Contemporary Jewellery – (M.A.)

Contents

Syllabus (11/12*)

The first phase of the course will provide you with a taught programme, which will help you to further define and focus your proposal. You begin practical experimentation in your project area alongside gaining a thorough knowledge of relevant contexts. These may be professional or business contexts, theoretical or philosophical discourses and of course, the work of other practitioners in your field. Importantly, you begin to identify the methods that you are going to use in your research and project work. By the end of this phase you prepare a detailed project proposal outlining your intentions for the rest of the course.

Stage 1

* Research methods for creative practice(Rochester MA courses common unit) - concerned with the development of appropriate research methods for creative practice. You are introduced to a range of research and communication methods and tools appropriate to an advanced level of study in creative disciplines.
* Contemporary Issues in Visual & Material Culture (Rochester MA courses common unit) - presents and reviews key themes that have influenced thinking and practice in contemporary photography, design, fashion and craft practice and continue to do so.
* Creative practice - development of creative practice in order to inform the detailed development of your Project Proposal and aims to provide a structured framework to allow you to investigate the potential of methods, ideas and themes from these units for practical work in your own discipline.

Stage 2

The second phase of the course is when you begin to develop your project work. Each MA Project is different and so the activities at this stage can be quite varied. Essentially though you are engaged in gathering the material you need to realise your final body or work through research, experimentation, fieldwork, etc. You are encouraged to be open and responsive to the discoveries that you make along the way even if this means changing your ideas about your final project outcome. Often work at this stage can be generic in nature, concerned with developing principles and strategies. You will be asked to explore how things can be done and focus on process rather than outcome.

* Project development - your project takes shape and you develop as an independent researcher and practitioner.

Stage 3

The third phase of the course is when you bring together your research into a final specific body of work. This will relate closely to and is usually a continuation of the work undertaken in the second phase. The intention of the realised project outcome is that the design, collection, artefacts, etc. produced embody or demonstrate the research undertaken and the subject knowledge developed. The final phase of the course is concerned with the 'Publication' of the project, this means the whole project, research and outcome. The form of the work will need to be further developed to communicate appropriately with the intended audience, processes such as editing and curating may need to be considered. The intention of this concluding phase is to introduce your project to specific professional audiences and as such to prepare you for the next stage of your career.

* Project realisation and reflection - You demonstrate the potential of your MA project, its subject and its method, to generate original and creative work that embodies knowledge. This process requires you to further develop appropriate technical and presentation skills and to understand their role in the production of meaning in the final work.
* Project Publication and Dissemination (Rochester MA course common unit) - you are preparing the results of your design/visual practice in fully realised form. How though can this work become accessible to a relevant audience, how should the work be presented and to whom to reach your intended professional context?

* Please note the syllabus content is for the academic year indicated and is provided as a guide. The content of the course may be subject to change.