COURSE SPECIFICATION FORM

for new course proposals and course amendments

Department/School: Media Arts Academic Session: Valid from 2009-10

Course Value:
Course Title: Contemporary Media Art (UG courses = unit value, 1
PG courses = notional
learning hours)
Course JACS
Course Code: MA2020 Code: P390
(Please contact Data
Management for advice)
Availability: Status:
(Please state which teaching Autumn and Spring (i.e.: Core, Core PR, Core
terms) Compulsory, Optional)
Pre-requisites: None Co-requisites: None
Co-ordinator: Gail Pearce
Course Staff:
1. To develop a vocabulary of artistic practice within moving image and time based media
Aims:
work. (Concept)
2. To employ this vocabulary via a wide range of techniques to make innovative and
original work. (Technical expertise)
3. To provide an environment where critical analysis of artistic/ moving image work can
take place. (Analysis)
4. To facilitate development of critical, creative and intellectual potential towards in
depth research, understanding and communication. (Research)
5. To offer a space where the capacity for study is enriched and the needs of the
student are met. (Learning)
On completion of the course students will
Learning Outcomes:
have demonstrated an understanding of the concepts underlying art and time based
media.
have employed this understanding to produce a body of work which critically engages
with a given theme
have used wide ranging research skills in the development of their project(s).
have used critical, analytical and creative skills to complete their work.
Students work on two projects, a larger group work, in the first term; Visiting Artists and a
Course Content:
smaller group work in the second term The 2nd Art Project .
Visiting Artists comprises research into a current exhibition, probably in London, of
twentieth or twenty first century art. You will work as a group and attempt to create an
audio-visual piece of work

The 2nd Art Project is a project designed to reveal students’ research directions and
aptitudes. Students will work in small groups of three or four, investigating an agreed
theme which relates to The 2nd Art Project. Students will have a wide area of choice in
developing their ideas. They should present clearly structured arguments as to their
chosen directions and have in-depth research to support their ideas. The work should
explore the themes creatively and as innovatively as is possible while acknowledging
research sources. The project should be presented as an integrated and coherent
concept where students’ individual work is not necessarily identifiable in the final
production. Individual themes are considered via the portfolios.
 timetable attached
Methods of Delivery
Teaching & Learning
Methods: Lectures and screenings/ Creative workshops/ Technical demonstrations/
Research and independent study/ Group tutorials and seminars

Details of teaching
resources on
Moodle:

Sensation Saatchi Thames and Hudson 1997

Key Bibliography:
Raw Creation- Outsider Art and Beyond Roger Cardinal Phaidon 1996
Out of Actions Between Performance and the Object ed Russell Ferguson 1998 Thames
and Hudson
Button, Virginia (cur.) Intelligence: New British Art 2000
Formative Assessment at Xmas for Visiting Artists with written feedback. Assessment in spring for
Assessment & The 2nd Art Project with written feedback. Ongoing feedback at tutorials..
Feedback:
Summative Assessment weighting:
Assessment: 10% The Website and Studio projects (5% + 5%)
10% Papers for Visiting Artists (5%) and The 2nd Art Project (5%)
40% 'Visiting Artist' (Project, Portfolio) (20% + 20%)
40% ‘The 2nd Art Project ’ (Project, Portfolio) (20% + 20%)

Deadlines: December 2009, March 2010

Version:
The information contained in this course outline is correct at the time of publication, but may be subject to change as part of the Department’s
policy of continuous improvement and development. Every effort will be made to notify you of any such changes.