Course Descriptions
ART 2350: Beginning Photography. A basic course in beginning black and white photographic techniques and issues in contemporary photography. Preference will be given to Art and Art History majors and minors and students enrolled in the New Media Minor.
ART 2352: Digital Photography: Beginning. Basic principles of digital photography as utilized in creative expression and photojournalism. Use of camera, lighting, composition and editing, as well as instruction in the use of the digital darkroom and Adobe PhotoShop for photographic image manipulation and production techniques. Preference will be given to Art and Art History majors and minors and students enrolled in the New Media minor.
ART 2380: Digital Art. An intensive fine arts studio investigation emphasizing visual problem solving and production. Designed to build visual art making skills and computer proficiency through the introduction of structured studio problems. Emphasis on the expressive and communicative nature of images focusing on the computer as the primary creative medium. Priority will be given to Art and Art History majors and minors and students enrolled in the New Media minor.
ART 3350: Intermediate Photography. A continuation of ART 2350. Prerequisites: ART 2350 or consent of instructor.
ART 3352: Digital Photography: Intermediate. A continuation of ART 2352. Prerequisite: ART 2352 or consent of instructor.
ART 3380: Advanced Digital Art. A continuation of ART 2380. Research and critique in Digital Art. This course may be repeated up to three times. Prerequisite: ART 2380 or consent of instructor.
ART 4-50: Photography: Advanced. A continuation of ART 3350. Credit may vary from 1-3 semester hours. Course may be repeated for a maximum of 9 credit hours. Prerequisite: ART 3350.
ART 4-52: Digital Photography: Advanced. A continuation of ART 3352. May be repeated three times. Prerequisite: ART 3352.
CHIN 3313: Cities of Strangers: Trans-cultural Chinese Cinema. A cinema course with a focus on genres contributing to the popular imagination about cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Taipei. Examples will be drawn from martial arts films, ghost stories, and "exile" films. Major theoretical concerns are cultural stereotyping, politics of representation, and the appropriation of gender discourses. Course taught in English.
COMM 3325: Special Topics: Women Journalists in Film and Novel. See Courses of Study Bulletin.
COMM 3325: Special Topics: Film Noir. Starting in the 1940s, Hollywood filmmakers produced a cycle of films characterized by a new mood of paranoia, confusion, and despair. In this class, we will take a close look at several classic examples of the film noir cycle, seeking to understand the cultural significance of the works. Topics will include: noir's narrative strategies, the role of the femme fatale, the visual style of noir, and the changing representation of the modern city. The primary focus of the class will be on films from the 1940s and 1950s, but we will also consider precursors to noir, such as hard-boiled literature, and neo-noir films from recent decades. Prerequisite: COMM 1301 or permission of instructor. (NOTE: This class has not yet been approved for the minor by the University Curriculum Council. See Dr. Patrick Keating for more details.)
COMM 3342: Visual Communication: Narrative Production. This course introduces you to the techniques of video production, with a particular focus on the conventions of fictional narrative video. Lessons will cover the principles of composition, the rules of the continuity system, and the basic techniques of lighting and sound design. Working with digital video equipment, students will create short video projects, applying the principles of visual storytelling. Prerequisite: COMM 2302 or consent of instructor.
COMM 3342: Visual Communication: Theory and Practice of Montage. "Montage" refers to the strategy of juxtaposing images in order to produce meanings that are not present in the individual shots alone. In this class, students will learn a variety of ways that montage can be used to produce meaning. The class combines film theory and film practice, requiring students to produce video projects to demonstrate their command of the readings.
DRAM 1320: Introduction to Production Techniques. Introduction to traditional stagecraft, including backstage organization, scenery construction, theatrical lighting, sound design, scene painting, and drafting. May be taken instead of DRAM 1330 as core credit toward the major.
DRAM 1352: Acting I. This class will provide acting students with a core of techniques from which to further develop their acting skills as individuals and as members of a theatrical ensemble. The course is suggested for students planning to major in Drama. Open to all students by audition or permission of instructor. (Not available for P/F option.) Students may not receive credit for both DRAM 1350 and 1352.
DRAM 2310: Principles of Design. An introductory course that explores creativity through artistic composition and theatrical design. This overview course acquaints the student with design elements and techniques as non-verbal communication tools to express the creative imagination.
DRAM 2314: Principles of Stage Lighting. An introductory course that explores the use of light as an artistic medium in theatrical productions. This overview course acquaints the students with the equipment, design elements, and conceptual processes employed in lighting design.
DRAM 2332: Play Structure and Analysis. This course will introduce students to multiple theatrical models and methods used to understand dramatic structure and to analyze specific plays. This course seeks answers to the question: How can we discover the ways in which plays work? Prerequisite: DRAM 1314 or consent of instructor.
DRAM 2352: Acting II: Scene Study. This course will focus on scene work from a variety of periods and playwrights, and in class exercises to further develop the acting student’s ability. Prerequisites: Prerequisite: Dram 1350 or 1352.
DRAM 3340: Directing. This course will teach and develop the skills necessary for directing. These include: reading a script, casting, rehearsing, and staging. Class time will be divided between lecture/discussion and presentation of student prepared scenes. Prerequisites: DRAM 1350 or 1352 and 2332 or consent of instructor.
ENGL 3302: Fiction Writing. Study in the forms of fiction with a primary focus on writing the short story.
FILM 1301: Introduction to Film Studies. This course is an introduction to the artistic, cultural, and scholarly importance of film. The course focuses on the development of film as a complex art form, the evolution of narrative as part of a formal system, the development of the industry and film genres, critical and cultural approaches to film analysis, and the construction of the audience. Students will read excerpts from primary texts as well as more general texts dealing with film interpretation and criticism. (Also listed as ARTH 1301, COMM 1302, ENGL 1301, and ML&L 1301.)
FILM 2301: International Cinema. This course focuses on the cultural and critical analysis of international films as an expression of particular artistic genres and/or styles within specific historical, ideological, and cultural contexts. Films selected have achieved wide, critical acclaim; others reveal unique and important visions of human experience; while still others are selected for their political, ideological, or sociological significance. Students should develop an awareness that the medium of film has a history and that its history is not confined to national boundaries. (Also listed as ARTH 2301, COMM 2301, ENGL 2300, and ML&L 2301.)
HIST 3372: Black Images in Film. Examines the depictions of blacks in American cinema from 1915 to the present. This course introduces students to the history of blacks in film and examines how film has been used as a tool of social and political commentary. Attention will be given to issues of race, color, class, and gender. Prerequisite: At least one lower-division U.S. history course, or consent of instructor.
ML&L 3303: Chinese Cinema. A study of Chinese culture and socio-political changes in the modern history of China, Taiwan and Hong Kong through viewing, discussing, and analyzing contemporary films. ML&L 3303 and CHIN 3312 cannot both be taken for credit.
ML&L 3311: French Cinema. This course will examine a variety of French films from the 1930s to the present, focusing on developing an understanding of the aesthetic qualities of the individual films, while also examining the history of French cinema, how cinema conveys meaning, and how the specificity of French culture is depicted in the films. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or above.
ML&L 3321: German Cinema. This course will examine German films from the silent period in the early 1920s to the present. The course will introduce basic concepts of critical film analysis, while also examining the history of German cinema, how cinema conveys meaning, and how German culture and history are reflected in the films.
PHIL 3357: Philosophy of Film. A study of issues in the philosophy of film, through reading the work of historical and contemporary philosophers and critics, and studying films. Topics may include: the nature of film, its status amongst the arts, issues of authorship and narrativity, issues of interpretation, and the nature and ethics of documentary. Prerequisite: One of PHIL 1301, 1354, FILM 1301, 2301.
PLSI 1332: Film, Literature, and Politics of the Third World. An examination of political issues and challenges facing Third World societies as expressed through literature and film. Relying primarily on the works of Third World artists and writers, the course will explore issues such as the status of women, poverty, the plight of ethnic minorities, and the legacy of colonialism.
RELI 3318: Religion, Literature, and Film. An examination of perennial religious themes, such as estrangement and redemption, meaning and value, and the question of God in modern literature and in film; attention to the intersection of theory of religion with literary theory and film theory in terms of commonalities and differences in regard to human creativity.
SPAN 3321: Spanish Cinema. An examination of a variety of Spanish films from 1960 to the present with a focus on their artistic qualities, the history of Spanish cinema, and the depictions of Spanish culture and literature in the films. Prerequisite: SPAN 2302 or the equivalent, or consent of instructor.
SPAN 3322: Spanish American Cinema. An examination of a variety of Spanish American films with a focus on their artistic qualities, the history of Spanish American cinema, and the depictions of Spanish American culture and literature in the films. Prerequisite: SPAN 2302 or the equivalent, or consent of instructor.
For a list of courses offered the current semester, see Current Offering.