Unit information: Aesthetics of Revolution and Resistance: 21st-Century Images of North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean in 2022/23

Unit name	Aesthetics of Revolution and Resistance: 21st-Century Images of North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean
Unit code	FREN30106
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Professor. Shilton
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	FREN20001
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	None
Units you may not take alongside this one	None
School/department	Department of French
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Unit Information

A striking range of artwork has emerged in response to the diverse and uneven phenomenon of the ‘Arab Spring’. This explosion of artistic expression encompasses a dazzling array of media ranging from paper-based works to multi-media installations, video, new media, sculpture, performance and graffiti. This course focuses primarily on art that responds to the Tunisian Revolution of January 2011 and its aftermath. There will also be comparative sessions on art that examines the Revolutions in the distinct contexts of Egypt and Syria. We will ask: how are Revolutions evoked via different art forms? How and why do many artists actively seek to avoid what photographer Jellel Gasteli has called ‘icons of revolutionary exoticism’? How does art respond to women’s participation in the Revolutions? How is art that engages with the Revolutions and their impact anticipated in works produced prior to 2011? Material to be studied may include art presented or performed in gallery, outdoor and virtual spaces by artists such as Aïcha Filali, Wassim Ghozlani, Mouna Karray and Oussema Troudi, as well as literature by writers such as Lina Ben Mhenni and Dora Latiri.

This unit aims to:

• develop students’ knowledge of artwork that engages with, or anticipates, the Tunisian Revolution of 2011 and the wider ‘Arab Spring’;
• develop students’ understanding and use of a range of cultural and historical criticism through which to interpret such artwork;
• expand students’ knowledge of the contexts from which the prescribed works emerged;
• refine students’ analytical and comparative skills in interpreting art across media and cultures;
• allow students to undertake independent research into an aspect of 21stcentury art exploring the Revolutions or their aftermath.

Your learning on this unit

By the end of the unit, students will be able to:

1. draw on their independent research to demonstrate an advanced understanding of artwork that engages with, or anticipates, the Tunisian Revolution of 2011 and the wider ‘Arab Spring’ orally and in writing;
2. deploy an appropriate range of cultural and historical criticism through which to interpret such artwork;
3. articulate an advanced understanding of the works’ relationship to the contexts from which they emerged;
4. demonstrate sophisticated analytical and comparative skills in interpreting art across media and cultures.

How you will learn

Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous sessions and asynchronous activities, including seminars, lectures, and collaborative as well as self-directed learning opportunities supported by tutor consultation.

How you will be assessed

1 x 10 minute individual oral presentation in French with transcript (25%).

1 x 3000-word essay in English (75%). Both assignments will test ILOs 1-4.

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. FREN30106).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.