BA (Hons) History of Art,
Architecture & Design
Academic Session 2002-2003
[Course
tutor(s)]
Contents:
Introduction p.
2
Weekly Outline p.
2
Bibliography p.
7
This module focuses upon the role of objects and material culture within contemporary Western society. The course presents an introduction to critical and theoretical perspectives for analysing and explaining the ways objects are used to construct, reflect and project notions of social identity. The course attempts to project a trajectory across the production, representation, and consumption of designed objects and environments. In doing so, it allows us to consider the different and varying contexts in which we find objects. In many senses the overarching aim of this module is to explore the ways that everyday objects are integrated and valued within everyday culture. Each session is accompanied by a number of identified key texts, some of which will be given out in class. These texts are intended to help you formalise the ideas discussed in class and may well prove useful when writing the essay assignment.
·
to expose students to different approaches to the study of
designed and manufactured objects and environments
·
to consider the critical and presentational contexts for
these objects and environments
·
to engage students in focussed and sustained research
·
to develop students written and presentational skills
Learning
Outcomes
On successful completion of the module,
students will be able to:
·
demonstrate an understanding of different approaches to the
study of designed and manufactured objects and environments
·
demonstrate the ability to identify and use aspects of
research methodology to consider the critical and presentational contexts for
these objects
·
demonstrate an understanding of the implications of such
research methodologies
·
present information in both an oral & written form
Week 1 Introduction
to Themes and Ideas
This session will introduce some of the themes and ideas we will be considering during this module. In particular we will think about some of the terminology and words we will be using. We will discuss the assessment requirements of the module and discuss the reading material and bibliography.
A. Forty , Objects of Desire,
London: Thames and Hudson, 1986 (Introduction)
J. A. Walker, Design History and the History of Design, London: Pluto Press, 1989
R. Williams, Keywords, London: Palladin, 1976
The shape of
an object is mainly determined by the material from which it is formed. We will consider objects traditionally made
from natural materials like wood, clay and metals, and how, with the
introduction into the manufacturing industry of alternatives such as plastics
and aluminium, brought aesthetic effects, identifying them as key products of
modernity in the 20th century.
R. Barthes, ‘Plastic’ in Mythologies, London: Paladin, 1972
J. Gloag, Plastics and Industrial Design, London: George Allen and Unwin,
1945
S. Katz, Classic Plastics, London: Thames and Hudson, 1984
P. Sparke, An Introduction to Design & Culture in the 20th Century,
London: Routledge, 1986
P. Sparke, The Plastics Age, London: V & A Museum, 1990
C. Catterall, ‘Plastics as Metaphor’,
in Issue, Spring, No.6, 1991
C. Edwards, ‘Aluminium Furniture
1886-1986,’ in Journal of Design History,
No.3, 2001
J. Meikle, ‘Into the 4th
Kingdom, Representations of Plastic Materials 1920-50’, in Journal of Design History, 5 (3), 1992
P. Reilly, ‘Pitfalls and Possibilities
of Plastics Design’, in Design, May
1950
Week
3 Objects and New Technology:
The Radio
Wireless sets were the first objects of electrical equipment to be owned on a mass scale in Britain. When broadcasting was introduced in the 1920’s it was a novelty without precedent, and the receiving equipment was an object without its own identifiable form. As an object of modern technology it carried enormous weight as a symbol of the scientific progress of the age and therefore required an exterior ‘package’ to convey that message.
R. Collins, The Golden Age of Radio, New York: Columbus, 1987
J. Hill, The Cat’s Whisker, London: Oresko, 1978
G. Julier, The Culture of Design, London: Sage, 2000
R. H. Mckay, Consumption & Everyday Life, Milton Keynes: Open University,
1997
F. McCarthy, British Design since 1880, London: Lund Humphries, 1982
P. Sparke, An Introduction to Design & Culture in 20th Century,
London: Routledge, 1986
Week
4 Advertising: Objects and
Images
This session will consider the ways
that advertising constructs and projects images and identities for objects. We
will question the role of advertising and what constitutes advertising. We will
consider how and when it emerged. This session will pay particular attention to
the ideas of Roland Barthes and other writers who have explained how and why
advertising has become central to modern culture.
R. Barthes, Mythologies, Paladin, 1973
D. Slater, Consumer Culture and Modernity, Chapter 5 'The Meaning of Things',
Cambridge, Polity Press, 1996
J. Williamson, Decoding Advertisements, London: Marion Boyars Publishers, 1976
P. Jobling and D. Crowley, Graphics Design. Reproduction and
Representation since 1800, Chapter 9 'The Empire of Signs', Manchester:
Manchester University Press, 1996
Week
5 Branding: Objects, Images and
Identity
This session
develops many of the issues identified in the previous session and considers
the role of branding in contemporary culture. We will question how and why
branded products, marketing and development have emerged and what the implications
of these factors are for local and global economies and markets. A question
central to this session asks how branding has changed the nature art, design
and fashion?
R. Goldman & S. Papson, Nike culture: the sign of the swoosh,
London: Sage, 1998
D. Slater, Consumer Culture and Modernity, Chapter 6 'The Uses of Things',
Cambridge: Polity Press, 1996
C. Lury, Consumer Culture, Chapter 4 'Habitat and Habitus',Cambridge: Polity
Press, 1996
J. Pavitt (ed.), Brand.New, London: V&A Publications, 2000
R. Poyner, Obey the Giant: life in the image world, August Media, 2001
Week
6 Lifestyle: magazines,
catalogues & consumption
This session will consider the ways objects and images are created within the broader realm of consumer culture and how these are consumed alongside other media information. We will focus upon magazines and catalogues in order to question how we read them, how we interpret and understand them, and they 'mediate' cultural ideas and values.
M. Featherstone, Consumer Culture and Postmodernism, London: Sage, 1991
D. Hebdige, Hiding in the Light, Chapter 6 'Squaring up to the Face', London:
Routledge, 1988
A. McRobbie, 'Jackie': an ideology of adolescent femininity, Birmingham:
University of Birmingham Press, 1978
R.
Ohmann, Selling Culture, London:
Verso, 1996
W.
Owen, Modern Magazine Design, London:
Wm. C. Brown, 1992
B. Usherwood, 'Transnational
Publishing. The case of Elle Decoration' in Mica Nava et al Buy This Book. Studies in Advertising &
Consumption, London: Routledge, 1996
C.
White, Women's magazines. 1693-1968,
London: Joseph, 1970
J. Winship, Inside Women's Magazines, London: Pandora Press, 1987
The lecture questions the variety of ways in which the dynamics of gender relations operate through material goods, and the way in which the history of objects has been gendered throughout design history. Objects have provided points of commonality as well as points of departure in the constructed nature of gendered identities on the part of the manufacturer, retailer and consumer. We will identify the ways in which different objects are socialized through use by male/female consumers.
J. Attfield & P. Kirkham, A View from the Interior: Women and Design,
London: The Women’s Press, 1989
I. Borden, Architecture & Sites of History, Oxford, 1997
V. de Grazia, The Sex of Things, Berkeley, Los Angeles & London, 1996
P. Kirkham, The Gendered Object, London, 1996
J. Walker, Design History & the History of Design, London: Pluto Press, 1989
Week
8 Visit to the V&A: 20th Century Gallery &
Islamic Gallery
This
visit will allow us to investigate and question the ways the museum space
categorises,
presents
and represents objects. It will also allow us time to discuss your group
projects and
essay
submissions.
In recent years issues of the environment have come to the
fore within global culture. This
session will consider how these concerns came about. It will explore the issues that face contemporary designers and illustrators, and the ways they have been addressed these.
Week 10 Reading week
Week 11 Student presentations
Week
12 Feedback and review session
There
are two assessment requirements for this module. The first is an essay
submission, which is due on the Thursday 1st May 2003. The second is
a group presentation, which will be presented on Thursday 1st May
2003.
In
groups of 4 students should choose an object for analysis. This may be
interpreted very broadly and should be the subject of some discussion. It may
be that groups choose very specific objects, possibly even unique objects. It
may be that you choose an object of mass consumption or even a generic object?
The aim of this project is that you research and analyse your chosen object in
a number of different ways. Broadly speaking these might be concerned with the
objects production, its representation and its consumption, however, the focus
for your analysis will be largely determined by your choice of object. There
are a number of initial questions that you should ask of your object and
thinking about these questions may well lead you to the object.
·
Who designed it?
·
Did they make it?
·
What is it made of and why?
·
Where is it?
·
Is it unique?
·
How much would it cost?
·
How old is it?
·
Do you like it, and if so why?
By week 3 all students should be in a group and should have identified their object of study. We will use the seminar session to discuss and explore what these objects are and what question they raise.
In
week 11 each group is required to give a 10 minute presentation on their object
and their research. The notes and images should be presented and submitted as
part of the assessment.
You
are required to answer the following question. Your essay should be
approximately 2000 words in length and must include a bibliography of all
source material. All essays must be typed, double-spaced and illustrated
appropriately.
Q. Giving
specific examples discuss the ways that objects are used to construct, reflect
and project aspects of identity and meaning.
The literature on contemporary visual culture is immense and often complex. The following bibliography reflects the breadth of attention that has been paid to the issues in this course. Some texts are considerably more straight forward than others. These have been identified with *.
S. Baker, ‘The
Hell of Connotation’, in Word and Image,
1, 1985, pp164-75
R. Banham, ‘A
Throw-Away Aesthetic’, in I.D .,
March, 1960
R. Barthes,
‘Myth Today’, in Mythologies, London:
Palladin, 1973
R. Barthes, Image, Music, Text, London: Collins,
1977
R. Barthes, The Fashion System, trans. By M. Ward,
Berkeley: University of California, 1990
J. Baudrillard,
Simulacra and Simulation, Trans. by
S.F.Glaser, 1994
J.
Baudrillard, ‘The Consumer Society: Myths and Structures’, in M. Poster (ed.), Selected Writings, Cambridge: Polity
Press, 1988
J.Benson, The Rise of Consumer Society in Britain
1880-1980, London: Longman, 1990
J. Berger, Ways of Seeing, Harmondsworth: Penguin,
1972
S. Brierley, The Advertising Handbook, 2nd
edition, London: Routledge, 2002
J. Bullmore, Behind the Scenes in Advertising, Henley
on Thames: NTC, 1991
J. Butler, Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion
of Identity, London: Routledge, 1990
R. Chapman
& J. Rutherford, Male Order:
Unwrapping Masculinity, London: Lawrence & Wishart, 1988, pp 21-67
& 225-248
A.K. Clarke,
‘The Girl - a rhetoric of desire’ in Cultural
Studies, 1:2, May 1987
*P. Cobley, The Communication Theory Reader, London:
Routledge, 1996
S. Cohen, Folk Devils and Moral Panics; The Creation
of the Mods and Rockers, Oxford: Martin Robertson, 1972, Rev.1980
*G. Cook, The
Discourse of Advertising, London:
Routledge, 1992
R.L. Craig,
‘Designing Ethnicity: the ideology of images’, Design Issues, 7, 1991, pp 34-42
*G. Dyer, Advertising as Communication, London:
Routledge, 1988
J. Evans
(ed.), The Camera Work Essays; Context
and Meaning in Photography, London:
Rivers Oram Press, 1997
M.
Featherstone, Consumer Culture &
Postmodernism, London: Sage, 1991
*J. Fiske, Introduction to Communication Studies,
London: Methuen, 1982
C. Forceville,
Pictorial Metaphor in Advertising,
London: Routledge, 1996
H. Foster
(ed.), Postmodern Culture, London:
Pluto Press, 1985
J. Fowles, Advertising and Popular Culture, California:
Sage, 1996
C. Greenberg,
‘Avant-garde and Kitsch’ in Art and
Culture, London: Thames and Hudson, 1973
*R. Goldman, Reading Ads Socially, London: Routledge,
1992
R. Goldman
& S. Papson, Nike Culture,
London: Sage, 1998
S. Hall, ‘Racism and reaction’ in Five Views of Multi-racial Britain,
1978, pp 23-35
*C. Harrison
& P. Wood (eds.), Art in Theory
1900-1990, Oxford: Blackwell, 1992
D. Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernity, Oxford:
Blackwell, 1990
D. Hebdige, ‘A
Report from the Western Front: Postmodernism and the Politics of Style’, Block, 12, 1986-87
*D. Hebdige, Hiding in the Light, London: Routledge, 1988
D. Hebdige,
‘Fabulous Confusion: Pop before Pop’ in C. Jenks (ed.), Visual Culture, 1995, pp
96-122
D. Hebdige, Subculture, the Meaning of Style,
London: Routledge, 1979
A. Huyssen, After the Great Divide; Modernism, Mass
Culture and Postmodernism, London:
Macmillan, 1988
b. hooks, Black Looks: race and representation,
London: South End, 1992
*N. Inds, Great Advertising Campaigns, 1993
P. Jackson,
‘Black Male: advertising and the cultural politics of masculinity’, in Gender,
Place & Culture, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1994, pp 49-59
F. Jameson, Postmodernism,
or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, London: Verso, 1991
*C. Jencks
(ed.), The Postmodern Reader, London:
Academy Editions, 1993
*S. Jhally, The Codes of Advertising, London:
Frances Pinter, 1991
*P.Jobling
& D. Crowley, Graphic Design.
Reproduction and Representation since 1800 Manchester: Manchester
University Press, 1996, pp 245-270
W. Leiss, Social
Communications in Advertising. Persons, Products and Images of well being,
1991
*L. Lippard, Pop Art, London: Thames and Hudson, 1966
L.A. Loeb,
‘Social Emulation and Mass Consumption’, All
Consuming Angels, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994
C. Lury, Consumer
Culture, New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1996
*E. Lupton
& A. Miller, ‘White on Black on Gray’, in
Design Writing Research: Writing on Graphic Design, London: Phaidon, 1996,
pp 102-119
E. Lupton
& A. Miller, ‘Low and High: Design in Everyday life’ & ‘Line Art: Andy
Warhol & the Commercial Art world of the 1950s’, in Design Writing Research: Writing on Graphic Design, London:
Phaidon, 1996
*A. Massey, The Independent Group. Modernism and mass
culture in Britain 1945-1959 Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1995
G. McCracken, Culture and Consumption, Indiana:
Indiana Press, 1990
K. Mercer, Welcome to the Jungle - New Positions in
Black Cultural Studies, London: Routledge, 1994
D. Miller, Material Culture and Mass Consumption,
Oxford: Blackwells, 1987
F. Mort, Cultures of Consumption, Masculinities and Social Space in late 20th
Century Britain, London: Routledge, 1996
*G. Myers, Words in Ads, London: Edward Arnold,
1994
K. Myers, Understains, London: Comedia, 1987
E. Ngan-ling
Chow, D. Wilkinson & M. Baca Zinn, Race,
Class and Gender, London: Sage, 1996
S. Nixon, Hard Looks: Masculinities, spectatorship and
contemporary consumption, London: UCL Press, 1996
W.M. O’Barr, Culture and the Ad - Exploring Otherness in
the World of Advertising, Westview Press, 1994
J.N. Pieterse,
White on Black, Images of Africa and
Blacks in Western Popular Culture, Yale, Yale University Press, 1995,
pp188-210
A.Ramamurthy, Black markets: images of black people in
advertising and packaging in Britain 1880-1990, Cornerhouse, Manchester,
1990
T. Richards, The Commodity Culture of Victorian England
1850-1914, London: Verso, 1990
C. Rose, Design After Dark: The Story of Dancefloor
Style, London: Thames and Hudson, 1991
D. Saunders, Sex in Advertising, London: Batsford,
1996
J. Seabrook,
‘Stereotypes in Advertising’, New
Society, 18/3/1988, pp12-14
E. Shohat
& R. Stam, Unthinking Eurocentrism,
London: Routledge, 1994
J. Sinclair, Images Incorporated, London: Routledge,
1987
*D. Slater, Consumer Culture and Modernity,
Cambridge: Polity Press, 1997
*A. Sullivan,
‘Flogging underwear: the new raunchiness of American underwear’, in M. Bierut,
W. Drenttle, S. Heller & D.K. Holland (eds.), Looking Closer - Critical writings on graphic design, London:
Allworth Press,1994
*S. Thornton
& K. Gelder, The Subcultures Reader,
London: Routledge, 1997
S. Thornton, Club Cultures, Music, Media and Subcultural
Capital, Cambridge: Polity Press, 1995
R. Venturi,
D.S. Brown & S. Izenour, Learning
from Las Vegas, Cambridge,
Mass: MIT Press, 1972
A. Warnik, Promotional Culture: Advertising, ideology
and symbolic expression, London: Sage, 1991
A. Wernick,
‘From Voyeur to Narcissist: Imaging Men in Contemporary Advertising’, in M.
Kaufman (ed.),
Beyond Patriarchy: Essays by Men on
Pleasure, Power and Change, 1987, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp
277-97
N. Whitely,
‘Pop, Consumerism and the Design Shift’, in Design
Issues , 2 Fall, 1985
R. Williams, Communications, Harmondsworth: Penguin,
1962
*J.
Williamson, Decoding Advertisements, London: Marion Boyars, 1978
J. Williamson,
‘The History That Photographs Mislaid’, Photography/Politics,
1, 1979
E. Wilson, ‘Fashion and the Postmodern
Body’, in E. Wilson & J. Ash, Chic
Thrills, London: Pandora Press, 1992
*J. Winship,
‘Handling Sex’ in R. Betterton (ed.),
Looking On, London: Pandora, 1987
The two major
professional periodicals are Campaign
in Britain and Advertising Age in the
USA. Other useful periodical sources include The Guardian (Mondays G2 Creative & Media), Creative Review, Hotshoe International, Hot
Ads International, Journal of Advertising History and Direction.