meet (or other video conferencing software as to be announced). If you
will be using the mobile application of Google Meet, stay logged in so you
can engage in the discussion anytime and anywhere. If you are using the
desktop app, regularly log in to stay in the discussion.

8. All the discussions are academic discussions, which mean that the relevant
academic conventions apply.

a. Your post should be composed of complete and grammatically

correct sentences. Do not use abbreviations and acronyms unless
these are introduced in the readings, and do not write in text-speak.
Avoid writing in all caps.

b. Post appropriate and well-thought rejoinders. Avoid merely

approving or disapproving with your classmates and course
facilitators. You need to support your inputs in the discussions from
reliable information and resources. Do not post uninformed opinions.

c. Read and analyze the contributions made by your classmates in the

discussion forums. Respond appropriately and courteously. Always
use proper language.

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Reading Visual Art

d. Be polite and respectful arguing a point and in defending your

opinions. Do not be rude and do not make remarks that may be
construed as a personal attack. Refer to ideas/statements, not the
person. Remember that the objective of academic discussion is to
develop your critical and analytical thinking skills apart from
contributing to the wealth of knowledge.

e. Do not post lengthy contributions. Stick to the point. Be clear what

your main point is and express it as concisely as possible. Do not let
the discussion stray.

f. Quote your sources in the online discussion by mentioning the last

name of the author and the year. No need to use a particular style.

g. Protect your privacy. Ponder before you post. If you wish to share
something private, do it by email or private chat.

9. Do not plagiarize and do not patch write. Patchwriting is still a form or

plagiarism. It refers to the act of making small changes and substitutions to
copied source material (Merriam-Webster, 2020).

10. Follow the schedule of course activities. Always remind yourself of

deadlines. Read in advance. Try to anticipate possible conflicts between
your personal schedule and the course schedule, and make the
appropriate adjustments. Try your best to inform, through any means, your
course facilitator for any unavoidable delays or "absences" or "silences" of
more than a week's duration or other concerns.

11. Note that our Google Classroom is a virtual learning environment, not a
social networking site. Use recent and appropriate ID photo on your profile
page for proper identification.

12. Lastly, you are the learner; hence, you do the module on your own. Your
family members and friends at home will support you but the activities must

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Reading Visual Art

be done by you. As Louisians, we always need to demonstrate our core

values of competence, creativity, social involvement and Christian spirit.

IV. Study Schedule

Topic Learning
Week Activities
Outcomes
Module 1 Reading, Art, and Visual Art
UNIT 1 Definition, Importance, and Compositions of Visual Art
● Analyze the Engage: Providing meanings of the
functions of visual images/symbols in our university logo.
art pieces
through both Explore: Defining reading, arts, visual art and
perspectives of their importance
the artist and the
audience. Explain: Understanding the compositions of
visual art:
● Apply the ● Visual Art Subjects
Week 1-2 different ● Artistic Styles
compositions of ● Artistic Categories
visual art in
analyzing and Elaborate: Evaluating the composition and
creating artworks. meaning behind the school logo and
Manunggul jar

Evaluate (TASK 1): Drawing a proposed

department logo

UNIT 2 Elements and Principles of Visual Art

● Examine visual art Engage: Drawing gestures and movements
pieces based on
Week 3-4 Explore:  Defining the different elements and
their elements
principles of arts
and principles.

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School of Teacher Education and Liberal Arts
Reading Visual Art

Explain: Reflecting on videos on the

elements and principles of visual art and their
own gesture drawing

Elaborate: Recognizing the most prominent

elements and principles of visual artworks

Evaluate (TASK 2): Examining the functions,

compositions, elements and principles of
visual artworks

Week 5 Prelim Examination

Module 2 Reading Visual Artworks
Unit 1 Aesthetics of Visual Art as an Objective and Subjective Perspective
● Evaluate visual Engage: Examining the value of artworks
artworks in their
Explore: Recognize how one critics a visual
field of
art
specialization
and culture to Explain: Determining the eight principles of
have a fuller aesthetics
appreciation of
the artworks’ Elaborate: Justifying the value of artworks
importance and using the principles of aesthetics together
aesthetics at with subjective and objective perspectives
work and in Evaluate (TASK 3): Evaluating art pieces that
Week 6-7
society. reflects own culture and field of
specialization
● Discuss the
relevance of
having an
in-depth
understanding of
reading visual art
as a student and
as a future
professional.

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School of Teacher Education and Liberal Arts
Reading Visual Art

UNIT 2 Analyzing and Evaluating Visual Art

● Evaluate visual Engage: Answering questions about reading
artworks a visual art piece
objectively using
Explore: Examining different considerations
different
and criteria in analyzing and evaluating
evaluation
visual art
techniques.
Explain: Watching the videos on reading
Week 8-9 ● Craft a sensible visual art to ponder on the question, “Who
strategy for decide what art means?”
reading visual art
anchored on Elaborate: Analyzing an art piece through
Christian living. the different levels of reading visual arts

Evaluate (TASK 4): Developing one’s own

process of reading visual art

Week 10 Midterm Examination

Module 3 Reading Theater and Film as Visual Artworks

Unit 1 Analyzing and Evaluating Theater as a Visual Art
● Explain the Engage: Answering theater questions based
aesthetics and on schema
visual elements of
Explore: Defining and understanding
a play.
concepts about theater

● Enhancing a Explain: Evaluating a visual element of a

Week visual element of musical play
11-12 a play by
re-contextualizing Elaborate: Explaining the aesthetics of the
it to modern visual aspects of a musical play
times. Evaluate (TASK 5): Re-conceptualizing the
costume of a character from a play to reflect
society’s current context

Unit 2 Analyzing and Evaluating Film as a Visual Art

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School of Teacher Education and Liberal Arts
Reading Visual Art

● Analyze the Engage:  Sharing one’s opinion about film

elements of film
Explore: Discussing the ways on how to
for an in-depth
analyze the elements of film
involvement with
the art reflecting Explain: Examining the concepts of different
society. film theories
Week
13-14 ● Evaluate the Elaborate: Evaluating the aesthetics and
aesthetics of a visual aspects of a short film
film using Evaluate (TASK 6): Drawing a cartoon from a
different scene of a film using freeze frame and
processes of generic translation to apply a film theory
evaluation.

Week 15 Final Examination

V. Evaluation

To pass the course, you must:

1. Read all course readings and answer the pre-assessment quizzes, self-
assessment activities, and reflection questions.
2. Participate actively in the asynchronous and synchronous online discussion
forums quizzes.
3. Submit quality outcomes for all the activities (tasks) identified in the study
schedule.
4. Successfully accomplish the prelim, midterm and final examinations.

Formative Assessment

● You are required to answer the pre-assessment quizzes, self-assessment

activities, and reflection questions but your scores in the quizzes will not be
counted towards your final grade. The reflection questions are designed to
help you critically analyze the course readings for better understanding
while the pre-assessment quizzes and self-assessment activities are
designed as a review management tool to prepare you for the two graded

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Reading Visual Art

quizzes and the periodical examinations. The results will also serve as a
guide to the facilitator to identify students who will need more
reinforcement and assistance.

● The pre-assessment quizzes, self-assessment activities, and reflection

questions are posted so you can take them anytime within the scheduled
days assigned for each unit.

Summative Assessment

All the activities identified in your study schedule, non-negotiable

requirements, and examinations which are embedded in your module are
accompanied by guidelines and grading rubrics or score sheets. Answer them
according to the guidelines and rubric/ score sheets. If needed, contact
course facilitator thru the given contact information reflected below this
course guide.

Grading System

Your grades will be computed according to the following weight allocations:

Prelim Grade
CS (assignment, quiz) = 60%
Examination = 40%
Total = 100%
Midterm Grade
CS (assignment, quiz) = 60%
Examination = 40%
Total = 100%
Tentative Final Grade
CS (assignment, quiz) = 60%
Examination = 40%
Total = 100%

Final Grade

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School of Teacher Education and Liberal Arts
Reading Visual Art

Prelim Grade = 30%

Midterm Grade = 30%
Tentative Final Grade = 40%
Total = 100%

VI. Technological Tools

To be able to accomplish all the tasks in this course, you will need the following
hardware: a laptop/desktop or a smartphone/tablet, and software
applications: Word Processing, Presentation, Publication, and video-editing
software such as CapCut, Kinemaster, or InShot. All the materials and activities
are administered by Google Workspace applications and other online
software.

VII. Contact Information of the Facilitator

For questions or clarifications, please contact your course facilitators or the

department.

LANGUAGES AND COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT CONTACT INFO:

phone: 0947-455-6759 e-mail: langcom@slu.edu.ph

STELA DEAN'S OFFICE CONTACT NOS.: 0938-757-7842 OR 0953-134-9220

Prepared by:

Languages and Communication Department

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