This is a list of words that crops up a lot in MA Photography course writing.
Praxis
The process of using a theory or something that you have learned in a practical way:
She is interested in both the theory and praxis of criminology.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/praxis
See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praxis_(process)
Pedagogy
The study of the methods and activities of teaching
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/pedagogy
See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedagogy
Discourse
Communication in speech or writing
A speech or piece of writing about a particular, usually serious, subject:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/discourse
A discourse on/upon the nature of life after death
Baroque
Complicated in style, often when this is unnecessary or too much :
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/baroque
– This film shows the director at his most baroque.
– To an outsider like myself, local politics seem rather baroque.
– I struggled to follow his baroque logic.
Allegory
An allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory
Metaphor
An expression, often found in literature, that describes a person or object by referring to something that is considered to have similar characteristics to that person or object:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/metaphor
– “The mind is an ocean” and “the city is a jungle” are both metaphors.
– Metaphor and simile are the most commonly used figures of speech in everyday language.
Didactic
Intended to teach, especially in a way that is too determined or eager, and often fixed and unwilling to change:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/didactic
– a didactic approach to teaching
Punctum
Barthes described the photograph as ‘the living image of a dead thing.’ This was something that it shared in common with the painting, which had originated – as documented by ancient Egyptian funerary objects – in portraits of the dead. But what was unique to the photograph, according to Barthes, was its punctum, which he defined as the sensory, intensely subjective effect of a photograph on the viewer: ‘The punctum of a photograph is that accident which pricks me (but also bruises me, is poignant to me).’ Barthes contrasted the punctum with the studium denoting a general approach to a photograph that is conditioned by historical and cultural experiences and is not categorically different from how other art forms are approached. Several generations of writers have since reflected on and speculated about the significance of the punctum for photography’s theoretical interpretations without arriving at any consensus.
https://www.frieze.com/article/punctum
See also: https://barebonescommunication.wordpress.com/2008/12/05/barthes-on-studium-and-punctum/
Plurality
A large number of different types of something:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/plurality
There was a marked plurality of opinions/views among the people attending the meeting.
Epistemology
The part of philosophy that is about the study of how we know things
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/epistemology?q=Epistemology
Ontology
The part of philosophy that studies what it means to exist
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/ontology
See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontology
Criticality
The fact of being extremely important:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/criticality
Without denying the criticality of this particular problem, there are also others that need to be considered.
Subjectivity
The influence of personal beliefs or feelings, rather than facts:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/subjectivity
– There’s always an element of subjectivity in decision-making.
– Accountants hate the subjectivity involved in long term forecasting.
Secular
Not having any connection with religion:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/secular
– We live in an increasingly secular society, in which religion has less and less influence on our daily lives.
– secular education
– a secular state
Gesamtkunstwerk
The German term Gesamtkunstwerk, roughly translates as a “total work of art” and describes an artwork, design, or creative process where different art forms are combined to create a single cohesive whole.
https://www.theartstory.org/definition/gesamtkunstwerk/
Aleatory
Something derived from chance or uncertainty
Aleatoricism or aleatorism, the noun associated with the adjectival aleatory and aleatoric, is a term popularised by the musical composer Pierre Boulez,[not verified in body] but also Witold Lutosławski and Franco Evangelisti, for compositions resulting from “actions made by chance”, with its etymology deriving from alea, Latin for “dice”.[1] It now applies more broadly to art created as a result of such a chance-determined process.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleatoricism
See also: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/aleatory-contract?q=aleatory
Dialectic
A way of discovering what is true by considering opposite theories
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/dialectic
Modality
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Multiplicity
A large number or wide range (of something):
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/multiplicity
There is a multiplicity of fashion magazines to choose from.
Ontology
In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontology