November 25, 2009
1) What is the main point (thesis) of the article?
2) How do the authors support their arguments?
3) What kind of visual culture has emerged around the events of September 11th, 2001? How do these types of visual culture relate to public memory? How do these types of visual culture relate to individual memories?
4) What has been the role of the museum in memorializing the events of September 11th, 2001?
November 23, 2009
Apologies for the lack of sound on the classroom computer today. Both videos are so much more effective with sound!!
For those of you who wish to view these videos with sound, I’ve included the links below:
Supermodels Take It Off For Climate Change
And for more on the campaign that the Supermodel video is part of, see 350.org.
November 19, 2009
Ok folks — this is it! Time to put those library research skills to the test. This week’s reading and next week’s reading (the last 2 articles for the class) are not provided for you. They are, however, available in fulltext format through the library.
Once you’ve retrieved the Dunaway reading, you’ll find the following focus questions helpful in preparing for your next seminar:
1) What is the author’s main argument (thesis)?
2) How does Finis Dunaway support his points in this essay?
3) What kinds of visual culture are associated with the environmental movement? In your opinion, are some more effective than others? Why or why not?
4) Why is visual culture so central in many activist campaigns?
5) Is there a difference between activist use of visual culture and the way media outlets use imagery in their reporting of activist events? Why or why not?
November 15, 2009
Below you will find some focus questions to help you as you read the Hansen article for this week. Don’t forget that this is the last week the reading will be provided for you. As explained at the beginning of the term, we are asking you to use the library research skills Laurie has been helping you with to track down the remaining two readings for this course.
1) What is the author’s main point (thesis)?
2) How does the author support his points/arguments? What “evidence” does he present?
3) How do the case studies in this reading differ from other forms of visual culture we have studied in this class? How are they similar?
4) Why would the producers of these comic books decide to use this particular form of visual culture? Would their message be different if they used a different medium?
5) What is the relationship between image and text in this case study?
6) What is the relationship between “truth” and “fiction” in the examples discussed in this article?
November 4, 2009
1) What is the author’s main point (thesis)?
2) How does Frances Robertson support the arguments put forth in this essay?
3) Why were Nasmyth’s models accepted as “evidence” of what the moon’s surface looked like?
4) What value do Nasmyth’s photographs hold for us today?
5) How does this case study address ideas of “photographic truth”?
6) Can you think of a similar situation in our current time (i.e.: simulated computer models of scientific phenomena)? How are examples from the 21st century similar to the case study of James Nasmyth? How are they different?
October 31, 2009
Just a couple of quick points about accessing your grades and the comments on your proposals through turnitin.com:
For comments on your assignments: once you are logged into turnitin.com you will see a list of your classes in the centre of the screen. If you are taking other courses besides VISA 1Q98 that use turnitin.com they will be listed here. If not, the only course you will see listed will be “VISA 1Q98 (Fall 2009).” Once you click on that link you will see the assignment list. If you click on the apple icon next to your proposal you will be taken to the comments on your proposal. (note: I’m still working my way through all the proposals so if you don’t yet have a grade or comments on it I ask for your patience — I’ve got a lot of assignments to go through!) From here your assignment will open up in a new window (if it doesn’t, check your pop-up blockers) and you can use the “view” menu to set how you wish to see the comments I have made on your paper.
For your grades: Once you have clicked on the name of the course, look on the left hand side of the page for a link that says “my grades.” Once you click on that you will be taken to another screen where you will see your marks in this class. At the top of that page is your current average (in bold), and below that are the individual marks on things like quizzes, etc. If you see a little notebook icon next to one of your grades that means there is a comment about your grade for that component.
October 29, 2009
1) What is the author’s main point (thesis)?
2) How does Serra Tinic support her arguments?
3) Why were the examples discussed in this article considered to be so significant in the history of advertising?
4) Is it appropriate, in your opinion, to include political messages in advertising campaigns?
5) What can critical examinations of advertising campaigns tell us about the society for which they were produced?
October 28, 2009
The registrar’s office has just released the December exam schedule.
The VISA 1Q98 final exam is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, December 16th at 9am. We will be writing in 2 different rooms:
Students with surnames A-G – AS 202
Students with surnames H-Z – AS 203
October 24, 2009
Some of you who have already submitted your proposal via turnitin.com have been surprised to find that the “preview” version of your file you see after submitting is text-only. Please don’t worry about this — this is the preview view only and the file I see is the exact file you submitted.
October 21, 2009
1) What is the main argument of this article?
2)How do the authors support this claim?
3)In this week’s readings as well as in the last reading you did for this class (Andén-Papadopoulos) we have seen examples of images re-circulated in contexts other than the ones they were originally made for. Can you draw parallels between the two case studies? How are they different? How are they similar?
4)How does meaning change when an image is appropriated or re-circulated in new contexts? How much do we need to know about the original, intended context of the image in order to understand the re-circulated image?
