Visual Literacy: Understanding Images across Europe – Past and Present (educational module, 4EU+) 3105-4EU-VL-K
The main objective of this one-year module—comprising online
tutorials, online seminar-like classes, and a five-day field
workshop in Warsaw—is to explore the phenomenon of visual
literacy from theoretical, art-historical, and practical
perspectives. Students will have the opportunity to engage
directly with the cultural frameworks that shape how images
have been and continue to be perceived, through collaborative
scientific-artistic projects developed in intercultural groups
under the guidance of a tutor.
Students may choose from five specialized tutorials:
1. Multiplied Images: Artistic Practices in the Twentieth
Century
Led by Prof. Davide Colombo (University of Milan) and Giulia
Zompa, PhD, this tutorial examines twentieth-century artistic
practices rooted in appropriation, collage, photomontage,
found footage, and re-enactment. It explores the role of
heterogeneous and non-artistic imagery alongside traditional
visual sources. Special attention will be given to the blending of
high and low cultural models and the circulation of iconic
images and contemporary art within media and popular culture.
2. Visual Literacy: Between Educational, Artistic, and
Curatorial Approaches
Led by Pavla Gajdošíková and Zuzana Štefková (Charles
University), this tutorial focuses on contemporary art, art
education, and curating as forms of dialogue and tools for
fostering critical thinking. Students will investigate current
trends, themes, and “turns” in the contemporary art field, using
this research as a foundation to collaboratively develop their
own curatorial projects, accompanied by educational activities
in art mediation. The course also encourages students to
engage in their own artistic practice to better understand the
position and perspective of the artist.
3. Self-Portraits: Artistic Conventions, Meaning, Identity, and
Functions from Early Modern through Modern to
Contemporary
This tutorial, led by Monika Czekanowska-Gutman, PhD
(University of Warsaw), introduces students to the
development of self-portraits in pre-modern, modern, and
contemporary visual culture, including painting, photography,
graphic arts, and social media. Emphasis is placed on formal,
iconographic, iconological, and semiotic methods of analysis, as
well as on the cross-cultural reception of images across
different traditions (Jewish, Christian, Arabic, and others).
These approaches will equip students to analyze self-portraits
critically in terms of how they construct identity, express
psychological aspects of personality, and negotiate presence
and absence, among other issues.
4. Materiality of Colour and Practices in Painters’ Workshops
of the Late Middle Ages and Early Modernity
This tutorial, conducted by Karolina Mroziewicz, PhD (University
of Warsaw), will explore the physical properties of colours, the
economic and cultural value of pigments, their trade routes,
and their application in 15th- and 16th-century painters’
workshops. Students will engage in hands-on experiments with
paint production and reflect on the conditions that rendered
the pre-modern colour palette legible, meaningful, and valuable
to contemporary viewers. They will also experience first-hand
the challenges and limitations of reconstructing late medieval
and early modern paint recipes.
5. Printed Games and Interactive Objects in the 16th-17th
Centuries
This tutorial, led by Magdalena Herman, PhD (University of
Warsaw) explores interactions between players and games,
focusing on the interactivity and materiality of card, board, and
book games, as well as their roles as objects of play and display.
It also examines the relationships between producers, games
users and the market, as well as the depiction of games and
gameplay, and their role in Early Modern iconography.
In addition to exploring the key aspects of visual culture and
visual literacy, each of the five tutorials will provide students
with opportunities to experiment with the potential of both
material and digital images in developing and communicating
ideas. These sessions aim to foster critical thinking through
hands-on investigation, discussion-based learning, and inquiry-
driven exploration.
Apart from tutorials, students will participate in seminar-style
classes that offer a broad overview of theoretical approaches
and case studies. These sessions will illuminate various
historical, social, cultural, and artistic dimensions of visual
literacy and visual culture, aligning with the core themes
addressed in the tutorials.
The course will also include a five-day field workshop in Warsaw
(April 2026). This workshop will offer a dynamic setting for
developing group project ideas through direct engagement with
artworks and meaningful dialogue with peers, instructors, and
curators. The program will also feature study visits and guided
tours at Warsaw’s most prominent art institutions.
Teaching methods: Seminar-style discussions; working with
texts and images – presentations; close reading; group work,
conversations and discussions on topics presented by
participants; historical remaking; conceptual development and
implementation of an artistic-scientific project – research task
Rodzaj przedmiotu
Koordynatorzy przedmiotu
Przedmiot dedykowany programowi
Efekty kształcenia
Students will:
W02 – demonstrate advanced knowledge and understanding of
historical-artistic terminology related to works of art,
particularly in the areas of techniques, materials, functions,
dating, and conditions of preservation;
W04 – possess detailed knowledge and understanding of art
history from chronological, thematic, and problem-based
perspectives, including major artistic styles, movements, trends,
milieus, and historical-artistic periods;
U04 – be able to apply their knowledge to identify various types
of artworks (in terms of technique, typology, chronology, style,
origin, and attribution) and to conduct critical analysis and
interpretation using standard methodologies, in order to
determine their meanings, social impact, and place within
historical and cultural processes;
U07 – be capable of communicating effectively using specialized
terminology and referencing the views of various scholars in the
fields of art history and cultural history;
U11 – be able to plan and organize work both individually and
within interdisciplinary, international teams;
K01 – be able to critically assess their own knowledge and share
it through the preparation of a self-assessment form and
learning portfolio;
K02 – be prepared to recognize the value of knowledge in
appropriately setting priorities for the completion of individual
and group tasks, formulated by themselves and other course
participants, including teachers.
Kryteria oceniania
The module is designed to encourage active student
engagement, emphasizing the importance of collaborative
learning and the co-construction of knowledge. At the end of
the semester, students will reflect on their own development
through an individual self-assessment.
The primary outcome of the module will be group-based
scientific-artistic projects, accompanied by portfolios
documenting the creative and research process. These
components will form the basis of student evaluation.
Each student’s final grade will be determined as follows:
1. Active participation in group discussions and workshops
– 25%
2. Progress demonstrated in the self-assessment – 25%
3. Final group project – 30%
4. Individual portfolio – 20%
Students are allowed up to two unexcused absences per
semester. Any missed work must be made up through
arrangements with the respective teachers.
Literatura
Baylen, D. & D'Alba, A. eds. (2015). Essentials of Teaching and
Integrating Visual and Media Literacy: Visualizing Learning.
Cham: Springer.
Berger, J. (2008). Ways of seeing. British Broadcasting
Corporation and Penguin. London (and earlier editions).
Burke, B. (1978). Popular culture in early modern Europe. New
York: Harper & Row.
Clapp, J.A. (2005). ‘”Are You Talking to Me?” New York and the
Cinema of Urban Alienation’. Visual Anthropology, Vol. 18, No.
1.
Cordell, D. (2016). Using images to teach critical thinking skills:
visual literacy and digital photography. Santa Barbara, CA:
Libraries Unlimited.
Elkins, J., ed. (2008). Visual literacy. New York; London:
Routledge.
Elkins, J. (2003). Visual studies: A skeptical introduction. New
York; London: Routledge.
Gombrich, E. (1999). The Uses of Images. Studies in the Social
Function of Art and Visual Communication. London: Phaidon.
Gombrich, E. (1982). The Image and the Eye: Further Studies in
the Psychology of Pictorial Representation. Oxford: Phaidon.
Gombrich, E. (1979). Ideals & Idols. Essays on Values in History
and Art. Oxford: Phaidon.
Gombrich, E. (1960). Art and Illusion. A Study in the Psychology
of Pictorial Representation. London: Phaidon.
Heywood, I. & Sandywell, B. eds. (1999). Interpreting Visual
Culture: Explorations in the hermeneutics of the visual. London
and New York: Routledge.
Kolb, D.A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the
source of learning and development. London: Prentice-Hall.
Kress, G. (2010). Multimodality: A social semiotic approach to
contemporary communication. New York, NY: Routledge.
Neumüller, M., ed. (2018). The Routledge companion to
photography and visual culture. New York; London: Routledge,
Taylor & Francis Group.
Smith, M. (2008). Visual culture studies. Los Angeles, Calif.;
London: Sage.
The bibliography includes only a general reading list. All
readings and visual materials required for the particular class
will be emailed to students in advance.
Więcej informacji
Dodatkowe informacje (np. o kalendarzu rejestracji, prowadzących zajęcia, lokalizacji i terminach zajęć) mogą być dostępne w serwisie USOSweb: