course catalog/ 2023-2024 Catalog

2023-2024 Course Catalog

Media Arts (Film and Digital Technology, Graphic Design, Photography) (BA)

The Media Arts major provides the opportunity for students to develop creative, conceptual, and technical skills across coursework in film, photography and graphic design – fostering a critical awareness of contemporary, convergent media practices. The major explores the creative tension between individual expression and the social and political forces that shape global, mediated networks within culture. Students are asked to become agents for change within the context of their discipline, asking critical questions of the impact of media in an increasingly global arena. Graduates will be prepared to assume leadership roles in media arts production industries or to pursue graduate programs in related fields.

Students must earn a C- or better in all major courses. Failure to earn this minimum grade will result in the need to repeat the course thereby possibly extending the student’s course of study beyond four years.

Admission Requirements

  • Portfolio or other examples of work in film and/or digital media

    • Learning Outcomes

    College-Wide Goals & Objectives

    This section explains how the Media Arts Major meets the overarching objectives at Chatham University.

    1. Information Literacy

      1. Students must effectively locate and gather information for research and media-related analysis through a variety of information media.
      2. Students must be able to properly evaluate the quality of the information and its sources.
      3. Students must utilize their knowledge gathered from various media sources to render well-communicated, designed and conceptualized projects and/or research papers in response to their contextual analysis.

    2. Critical Reading

      1. Students must evaluate films, photos and design projects and theories related to critical visual studies through a combination of written and online texts, hand-outs, journal articles, film/video screenings, artist discussions and in-class lectures, conversations and demonstrations.
      2. Students must assess the quality of gathered and presented information as well as its sources.

    3. Analytical Thinking

      1. Students must critically investigate and respond to the work of other media artists, filmmakers and theorists as well as the work of their peers during critique sessions.
      2. Students must look for multidisciplinary relationships between media arts and other fields of research, examining the role of the artist as well as film, video, photo, design and new media works within a broader social context.
      3. Students must exhibit a critical understanding of related technical concerns, representational issues, aesthetic practices, ideas and concepts through original projects and/or papers.

    4. Problem Solving

      1. Students must transform critical and analytical research into well-conceptualized projects and informed responses.
      2. Students must be able to move from concept to project actualization.
      3. Students must have a strong understanding of the technical in order to properly troubleshoot and solve technical issues related to a project.

    5. Public Written Communication

      1. Students must communicate clearly by writing research or response papers of various lengths, which support coursework requirements.
      2. Students must communicate their conceptual and creative concepts clearly in written project statements.
      3. Students must formulate a point of view and be able to defend it within the written format.

    6. Public Oral Communication

      1. Students must communicate ideas clearly in oral presentations.
      2. Students must actively participate in classroom discussions and group critique sessions.
      3. Students must formulate a point of view and be able to defend it orally.
     

    Program-Specific Goals & Objectives

    This section explains the discipline-specific goals and objectives of Media Arts

    1. Media Literacy, Analysis and Context

      1. Students must have a historical understanding of the media they are using and the ideas they are pursuing in their creative work.
      2. Students must be aware of major theories influencing the photography, graphic design, film, video and new media field.
      3. Students must develop original and well-informed responses to theoretical and critical analysis.
      4. Students must look for interdisciplinary relationships between media arts and other fields of research.

    2. Creative Processes

      1. Students must develop and transform original concepts into well-conceptualized projects - demonstrating a competency in project design development.
      2. Students must choose appropriate media for the development of their project and/or idea.
      3. Students must communicate their processes through various stages of development.

    3. Technical Fundamentals

      1. Students must have knowledge of the technology they are utilizing for their projects (saving/storing files, various software packages and techniques, hardware, scanning, photo and digital video equipment).
      2. Students must create original projects that draw on their knowledge of the technological form in order to thoroughly investigate relationships between concept development and media used.
      3. Students must properly troubleshoot and solve technical-related problems.

    4. Professional Practice

      1. Students must develop projects with an understanding of a diversified audience.
      2. Students must properly document their projects, choosing appropriate forms of media.
      3. Students must have an understanding of relevant journals, festivals, firms, etc. for later distribution or field contribution.
      4. Students must develop field-appropriate professional portfolios and be able to communicate their projects clearly.
      5. Students must develop attitudes of professional responsibility and accountability.
      6. Students must develop professional discipline (time-management, organizational skills).

    Curriculum

    +Major Requirements for Media Arts major

    ART103 Intro to Visual Culture

    Visual Culture can be understood as the practice of scrutinizing visual items in both elite and popular culture; of determining how and what they mean to a variety of audiences; and of examining how those meanings might slip, change, or be changed according to both context and audience. Students examine a broad range of visual materials - from paintings to films - through the term of study.

    		 3
    OR
    CST183 Representations of Race and Gender

    This course introduces students to the methodology of cultural studies. In this survey students learn those skills essential to analyzing social constructions of identity. Specific attention is paid to diverse texts, including film, in order to locate how representations of race, gender, ethnicity, and "otherness" are culturally produced and disseminated.

    		 3
    -----------------
    FDT161 Introduction to Film, Video and New Media Art

    This course is an introduction to critical and aesthetic perspectives on film, i.e. the rules, codes, and strategies by which film represents reality. Students will be exposed to a variety of movements and moments in film history, but history will not be an explicit focus for the course. The course will map out the major conceptual areas in film studies using new methodologies in the areas of narrative comprehension, new vocabulary in film semiotics, and multiculturalism and the media. Issues explored in this course include questions of history and memory, self and other, and identity in both the Western and non-Western contexts.

    		 3
    ART210 History of Photography

    This course will examine the relationships between photographs and audiences from the early nineteenth century to the present. A variety of themes will be discussed, including fashion photography, war, fine arts, advertising, portraits, landscapes, and social documentary. Within this structure, we will consider fundamental questions about photography, vision, and meaning, such as finding truth in images and discovering the relationship between image-making and power.

    		 3
    Choose any one class:
    ART213 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    ART313 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    ART230W Women and Art

    Women and Art addresses the work of women artists from the Renaissance to the present and images of women in Western art. Feminist approaches to the history of art are examined critically to determine their contribution to the history of art. This is a writing intensive course.

    		 3
    ART309W Art + Land: Artists Engage the Environment

    This course explores interactions between visual artists and the natural environment. It examines 15th- to 17th-century landscape painting and the role of landscape and national identity in the 19th century. It also explores the Earth Art movement that began in the 1960s and current investigations of art and sustainability.

    		 3
    COM213 Special Topics in Communications

    Special Topics in Communications

    		 3
    COM313 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    COM234W Persuasion

    This course introduces students to socio-psychological theories that measure and quantify communication. Students will focus on attitudes, behaviors, and values to identify cause-and-effect relationships. As a writing-intensive course, students will develop a term-long project that demonstrates interaction and influence.

    		 3
    COM310W Environmental Communication

    This writing-intensive course provides an overview of contemporary environmental communication theory, practice, and criticism. Students interrogate topics such as the meaning of "green" or "sustainable," social justice and environmental advocacy, and public participation in environmental decision-making.

    Pre-requisites Complete all 2 of the following courses:
  • COM106 Media and Society
  • COM141 Media Literacy
    		•  3
    FDT213 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    FDT313 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    -----------------------------------------
    FDT300W Critical Theory

    Critical theory offers a critical study of the key debates in theories of media and communication interfaced with cultural studies. This course also examines the communication circuit from production to consumption within the broader paradigms of cultural studies, feminism, politics of identity, and theories of ideology and postmodernism. Connections are made between these debates and wider debates in communication studies.

    		 3
    ART490 Integrative Capstone

    The integrative capstone, undertaken by the student during the senior year, is an extended project that helps the student complete their transition from an undergraduate student to a world-ready professional. The study usually centers on the student's major and may be conducted, at least in part, in the context of a group experience. Such programs are crafted to meet the unique needs of each major, and could include, for example, fieldwork, theater production, creative work in the arts, independent research, or independent readings. The integrative capstone in an interdisciplinary major must have the approval of both academic programs.

    Pre-requisites Complete the following course:
  • FDT300W Critical Theory
    		•  3
    FDT490 Integrative Capstone

    The integrative capstone, undertaken by the student during the senior year, is an extended project that helps the student complete their transition from an undergraduate student to a world-ready professional. The study usually centers on the student's major and may be conducted, at least in part, in the context of a group experience. Such programs are crafted to meet the unique needs of each major, and could include, for example, fieldwork, theater production, creative work in the arts, independent research, or independent readings. The integrative capstone in an interdisciplinary major must have the approval of both academic programs.

    Pre-requisites Complete the following course:
  • FDT300W Critical Theory
    		•  3
    For additional required coursework for undergraduate students, please review the General Education /Core Requirements section of the catalog.

    +Graphic Design Concentration

    For courses that require SLR cameras and/or Digital cameras students must provide their own camera. For courses that require video editing equipment, students must provide their own portable hard drive. Please see a faculty member for specifications.

    +Graphic Design Minor

    +Photography Concentration

    ART388 Landscape Photography

    The landscape is fascinating from a natural and contrived point of view. This course explores the art of taking landscape shots digitally with emphasis on composition, focal points, color, light, movement, time of day, framing, and weather conditions. You will explore a range of image capturing from macro flower shots to vast panoramic points of view from urban and rural subject matter. Several new digital image editing processes will be taught using Photoshop. Additional Fee(s): Applied laboratory fee.

    Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses:
  • ART152S Photography II - Introduction to Digital Photography
  • FDT150S Introduction to Digital Video Production
    		•  3
    COM374 Documentary and Photojournalism

    This course focuses on photojournalistic practice and social documentary. Students analyze news topics from a practical, ethical, and visual perspective, to produce images that tell stories. Students will be introduced to a variety of approaches with an emphasis on point of view. Additional Fee(s): Applied laboratory fee

    Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses:
  • ART152S Photography II - Introduction to Digital Photography
  • FDT150S Introduction to Digital Video Production
    		•  3
    ART483 Event Photography

    In this practicum, students gain experience in studio-based and field photography. Students develop a portfolio of portrait and event photography with the potential to be used for the Communique, college publications, and other outlets, with name credits on all published work. Additional Fee(s): Applied laboratory fee.

    Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses:
  • ART142S Photography I : Black and White Darkroom
  • ART152S Photography II - Introduction to Digital Photography
    		•  3
    For courses that require SLR cameras and/or Digital cameras students must provide their own camera. For courses that require video editing equipment, students must provide their own portable hard drive. Please see a faculty member for specifications.

    +Photography Minor

    ART388 Landscape Photography

    The landscape is fascinating from a natural and contrived point of view. This course explores the art of taking landscape shots digitally with emphasis on composition, focal points, color, light, movement, time of day, framing, and weather conditions. You will explore a range of image capturing from macro flower shots to vast panoramic points of view from urban and rural subject matter. Several new digital image editing processes will be taught using Photoshop. Additional Fee(s): Applied laboratory fee.

    Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses:
  • ART152S Photography II - Introduction to Digital Photography
  • FDT150S Introduction to Digital Video Production
    		•  3

    One Elective:

    ART210 History of Photography

    This course will examine the relationships between photographs and audiences from the early nineteenth century to the present. A variety of themes will be discussed, including fashion photography, war, fine arts, advertising, portraits, landscapes, and social documentary. Within this structure, we will consider fundamental questions about photography, vision, and meaning, such as finding truth in images and discovering the relationship between image-making and power.

    		 3
    ART213 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    COM213 Special Topics in Communications

    Special Topics in Communications

    		 3
    FDT213 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    ART313 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    COM313 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    FDT313 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    COM374 Documentary and Photojournalism

    This course focuses on photojournalistic practice and social documentary. Students analyze news topics from a practical, ethical, and visual perspective, to produce images that tell stories. Students will be introduced to a variety of approaches with an emphasis on point of view. Additional Fee(s): Applied laboratory fee

    Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses:
  • ART152S Photography II - Introduction to Digital Photography
  • FDT150S Introduction to Digital Video Production
    		•  3
    ART483 Event Photography

    In this practicum, students gain experience in studio-based and field photography. Students develop a portfolio of portrait and event photography with the potential to be used for the Communique, college publications, and other outlets, with name credits on all published work. Additional Fee(s): Applied laboratory fee.

    Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses:
  • ART142S Photography I : Black and White Darkroom
  • ART152S Photography II - Introduction to Digital Photography
    		•  3

    +Film and Digital Technology Concentration

    Choose Two 200-level courses:
    FDT225 Female Narration: Race and Gender in Women's Films

    This course looks predominantly at films directed by women who have worked out strategies for feminist film practice. The course will focus on the relationship between representations of women and the socio-political structures in which women live. It will also focus on the need for women, if they wish to affect perception of self and other, us and them, to take up the means of production. Exposing the sexual stratagems in various contemporary societies' permits women filmmakers to recreate the world in their own image. Study of traditional portrayals of women will support understanding of the differences between subject and object position. Negotiating these often-conflicting spaces allows students to comprehend the multiple mediations that structure a critical consciousness. Such awareness allows questions of responsibility in a world of diverse values and perspectives. The course is organized as a reading, viewing, and lecture, experience.

    		 3
    ART213 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    COM213 Special Topics in Communications

    Special Topics in Communications

    		 3
    FDT213 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    Choose Two upper level courses:
    FDT421 Digital Animation and Compositing

    This production course introduces computer animation and visual effects. Students learn the principles, processes, and philosophy of animation with a focus on the design and construction of environments, characters, and time-based motion. Students script, storyboard, design, and produce a short animated digital video. Additional Fee(s): Applied laboratory fee.

    Pre-requisites Complete the following course:
  • FDT150S Introduction to Digital Video Production
    		•  3
    FDT469 Advanced Visual Effects

    This course provides an advanced study in developing and executing visual effects for live action films. The course explores the history of special and visual effects by studying practical special effects that can be accomplished in camera, introducing color correction and grading, and mastering the advanced functions of Adobe After Effects as it pertains to live action visual effects.

    Pre-requisites Complete the following course:
  • FDT421 Digital Animation and Compositing
    		•  3
    ART313 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    COM313 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    FDT313 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3

    +Film and Digital Technology Minor

    FDT421 Digital Animation and Compositing

    This production course introduces computer animation and visual effects. Students learn the principles, processes, and philosophy of animation with a focus on the design and construction of environments, characters, and time-based motion. Students script, storyboard, design, and produce a short animated digital video. Additional Fee(s): Applied laboratory fee.

    Pre-requisites Complete the following course:
  • FDT150S Introduction to Digital Video Production
    		•  3

    One Elective:

    FDT161 Introduction to Film, Video and New Media Art

    This course is an introduction to critical and aesthetic perspectives on film, i.e. the rules, codes, and strategies by which film represents reality. Students will be exposed to a variety of movements and moments in film history, but history will not be an explicit focus for the course. The course will map out the major conceptual areas in film studies using new methodologies in the areas of narrative comprehension, new vocabulary in film semiotics, and multiculturalism and the media. Issues explored in this course include questions of history and memory, self and other, and identity in both the Western and non-Western contexts.

    		 3
    ART213 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    COM213 Special Topics in Communications

    Special Topics in Communications

    		 3
    FDT213 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    ART313 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    COM313 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    FDT313 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    FDT469 Advanced Visual Effects

    This course provides an advanced study in developing and executing visual effects for live action films. The course explores the history of special and visual effects by studying practical special effects that can be accomplished in camera, introducing color correction and grading, and mastering the advanced functions of Adobe After Effects as it pertains to live action visual effects.

    Pre-requisites Complete the following course:
  • FDT421 Digital Animation and Compositing
    		•  3

    +Film and Digital Technology and Photography Concentration

    The Media Arts major provides the opportunity for students to develop creative, conceptual, and technical skills across coursework in film, photography and graphic design – fostering a critical awareness of contemporary, convergent media practices. The major explores the creative tension between individual expression and the social and political forces that shape global, mediated networks within culture. Students are asked to become agents for change within the context of their discipline, asking critical questions of the impact of media in an increasingly global arena. Graduates will be prepared to assume leadership roles in media arts production industries or to pursue graduate programs in related fields. Students must earn a C- or better in all major courses. Failure to earn this minimum grade will result in the need to repeat the course thereby possibly extending the student’s course of study beyond four years.

    Major Requirements
    -------------------
    ART103 Intro to Visual Culture

    Visual Culture can be understood as the practice of scrutinizing visual items in both elite and popular culture; of determining how and what they mean to a variety of audiences; and of examining how those meanings might slip, change, or be changed according to both context and audience. Students examine a broad range of visual materials - from paintings to films - through the term of study.

    		 3
    OR
    CST183 Representations of Race and Gender

    This course introduces students to the methodology of cultural studies. In this survey students learn those skills essential to analyzing social constructions of identity. Specific attention is paid to diverse texts, including film, in order to locate how representations of race, gender, ethnicity, and "otherness" are culturally produced and disseminated.

    		 3
    -------------------
    FDT161 Introduction to Film, Video and New Media Art

    This course is an introduction to critical and aesthetic perspectives on film, i.e. the rules, codes, and strategies by which film represents reality. Students will be exposed to a variety of movements and moments in film history, but history will not be an explicit focus for the course. The course will map out the major conceptual areas in film studies using new methodologies in the areas of narrative comprehension, new vocabulary in film semiotics, and multiculturalism and the media. Issues explored in this course include questions of history and memory, self and other, and identity in both the Western and non-Western contexts.

    		 3
    ART210 History of Photography

    This course will examine the relationships between photographs and audiences from the early nineteenth century to the present. A variety of themes will be discussed, including fashion photography, war, fine arts, advertising, portraits, landscapes, and social documentary. Within this structure, we will consider fundamental questions about photography, vision, and meaning, such as finding truth in images and discovering the relationship between image-making and power.

    		 3
    Writing Course - Choose One:
    ART230W Women and Art

    Women and Art addresses the work of women artists from the Renaissance to the present and images of women in Western art. Feminist approaches to the history of art are examined critically to determine their contribution to the history of art. This is a writing intensive course.

    		 3
    ART309W Art + Land: Artists Engage the Environment

    This course explores interactions between visual artists and the natural environment. It examines 15th- to 17th-century landscape painting and the role of landscape and national identity in the 19th century. It also explores the Earth Art movement that began in the 1960s and current investigations of art and sustainability.

    		 3
    COM234W Persuasion

    This course introduces students to socio-psychological theories that measure and quantify communication. Students will focus on attitudes, behaviors, and values to identify cause-and-effect relationships. As a writing-intensive course, students will develop a term-long project that demonstrates interaction and influence.

    		 3
    COM260W Practical Public Relations

    Students learn the theories, practical writing skills, and strategies involved in planning and implementing public relations campaigns. The course is an exploration in how to influence public opinion/behavior and build connections with legacy and new media outlets through effective, ethical, and socially responsible communication.

    		 3
    COM310W Environmental Communication

    This writing-intensive course provides an overview of contemporary environmental communication theory, practice, and criticism. Students interrogate topics such as the meaning of "green" or "sustainable," social justice and environmental advocacy, and public participation in environmental decision-making.

    Pre-requisites Complete all 2 of the following courses:
  • COM106 Media and Society
  • COM141 Media Literacy
    		•  3
    -------------------
    FDT300W Critical Theory

    Critical theory offers a critical study of the key debates in theories of media and communication interfaced with cultural studies. This course also examines the communication circuit from production to consumption within the broader paradigms of cultural studies, feminism, politics of identity, and theories of ideology and postmodernism. Connections are made between these debates and wider debates in communication studies.

    		 3
    -------------------
    ART490 Integrative Capstone

    The integrative capstone, undertaken by the student during the senior year, is an extended project that helps the student complete their transition from an undergraduate student to a world-ready professional. The study usually centers on the student's major and may be conducted, at least in part, in the context of a group experience. Such programs are crafted to meet the unique needs of each major, and could include, for example, fieldwork, theater production, creative work in the arts, independent research, or independent readings. The integrative capstone in an interdisciplinary major must have the approval of both academic programs.

    Pre-requisites Complete the following course:
  • FDT300W Critical Theory
    		•  3
    OR
    FDT490 Integrative Capstone

    The integrative capstone, undertaken by the student during the senior year, is an extended project that helps the student complete their transition from an undergraduate student to a world-ready professional. The study usually centers on the student's major and may be conducted, at least in part, in the context of a group experience. Such programs are crafted to meet the unique needs of each major, and could include, for example, fieldwork, theater production, creative work in the arts, independent research, or independent readings. The integrative capstone in an interdisciplinary major must have the approval of both academic programs.

    Pre-requisites Complete the following course:
  • FDT300W Critical Theory
    		•  3
    -------------------
    Film and Digital Technology Concentration
    200-Level Courses - Choose TWO:
    FDT225 Female Narration: Race and Gender in Women's Films

    This course looks predominantly at films directed by women who have worked out strategies for feminist film practice. The course will focus on the relationship between representations of women and the socio-political structures in which women live. It will also focus on the need for women, if they wish to affect perception of self and other, us and them, to take up the means of production. Exposing the sexual stratagems in various contemporary societies' permits women filmmakers to recreate the world in their own image. Study of traditional portrayals of women will support understanding of the differences between subject and object position. Negotiating these often-conflicting spaces allows students to comprehend the multiple mediations that structure a critical consciousness. Such awareness allows questions of responsibility in a world of diverse values and perspectives. The course is organized as a reading, viewing, and lecture, experience.

    		 3
    ART213 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    COM213 Special Topics in Communications

    Special Topics in Communications

    		 3
    FDT213 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    -------------------
    Upper Level Courses - Choose TWO:
    FDT421 Digital Animation and Compositing

    This production course introduces computer animation and visual effects. Students learn the principles, processes, and philosophy of animation with a focus on the design and construction of environments, characters, and time-based motion. Students script, storyboard, design, and produce a short animated digital video. Additional Fee(s): Applied laboratory fee.

    Pre-requisites Complete the following course:
  • FDT150S Introduction to Digital Video Production
    		•  3
    FDT469 Advanced Visual Effects

    This course provides an advanced study in developing and executing visual effects for live action films. The course explores the history of special and visual effects by studying practical special effects that can be accomplished in camera, introducing color correction and grading, and mastering the advanced functions of Adobe After Effects as it pertains to live action visual effects.

    Pre-requisites Complete the following course:
  • FDT421 Digital Animation and Compositing
    		•  3
    ART313 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    COM313 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    FDT313 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    Photography
    ART388 Landscape Photography

    The landscape is fascinating from a natural and contrived point of view. This course explores the art of taking landscape shots digitally with emphasis on composition, focal points, color, light, movement, time of day, framing, and weather conditions. You will explore a range of image capturing from macro flower shots to vast panoramic points of view from urban and rural subject matter. Several new digital image editing processes will be taught using Photoshop. Additional Fee(s): Applied laboratory fee.

    Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses:
  • ART152S Photography II - Introduction to Digital Photography
  • FDT150S Introduction to Digital Video Production
    		•  3
    COM374 Documentary and Photojournalism

    This course focuses on photojournalistic practice and social documentary. Students analyze news topics from a practical, ethical, and visual perspective, to produce images that tell stories. Students will be introduced to a variety of approaches with an emphasis on point of view. Additional Fee(s): Applied laboratory fee

    Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses:
  • ART152S Photography II - Introduction to Digital Photography
  • FDT150S Introduction to Digital Video Production
    		•  3
    ART483 Event Photography

    In this practicum, students gain experience in studio-based and field photography. Students develop a portfolio of portrait and event photography with the potential to be used for the Communique, college publications, and other outlets, with name credits on all published work. Additional Fee(s): Applied laboratory fee.

    Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses:
  • ART142S Photography I : Black and White Darkroom
  • ART152S Photography II - Introduction to Digital Photography
    		•  3

    +Graphic Design and Film and Digital Technology Concentration

    The Media Arts major provides the opportunity for students to develop creative, conceptual, and technical skills across coursework in film, photography and graphic design – fostering a critical awareness of contemporary, convergent media practices. The major explores the creative tension between individual expression and the social and political forces that shape global, mediated networks within culture. Students are asked to become agents for change within the context of their discipline, asking critical questions of the impact of media in an increasingly global arena. Graduates will be prepared to assume leadership roles in media arts production industries or to pursue graduate programs in related fields. Students must earn a C- or better in all major courses. Failure to earn this minimum grade will result in the need to repeat the course thereby possibly extending the student’s course of study beyond four years.

    Major Requirements
    --------------------
    ART103 Intro to Visual Culture

    Visual Culture can be understood as the practice of scrutinizing visual items in both elite and popular culture; of determining how and what they mean to a variety of audiences; and of examining how those meanings might slip, change, or be changed according to both context and audience. Students examine a broad range of visual materials - from paintings to films - through the term of study.

    		 3
    OR
    CST183 Representations of Race and Gender

    This course introduces students to the methodology of cultural studies. In this survey students learn those skills essential to analyzing social constructions of identity. Specific attention is paid to diverse texts, including film, in order to locate how representations of race, gender, ethnicity, and "otherness" are culturally produced and disseminated.

    		 3
    --------------------
    FDT161 Introduction to Film, Video and New Media Art

    This course is an introduction to critical and aesthetic perspectives on film, i.e. the rules, codes, and strategies by which film represents reality. Students will be exposed to a variety of movements and moments in film history, but history will not be an explicit focus for the course. The course will map out the major conceptual areas in film studies using new methodologies in the areas of narrative comprehension, new vocabulary in film semiotics, and multiculturalism and the media. Issues explored in this course include questions of history and memory, self and other, and identity in both the Western and non-Western contexts.

    		 3
    ART210 History of Photography

    This course will examine the relationships between photographs and audiences from the early nineteenth century to the present. A variety of themes will be discussed, including fashion photography, war, fine arts, advertising, portraits, landscapes, and social documentary. Within this structure, we will consider fundamental questions about photography, vision, and meaning, such as finding truth in images and discovering the relationship between image-making and power.

    		 3
    Writing Courses - Choose ONE:
    ART230W Women and Art

    Women and Art addresses the work of women artists from the Renaissance to the present and images of women in Western art. Feminist approaches to the history of art are examined critically to determine their contribution to the history of art. This is a writing intensive course.

    		 3
    ART309W Art + Land: Artists Engage the Environment

    This course explores interactions between visual artists and the natural environment. It examines 15th- to 17th-century landscape painting and the role of landscape and national identity in the 19th century. It also explores the Earth Art movement that began in the 1960s and current investigations of art and sustainability.

    		 3
    COM234W Persuasion

    This course introduces students to socio-psychological theories that measure and quantify communication. Students will focus on attitudes, behaviors, and values to identify cause-and-effect relationships. As a writing-intensive course, students will develop a term-long project that demonstrates interaction and influence.

    		 3
    COM310W Environmental Communication

    This writing-intensive course provides an overview of contemporary environmental communication theory, practice, and criticism. Students interrogate topics such as the meaning of "green" or "sustainable," social justice and environmental advocacy, and public participation in environmental decision-making.

    Pre-requisites Complete all 2 of the following courses:
  • COM106 Media and Society
  • COM141 Media Literacy
    		•  3
    --------------------
    FDT300W Critical Theory

    Critical theory offers a critical study of the key debates in theories of media and communication interfaced with cultural studies. This course also examines the communication circuit from production to consumption within the broader paradigms of cultural studies, feminism, politics of identity, and theories of ideology and postmodernism. Connections are made between these debates and wider debates in communication studies.

    		 3
    --------------------
    ART490 Integrative Capstone

    The integrative capstone, undertaken by the student during the senior year, is an extended project that helps the student complete their transition from an undergraduate student to a world-ready professional. The study usually centers on the student's major and may be conducted, at least in part, in the context of a group experience. Such programs are crafted to meet the unique needs of each major, and could include, for example, fieldwork, theater production, creative work in the arts, independent research, or independent readings. The integrative capstone in an interdisciplinary major must have the approval of both academic programs.

    Pre-requisites Complete the following course:
  • FDT300W Critical Theory
    		•  3
    OR
    FDT490 Integrative Capstone

    The integrative capstone, undertaken by the student during the senior year, is an extended project that helps the student complete their transition from an undergraduate student to a world-ready professional. The study usually centers on the student's major and may be conducted, at least in part, in the context of a group experience. Such programs are crafted to meet the unique needs of each major, and could include, for example, fieldwork, theater production, creative work in the arts, independent research, or independent readings. The integrative capstone in an interdisciplinary major must have the approval of both academic programs.

    Pre-requisites Complete the following course:
  • FDT300W Critical Theory
    		•  3
    --------------------
    Graphic Design
    Film and Digital Technology Concentration
    200 Level Courses - Choose TWO:
    FDT225 Female Narration: Race and Gender in Women's Films

    This course looks predominantly at films directed by women who have worked out strategies for feminist film practice. The course will focus on the relationship between representations of women and the socio-political structures in which women live. It will also focus on the need for women, if they wish to affect perception of self and other, us and them, to take up the means of production. Exposing the sexual stratagems in various contemporary societies' permits women filmmakers to recreate the world in their own image. Study of traditional portrayals of women will support understanding of the differences between subject and object position. Negotiating these often-conflicting spaces allows students to comprehend the multiple mediations that structure a critical consciousness. Such awareness allows questions of responsibility in a world of diverse values and perspectives. The course is organized as a reading, viewing, and lecture, experience.

    		 3
    ART213 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    COM213 Special Topics in Communications

    Special Topics in Communications

    		 3
    FDT213 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    Upper Level Courses - Choose TWO:
    COM374 Documentary and Photojournalism

    This course focuses on photojournalistic practice and social documentary. Students analyze news topics from a practical, ethical, and visual perspective, to produce images that tell stories. Students will be introduced to a variety of approaches with an emphasis on point of view. Additional Fee(s): Applied laboratory fee

    Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses:
  • ART152S Photography II - Introduction to Digital Photography
  • FDT150S Introduction to Digital Video Production
    		•  3
    FDT421 Digital Animation and Compositing

    This production course introduces computer animation and visual effects. Students learn the principles, processes, and philosophy of animation with a focus on the design and construction of environments, characters, and time-based motion. Students script, storyboard, design, and produce a short animated digital video. Additional Fee(s): Applied laboratory fee.

    Pre-requisites Complete the following course:
  • FDT150S Introduction to Digital Video Production
    		•  3
    FDT469 Advanced Visual Effects

    This course provides an advanced study in developing and executing visual effects for live action films. The course explores the history of special and visual effects by studying practical special effects that can be accomplished in camera, introducing color correction and grading, and mastering the advanced functions of Adobe After Effects as it pertains to live action visual effects.

    Pre-requisites Complete the following course:
  • FDT421 Digital Animation and Compositing
    		•  3
    ART313 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    COM313 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3
    FDT313 Special Topics

    Special Topics

    		 3

    +Photography and Graphic Design Concentration

    The Media Arts major provides the opportunity for students to develop creative, conceptual, and technical skills across coursework in film, photography and graphic design – fostering a critical awareness of contemporary, convergent media practices. The major explores the creative tension between individual expression and the social and political forces that shape global, mediated networks within culture. Students are asked to become agents for change within the context of their discipline, asking critical questions of the impact of media in an increasingly global arena. Graduates will be prepared to assume leadership roles in media arts production industries or to pursue graduate programs in related fields. Students must earn a C- or better in all major courses. Failure to earn this minimum grade will result in the need to repeat the course thereby possibly extending the student’s course of study beyond four years.

    Major Requirements
    --------------------
    ART103 Intro to Visual Culture

    Visual Culture can be understood as the practice of scrutinizing visual items in both elite and popular culture; of determining how and what they mean to a variety of audiences; and of examining how those meanings might slip, change, or be changed according to both context and audience. Students examine a broad range of visual materials - from paintings to films - through the term of study.

    		 3
    OR
    CST183 Representations of Race and Gender

    This course introduces students to the methodology of cultural studies. In this survey students learn those skills essential to analyzing social constructions of identity. Specific attention is paid to diverse texts, including film, in order to locate how representations of race, gender, ethnicity, and "otherness" are culturally produced and disseminated.

    		 3
    --------------------
    FDT161 Introduction to Film, Video and New Media Art

    This course is an introduction to critical and aesthetic perspectives on film, i.e. the rules, codes, and strategies by which film represents reality. Students will be exposed to a variety of movements and moments in film history, but history will not be an explicit focus for the course. The course will map out the major conceptual areas in film studies using new methodologies in the areas of narrative comprehension, new vocabulary in film semiotics, and multiculturalism and the media. Issues explored in this course include questions of history and memory, self and other, and identity in both the Western and non-Western contexts.

    		 3
    ART210 History of Photography

    This course will examine the relationships between photographs and audiences from the early nineteenth century to the present. A variety of themes will be discussed, including fashion photography, war, fine arts, advertising, portraits, landscapes, and social documentary. Within this structure, we will consider fundamental questions about photography, vision, and meaning, such as finding truth in images and discovering the relationship between image-making and power.

    		 3
    Writing Courses - Choose ONE:
    ART230W Women and Art

    Women and Art addresses the work of women artists from the Renaissance to the present and images of women in Western art. Feminist approaches to the history of art are examined critically to determine their contribution to the history of art. This is a writing intensive course.

    		 3
    ART309W Art + Land: Artists Engage the Environment

    This course explores interactions between visual artists and the natural environment. It examines 15th- to 17th-century landscape painting and the role of landscape and national identity in the 19th century. It also explores the Earth Art movement that began in the 1960s and current investigations of art and sustainability.

    		 3
    COM234W Persuasion

    This course introduces students to socio-psychological theories that measure and quantify communication. Students will focus on attitudes, behaviors, and values to identify cause-and-effect relationships. As a writing-intensive course, students will develop a term-long project that demonstrates interaction and influence.

    		 3
    COM260W Practical Public Relations

    Students learn the theories, practical writing skills, and strategies involved in planning and implementing public relations campaigns. The course is an exploration in how to influence public opinion/behavior and build connections with legacy and new media outlets through effective, ethical, and socially responsible communication.

    		 3
    COM310W Environmental Communication

    This writing-intensive course provides an overview of contemporary environmental communication theory, practice, and criticism. Students interrogate topics such as the meaning of "green" or "sustainable," social justice and environmental advocacy, and public participation in environmental decision-making.

    Pre-requisites Complete all 2 of the following courses:
  • COM106 Media and Society
  • COM141 Media Literacy
    		•  3
    --------------------
    FDT300W Critical Theory

    Critical theory offers a critical study of the key debates in theories of media and communication interfaced with cultural studies. This course also examines the communication circuit from production to consumption within the broader paradigms of cultural studies, feminism, politics of identity, and theories of ideology and postmodernism. Connections are made between these debates and wider debates in communication studies.

    		 3
    --------------------
    ART490 Integrative Capstone

    The integrative capstone, undertaken by the student during the senior year, is an extended project that helps the student complete their transition from an undergraduate student to a world-ready professional. The study usually centers on the student's major and may be conducted, at least in part, in the context of a group experience. Such programs are crafted to meet the unique needs of each major, and could include, for example, fieldwork, theater production, creative work in the arts, independent research, or independent readings. The integrative capstone in an interdisciplinary major must have the approval of both academic programs.

    Pre-requisites Complete the following course:
  • FDT300W Critical Theory
    		•  3
    OR
    FDT490 Integrative Capstone

    The integrative capstone, undertaken by the student during the senior year, is an extended project that helps the student complete their transition from an undergraduate student to a world-ready professional. The study usually centers on the student's major and may be conducted, at least in part, in the context of a group experience. Such programs are crafted to meet the unique needs of each major, and could include, for example, fieldwork, theater production, creative work in the arts, independent research, or independent readings. The integrative capstone in an interdisciplinary major must have the approval of both academic programs.

    Pre-requisites Complete the following course:
  • FDT300W Critical Theory
    		•  3
    --------------------
    Photography
    ART388 Landscape Photography

    The landscape is fascinating from a natural and contrived point of view. This course explores the art of taking landscape shots digitally with emphasis on composition, focal points, color, light, movement, time of day, framing, and weather conditions. You will explore a range of image capturing from macro flower shots to vast panoramic points of view from urban and rural subject matter. Several new digital image editing processes will be taught using Photoshop. Additional Fee(s): Applied laboratory fee.

    Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses:
  • ART152S Photography II - Introduction to Digital Photography
  • FDT150S Introduction to Digital Video Production
    		•  3
    COM374 Documentary and Photojournalism

    This course focuses on photojournalistic practice and social documentary. Students analyze news topics from a practical, ethical, and visual perspective, to produce images that tell stories. Students will be introduced to a variety of approaches with an emphasis on point of view. Additional Fee(s): Applied laboratory fee

    Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses:
  • ART152S Photography II - Introduction to Digital Photography
  • FDT150S Introduction to Digital Video Production
    		•  3
    ART483 Event Photography

    In this practicum, students gain experience in studio-based and field photography. Students develop a portfolio of portrait and event photography with the potential to be used for the Communique, college publications, and other outlets, with name credits on all published work. Additional Fee(s): Applied laboratory fee.

    Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses:
  • ART142S Photography I : Black and White Darkroom
  • ART152S Photography II - Introduction to Digital Photography
    		•  3
    Graphic Design