The Emotional Life of Things in a Changing World: Photography, Memory, Meaning

University-level study and support

During your time on the Oxford University Summer School for Adults you will:

• Study in small seminar groups with no more than 12 students, guided by expert tutors
• Receive two one-to-one tutorials
• Have the opportunity to attend guest lectures and participate in social events
• Have access to the on-site Bodleian Library and IT facilities
• Gain experience of studying at university level
• Develop new skills
• Experience a friendly and supportive learning environment
• Connect with a global community of lifelong learners

Seminars

Participants are taught in small seminar groups of up to 12 students, and receive two one-on-one tutorials with their tutor.

Sunday

Seminar 1: Seeing Objects Anew

We establish the course frame and begin to examine how you look at objects. Simple exercises slow observation down and challenge habit, leading to the first outline of a personal project.

Seminar 2: Objects, Memory, and Emotion

You will explore how objects carry memory and emotional weight. Then you’ll begin to make images that suggest trace, absence, and loss through careful use of light and composition.

Monday

Seminar 3: Attachment and Identity

Attention turns to the role of objects in shaping identity and belonging. You’ll develop approaches that treat objects as if they were portraits, and begin to build short sequences.

Seminar 4: Material Culture and Everyday Life

Objects are placed within wider social and cultural systems. You will examine use, context, and signs of wear, and consider how these can be photographed to convey meaning.

Tuesday

Seminar 5: Aesthetics and Minimalism

We focus on reduction and clarity in the frame. Work explores negative space, tonal control, and the discipline of leaving elements out.

Seminar 6: Visual Culture and Influence

Review selected photographic and artistic precedents. You will reflect on how your own work relates to, or departs from, these traditions.

Wednesday

Seminar 7: Sociology and Anthropology of Things

We  consider objects within practices such as ritual, exchange and value. You will begin to photograph objects in situ, with attention to environment and use.

Seminar 8: Technology and Mediation

Attention shifts to how cameras, phones and editing shape images. You will refine your approach to post-processing and begin to think more carefully about sequencing.

Thursday 

Seminar 9: Group Critique

Participants share work in progress and engage in structured discussion. The session develops skills in describing, interpreting and offering constructive responses.

Seminar 10: Environment and Place

Explore how setting alters the meaning of objects. Work focuses on site, light and atmosphere to extend interpretation beyond the object itself.

Friday

Seminar 11: Display and Promotion

Consider how your work might be shown and shared. Examine formats such as prints, books and online platforms, and reflect on audience and context.

Seminar 12: Editing and Resolution

Participants refine a small, coherent body of work. Attention is given to selection, sequencing and final adjustments in preparation for informal presentation.

Programme timetable

The daily timetable will normally be as follows:

Saturday

14.00–16.30: Registration

16.30–17.00: Orientation meeting

17.00–17.30: Classroom orientation for tutor and students

17.30–18.00: Drinks reception

18.00–20.00: Welcome dinner

Sunday – Friday

09.00–10.30: Seminar

10.30–11.00: Tea/coffee break

11.00–12.30: Seminar

12.30–13.30: Lunch

13.30–18.00: Afternoons are free for tutorials, individual study, course-related field trips or exploring the many places of interest in and around Oxford.

18.00–19.00: Dinner (there is a formal gala dinner every Friday to close each week of the programme).

Social programme

A range of optional social events will be offered throughout the summer school. These are likely to include a quiz night, a visit to historic pubs in Oxford, a visit to Christ Church for Evensong, and after-dinner talks and discussions.

Beyond the summer school, Oxford is a vibrant and cosmopolitan city with a busy cultural and social scene offering a wide variety of plays and shows, concerts, films and exhibitions.

Residential options are outlined below.

Please see the ‘how to enrol’ section below for guidance on how to book or request the right accommodation for you.

Residential option

This includes accommodation and all meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner).

Our central Oxford accommodation combines the character of an historic building with the convenience of a modern hotel. All rooms are located in Wellington Square, a short walk to Oxford city centre, and include tea and coffee making facilities and free Wi-Fi.

View full details of Rewley House accommodation.

Non-residential option

We also offer places on a non-residential basis whereby participants can take classes and have meals (lunch and dinner) at Rewley House, having arranged their own accommodation elsewhere.

Course aims

This course aims to explore how photography can reveal and shape the emotional, cultural and social meaning of objects through informed and reflective practice.

Course objectives

Th course aims to enable students to:

• Examine how objects carry memory, attachment, and value within personal and wider cultural contexts.
• Develop a coherent photographic approach that combines practical technique with critical understanding.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students will have been given the opportunity to understand:

• How objects can function as carriers of memory, emotion, and identity within both personal and shared contexts, and how these meanings can be translated into photographic form.
• How key ideas from psychology, sociology, anthropology and visual culture can inform the way objects are selected, framed and interpreted in photographic work.
• How compositional choices such as light, framing, sequencing and reduction shape the meaning and affect of images, and how these can be applied with intention.
• How to edit, present and communicate a small body of photographic work in ways that consider audience, context and the ethical dimensions of representation.

Teaching methods

The teaching methods on this course may include:

• Short lectures/presentations
• Physical handouts (VLE-based)
• Seminars/group discussions
• Student presentations
• Practical photography tasks

Participants will attend two one-on-one tutorials with their tutor during the week.

Pre-course assignment

Participants are required to undertake preparatory reading and complete a pre-course assignment of 1,500 words. Although this does not count towards credit, it is seen as an important way of developing your ideas and is mandatory. The pre-course assignment is typically due in the first week of June.

IT requirements

Students are encouraged to bring a laptop to Oxford to assist them with their studies.

For residential students, wireless internet access is available in all bedrooms; for all students, wireless access is available in communal spaces of the college.

All students will be eligible to use the computers and printer in the computer room at Rewley House.

Assessment methods

You will be assessed during the summer school by either a 1,000 word written assignment or a presentation supported by individual documentation. To successfully gain credit (10 CATS points) students should attend all classes and complete the on-course assignment.

Please see the ‘certification’ section for more details about CATS points.

Dr Graham Wilson – Tutor

A PhD in animal behaviour, and initial career in organisation development followed by psychotherapy training, led Graham to practise as an executive confidant for 20+ years. He has taught counselling, psychology and photography at Oxford and elsewhere for a decade. Recently retired as Coordinator of HE Counselling Courses at Guildford College, his research interests include the use of imagery to provoke positive behavioural change within communities. Graham currently leads programmes of therapeutic photography within Oxfordshire. He has written more than ten textbooks.

Certificate of Attendance

All participants who complete the course will receive a physical Certificate of Attendance.

Academic credit

OUSSA is an accredited summer school taught at undergraduate level; each one-week course carries 10 CATS (Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme) points at FHEQ (Framework for Higher Education Qualification) Level 4.

CATS points will be awarded to students who attend all classes and complete the on-course assignment to the required standard. Please see the ‘assessment methods’ section below for more details.

Certificate of Higher Education

Credit (CATS points) earned from OUSSA can be transferred towards our flexible Certificate of Higher Education. This part-time, award-bearing course lets you decide what, how and where you study by gaining credit from short courses, including short online courses, in-person weekly classes and OUSSA.

For full details, including transfering credit gained from OUSSA to the programme, see our Certificate of Higher Education programme page.

English language requirements

As students are expected to participate fully in seminar discussions and are required to produce written work, it is important that applicants can demonstrate an appropriate level of proficiency in the four language skills: listening, reading, writing and speaking.

If English is not your first language, you must provide evidence of your proficiency in the form of an original certificate, or a certified copy, that is not more than two years old on the date the summer school starts. You must satisfy one of the following requirements:

• IELTS Academic: minimum overall score of 7.5, with not less than 7.0 in each of the four components
• TOEFL iBT: minimum overall score of 110, with not less than 22 for listening, 24 for reading, 25 for speaking and 24 for writing
• C1 Advanced, formerly known as Cambridge English: Advanced or CAE: minimum overall score of 191, with not less than 185 in each of the four components

For further information on English language qualifications:

• IELTS
• TOEFL
• Cambridge English

The requirement to provide English language test scores may be waived in either of the following circumstances:

• If you have completed a full-time degree-level programme at a recognised institution where teaching and assessment throughout the course was undertaken entirely in English, and the programme was completed with a gap of no more than two academic years to the course to which you are applying. If you studied this course in a country that is not majority English speaking, you will need to provide evidence that the course was taught in English. This can either take the form of a link to the appropriate page of the institution’s website or a statement from the institution confirming this.
• If you have worked for a minimum of two years in a majority English-speaking country where the main language for the role was English, and your role involved daily professional use of each of the four language components: reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Visa requirements

The Department welcomes international students on all its courses. However, it is the responsibility of successful applicants to ensure that they comply with UK immigration law.

If you are not a UK or Irish national, you might need to apply for a visa before coming to the UK, depending on which passport you hold. You can check if you need a visa before coming to the UK on the UK Government’s website. We strongly recommend that you establish whether you will require a visa before submitting your application.

If you do not require a visa to come to the UK for a short period of study, you will need to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA).

The Programme Administrator will provide non-UK/Irish nationals enrolled on the summer school with a standard-format PDF letter by email confirming enrolment and course details once their fees have been paid in full. These letters are issued on request only.

If you require a visa, you should ensure your summer school application is submitted as early as possible to allow yourself sufficient time to complete the visa application process. See current visa processing times.

For legal reasons, the Programme Administrator is not permitted to provide any visa advice to applicants; any queries should be addressed to student.immigration@admin.ox.ac.uk.

Information about visiting the UK to study is available on the UK Government’s website and Oxford University’s Student Immigration website.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you have taken the necessary steps to enable you to be admitted to the UK. The University takes no responsibility for a visa being denied at any point before or during a course.

Please note that the standard cancellation policy applies in all cases. See ‘Cancellations’ in the section below.

Fees

Payment

All fees are charged on a per week, per person basis.

Please be aware that all payments made via non-UK credit/debit cards and bank accounts are subject to the exchange rate on the day they are processed.

Course change administration fee: please note that course transfers may be permitted in exceptional circumstances; however, in accordance with our Terms and Conditions, an administration fee of £50 will be charged.

Payment terms

• If enrolling online: full payment by credit/debit card at the time of booking
• If submitting an application form: full payment online by credit/debit card or via bank transfer within 30 days of invoice date

Cancellations and refunds

Please see the terms and conditions for our open-access courses.

The Department cannot be held responsible for any costs you may incur in relation to travel or accommodation bookings as a result of a course cancellation, or if you are unable to attend the course for any other reason. You are advised to check the terms and conditions carefully and to purchase travel insurance.

Funding

Concessionary rates are available on a non-residential basis for those that qualify.

The concessionary fee is for non-residential attendance only; participants will then be responsible for finding their own accommodation. For full details, including eligibility, see our OUSSA FAQ page.

Recommended reading

Bate, D, 2016,  Photography: The Key Concepts. 2nd edn., Bloomsbury Academic. 978-1472525117

Wells, L (ed), 2021, Photography: A Critical Introduction. 6th edn., Routledge.  978-0367496822.

Wilson, GB, 2024, The Empathic Lens: Creating Intimate Visual Narratives with Photography, Utopia.Photo via amazon.com 979-8332057083

Module code: O26I209SSR

Most courses fill quickly so early registration is strongly recommended. If your preferred course is fully booked, you may wish to add yourself to the waiting list and the Programme Administrator will contact you should a place become available.

Please note, the programme is only open to those over the age of 18.

Online enrolment (single person accommodation and non-residential)

Single accommodation, double room for 1 person and non-residential places should be booked online by clicking on the ‘Book now’ button on this page.

Online enrolments require payment in full at the time of registering.

Enrolment form (multi-occupancy or accessible accommodation)

Those requiring twin, double or accessible accommodation (including ground/lower floor accommodation) should complete an enrolment form as these rooms cannot be booked or requested online.

Please send the completed enrolment form to the email address below. Both the PDF and Word option of the form below are editable, so you can complete them online before saving and sending to us as an email attachment. You do not need to print and scan them. (Please use these forms only if you are making a twin or double booking for two people.)

Enrolment form:

• PDF
• Microsoft Word

Please send your completed enrolment form to oussa@conted.ox.ac.uk.

Accessibility and disability support

Disabled students who have registered for, or are planning to attend, the OUSSA summer programme should contact the Programme Administrator by email at oussa@conted.ox.ac.uk to discuss any support needs.

Students with a mobility impairment can consult the University Access Guide and should contact the Programme Administrator at oussa@conted.ox.ac.uk to request any accommodation they need in this regard.

There is a special access ramp and a self-contained bedroom suite on the ground floor at Rewley House, equipped for use by people with mobility problems, with an adjoining room for carers. Two public disabled parking bays provided by Oxford City Council are situated on Wellington Square close to the Department. If you need this accessible room, please indicate this on your enrolment form, or contact the Programme Administrator prior to your arrival. Please also let us know of any support needs you may require.

If you need a room on a ground or lower floor, please indicate this on your enrolment form or contact the Programme Administrator prior to your arrival.

If you would like more information about support available to students with disabilities, please see our support page.

Terms and conditions

View our terms and conditions

Questions?

If you have any questions, please contact us at oussa@conted.ox.ac.uk.

You may also find our frequently asked questions help page useful.

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