Term                      Definition

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Aesthetic               The visual qualities and artistic characteristics of an image
Archive                  A collection of documents, photographs, or records preserved for study

Authorship.           The question of who can be regarded as the maker or author of a work.

Belonging             A sense of being connected to a person, community or place.
Context                 The circumstances that influence the production and interpretation of a work

Collaboration.      A process in which another person contributes knowledge, experience, decisions                                     or creative input. 

Consent                An informed agreement to participate in a project and to the proposed uses of                                       recorded media.                
Discourse              Systems of ideas and language that shape understanding

Documentary        A broad photographic or cinematic approach concerned with people, places,                                         events or lived experience.                                             
Ethics                     Moral considerations within research and practice

Family                    A social and emotional network or a biological category.                                           
Gaze                      The act of looking and associated power relationships

Home                    A place, relationship, memory, belonging or identity or alternatively a single                                             physical location.

Identity                  The ways an individual understands and represents who they are, including                                             relationships, history, culture, place and memory                                                 

Intimacy                A quality of closeness or personal knowledge

Locality                 The physical and social characteristics of a particular place

Memory                The process through which experiences are recalled, reconstructed and given                                           meaning

Moving image      Time based visual media including film and video. 
Narrative               The story or sequence of meaning conveyed through images

Place                     A location understood through lived experience, cultural meaning and                                                      relationships rather than simply geographical coordinates
Representation    The depiction or construction of people, places, or ideas
Semiotics              The study of signs and meaning

Sequence             The ordering of images or cinematic shots so that relationships emerge between                                    them
Visual Culture       The study of visual images and their societal impact
Voice                     The distinctive position or manner through which a practitioner communicates. 

Maintaining and expanding this glossary throughout the course will strengthen academic writing and critical engagement.