Word Count: 704
Evaluation
I have always been interested in landscape photography. My earliest memories of photography are photographing the local landscapes with my family. It has never occurred to me that it is a male dominated area, but when I was researching for another course I found that there is an overwhelming amount of male photographers. I decided to research the gender inequality in landscape photography for my Contextual Studies and my Body of Work course. Both courses compliment each other, but are separate. I feel my work highlights the inequality and exclusion of women in religion, landscape photography, in the arts and in a global sense too.
I chose to concentrate on the gender inequality in landscape photography for my written project. It is quite a niche topic, but I have found research from other topics has helped in my work.
My second assignment was a literature review. My research I had already done became invaluable here, as I could see the most relevant texts in my topic. My first draft of this assignment, was mainly bringing the ideas together and highlighting the main theories, rather than reviewing several key texts. My rework, after feedback, has remedied this, I have chosen a few key text and have reviewed and analysed them.
My third assignment was a plan of my written project. My plan explained what direction I would like to take. I spilt my work up into three sections, for the main three chapters. My first chapter would look at how the inequality arose and has spread throughout society. My next chapter looks at the male gaze and how this has affected landscape photography. My last chapter would look at ways in which the inequality can be tackled. My tutor wasn’t sure about my chapters, as they were vague. I decided to look again at what I wanted to cover and rework into workable chapters. I was about to narrow down each chapter to a specific area to look in depth into.
This then led me to my fourth assignment, which was my first draft. I wrote my work based on my plan. Following feedback there was a lot of work to do. The rework comprised of my fifth assignments, which again following feedback needed work. I decided not to submit for the November assessment and work on producing the best possible work. I feel I have now done this. I have reworked and redrafted several times to improve it and I believe I have now reached the point of being happy with the work I have produced.
I have had several issues along the course. One stemmed from the fact that I hadn’t narrowed down my thesis. It was quite open. I found overtime this evolved and with my research I could narrow it down but it did take me time. I also had issues explaining things in my essay, I couldn’t find the right words and had to re-work it several times to get it right. I believe that I have taken on board my tutor’s feedback and have taken note and improved my work as a result. There have been aspects I was not happy with so have changed as well.
I felt that I have done a lot more research in this course than any other. I feel my research has been extensive which has helped my massively. I have not only researched my topic in detail but also took a wider stance. My topic is quite niche, so looking at a wider stance and related theories has helped. It allowed me to look at it from different angles, which I believe has helped me greatly.
I have taken on board the feedback I have received and have re-worked and improved my essay along the way. I have reflected on each assignment and how I can improve on it. After extensive work, personal challenges and the effects of COVID-19, I have reached a place where I am happy with how my extended project. I feel my research skills have developed significantly and my personal voice has improved throughout. Whilst challenging I have enjoyed this course, it has also opened my eyes to the inequality women face in the arts and in society.
Georgina's Contextual Studies 