Visual Culture 2.1

In Visual Culture2.1  learners will participate ina seminar series which will develop their theoretical knowledge, writing and presentation skills, while offering them the opportunity to apply this to active learning situations. 2D/3D strand students will choose from Seminar Topic 1 or 2 depending on their previous participation in the Visual Culture 1 module in semester 5.  

Seminar Topic 1. In the Objects and Material Culture seminar learners will be introduced to the rich potential of Material Culture and museums as repositories of information and inspiration for their future development as artists. Learners will explore theories of how objects in museums may be considered to be valuable documents, and how museums play a powerful role in the protection, selection and determination of what is deemed to be of cultural importance. Case studies of new approaches to curation and digital presences of museums will also be explored. This seminar promotes civic engagement with Galway’s City Museum and the National Museum of Ireland in accordance with GMIT’s policies. Participants will undertake a written essay examining and critiquing the role of the museum in civic cultural life with reference to theoretical texts and real life case studies.  Participants will deliver a seminar presentation on their research and teamwork project.

Seminar Topic 2 will examine a wide variety of writing on culture/cultural writing in Galway and the wider cultural context and ask students to consider how they might contribute creatively to this discourse through the production of a Visual Culture Journal. It asks for a considered reflection upon what defines a vibrant cultural scene and how, through the production of an online journal, to contribute actively to it. As such, this seminar series fosters independent, creative thinking and research as it is applied to a local cultural context. It also links key research and writing skills to students own cultural ambitions.

1. Research artefacts of material culture or works of contemporary art using methods of formal descriptive, interpretative and contextual analysis.

2. Identify, discuss and appraise either the curation of an exhibition or the publication of a visual art journal.

3. Demonstrate a consideration of relevant published critical theoretical texts.

4. Articulate in writing and in a seminar presentation their personal reflections, observations and evaluations on issues of visual cultural relevant to the seminar group theme.

5. Deliver a Seminar Presentation of their work to peers using current online presentation tools. Actively participate in dialogue during peer seminar presentations