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EL30UT: ART AND ATROCITY: REPRESENTATIONS OF VIOLENCE AND TRAUMA (2016-2017)

Last modified: 28 Jun 2018 10:27


Course Overview

How is the artist to respond when the virtual becomes the real and when words cannot carry the weight of trauma? How can an author avoid the accusations of voyeuristic prurience or crass opportunism when he or she attempts to re-present events of public violence? This multi-disciplinary course examines work from a wide range of modes, including fiction, poetry, film and graphic art, and looks at the difficulties of inscribing trauma and the ethics and praxis of remembrance. Key events covered include the Holocaust, the Sabra and Shatila massacre, 9-11, the Gulf War and the conflict in the Balkans.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 3
Term First Term Credit Points 30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus Old Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Professor Shane Alcobia-Murphy

Qualification Prerequisites

None.

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

  • Either Programme Level 3 or Programme Level 4
  • English (EL)
  • Any Undergraduate Programme (Studied)

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

  • EL35UT Art and Atrocity: Representations of Violence and Trauma (Studied)
  • EL45UR Representations of Violence: Putting the Art Back in Atrocity (Studied)

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

How is the artist to respond when the virtual becomes the real and when words cannot carry the weight of trauma? How can an author avoid the accusations of voyeuristic prurience or crass opportunism when he or she attempts to re-present events of public violence? This multi-disciplinary course examines work from a wide range of modes, including fiction, poetry, film and graphic art, and looks at the difficulties of inscribing trauma and the ethics and praxis of remembrance. Texts will include Spiegelman's Maus, Moore's V for Vendetta, and Folman's Waltz with Bashir. The key events covered on this course are the Holocaust, the Indonesian genocide, the Sabra and Shatila massacre, 9-11, the Gulf War and the conflict in the Balkans.

Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 30 August 2024 for 1st term courses and 20 December 2024 for 2nd term courses.

Summative Assessments

1st Attempt

  • 2500-word essay (35%)
  • 3000-word essay (45%)
  • Presentation (10%)
  • Seminar assessment mark (10%)
Resit
  • 3000-word essay (!00%)

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Feedback

Detailed formal written feedback on student essays will be provided by the tutor at agreed times (within 3 weeks of submission). Students will receive oral feedback in seminars.

Course Learning Outcomes

None.

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