Postgraduate Course: Exploring Critical Making (DESI11202)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Exploring Critical Making will teach you to how to explore your individual craft practice through an in-depth self-directed research project. This course is focused on critical craft theory and practice, it aims to combine hands on making with critical thinking. New approaches to new digital technologies alongside analogue craft practices will be used to create an expanded skillset. An exploratory approach to critical making and materiality will be developed. Through this course you will be encouraged to celebrate and reposition craft within the concept of a post-digital age. The course will provide you with hands-on experiences and help you to drive innovative material-led practices and methods, with a perspective to address responsible and conscious materials and making that creates sustainable, socially responsible outcomes in your craft practice. |
| Course description |
'Critical making' is an essential part of the creative process within the field of Craft, creating work that engages with social, political or environmental narrative, gives craft the power to be a significant part of contemporary global change. You will explore your craft practice through the lens of critical making to develop and realise a self-directed research project that explores your individual craft practice. Learning how to make work that can withstand critique, is an integral part of this course, which will be delivered within a critical environment driven by staff and peer review. This course will enable you to propose, justify and undertake an individual study plan for your research project that has clearly defined aims, objectives, and research methods. You will develop a sophisticated body of research material and evidence of practical exploration that communicates the progression of your ideas and demonstrates your critical awareness of craft theory and practice. You will explore and develop your making skills, through critical self-analysis and reflective appraisal. You will develop a personal project brief for a practical exploration of your craft practice which will set out your individual study plan to realise your project. You will conduct experimentation through material testing and prototyping to iterate and refine your project. Research methods such as a reflective journal, sketchbook and a technical notebook will be used to document your work. In the final, part of the course you will gather invaluable feedback by presenting your projects to both staff and students.
Working with leading craft practitioners in the field, a series of practical workshops and studio demonstrations will be delivered. Weekly teaching sessions will include a dedicated pre-recorded weekly lectures series (2 hours per week) which will explore and contextualise the field of craft theory and practice. These lectures will be delivered as a flipped classroom. This will be supported through group crits, peer feedback and weekly group tutorials and/or seminars (1-2 hours per week).
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | The nature of this studio course is that materials will be consumed and used in the development of your prototypes, models, and visualisations (including printing). For this course, it is expected that you might spend an average of £50, but these costs fluctuate significantly depending upon individual projects and your choice of materials involved with the project. At ECA we promote the reuse and recycling of materials, students are actively encouraged to access the free-use hub where possible or appropriate to their projects. We also would like to note that success in the course is not linked to expenditure; novel or sustainable approaches to material use will be commended. |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Critically analyse and engage with a range of principles, theories and discourses to develop an original enquiry into craft theory and practice.
- Communicate and present their craft practice, using appropriate methods, to show a diverse understanding of their exploratory craft process and realised practical outcomes.
- Review and reflect upon their research, by constructing a self-directed research project that explores their craft practice.
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Reading List
Adamson, Glenn (2007) Thinking through Craft, London: Bloomsbury.
Dormer, Peter (1997) The Culture of Craft, Manchester University Press.
Coles, Alex & Rossi, Catherine (2022) Post-Craft, London: Sternberg Press.
Frayling, Christopher (2011) 'On Craftsmanship', London: Oberon Books Ltd.
Pye, David. (1968) The Nature and Art of Workmanship, London: Herbert Press.
Sennett, Richard (2009) The Craftsman, Yale University Press. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Students on the course possess and/or wish to develop a number of key attributes, mindsets and skills, both on personal and a professional level.
University of Edinburgh Graduate Attributes: Mindsets
Enquiry and lifelong learning: Students will learn how to seek out personal enquiry and academic learning through will help them to make a positive difference to their own lives and to the communities around them. They will become inspired by world-leading research in craft practice and theory, developing an intellectual curiosity which will help to establish themselves as innovative and lifelong learners in and beyond the field.
Aspiration and personal development: Students will draw on their own initiative and previous experience of craft practice to expand and fulfil their potential as future craft practitioners. They will develop a confident and critically reflective approach, which will see them take personal responsibility for pursuing their goals and seeking out opportunities to help them grow their own professional craft practice.
University of Edinburgh Graduate Attributes: Skill groups
Research and Enquiry: Students will use their highly developed skills in craft research and enquiry to identify and creatively tackle problems and will seek out opportunities for their own learning that enhances this approach.
Personal and intellectual autonomy: Students will use their personal and intellectual autonomy to critically evaluate ideas, evidence, and experiences from an open-minded and reasoned perspective, becoming situated in the field of contemporary craft. |
| Keywords | craft,practice,exploration,experimentation,critical making,testing,prototyping,artefacts |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Jessamy Kelly
Tel: (0131 6)51 5816
Email: |
Course secretary | |
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