End of Module Evaluation

End of module evaluation

OUIL501

Jasmin Harbord

This year I took my COP module in a very different direction than 401. Whereas I focused primarily on illustration and image making in my level 4 essay, this year the topics of my research were much more in the realms of culture and society, with the illustrative investigation element coming primarily from my own practical work. There were a number of obstacles that came with this decision, but it is something I feel I have definitely learnt from.

One of the issues that arose with this route of research was that I felt a little like I was starting from scratch. Last year a large portion of my essay was deduced from the analysis of visual illustration, but this year it was largely through theory. Though that wasn’t a problem in itself, there were times I wondered about the relevance of what I was discussing to my course, and the completely new area of focus was a little daunting. I think one of the things I have struggled with in this module is the referencing of appropriate sources. While I feel towards the end of the module in particular, my researching had been extensive; I felt as though maybe I wasn’t translating the things I was learning and deducing as succinctly as I could have done within my essay. This is something I definitely want to address and get better at going into COP3, I think to continually revise my essay, and source material, every few weeks would have been extremely beneficial and ensured the consistency in appropriate and focused content. It would have also left time at the end to tweak things I feel I simply didn’t allow for time to do. The essay needs frequent and considered evaluation throughout the process of writing, rather than patchy revisions over a long period of time.

Another point I feel I could have improved in my submission was the way in which I documented my research. Rather than chipping away and blogging sources as I came across them, I left a lot of it until the end, resulting in a poorer quality of clear research. Though I responded to each of my sources through annotation and contemplation of degree of relevance, I feel I didn’t show this as successfully as I could have done if I’d have done it as I went along.

Something I have learnt and to take away positively from this module however, was the relationship between practical and theoretical research. I feel like my essay did benefit a lot more once my practical investigation was underway, and allowed for a more focused examination of my subject matter. I’m also pleased with how I pushed my practical research to represent something with depth rather than going for something that I felt just illustrated my essay. While I knew I wanted to produce something of relevance and depth, I initially found this very difficult to do. But through a combination of persistent theoretical AND practical research, I was able to delve deeper and make work that was focused and well informed. The practical side of this project could never have developed as well as it did without the theoretical input. And in a similar way, I felt a lot better informed going back to my essay after I’d undergone further research for my publication. This duality between theory and research is something that will become integral in the summer work I produce in response to COP3 and I must remember to uphold both methods of examination consistently.

Although I’ve struggled at times with this module, it is one I’ve found to be very rewarding. I relished the practical side of this task and getting some in depth content in my work is something I really enjoy. Focusing on something that didn’t necessarily involve the arts world was a challenge, but I feel as though my creative practice has benefited from it contextually! I’d like to bring elements of this into my COP3 submission and really get to grips with how the relationship between the visual arts and the cultural world around it work in synergy.