Culture and Arts - Cultural Studies
The purpose of this qualification is to encourage informed discussion, analysis, and interpretation of selected aspects of visual culture to facilitate effective communication in the visual, oral, and written fields. In today's visual and digital era, visual and information literacy are essential in various professional, educational, cultural, and organizational contexts. This post-graduate qualification aims to produce specialists in visual communication to develop a visually literate and articulate society in South Africa.
The primary aim is to equip learners with the knowledge, skills, and disposition to access visual communication constructs for optimal performance in their chosen professional roles. The secondary aim is to help learners develop advanced research skills for further learning and improved marketability, encouraging continued post-graduate studies to advance knowledge about visual culture in South Africa.
Fostering an informed, critical, and empowered approach to reading the visual environment is a key goal of this qualification. Understanding visual ideologies and constructs that shape visual codes and conventions in society is essential for learners to relate to a broader understanding of visual culture. The outcomes are designed to promote ongoing learning and critical thinking.
With the prevalence of visual images in mass media and culture, professionals in various disciplines must understand how visual images are encoded for analysis, interpretation, and evaluation. Skills acquired in visual studies can benefit interdisciplinary fields such as communications, broadcasting, cultural studies, tourism industries, fine arts, information design, and arts education. Postgraduate courses in visual studies can enhance critical paradigms and thinking constructs for related fields of expertise.
This qualification aims to provide learners with postgraduate skills and competencies to excel in competitive workplaces. Skilled professionals with versatile capabilities acquired through this qualification can contribute to the media, communications industries, tertiary institutions, and enhance the standard of scholarship in South Africa.
In conclusion, this qualification has broad applications across various professional sectors and aims to produce individuals equipped with the necessary skills to excel in visual communication and related fields, ultimately contributing to the advancement of visual culture understanding in South Africa.
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This page includes information from the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) . Builtneat Pty Ltd trading as Study Start, has modified all or some of this information. SAQA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.