Bachelor of Interactive Media
Section A: Teaching, Learning and Assessment
Subject Name & Code HTC221 Representation and Meaning
Semester Semester 1 2017
Credit Point Value 10
Subject Level 200
Pre-Requisite Exploring Media Landscapes (HTC 201)
Presentation Team
Lecturer James Nicholls
Office Location Level 5, WIN 302 Elizabeth Street, Sydney
Email [email protected]
Phone 8252 9999
Consultation times Before and after class or by prior arrangement
Teaching methods/strategies
On-campus teaching methods/strategies for this subject include:
• 1-hour face-to-face lecture per week;
• 2-hour tutorial per week;
• For tutorials, students will work in small groups for group-based activities and projects;
• Students will be expected to attend tutorials and conduct independent learning activities.
Brief Subject Description
In this subject Representation and Meaning, students explore the historical development and contemporary applications of pictographic, iconographic and ideographic symbols and their representation. Students will use subject-specific vocabulary and concepts to describe and evaluate the value of symbolic and metaphoric imagery, grouping, framing, hierarchy and narrative sequence as visual systems. Students will engage in theoretical debates, explore and deconstruct images, develop and implement research skills, and apply theoretical knowledge to practical projects.
Student Learning Outcomes
By the end of this subject students should be able to:
A Identifyand describe the use of metaphor, meaning and representation in visual languages
B Apply conceptual understandings for implementation as creative and original ideas in hand- or technologically-generatedvisuals
C Create original work that caters to the specific demands of a projectbrief
D Develop reflective thinking through writing on their own experience of language and discourse
E Undertake traditional methods of inquiry (library, internetetc.)
F Justify arguments and statements through a rigorous process of analysis andsynthesis
Content Summary
Week Date (Week beginning Monday) Weekly Topics
1 06.03.17 Introduction to Semiotics: History and Definitions
2 13.03.17 Representation and Meaning
3 20.03.17 Models of Signification
4 27.03.17 Signifier and Signified
5 03.04.17 Modality
6 10.04.17 Analysing Structures
7 17.04.17 Mid-Semester Break
8 24.04.17 Denotation and Connotation
9 01.05.17 Metaphors, Metonymy, and Myths
10 08.05.17 Codes
11 15.05.17 Inter-textuality
12 22.05.17 Structuralist Semiotics
13 29.05.17 Post-structural Semiotics
14 05.06.17 Assessment week
15 12.06.17 Assessment week
Summary of Assessment
Assessment Task % Total
Mark Relevant LearningOutcome Due Date and Time
Assignment 1: Participation
There will be at least six short intermittent assessment activities of not more than 20 minutes administered between weeks 2 and 12 such as short quizzes, problem solving, etc. to evaluate the students’ understanding of key concepts. 20% 20 This assessment component addresses all learning outcomes a,b e and f Weeks
2 -12
Assignment 2: Essay (1500 words)
For this assignment students are required to write a critique of a particular advertisement of their choice using semiotic concepts and techniques. Students will select an advertisement, identify the intended message, the ways in which the message is communicated, the intended audience, secondary messages, and inter-textual references
40% 40 This assignment addresses learning outcomes b,d and f Week10
Assignment 3: Portfolio (Artwork)
Students are required to produce artwork that engages with the precepts and principles of semiotics. Students may choose any topic in any medium.
Together with the artwork, students submit a critical reflection (approx 1000 words) on the developmental process, theirengagement with semiotic theory and the artwork’sintentional representations. References to literature and otherrelevant resources should be included in the paperassignment.
40%
40
This assignment addresses learning outcomes b and c Week 13
Prescribed text and recommended readings:
Prescribed Reading
Kress, G., &Leeuwen, T. (2006). Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design. New York: Routledge.
Recommended Readings
Barnard, M. (2005). Graphic Design as Communication. New York: Routledge. Bignell, J. (2002). Media Semiotics. (2nd .ed). New York: Manchester University Press.
Crow, D. (2007). Visible Signs: An Introduction to Semiotic. (2nd .ed). New York: AVA Publishing. Hall, S. (2007). This Means This, This Means That: A User’s Guide to Semiotics. (2nd .ed). London:Laurence King.
Maranci, C. (2005). A Survival Guide for Art History Students. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. Norman, D. (2009). The Design of Future Things. New York: Basic Book.
Poynor, R. (2003). No More Rules: Graphic Design and Postmodernism. London: Laurence King. Souza, D. (2005). The Semiotic Engineering of Human-Computer Interaction (Acting with
Technology). Massachusetts: MIT Press.
Online Readings
A Gangland Bus Tour, with Lunch and a Waiver. (n.d). Retrieved July 05, 2010, from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/16/us/16tour.html?_r=1
A Semiotic Analysis of Magazine Ads for Men’s Fragrances. (n.d). Retrieved July 05, 2010, from http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/awc9401.html
Art and the Semiotics of Images: Three Questions about Visual Meaning. (n.d). Retrieved July 05, 2010, from http://imamp.colum.edu/blogs/?p=10847
Icons, Symbols and a Semiotic Web. (n.d). Retrieved July 05, 2010, from http://faculty.washington.edu/dillon/rhethtml/signifiers/sigsave.html
Narrative Structures in Computer and Video Games: Part 1: Context, Definitions, and Initial Findings. (n.d). Retrieved July 05,2010, from http://digiplay.info/taxonomy/term/3956
Read more: film semiotics – “langage sans langue”, langue, Semiotics of Cinema, Semiotik des Films, Film Theory, Montage. (n.d). Retrieved July 05,2010, from http://www.macrovu.com/VLBkAboutTheBook.html
Semiotics in Videogames. (n.d). Retrieved July 05,2010, from http://imamp.colum.edu/blogs/?p=10847
Semiotics for Beginners. Glossary of Key Terms. (n.d). Retrieved July 05, 2010, from http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/sem-gloss.html
The Development of a Semiotic of Film. (n.d). Retrieved July 05, 2010, from http://astro.temple.edu/~ruby/wava/worth/sone.html
The Semiotics of Time Structure in Ludic Space as a Foundation for Analysis and Design. (n.d).
Retrieved July 05, 2010, from http://digiplay.info/node/1536
Visual Language Global Communication for the 21st Century. (n.d). Retrieved July 05,2010, from http://www.macrovu.com/VLBkAboutTheBook.html
Additional Contacts
Dr Keri Spooner - Dean [email protected] 8252 9999
Philip Wang - Course Co-ordinator [email protected] 8252 9999
Kristina Shead - Registrar [email protected] 8252 9999
Dr Robert Wentworth - Counsellor [email protected] 8252 9999
Ava Cai - Accounts [email protected] 8252 9999
Steve Li - IT Manager [email protected] 8252 9999
Karolina Mazurkiewicz - [email protected] 9999
Wentworth Institute, 302 Elizabeth Street, Sydney http://www.win.edu.au/ Higher Education CRICOS code: 03279M