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Study Visual Culture at Otago

• Overview
• Qualifications
• Papers
• Major Subject Requirements
• Minor Subject Requirements
• Further Information

Overview

Visual Culture is an interdisciplinary programme at the University of Otago, hosted by the Department of History and Art History. It seeks both to understand visual artefacts (including, for example, documentary photographs, diagnostic imaging, fashion and cityscapes) and to analyse 'vision' as a social and cultural process.

Visual Culture examines the technologies by which images are produced, circulated and received, as well as the theories of seeing that make the visual world intelligible. So, rather than concentrating primarily on images themselves as objects, it addresses the relationships between images, discourses, societies, and persons.

Much of the research in Visual Culture is concerned with the ways in which images inform our sense of ourselves as subjects, the nature of the society we inhabit, and our imagination of the world.

Visual Culture intersects productively with a range of other subjects, including Anthropology,  Art History, Design, Film and Media Studies, Gender Studies, History, Information Science, Performing Arts Studies, Physical Education, and Psychology.

The Visual Culture major is organised around three core papers, supplemented by a range of cognate 'approved' papers.

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Qualifications

• Bachelor of Arts (BA)
• Diploma for Graduates (DipGrad)

Papers

See the full list of Media, Film and Communication (MFCO), History (HIST) and Art History (ARTH) papers.

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Programme Requirements

Bachelor of Arts (BA) majoring in Visual Culture

Level	Papers	Points
100-level	MFCO 102 MFCO 104	18 18
200-level	MFCO 204* Two of ANTH 205, ARTH 200-level papers, CHIN 242, CLTE 204, GEND 205, GEOG 210, GEOG 215, MART 201, MFCO 201, MFCO 212, MFCO 213, PHSE 235, THEA 221, THEA 251 *MFCO 204 is not available in 2012. Students should normally enrol for ARTH 221 instead.	18 36
300-level	MFCO 304 Three of ARTH 300-level papers, DESI 312, GEND 305, GEOG 381, MFCO 301, MFCO 313, PACI 301, PERF 301, PHSE 337, RELS 305	18 54
Plus	198 further points; must include 54 points at 200-level or above. Up to 90 points may be taken from outside Arts	198
Total		360

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Minor Subject Requirements

Visual Culture as a minor subject for a Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Theology (BTheol), Bachelor of Science (BSc), Bachelor of Applied Science (BAppSc) or Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) degree

Level	Papers	Points
100-level	MFCO 104 See below	18
200-level	*MFCO 204 Also see below *MFCO 204 is not available in 2012. Students should normally enrol for ARTH 221 instead.	18
300-level	Three further papers from those available for Visual Culture major subject requirements, at least two of which must be above 100-level, and at least one of which must be above 200-level	54
Total		90

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Further Information

Email us at history.arthistory@otago.ac.nz or visit our website at http://www.otago.ac.nz/historyarthistory