ARTH 5209EX - Studies in Australian Indigenous Art

External - Semester 2 - 2014

The course explores the vast diversity of historical and contemporary Indigenous art practice, with a focus on several painting traditions including bark painting from various parts of Arnhem Land and the Kimberley, Central and Western Desert dot painting, and watercolours from Hermannsburg in Central Australia. Other aspects covered include Indigenous decorated and woven objects and contemporary urban Aboriginal prints and photographs. The course draws heavily on the comprehensive Indigenous collection of the Art Gallery of South Australia. Key anthropological, ethnographic and philosophical issues arising from the collecting and display of Indigenous art and objects in museums and galleries are also discussed.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code ARTH 5209EX
    Course Studies in Australian Indigenous Art
    Coordinating Unit Historical and Classical Studies
    Term Semester 2
    Level Postgraduate Coursework
    Location/s External
    Units 6
    Contact Online
    Course Description The course explores the vast diversity of historical and contemporary Indigenous art practice, with a focus on several painting traditions including bark painting from various parts of Arnhem Land and the Kimberley, Central and Western Desert dot painting, and watercolours from Hermannsburg in Central Australia. Other aspects covered include Indigenous decorated and woven objects and contemporary urban Aboriginal prints and photographs. The course draws heavily on the comprehensive Indigenous collection of the Art Gallery of South Australia. Key anthropological, ethnographic and philosophical issues arising from the collecting and display of Indigenous art and objects in museums and galleries are also discussed.
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Professor Catherine Speck

    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    At the successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
    1 Demonstrate the ability to recognise major regional styles in Indigenous art and key Indigenous artists
    2 Demonstrate the ability to describe composition, style, and iconography in both written and oral exposition, with a high degree of accuracy
    3 Develop cultural awareness
    4 Develop critical thinking skills in methodological, historical and theoretical problems
    5 Develop problem solving skills
    6 Develop "connoisseurship"
    University Graduate Attributes

    This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

    University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s)
    Knowledge and understanding of the content and techniques of a chosen discipline at advanced levels that are internationally recognised. 1, 2, 6
    The ability to locate, analyse, evaluate and synthesise information from a wide variety of sources in a planned and timely manner. 4, 5
    An ability to apply effective, creative and innovative solutions, both independently and cooperatively, to current and future problems. 4, 5
    A commitment to continuous learning and the capacity to maintain intellectual curiosity throughout life. 4, 5
    A commitment to the highest standards of professional endeavour and the ability to take a leadership role in the community. 6
    An awareness of ethical, social and cultural issues within a global context and their importance in the exercise of professional skills and responsibilities. 3
  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    · Course Handbook – distributed prior to the first tutorial
    · Course Reader – distributed prior to the first tutorial
    Recommended Resources
    · Recommended text (available at the Art Gallery of South Australia bookshop or online booksellers)
    · Lecture and tutorial images (on PowerPoint)
    · Barr Smith Library Resource Guide:
    · http://www.adelaide.edu.au/library/guide/hum/history/art.html
    Online Learning
    Course material will be available on MyUni.
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    The lectures provide broad discussion of selected topics relevant to the history of Indigenous Art, which are complemented by focused tutorial case studies centred on oral presentations and group discussion of the prescribed tutorial readings and images. The lectures are delivered as audio narrated presentations and are posted online prior to the virtual tutorial.

    The Gallery sessions will be delivered by Curators at Art Gallery of South Australia. All sessions will be presented as online video clips and podcasts.
    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    The course is composed of eight weeks of audio narrated university lectures (1 hour, 10 minutes) and tutorials (1.5 hours) as well as 4 weeks of gallery art video sessions (2 hours). Students are required to complete the weekly tutorial readings in advance of the tutorials and complete additional reading for their assessment tasks.
    Learning Activities Summary
    Schedule
    Week 1 An Introduction to the Art Gallery’s collection of desert country Indigenous art in Desert Country
    Week 2 Origins and diversity of Indigenous art
    Week 3 Hermannsburg and beyond
    Week 4 Hermannsburg and beyond continued
    Week 5 Central Desert and Arnhem Land Art
    Week 6 Arnhem Land
    Week 7 The history of exhibiting Australian Indigenous Culture
    Week 8 Indigenous Nineteenth-century Drawing, Printmaking, Jewellery and Artifacts; Thancoupie, Tiwi design and Ernabella fabrics
    Week 9 Deserts and Islands: Icons, Landmarks and Innovation
    Week 10 New media and old labels: The urban remote dichotomy
    Week 11 Contemporary photography, painting and sculpture
    Week 12 The 21st century Aboriginal Art World
  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
     Assessment task Task type Weighting Learning outcome
    Video Review Formative and Summative 15% 1-6
    Visual Analysis Task Formative and Summative 20% 1-6
    Tutorial Presentation Formative and Summative 10% 1-6
    Tutorial Essay Formative and Summative 20% 1-6
    Research Essay Formative and Summative 35% 1-6
    Assessment Related Requirements
    There are four components to the assessment, which must all be submitted to pass. The due dates for assessment are treated as examination dates. Requests for extension stating the reason for the extension must be sent to your tutor for approval in advance of the due date and supplemented by a hard-copy Extension Request form available on MyUni that must be signed off by both student and tutor.
    Assessment Detail
    Video Review (750 words): students write a review of the video of Desert Country which was an exhibition at the Art Gallery of South Australia Nov- Feb 2011-2012). Weighting: 15%

    Visual analysis task (800 words): students write a comparative visual analysis comparing and contrasting the composition, style and iconography in one of the three pairs of Australian Indigenous artworks held in the Art Gallery of South Australia. Weighting: 20%

    Tutorial (oral) presentation: students choose a tutorial topic and present this in a 10 minute oral presentation online via Elluminate classroom. Weighting: 10%

    Tutorial Essay (2500 – 3000 words): essay is focussed on the topic of the tutorial oral presentation. Weighting: 20%

    Research Essay (3000 –3500 words): students submit a research essay on key themes discussed in the course. Weighting: 40%
    Submission
    All assignments are to be submitted electronically via MyUni.
    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

  • Student Feedback

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    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

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  • Policies & Guidelines
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