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Unit Outline
Page 1
Unit details
Unit title
Unit code
Availability
Location
Credit points
Mode
Face to face
Contact details
Faculty
School
School website
Unit coordinator
Email
Telephone
Unit co-coordinator
Email
Telephone
Consultation hours
Lecturers
Name
Position Email
Telephone Number
Dr Clarissa Ball Professor clarissa.ball@uwa.edu.au Mon-Wed 6488 1553 Thurs-Fri 6488 2114
Tutors
Unit description
This unit examines the historical and social impact of some key technological innovations on art and design practices. Particular
attention is paid to the synergies and density of relations between technological innovation, aesthetic originality and social formations.
Technological innovations discussed include agriculture, writing, the printing press, the lens, oil paint, iron, steel and glass,
photographic and filmic technologies, motorised transport, television, biological technologies and digital technologies. The unit
addresses subjects from different cultures and periods, and is aimed at a broad range of students from the arts and sciences. The
outcomes and assessments are geared to basic generic literacy and research skills which prepare students for a range of disciplines.
How have transportation technologies impacted on ways we think about the city, architecture and the environment?
Which new ideas about beauty and perception characterize the modern age?
How do we read works of art in their social and historical context?
What is the impact of art on ways we understand the world around us?
Do art and architecture have ethical import, i.e. impart certain social and political values?
How do modern media technologies change our aesthetics and change our social interactions?
These are some of the questions we will discuss in class.
Topics covered will include the impact of trains, maritime transportation and the automobile on modern culture, our attitudes to natural
and historical disasters, the politics of photographic and cinematic representation. We will also look at modern ideas about leisure and
work, hygiene, play, and social networking.
Learning outcomes
Students are able to (1) have a basic knowledge of social context and historical causation as it functions in the relationship between art
and design practice and technological innovation; (2) use a range of different texts to develop basic historical and critical interpretations
of art and design objects; (3) acquire the protocols of basic research techniques used in Art and Design Historical discourse, including
the different formats of reporting, essay writing and referencing; and (4) develop basic communication skills in interpersonal relations,
oral discussion and essay writing on art and design works.
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Unit structure
There are two lectures and one tutorial per week
Unit schedule
Week
Date
Week 1 29 July
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
BREAK
Week
1O
Week
11
Week
12
Week
13
5 August
12 August
19 August
26 August
2 September
9 September
16 September
23 September
Week of 30
September
7 October
14 October
Lecture Topic
Lecturer
Tutorial
Clarissa Ball
no tutorial
Clarissa Ball
Saren Reid
Clarissa Ball
Tijana Vujosevic
Tijana Vujosevic
Clarissa Ball
Tijana Vujosevic
Michael Bianco
no lecture
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
no
Michael Bianco
yes
22 October
29 October
No Lectures
no
Assessment
Assessment overview
Typically this unit is assessed in the following way(s): (1) a team-based workshop in two parts(a) a group oral presentation; and (b)
an illustrated written report; (2) a mid-semester examination; (3) an essay; and (4) an end-of-semester examination. Further
information is available in the unit outline.
Assessment mechanism
# Component
Relates To Outcomes
1 Major Essay
40%
2 Final Examination
30%
3 Weekly Tutorial
Exercises
4 Tutorial
Presentation
20%
10%
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Assessment items
Item
Description
Major Essay
Final
Examination
Weekly
Tutorial
Exercises
Tutorial
Presentation
Page 4