POV4352 Contemporary Photography PracticesBahçeşehir UniversityDegree Programs NEW MEDIAGeneral Information For StudentsDiploma SupplementErasmus Policy StatementNational QualificationsBologna Commission
NEW MEDIA
Bachelor TR-NQF-HE: Level 6 QF-EHEA: First Cycle EQF-LLL: Level 6

Course Introduction and Application Information

Course Code Course Name Semester Theoretical Practical Credit ECTS
POV4352 Contemporary Photography Practices Spring 2 2 3 5
This catalog is for information purposes. Course status is determined by the relevant department at the beginning of semester.

Basic information

Language of instruction: English
Type of course: Non-Departmental Elective
Course Level: Bachelor’s Degree (First Cycle)
Mode of Delivery: Face to face
Course Coordinator : Instructor ORHAN CEM ÇETİN
Course Lecturer(s): Instructor ORHAN CEM ÇETİN
Recommended Optional Program Components: None
Course Objectives: This course aims at an analysis of the evolution and gradual separation of the concepts of contemporary and modern art over the last four decades. The second aim of the course is to combine contemporary photographic practices with one’s own experiences in photographic applications and to question the relation of the concepts to visual experiences.

Learning Outcomes

The students who have succeeded in this course;
1. Identify and describe the concept of contemporary art.
2. Demonstrate knowledge of contemporary art applications.
3. Interpret the theoretical background of contemporary photography practices.
4. Compare global and local contemporary art practices.
5. Discuss the probability of conveying social, cultural and personal experiences through the language of contemporary art.
6. Develop the ability to apply their own concepts in the multilayered narrative structures and forms of contemporary art.

Course Content

Works by contemporary photographers, that are usually intertextual, more micro and more identity oriented, will be analyzed in terms of the narratives created within contemporary art practices. Practices of photography which have been evolving in parallel with contemporary arts since the 1970’s will be assessed.

Weekly Detailed Course Contents

Week Subject Related Preparation
1) Definition of contemporary art. Its relation to modern art practices. Debates about the notion.
2) Definition and explanation of contemporary photographic practices. Early debates on the subject (dating from 1970's) Photography related modern and postmodern practices. Weekly readings will be assigned.
3) Photography and the agents of contemporary art. I. Basic information of the agents of art: Museums, spectacle, markets. II. Contemporary photography and its practice within the agents of contemporary art. Presentation: Analyze the work of a contemporary artist .
4) Pre-contemporary examples and debates on photography-I: Avant-gardes and their experiments with the medium. Avant-garde narrative style in photography. Assignment I: Mimicking the artistic experiments of avant-gardes.
5) Pre-contemporary examples and debates on photography-II: The social use of photography and questioning identity. Ethnicities and gender in photographic medium. Assignment 2: Creating a narrative with one’s own experiences by the means of the photographic medium.
6) Pre-contemporary examples and debates on Photography-III: Converging media and its relation to artistic experience. Intertextuality in photographic practices. Assignment 3: A visual diary which includes text and photographs.
7) Themes / Identity and the Body - Examples from the works of Cindy Sherman, Nan Goldin, Nobuyashi Araki etc. and their critiques. Weekly readings will be assigned.
8) Themes / Place- Examples from Andreas Gursky, Hilda and Bernd Becher, Thomas Struth etc. and their critiques. Weekly readings will be assigned.
9) Themes / Time - Examples from Gerard Richter, Hans Peter Feldman etc. Assignment 4
10) Current Issues of Contemporary Photography-I Weekly readings will be assigned.
11) Current Issues of Contemporary Photography-II Assignment 5
12) Contemporary Photography in Turkey. Weekly readings will be assigned.
13) Creating ideas for the final project. Preparation for Final Assignment A
14) Presentations and discussions. Preparation for Final Assignment B

Sources

Course Notes / Textbooks: 1. Cotton, C. (2009). The photograph as contemporary art. London New York, N.Y: Thames & Hudson.
2. Marien, M. (2006). Photography : a cultural history. London: Laurence King.
References: 1. Costello, D. & Iversen, M. (2010). Photography after conceptual art. Chichester, West Sussex, UK Malden, MA, USA Great Britain: Wiley-Blackwell Association of Art Historians.
2. Smith, T. (2009). What is contemporary art. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
3. Szarkowski, J. (2007). The photographer's eye. New York: Museum of Modern Art.

Evaluation System

Semester Requirements Number of Activities Level of Contribution
Homework Assignments 5 % 50
Presentation 1 % 10
Final 1 % 40
Total % 100
PERCENTAGE OF SEMESTER WORK % 60
PERCENTAGE OF FINAL WORK % 40
Total % 100

ECTS / Workload Table

Activities Number of Activities Duration (Hours) Workload
Course Hours 14 4 56
Study Hours Out of Class 13 3 39
Presentations / Seminar 1 1 1
Homework Assignments 5 6 30
Final 1 1 1
Total Workload 127

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes

No Effect 1 Lowest 2 Low 3 Average 4 High 5 Highest
           
Program Outcomes Level of Contribution
1) To be able to critically interpret and discuss the theories, the concepts, the traditions, and the developments in the history of thought which are fundamental for the field of new media, journalism and communication.
2) To be able to attain written, oral and visual knowledge about technical equipment and software used in the process of news and the content production in new media, and to be able to acquire effective abilities to use them on a professional level.
3) To be able to get information about the institutional agents and generally about the sector operating in the field of new media, journalism and communication, and to be able to critically evaluate them.
4) To be able to comprehend the reactions of the readers, the listeners, the audiences and the users to the changing roles of media environments, and to be able to provide and circulate an original contents for them and to predict future trends.
5) To be able to apprehend the basic theories, the concepts and the thoughts related to neighbouring fields of new media and journalism in a critical manner.
6) To be able to grasp global and technological changes in the field of communication, and the relations due to with their effects on the local agents.
7) To be able to develop skills on gathering necessary data by using scientific methods, analyzing and circulating them in order to produce content.
8) To be able to develop acquired knowledge, skills and competence upon social aims by being legally and ethically responsible for a lifetime, and to be able to use them in order to provide social benefit.
9) To be able to operate collaborative projects with national/international colleagues in the field of new media, journalism and communication.
10) To be able to improve skills on creating works in various formats and which are qualified to be published on the prestigious national and international channels.