PECI5216 Art & Activism

Presentation (Poster) Assessment Brief

Assessment Overview

Assessment and weighting: Presentation (Poster), 35%

Presentation date: Monday March 16thth at 14:00 OR Tuesday March 17th at 10:00 (check your timetable)

Documentation due date: BEFORE 14:00 on 19 March 2026

Word/time limit: 1,500 word-equivalent – 10-minute presentation

How to Submit: Minerva via TurnItIn in the “Presentation (Poster)” submission in-box

Feedback Release Date: 15 April 2025

Module Leader: Dr Alice Borchi

Learning outcomes assessed

1.Understand key theories on the political and social value of the arts.

2. Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the relationship between arts, affect, activism and politics.

3. Make connections between global activist movements and the artistic sphere.

4. Understand different ways of positioning oneself in the current socio-political landscape as an informed and attentive cultural practitioner.

5. Identify relevant examples of artistic activism and carry out independent research on them.

7. Communication: ability to communicate ideas in a succinct and creative way.

8. Critical thinking: being able to evaluate sources and use them to analyse complex situations and create critical arguments.

9. Systems thinking: being able to identify and analyse the relationship between different aspects of complex issues.

Rationale

For this task you will demonstrate your subject knowledge and understanding of the connection between arts and activism, use analytical skills in your interpretation of the chosen image and display creative experimentation in the presentation of your work. In presenting the poster, you will have the opportunity to articulate your thinking, and answer questions submitted by your peers, thus developing your verbal communication skills.

Assessment guidance

This assessment requires you to create a poster and give a 10 minute presentation on an irresistible image. Bogad (2015) defines an “irresistible image” the following way:

“An irresistible image is an image artists and activists can create in public confrontation. It’s an image that is so compelling, so strange or surprising, or just so succinctly sharp in its analysis of a situation that even your ideological opponents will reproduce it. And, ideally, it’s an image that tells your story while jamming the signal of what I call the hegemomonologue—the hegemonic monologue of corporate or state media. There’s a lot that goes into an irresistible image and for that reason, they don’t appear often. They’re hard to achieve since they require a high threshold for success.”

Please select an “irresistible image” from an activist campaign/intervention of your choice and analyse it according to the following aspects:

-Context (how and why was the image created?)

Circulation (how and how much was the image circulated across different kinds of media)?

-Impact (what was the outcome of the campaign/intervention, and how did the “irresistible image” contribute to it)?

Reference: Bogad, L.M. 2015. 'Irresistible Images', Contemporary Theatre Review, Issue 25.3. Available at: https://www.contemporarytheatrereview.org/2015/irresistible-images/

Where to get help

You can ask for an appointment with either the module leader or other members of the teaching staff to discuss your plans for the poster. Please consult the module’s Minerva page for information about the tutors’ office hours.

How to submit your work

You will submit your work via your module page on Minerva. Further guidance on uploading assessments to Minerva can be found here. Please take care when submitting your work to make sure that you are uploading the correct version. Once the deadline for the assessment has passed, you cannot resubmit work.

Presentation and referencing

Presentation

In the assessment folder, further guidance has been included on how to design a poster. You can also review the University of Leeds pages about poster design for more information:

https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1401/academic_skills/196/presentations_posters

Your poster should be clearly structured and easy to read – please do not add too many words on the poster, you have the presentation to complement it.

Referencing

The University uses a variation of the Harvard referencing style called Leeds Harvard. To reference in Leeds Harvard:

Insert an in-text citation and a corresponding reference in an alphabetical list at the end of your work for every source you quote, paraphrase, summarise or refer to.

Include the author's surname and year of publication in the citation, and the full details of the item in the reference.

Include page numbers in your citation if you quote directly from the text, paraphrase specific ideas or explanations, or use an image, diagram, table etc from a source.

For more information, please see the Leeds Harvard Referencing Guide

Use of artificial intelligence tools in this assessment

RED: AI tools cannot be used

You must not use artificial intelligence tools. The purpose and format of the assessments makes it inappropriate or impractical for AI tools to be used.

Please note, you are still permitted to use artificial intelligence tools in line with the University’s proofreading policy. Further guidance can also be found here.

Assessment criteria and process

Your mark is made up of three equally weighted components: understanding, application and outcome.

Understanding: To demonstrate understanding of the topic, the poster presentation should reference relevant theories and perspectives on the relationship between global issues, arts and activism. The poster presentation should also demonstrate a clear understanding of the strategies implemented by artists and activists to deliver messages via creative methods. Good understanding requires a good range of relevant sources.

Application relates to the depth and rigour in which you apply key concepts through your analysis of the image’s context, circulation and impact. A good poster presentation will offer a detailed analysis of these three aspects and will identify the rationale for the production of the “irresistible image” that has been chosen by the student.

Outcome relates to the total impact of your poster and presentation. The poster should be visually compelling and it should have a simple yet effective structure. The oral presentation accompanying the poster should complement it with further detail, explanation and clarification. The oral presentation should be delivered in a clear and professional manner within the 10 minute requirement. Timekeeping, proofreading and use of Leeds Harvard referencing are all key components for this criteria.

The Postgraduate (PGT) Assessment Rubric can be found here.

You can find your mark in Gradebook on the Grades page in your Activity Stream. Use this guide to find further information. To find your feedback on your submission, you can click on the mark in TurnItIn and review the text box as well as comments in-text. You can use this guidance to find out more information on accessing feedback.

Read more about the University’s Assessment Policy and Procedures.

PCI Policy on Late Submissions, Extensions and Mitigating Circumstances

Late Submission

The work should be submitted before the deadline published on Minerva. Late submission is penalised by deducting 5 marks for every 24 hours (or part thereof) after the deadline.

Extensions and Mitigating Circumstances

If you have been unwell, or there are other circumstances which are preventing you from completing your work, please speak with the Module Leader, your Academic Personal Tutor or a member of your School's Student Education Service. We can advise you about the options open to you. For many students this will mean applying for more time through our Mitigating Circumstances process.

Please note that extensions are not granted for live presentations and performances. If you are unable to attend the published date of your presentation, you must let the module leader and the School know as soon as possible, preferably before the published date of the live presentation. You will need to submit a mitigating circumstances application for additional consideration (not an extension).

Once you have submitted work it is marked to the same standard as any other piece. You should make use of the support available to you to complete work to your satisfaction before you submit.

Academic Misconduct and Plagiarism

Leeds students are part of an academic community that shares ideas and develops new ones. You need to learn how to work with others, how to interpret and present other people's ideas, and how to produce your own independent academic work. It is essential that you can distinguish between other people's work and your own, and correctly acknowledge other people's work.

By submitting work, you confirm that you have read and understood the University’s definition of Academic Integrity and the University’s rules on Academic Misconduct and are aware that if you commit an academic misconduct offence there can be serious disciplinary consequences.

For more information on academic misconduct offences, see the Academic Misconduct Procedure which can be found on the Student Cases webpage.

Other support resources for assessment

School of Performance and Cultural Industries Handbook

AHC Student Handbook

Skills@Library Writing

Skills@Library

Library 1-to-1 Support for Taught Students