module specification

The module offers MFA students an opportunity for wider peer group interaction and collaboration.

The module provides students with the opportunity to develop tools to promote and interrogate their area of study within the expanded fields of digital interaction and social media – all forms of professional networking for practice.

Students will be encouraged to explore interaction between current ideas regarding the market, curating, communication and publishing with reference to their personal practice. This module will utilise current developments in online publishing platforms to publish to and reach new audiences.  Students will develop new etiquette and innovative ways to ‘connect’.

The module aims to:

• establish within the cohort students’ critical awareness and understanding of professional networking contexts and communication practices from a range of backgrounds;
• provide students with a context from which they can deepen their understanding of their practice as a cultural construct and understand the significance to their practice of the latest developments in online media;
• enable students to make important connections between their own area of practice and wider concerns that cut across subject disciplines; students will be able to study alongside their peers on related courses and engage in productive discussion, debate and at times collaboration.

Contextual themes will be presented and interrogated through talks, off-site visits/ screenings and seminar discussions. Students will discuss best practice regarding the internet and social media and develop strategies for online content for their own practice. LO2,LO3

As the module develops, students will take an increasing lead in relation to shaping the learning on the module. The outcome will be negotiated with each student and will take the form of a written submission together with evidence of online presence and social media interaction. Self-directed project work and collaborative practices will be encouraged. LO1,LO4

Scheduled teaching ensures that independent study is effective and addresses the learning outcomes and assessment tasks. Students are expected to (and to have the opportunity to) continue with their studies outside of scheduled classes. There will be a range of learning strategies deployed and individual learning styles will be accommodated. The module’s learning outcomes, its contents and delivery, have been scrutinised and will be regularly reviewed to ensure an inclusive approach to pedagogic practice.

The module and course utilise the University’s blended learning platform to support and reinforce learning, to foster peer-to-peer communication and to facilitate tutorial support for students. Reflective learning is promoted through assessment items and interim formative feedback points that ask students to reflect on their progress, seek help where they identify the opportunity for improvement in learning strategies and outcomes, and make recommendations to themselves for future development. Throughout the module, students build a body of work, including reflections on progress and achievement.

The School’s programme of employability events and embedded work-related learning within the curriculum supports students’ personal development planning. Through these initiatives, students are increasingly able, as they progress from year to year, to understand the professional environment of their disciplines, the various opportunities available to them, and how to shape their learning according to their ambitions.

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

1. develop an individual response and approach to the creative challenges of art, photography or design, and be prepared to publicly defend and promote their position and work in practical, conceptual and socially responsible terms;
2. critically appraise art, photography or design concepts and media within a given social, commercial, cultural and interdisciplinary framework and determine the appropriate vehicles for dissemination;
3. clearly formulate and express the critical framework of ideas supporting a proposal through appropriate models of representation or written argument, including online and digital;
4. reflect upon and evaluate their own contribution to contemporary art, photography or design.

The final summative assessment will be based upon the submission of an accumulated weekly weblog and a social media report (2000 words) surveying and analysing current and probable future practice and proposing how the student will use social media to communicate and disseminate their practice to audiences with the desired impact, meaning and understanding.

The assessment will be based upon the following criteria:

• appropriate use of research methods;
• quality of analysis and interpretation;
• subject knowledge and relevance;
• quality of communication and presentation;
• appropriate technical competence;
• effective use of collaborative or independent working strategies.

The key shared texts for art, photography or design students is:

Baber, A, and Waymon, L. (2007) Make Your Contacts Count Networking Know-How for Business and Career Success, Saranec Lake: Amacom

Reading and resources for art or photography students include:

Craig-Martin, M. (2015) On Being An Artist, London: Art/Books
Doherty, C. (2009) Situation: Cambridge, Mass., London: MIT Press
Farr, I. (ed.) (2012) Memory: London: Whitechapel Art Gallery

Reading and resources for design students include:

Hansson, D. H. and  Fried, J. (2013) Remote: Office Not Required, New York: Vermillion
Sagar, J. (2013) The Design Career Handbook, Bath: Future
Shaughnessy, A. (2012) How to be a Graphic Designer, Without Losing Your Soul, London: Laurence King
Shaughnessy A. and Brook, T. (2009) Designing Brand Identity: An Essential Guide for the Whole Branding Team, London: Unit Editions
Taylor, F. (2013) How to Create a Portfolio & Get Hired: A Guide for Graphic Designers and Illustrators, London: Laurence King