(Updated 29.08.18)
This module investigates the notion of public space. It does so in relation to a series of case studies relating to the local area. The module examines a variety of public spaces, from medieval market squares to airports. In the process, it touches upon architecture, urbanism, and the broader built environment. Taking in a number of theoretical approaches, the module considers how public spaces might be formed, demarcated, appropriated, privatised, and ‘regenerated’. Throughout the term, we supplement our classroom discussions with visits to a range of buildings and places, such as Suffolk villages, shopping malls, seaside towns, and airports. The goal of these visits and the module as a whole is to help students develop some of the core skills necessary for critically thinking and writing about space, place, and locality. The module also aims to help to acquaint students with the rich variety of built environments and landscapes that may be found in the vicinity of the University of Essex.
The aims of this module are:
• to introduce students to a wide range of methods, research materials, scholarly approaches and relevant terminology associated with a study of art history, architecture, and visual culture more generally;
• to stimulate students to develop skills in oral and written communication through essays, debate in seminars, and written exercises;
• to introduce students to architecture in situ, in addition to their classroom studies.
By the end of the module, students should also have acquired a set of transferable skills, and in particular be able to:
• a sound grasp of the forces that shaped the construction and use of the sites visited;
• the ability to interpret visual culture based on knowledge of the appropriate historical and interpretative contexts;
• the confidence to subject objects of visual culture and related texts to critical analysis;
• some experience in textual analysis concerning the objects under consideration and relevant theoretical debates;
• an ability to analyse objects of visual culture in situ, both with preparation and sight-unseen;
• Ability to reflect critically on the experience of being at, and moving around, all of the sites visited as part of the module
N.B.: in order to meet the learning outcomes for this module it is necessary to attend all site visits (see learning outcome 6). Failure to attend all site visits may result in failing the module.
By the end of the module, students should also have acquired a set of transferable skills, and in particular be able to:
• define the task in which they are engaged and exclude what is irrelevant;
• seek and organise the most relevant discussions and sources of information;
• process a large volume of diverse and sometimes conflicting arguments;
• compare and evaluate different arguments and assess the limitations of their own position or procedure;
• write and present verbally a succinct and precise account of positions, arguments, and their presuppositions and implications;
• be sensitive to the positions of others and communicate their own views in ways that are accessible to them;
• think 'laterally' and creatively (i.e., to explore interesting connections and possibilities, and to present these clearly rather than as vague hunches);
• maintain intellectual flexibility and revise their own position based on feedback;
• think critically and constructively.
This module investigates the notion of public space. It does so in relation to a series of case studies relating to the local area. The module examines a variety of public spaces, from medieval market squares to airports. In the process, it touches upon architecture, urbanism, and the broader built environment. Taking in a number of theoretical approaches, the module considers how public spaces might be formed, demarcated, appropriated, privatised, and ‘regenerated’. Throughout the term, we supplement our classroom discussions with visits to a range of buildings and places, such as Suffolk villages, shopping malls, seaside towns, and airports. The goal of these visits and the module as a whole is to help students develop some of the core skills necessary for critically thinking and writing about space, place, and locality. The module also aims to help to acquaint students with the rich variety of built environments and landscapes that may be found in the vicinity of the University of Essex.
The aims of this module are:
• to introduce students to a wide range of methods, research materials, scholarly approaches and relevant terminology associated with a study of art history, architecture, and visual culture more generally;
• to stimulate students to develop skills in oral and written communication through essays, debate in seminars, and written exercises;
• to introduce students to architecture in situ, in addition to their classroom studies.
By the end of the module, students should also have acquired a set of transferable skills, and in particular be able to:
• a sound grasp of the forces that shaped the construction and use of the sites visited;
• the ability to interpret visual culture based on knowledge of the appropriate historical and interpretative contexts;
• the confidence to subject objects of visual culture and related texts to critical analysis;
• some experience in textual analysis concerning the objects under consideration and relevant theoretical debates;
• an ability to analyse objects of visual culture in situ, both with preparation and sight-unseen;
• Ability to reflect critically on the experience of being at, and moving around, all of the sites visited as part of the module
N.B.: in order to meet the learning outcomes for this module it is necessary to attend all site visits (see learning outcome 6). Failure to attend all site visits may result in failing the module.
By the end of the module, students should also have acquired a set of transferable skills, and in particular be able to:
• define the task in which they are engaged and exclude what is irrelevant;
• seek and organise the most relevant discussions and sources of information;
• process a large volume of diverse and sometimes conflicting arguments;
• compare and evaluate different arguments and assess the limitations of their own position or procedure;
• write and present verbally a succinct and precise account of positions, arguments, and their presuppositions and implications;
• be sensitive to the positions of others and communicate their own views in ways that are accessible to them;
• think 'laterally' and creatively (i.e., to explore interesting connections and possibilities, and to present these clearly rather than as vague hunches);
• maintain intellectual flexibility and revise their own position based on feedback;
• think critically and constructively.