Building on the historical and thematic content introduced at Level 4, this module focuses on the theorisation of discipline-specific issues arising in the contemporary practices of animation and illustration. Through a combination of lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials, screenings and relevant fieldwork visits, you will deepen their knowledge of their discipline. At the same time you will develop their own emerging research interests and independent visual and academic research skills common to historical and theoretical studies and design practice. With a focus on the development and intertextuality of visual narrative forms in the structuring of meaning, the module applies this understanding to contemporary case studies. Lectures and seminars will deepen critical and theoretical engagement with current issues through appropriate case studies and bodies of interpretative material. Workshop tasks and assessments are carefully designed to foreground projects that support your understanding of their own discipline within the wider of context of design practice. Appropriate research methods are introduced through practical activities that reflect on issues arising in the module's contemporary content and that are developed through your independent research into an area of your own choosing.
On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Subjects may include:
This module will be taught as a mixed-mode delivery of lectures, seminars, workshops, screenings and visits. Hands-on workshops will also enable the application of research skills to explore a range of current issues affecting research and practice in contemporary animation and illustration.
The module will make use of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) Canvas for communication and dissemination of information between students and staff as well as making online learning materials available to all. Students should check this site on a daily basis for module information, timetables, sign-ups, updates and additional information and teaching materials.
All courses based in the Kingston School of Art offer students free access to the online video tutorial platform Lynda.com. This provides a wide range of subjects to choose from, many with downloadable exercise files, including software tutorials covering photography, graphics, web design, audio and music, CAD and Microsoft Office software, as well as courses on Business and Management skills. Some of these are embedded in the curriculum and offer additional self-paced learning, others may be taken at will by students wishing to broaden their employability skills in other areas.
| Definitive UNISTATS Category | Indicative Description | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching | Lectures, seminars, workshops, screenings, tutorials, gallery and museum fieldwork visits. | 44 |
| Scheduled learning and teaching | Study Groups | 44 |
| Guided independent study | 212 | |
| Total (number of credits x 10) | 300 | |
This module will be assessed through an Essay of 2,500 words (50%) and a Research Portfolio (50%). In the first teaching block, students will produce an essay which responds to a set question relating to the issues, debates and themes explored during the course, and developed through students' own disciplinary interests. The Research Portfolio is the repository for each student's response to set tasks, exercise and self-initiated research. This will include a range of tasks that might include visual or object analyses, exhibition review, image/photo essay, textual analysis, and a Dissertation Proposal that will serve to identify and locate an area of individual research related to the student's design practice and maps out the aims, objectives and relevant resources to be investigated in future study at Level 6.
BA Art and Design History & Practice students only:
BA Art and Design History and Practice students will submit a 2500 word Essay (50%) and a Research Portfolio (50%). In the first part of this module students will produce an essay which responds to a set question relating to the issues, debates and themes explored during the course and developed through students' own disciplinary interests. The Research Portfolio is the repository for each student's response to set tasks, exercises and self-initiated research. This will include a range of tasks such as image and object analyses, an exhibition review and a photo essay.
The Research Portfolio will include either a Dissertation Proposal or a Critical Reflection (both approximately 1200 words). Only one of these forms of assessment can be submitted per HA51. module, and each can only be submitted once across both modules. The Dissertation proposal will serve to identify and locate an area of individual research related to the student's design practice and map out aims, objectives and resources to be investigated in future study at Level 6. The Critical Reflection allows students to reflect on the hybridity of their course, to evaluate the similarities and differences in methods and ideas encountered across the Level 5 modules and to consider the influence that this cross disciplinary learning may have had on their research interests as they prepare to progress to Level 6.
Incoming Erasmus students only:
Erasmus students studying for 1 year will submit a 2500 word Essay (50%) and a Research Portfolio (50%). In the first part of this module students will produce an essay which responds to a set question relating to the issues, debates and themes explored during the course and developed through students' own disciplinary interests. The Research Portfolio is the repository for each student's response to set tasks, exercises and self-initiated research. This will include a range of tasks such as image and object analyses, an exhibition review and a photo essay.
Erasmus students studying for one teaching block (TB1 or TB2) will have an option of submitting either the 2500 Essay or the Research Portfolio. The Research Portfolio will include a range of tasks such as image and object analyses, an exhibition review and photo essay. This will need to be discussed and agreed with the student's Personal Tutor or Course Leader.
Feedback and feed forward will be provided for elements of the research portfolio, as these are initiated as part of scheduled teaching activities.
| Learning Outcome | Assessment Strategy |
|---|---|
| 1) Display knowledge of the current practice of their discipline by identifying, describing and analysing relevant contemporary issues and critical debates; | Essay (2,500 words) Research Portfolio |
| 2) Articulate and apply the ideas of a range of key critical and theoretical positions in relation to the production, dissemination and consumption of animation and/or illustration; | Essay (2,500 words) Research Portfolio |
| 3) Present an informed creative engagement with the ways research into animation and illustration can be approached methodologically; | Essay (2,500 words) Research Portfolio |
| 4) Demonstrate a reflective, critical and creative engagement with their discipline through discussion and analysis of visual and textual examples; | Essay (2,500 words) Research Portfolio |
| 5) Articulate their own experiences as both practitioners and researchers in relation to historical and contemporary concerns; | Research Portfolio |
| 6) Locate their own research practice and personal interests in a chosen area and identify key objectives and resources for future study. | Research Portfolio |
| Description of Assessment | Definitive UNISTATS Categories | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Essay | Coursework | 50% |
| Research Portfolio (including a Dissertation Proposal) | Coursework | 50% |
| Total (to equal 100%) | 100% | |
It IS NOT a requirement that any element of assessment is passed separately in order to achieve an overall pass for the module.
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Online resources: