Unit information: Images of Power in Lusophone Culture in 2021/22

Unit name	Images of Power in Lusophone Culture
Unit code	HISP20092
Credit points	20
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Professor. King
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of Hispanic, Portuguese and Latin American Studies
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

This Unit offers an introduction to the study of visual culture in the context of the Lusophone world, focusing on the connections between power and cinematic and photographic images. Through close analysis of a range of films and photography, balancing theoretical frameworks with a consideration of historical and political contexts, students will be encouraged to think about the politics of image making. What is an image? How do images reinforce or contest hierarchies of power? Among the themes and topics covered by the unit are: tropicalismo and hybrid aesthetics in Brazilian Cinema Novo; images of technology and nature in modernist photography of the 1950s and 1960s; and transformations in political documentary making from 1960s to the present.

Intended Learning Outcomes

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

1. Demonstrate an advanced knowledge of the implication of a range of visual culture practices, from photography to cinema, in regimes of power in the Lusophone world.
2. Respond critically and analytically to the issues/debated raised by the texts studies.
3. Demonstrate a firm grasp of theoretical and critical scholarship in the relevant fields of study, as appropriate to level I.
4. Formulate independent judgments and engage with ideas at a high level of complexity.
5. Demonstrate sophisticated visual analytical skills and an ability to use film terminology correctly.
6. Present independent judgments orally and in writing in an appropriate style and at a high level of complexity and demonstrate ability to work effectively in groups.
7. Demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively.
8. Demonstrate the ability to carry out independent research appropriate to this level of study.

Teaching Information

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

Assessment Information

1 group presentation on topic chosen by students (summative, 30%), assessing ILOs 1-8.

1 x 2500 word essay (summative, 70%), assessing ILOs 1-6.

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. HISP20092).

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.