Visual literacy: how to read a photography 2700-ERASMUS-VLHR
The term visual literacy means the ability to “read”, interpret and understand information presented in pictorial form and at the same time the ability to present information as a visual message. An important aspect of the phenomenon also seems to be the fact that this ability also includes the social reading of the meaning of images. This means that the same visual messages can be interpreted differently or a unintelligible in cultural areas different from the author or source of communication.
However, there are so-called iconic images that theoretically universally present facts and events. As symbolic photos should be widely known and understood.
The main goal of the course is to present the most important journalistic photographs documenting historically significant political and social events as well as contemporary images showing and at the same time characterizing everyday and unusual reality. An important part of the course is to learn how to interpret photography, so reading it both in a broad context and in an individual perspective. The goal is to gain the ability to read the image in detail.
Type of course
elective courses
Mode
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, student describes and interprets photographic visual messages. To this goal, it has the following competences:
Knowledge:
• has knowledge of what journalistic photography is,
• can determine what an iconic photo is,
• knows the next stages of photography interpretation,
• knows and understands symbolic messages showing historical events.
Skills:
• can make an self analysis of the content of a photo,
• can read the function of journalistic photography,
• has the ability to describe selected concepts using photography.
Assessment criteria
To pass the course:
• self-interpretation of the photo is obligatory,
• maximum two absences during the semester can increase the grade,
• activity during classes can increase the grade.
Bibliography
Barrett, T. (2000). Criticizing Photographs: An Introduction to Understanding Images. NY: McGraw-Hill Humanities.
Elkins, J. (red.), (2009): Visual Literacy, Taylor&Francis, N.Y.
Fairclough, N. & Wodak, R. (1997). Critical discourse analysis. In. van Dijk, T. A. (Ed.), Discourse as social interaction (pp. 258–284). London: SAGE.
Mitchell, W.J.T. (2005). What Do Pictures Want?: The Lives and Loves of Images. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Rose, G. (2012). Visual methodologies: An introduction to researching with visual materials (3rd ed.). London: Sage.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: