Visual Studies Minor (Social Sciences and History Peak)

SSH PEAK

Visual studies, sometimes also known as visual culture studies, seeks to understand the many ways that we see, and are made to see, the world and the role that visual images play. While such imagery includes works of art, it also encompasses the imagery of movies, plays, advertisements, scientific illustrations, political posters, fashion, pornography, comics, graphic novels, web pages, YouTube, and many other areas of visual culture.

Students of visual studies analyze how the design of images (that is, their use of formal elements such as line, shape, value, texture, and color), the combinations of text and image, how the media disseminates them, their sequential arrangements (in the case of narrative imagery), their choice of foci affects our interpretation of them.

Understanding iconography--that is, the set of symbolic meanings that we attach to images-- is also important as this frequently reflects socio-political dynamics, religious beliefs, gender norms, ideals of morality, etc. The latter point relates to the very important question that students of visual studies ask: For whom was the image made and why? That is, when someone makes an image they invariably do so, either consciously or not, with assumptions about the social, gender, or cultural identity of the viewer. This vital point unites the study of visual imagery in art, theatre, and movie history, and in the fields of psychology and anthropology.

16 credits (Total does not include prerequisite courses

Minor Requirements

Complete 3 credits from the following:

ART-107Digital Imaging

3 credits

ART-108Introduction to Web Design

3 credits

ART-130Introduction to Design

3 credits

ART-281Graphic Design

3 credits

ART-239Ancient to Medieval

3 credits

ART-240Renaissance to Modern

3 credits

Complete 3 credits from the following:

ART-324Picasso and 20th Century Art

3 credits

ART-325Art of the Romantic Era

3 credits

ART-326Rembrandt and 17th Century Dutch Art

3 credits

ART-341Modern Art: 1850-1940

3 credits

ART-342Modern Art After 1940

3 credits

ART-351Auguste Rodin and Modern Sculpture

3 credits

ART-356History, Literature, and Art of the Italian Renaissance

3 credits

ENG-225Asia Through Its Movies

3 credits

IND-307.1London: Art/History/Literature

3 credits

THE-200Introduction to Film Studies

3 credits

THE-340Scenic Design

3 credits

IND 307: 3 out of the 6 credits

Complete 9 credits from the following:

ATH-300Anthropology and Art

3 credits

HIS-365The Mondern Jewish Experience in Film

3 credits

HIS-367The History of Jewish Art

3 credits

PSY-254Psychology & the Movies

3 credits

PSY-336Psychology of Human Vision: Theory and Application

3 credits

PSY-410Media Psychology

3 credits

SOC-100Introduction to Sociology

3 credits

Program and Portfolio Review

After completing fifteen credits of visual-studies courses (the minor requirements listed above), minors must enroll in the one-credit visual-studies portfolio course, ART-490. Their portfolio will contain relevant materials such as exams, papers, and digital images of assignments, plus instructor comments. Students must include a 1000-1500-word essay describing the most important insights and skills developed during their course of study. The essay must also assess the strengths and weaknesses of the visual-studies minor. The portfolio will be graded Pass/Fail. Students should therefore take care from the time they begin the program to retain copies and images of work from courses comprising the visual-studies minor.

ART-490Visual Studies Portfolio and Program Assessment

1 credit

Recommended

ART-497Internship

1-3 credits

ART-
Any studio art classes

3 credits

Courses that include significant use of visual material such as:

HIS-303The Terror

3 credits

HIS-331Ancient Greece

3 credits

HIS-332Ancient Rome

3 credits

HIS-344Medieval Europe

3 credits