USC Roski School of Fine Arts
USC Roski School of Fine Arts
Visual Culture and Literacy 2: FA 250, Fall 2010
Mondays and Wednesdays: 10:30 -11:50pm
Instructor: Molly Corey
USC email:
Office Hours: by appointment only
Fine Arts Office Number: 213.740.2787
Course Description:
In this course we will explore the aesthetic debates and theoretical discourses that have shaped modern and contemporary visual culture. We will concentrate in particular on texts that address the readability of visual form, the mediation and mass circulation of images, and the role of representation in structuring identity and everyday life. As we do so, we will also examine the ways that different cultural practices have reinforced, disrupted, or otherwise responded to the defining political, economic, and ideological conditions of the past hundred years. As such, our aim will be to develop a comprehensive critical framework through which to think broadly and effectively about today’s socially and technologically complex visual world.
Course Requirements:
*Students are required to attend class and complete all assigned reading.
- After missing the rough equivalent of 10% of regular class meetings (3 classes) the student’s grade and ability to complete the course will be negatively impacted.
- For each subsequent absence (excused or otherwise), the student’s letter grade will be lowered by the following increment: 1 absence over 3 = the lowering of the final course grade by one full grade.
- Being absent on the day a project, quiz, paper, exam, or presentation can lead to an “F” for that project, quiz, paper, exam, or presentation.
- It is always the student’s responsibility to seek means (if possible) to make up work missed due to absences, not the instructor’s, although such recourse is not always an option due to the nature of the material covered.
- It should be understood that 100% attendance does not positively affect a final grade.
- Any falsification of attendance may be considered grounds for a violation of ethics before the University Office of Student Judicial Affairs.
- 3 tardies is equivalent to an absence.
- Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class.
- Any student not in class after the first 10 minutes is considered tardy.
- After a first warning, students who persist in the following disruptive activities: sleeping, texting, emailing or online browsing for purposes other than class research, will result in a tardy for that class session.
- Students will be considered absent if they leave without the instructor’s approval before the class has ended or if they take un-approved breaks that last longer than 45 min.
*Each student is required to take part in one group presentation. At the time of the presentation, each student must turn in a 1-page typed abstract summarizing the material covered in the presentation. During the session in which you are responsible for presenting a text(s) and leading class discussion, you should address the following question: What are the main ideas and concepts discussed in the readings? How do these readings connect to previous readings and discussions in the course? What are the strengths and weaknesses in of the text? What can you take from the text that helps you in your own creative endeavors or helps you to understand other cultural productions? You should bring supporting materials that will help us understand and contextualize the text in the form of video clips, images, newspaper clips, etc. (due to the class size it needs to be presentable through the projector. The preferred format is a slide presentation in 1024 x 768 px, either on a laptop, USB Stick or DVD; notes to help you present the text for about 20 minutes and questions to help you lead the class discussion for about 30 minutes.
*You are responsible for a 2 paragraph typed written response to 5 readings (not including your presentation write-up. These ‘reading responses’ are due in class the day the reading is assigned. No late papers accepted. You can email it to the instructor only if you are absent that day. These two paragraphs will include your thoughts on the material as well as a demonstration to me that you have read the materials. These reading responses will be invaluable to you when taking your midterm and final exam, as they can be used as notes.
Much like the oral presentation, the reading responses should address the following questions: What are the main ideas and concepts of the text? How does this text connect to other readings and discussions in the course? How does it connect to outside materials? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the text? For each assigned reading, the response should be a Maximum of 450 words in length. Please use only one sheet of paper!
*On all other readings you must turn in a single question the day the reading is to be discussed.
*Students must also complete in-class midterm and take-home final exam. The final will be turned in on Wednesday December 8th at 10:30 am in the classroom unless otherwise decided upon.
*Participation is class discussion is encouraged. This entails taking notes, asking questions, and making comments. Students must keep up with class readings, ask questions and be prepared to discuss readings in class.
*Please see me if you are having any difficulty in the class.
Required Texts:
All required texts will be given as handouts or internet links.
Grading:
25% In-class midterm
25% Take-home final
10% Presentation and abstract
30% Reading Responses and questions
10% Class participation
Statement for Students with Disabilities:
Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me (or to the TA) as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30am-5:00pm, Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.
Statement on Academic Integrity:
USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of academic honesty include the concept of respect for the intellectual property of others, the expectation that individual work will be submitted unless otherwise allowed by an instructor, and the obligations both to protect one’s own academic work from misuse by others as well as to avoid using another’s work as one’s own. All students are expected to understand and abide by these principles. Scampus, the Student Guidebook, contains the Student Conduct Code in Section 11.00, while the recommended sanctions are located in Appendix A: http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/SCAMPUS/gov/. Students will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards for further review, should there be any suspicion of academic dishonesty. The review process can be found at: http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/.
Course Schedule: (Class topics and due dates are subject to change. You must keep yourself informed of any changes.)
Week 1
Mon. August 23rd: Introduction
Wed. August 25th: Plato, “The Simile of the Cave,” The Republic
http://historyofphoto.arts.usf.edu/hop/hop2004/cave.html
Week 2
Mon. August 30th: Kaja Silverman, “The Subject Of Semiotics, From Sign to Subject: A Short History” (Special Note: This reading is required and you must do a 2 paragraph write-up on it. I will hand it out in class.)
Wed. September 1st: Walter Benjamin, “The Author As Producer”
Week 3
Mon. September 6th: Labor Day No class
Wed. September 8th: Presentation: Roland Barthes, “Myth Today,” Mythologies
Week 4
Mon. September 13th: Walter Benjamin, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”
Wed. September 15th: Clement Greenberg, “Avant-Garde and Kitsch”
Week 5
Mon. September 20th: Presentation: Susan Sontag, “Against Interpretation”
Wed. September 22nd: Jean Baudrillard, “Similacra and Simulations”
http://www.stanford.edu/dept/HPS/Baudrillard/Baudrillard_Simulacra.html
Week 6
Mon. September 27th: Field Trip TBA
Wed. September 29th: Screen: Guy Debord, Society of the Spectacle
Look at the SI Website
Week 7
Mon. October 4th: Guy Debord Writings from the Situationist International
Screen -- Documentary about Situationist International
Wed. October 6th: Louis Althusser, “Ideology and the Ideological State Apparatuses”
Week 8
Mon. October 11th: Screen: Persepolis
Wed. October 13th: In class Midterm Exam
Week 9
Mon. October 18th: Laura Mulvey, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”
http://imlportfolio.usc.edu/ctcs505/mulveyVisualPleasureNarrativeCinema.pdf
Screen – Alfred Hitchock, Rear Window
Wed. October 20th: Screen: Rear Window cont
Week 10
Mon. October 25th: Presentation: Susan Sontag on Plato’s cave.
Wed. October 27th: Abigail Solomon-Godeau, “Photography after Art Photography”
Week 11
Mon November 1st: Presentations – Edward Said, “Orientalism” (excerpt) and Craig Owens, The Indignity of Speaking for Others: An Imaginary Interview (Handout)
Wed. November 3rd: Presentation: Frederic Jameson, “Postmodernism and Consumer Society”
Week 12
Mon. November 8th: Hal Foster, “Re: Post”
Wed. November 10th: Craig Owens, The Discourse of Others: Feminists and Postmodernism.
Week 13
Mon. November 15th: Jaques Lacan “The Mirror Phase as the formative of the Function I”
Wed. November 17th: Walter Benjamin: “Unpacking my Library: A Talk About Book Collecting”
Screen: All The Memory in the World, Alain Renais
Week 14
Mon. November 22nd: Crispin Sartwell, Introduction to Act Like you Know: African American Autobiography and White Identity Frantz Fanon, “The Fact of Blackness,” Black Skin, White Masks
Screen – Passing Strange (135 min) Spike Lee director
Wed. November 24th: Finish Screening Passing Strange
Week 15
Mon. November 29th: Presentation: John Rajchman, “The Lightness of Theory”
Wed. December 1st: Review and hand out final exam questions
Week 16
Final Exam
Wed. December 8th: Final Exam Due