Mar 28, 2024  
Academic Catalog 2014-2015 
    
Academic Catalog 2014-2015 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Courses


 

Liberal Arts: Literature, Writing, and Film

  
  • LALW205 Children’s Literature 3 cr.


    What makes a children’s book a classic? We’ll find out as we read, analyze, and enjoy the best of the field–fantasies from “Peter Pan” to “Harry Potter,” realistic novels from “Anne of Green Gables” to “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry,” and stories falling somewhere in between, like “The Secret Garden.” Though our emphasis will be on longer books for older children, we’ll also consider fairy tales and picture books. Final project: writing a “classic” children’s book, illustrating one, or both!

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW206 Graphic Novels 3 cr.


    The course will explore the art and composition of the graphic novel, and will examine its many sub-genres, from superhero tales to memoirs to manga. The text book will be Scott McCloud’s “Understanding Comics.” Other texts will include “Watchmen,” “Contract With God,” “Sandman,” “Maus,” and “Persepolis.” For the final project, students will create and make preliminary sketches for an original graphic novel.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW207 Intro to African Literature 3 cr.


    This course intends to give an overview of African Literature from the pre-colonial period to its future perspectives. It covers material dealing with oral literature, its transition to written works, its main themes and evolution through time. It develops the main ideas covering African literature in English, French, and Portuguese and connects them to African Arabic Literature. It thus offers a full coverage of Africa including the West, the East, the Center, the South and partially the North. The course is divided in two main parts. The first concentrates on oral traditions and their important genres. It depicts the production environments, oral usages in community organizations and historical conservations throughout time. The second part deals with literary challenges and productions and will give a survey of the main trends in West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa and South Africa. Amos Tutuola, Cyprian Ekwensi, Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Ayi Kwei Armah, Peter Abrahams, Nadine Gordimer are among the writers whose texts offer the African survey.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW210 Famous Writers & their Celebrated Illustrators 3 cr.


    Famous Writers and their Celebrated Illustrators combines literature and art. Discussed will be great works of literature and the visual images they inspired. Writers, from Dante and Cervantes to Pushkin, Gogol, Corneille, Swift, Defoe and Wilde, among others, will be discussed. Illustrators will include Botticelli, Dore, Delacroix, Beardsley, Picasso, Pasternak (the father), Favorsky, Baskin, as well as numerous contemporary illustrators.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW232 Readings in Asian American Literature 3 cr.


    An introduction to literature by Asian-American writers (Americans of Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Indian, and Filipino heritage). The course includes writers who have written modern classics, such as Maxine Hong Kingston, as well as other known and less familiar writers of various literary genres, including David Henry Hwang, Chang-Rae Lee, Lawson Inada, and Bharati Mukherjee.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW290 African Art, Religion, Philosophy and Culture 3 cr.


    African Art, Religion, Philosophy and Culture: This course studies art productions in Africa as part of religious, philosophical and cultural systems. Emphases are on art objects that reflect and participate in historical evolution, community management and stand for philosophical and cultural expressions. Artists’ skills are presented from their sources to their different expressions and social implications through different diffusions and trends. The course also looks at different village communities in order to find out the artist and his artifacts as they participate in daily social life and in the construction of a world vision. The course presents art productions in different parts of Africa, but will concentrate much more on Central Africa. It discusses the understanding of symmetry versus asymmetry, the use of colors, wood, rocks, stones, iron, feathers, clothes and other media as they carry religious, philosophical and cultural lessons. The course suggests different interpretation procedures of art objects in order to understand how religion, philosophy and culture are reflected in art productions. Gender understanding, religion construction and power distribution in different communities are largely linked to artifacts motifs and icons.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW300 Playwriting 3 cr.


    A course that teaches the fundamentals of writing drama for the stage. Students study the craft of successful plays by Edward Albee, August Wilson, Paula Vogel, and others, applying what they learn to writing their own scenes and plays. The course culminates in a public developmental reading of some of the best one-act plays written by the students.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW301 Monster Madness 3 cr.


    We will be rounding up the usual suspects: the appalling and tragic monster and his equally tragic and appalling creator; the charismatic vampire and his bevy of vamps; the traveling salesman who finds himself transformed into a giant dung-beetle. More broadly, the course will study the idea of monstrosity, and in ways in which monsters represent the shadowy side of human nature: what people fear and what they desire. The syllabus will include Frankenstein, Dracula, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Kafka’s Metamorphosis, and Nabokov’s Lolita.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW302 History of the Book 3 cr.


    This course examines the relationship between how texts have been written and what they say during the millennia from the cuneiform tablet to the iPad. The course examines the relationship between spoken and written language, between libraries and scholarship, and between text for eyes and text for ears. It considers text-centric and image-centric book making as expressions and creators of human history. The course examines the possible future of books.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW303 The Family Drama in Literature 3 cr.


    An exploration of literature that portrays families, the complicated dynamics of family relationships, generational conflicts, and sibling rivalries. We will also examine the ways in which the microcosm of the family reflects its larger cultural and historical settings. The syllabus is culturally diverse and trans-historical, ranging from the story of David and Absalom in the Bible to Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom!, with a variety of novels, plays and films along the way.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture
    All College Elective
    Spring
  
  • LALW305 Russian Short Story 3 cr.


    Russian literature is a relatively new phenomenon. It burst on world stage suddenly and unexpectedly in the early nineteenth century and almost immediately gained tremendous world-wide influence. Everyone knows the names of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, Chekhov and Pasternak, Nabokov and Solzhenitsyn. Great Russian literature is also uniquely connected to Russian philosophy and politics. Thus, reading and studying it will help students to better understand the trials and tribulations of the modern times.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW306 Modernist Word and Image 3 cr.


    Nearly 100 years on, the visual and verbal
    experiments of high Modernism still have the
    power to arrest our gaze and our attention. In
    this course, we will explore the unique
    conversation between word and image that occurs
    between approximately 1910 and 1945. How do
    visual artists respond to innovations in poetic
    form? What does literature look like when it
    aspires to be pictorial or visual? Do artists
    and writers actually practice the principles laid
    out in their manifestos? Questions like
    these-and many others-will guide our
    investigation and analysis. Texts will include
    seminal writings from Futurism, Dadaism, and
    Surrealism; avant-garde poetry by Apollinaire,
    Pound, Stein, Williams, and others; Wyndham
    Lewis’ periodical Blast; Virginia Woolf’s To the
    Lighthouse and other readings that complicate the
    boundaries between mediums, genres, and forms of
    expression.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
    Fall/Spring
  
  • LALW307 Modern Drama 3 cr.


    Readings of several modern playwrights, from Ibsen and Chekhov to the present. The course examines how these writers responded to cultural change, modified dramatic conventions, and explored shifting relations between comedy and tragedy, illusion and reality.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW308 Lyric Poetry 3 cr.


    Literary analysis and oral readings of lyric poems from several eras and cultures. Particular attention is given to subtle interactions between linguistic and structural elements such as rhythm, meter, stanza form, syntax, diction, and imagery.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW309 Twentieth Century American Literature 3 cr.


    A focus on major writers who have emerged in the twentieth century. The course concentrates on contemporary figures and earlier modernist writers.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW310 Religion and Literature 3 cr.


    The class studies a selection of texts addressing
    universal religious themes such as creation,
    sacrifice, love, death and the problem of evil.
    Several religious perspectives (including
    polytheistic ones) are represented. The class uses
    the texts as lenses through which to examine some
    of humankind’s deepest concerns and questions.
    More generally, the class examines the complicated
    and often strained relationship between art and
    ideology. Students are assigned three critical
    papers and a final examination. The syllabus
    will include texts from the Old and New Testaments, Sufi poems by Rumi, the Native American memoir Black Elk Speaks, Tolstoy’s story “The Death of Ivan Illych” and Ginsberg’s poem “Kaddish.”

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW311 Contemporary Poetry and the Modernist Tradition 3 cr.


    An examination of recent poems of the Americas in the context of modernist innovations in the twentieth century. African-American, Asian-American, and Native American contemporary poetry is covered, as is Beat poetry, confessional poetry, sound poetry, and other current voices. Poetic styles and themes are examined in relation to the visual arts and to intellectual and social currents.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW312 Creative Writing: The Essay 3 cr.


    This course, conducted as a workshop with essays read aloud and critiqued in class, provides students with an opportunity to explore through their own writing the power and variety of the essay form. From memoir to observation, personal profile to political observation, this course encourages students to transmit interior reflection and external observation into essay form. Assigned reading of essays. Grade based on 25-page portfolio (usually five essays).

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW317 Immigrants in America 3 cr.


    This course focuses on a variety of literary
    texts and films that examine the experience of
    immigrants in the USA from the 1950s to nowadays.
    Through the reading of excerpts of novels, short
    stories and critical essays, and the viewing of
    movies and documentaries, we will discuss the
    issues that have affected the different
    generations of Irish, Jewish, Italian, Japanese,
    Indian and more recently Hispanic/Caribbean
    immigrants in the USA.
    We will devote special attention to the
    experience of marginalization of the immigrants,
    the changes in their family structure, the
    process of ‘becoming American’, and the social
    and cultural impact these communities have had to
    the US national identity so far.
    We also will look at the ways in which immigrant
    writers both adopt and adapt the English
    language, while changing and often enriching it,
    and how they work against the conventional
    cultural and visual representations of immigrants
    in the US media.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
    Fall/Spring
  
  • LALW320 Poetry Workshop 3 cr.


    A workshop in poetic form and structure.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW322 Shakespeare: On Film and In Print, Part 1 3 cr.


    A study of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Henry V, Hamlet, and King Lear, using a genre approach. Emphasis is on reading and understanding Shakespeare. The films are studied as contemporary realizations and interpretations of the plays.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW324 Shakespeare: On Film and In Print, Part II 3 cr.


    A study of The Taming of the Shrew, Henry IV: Part I, Julius Caesar, Othello, and Anthony and Cleopatra, using a genre approach. Emphasis is on reading and understanding Shakespeare. The films are studied as contemporary realizations and interpretations of the plays.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW327 Irish Literature: The Easter Rebellion 3 cr.


    Irish Literature: The Easter Rebellion, will study the literature and politically explosive speeches that reflected Irish-English tensions and inflamed Ireland’s desire for freedom. We will analyze Yeats, Joyce, Synge and others.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW328 Contemporary Italian Literature and Film: Myths, Identity and the “Mirage of America” 3cr


    This course introduces students to a selection of the most significant Italian literature of the second half of the 20th century. These novels and
    short-stories provide a variety of perspectives and insights into Italy as a country, with its complex history and rich culture, but also with
    its changing values (e.g. the presence of the Catholic Church vs. secular society, the recent immigration from Africa and Asia), and internal
    tensions (e.g. the North-South divide, recent debates on gender equality, the intersection of politics and the Mafia).

    Some of the novels are complemented by films that have put the talent of Italian directors and
    actors on the international ‘map’ since the 1960’s. Thanks to their visionary skills as well
    as poignant societal analysis, these authors, intellectuals and artists have also substantially
    informed the contemporary American literary and
    cultural scene. In this respect, some of the novels and films in this course reflect on the
    “mirage of America” in Italian culture, and the related representations of Italian-Americans. In
    class we will analyze these representations and compare them with the images of present-day Italy
    in American media, arts and popular culture.

    Prerequisites: LALW-200

    Lecture
    Elective
    Fall and Spring
  
  • LALW329 Literature & Culture of he Great War 3 cr


    The Great War (1914-1918) altered global politics, national cultures, language,
    consciousness, and aesthetics in ways that the world is still processing. Planned for the
    centenary of the beginning of Great War hostilities, this course will explore the culture
    into which the war exploded; the lived and written experience of soldiers and civilians
    alike; and hallmarks of the diverse body of literary and artistic output that responded to
    the horrors of mechanized trench warfare, shellshock, and massive loss. The reading list
    includes works by Robert Graves, David Jones, Guillaume Apollinaire, Virginia Woolf, Erich
    Maria Remarque, Wilfred Owen, and others.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture
    Elective
    Fall/Spring
  
  • LALW335 Retelling Cambodia’s Killing Fields 3 cr.


    Under the Pol Pot Regime of 1975- 1979, Cambodia killing fields took the lives of 2,000,000 people. Using individual survivor narratives, we will seek to understand Pol Pot’s rise to power during the Vietnam War, and the near destruction of Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW346 Camelot: Tales of King Arthur 3 cr.


    A study of the literary epics of the legends surrounding Camelot and King Arthur, their origins in the middle ages and subsequent variations.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW349 History of Film 3 cr.


    This course surveys film history from the 1890s to the present. Students use history of film textbook and general history readings to study works demonstrating the evolving development of motion picture art and the motion picture industry. Students produce written research treating trends and questions in motion picture history.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW353 Modern European Cinema 3 cr.


    We will study a number of trends in recent European cinema, discussing different themes and production values across genres and cultures, from western to Eastern Europe and including Scandinavia and Great Britain. Filmmakers studied will include Lars von Trier, Patrice Chereau, Fatih Akin, Hanif Kureishi, Catherine Breillat and others. This is a seminar course, with a lecture and discussion format, several essays and one mid-term.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW360 Third World Women: Literature and Culture 3 cr.


    The course will trace the journey of the Third World women writers in the USA starting with Bharati Mukherjee’s “Middle Men and Other Short Stories.” In the first phase we study women’s suffering and hardship as cyborgs, in the process of merging themselves with the First World coming from the Third World. In the next phase, we study the female novelist Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s “Arranged Marriage,” which portrays Indian women’s dilemma in various marriage situations in the USA and informs us about Indian culture and how marriage is perceived from different angles. The theme of marriage and mother-daughter relation will be studied further through the Caribbean writer Jamaica Kincaid’s collection of short stories,” At the Bottom of the River” and the African writer Ama Ata Aidoo’s “No Sweetness Here” by delving into the specific cultural contexts. In the third phase, we study more recent writings by women authors like Jhumpa Lahiri’s “Namesake” looking at the evolution of cultural adjustment and assimilation. The other strain that we study in this phase is the concept of “magical realism” encountered in the Indian author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s novel “Mistress of Spices” and in the Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector’s “An Apprenticeship or the Book of Delights” which harps on the notion of solution and hope. Another attraction of the course will be an interesting array of films by Third World female filmmakers like Mira Nair and Aparna Sen among others.

    Prerequisites: LALW100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW362 Twenty-first Century Novel 3 cr.


    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    All College Elective
  
  • LALW400 Directed Study 3 cr.


    An opportunity for seniors to read widely in some area of literature without the structure or time restrictions of class meetings. Individual meetings are arranged with an instructor.

    Prerequisites: LALW200 enrollment senior elective, and consent of the instructor.

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
  
  • LALW403 Writing an Artist’s Statement 3 cr.


    A workshop in which initial drafts and subsequent revisions of students’ writings are photocopied, distributed to all members of the class, and critiqued. The objective is to help students develop artist’s statements that: (a) are appropriate to the purposes for which they are written; (b) articulate what the student wants to say about their art; and (c) communicate clearly to the intended audiences. Open only to seniors.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    Senior Elective
  
  • LALW410 Opera and the fusion of the Arts 3 cr.


    What is opera? German composer Richard Wagner
    described it as a “total art work,” combining music, drama, singing, and scenic design. The course encourages new ways of thinking about the relationships between different artistic disciplines and forms. The class will watch and discuss a selection of operas from the seventeenth through twentieth centuries. No classical music background is required, and no one will be expected to sing! For the final project, which will combine artwork and critical writing, students will imagine and design a production for an opera of their choice.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    All College Elective

Liberal Arts: Mathematics and Science

  
  • LAMS200 The Universe 3 cr.


    A study of how the basic laws of physics and astronomical observations lead to an understanding of the universe as a whole.

    Prerequisites: FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LAMS201 Algebra and the Computer 3 cr.


    Algebra is introduced in a context relevant to adults working as artists and designers. Data sets from practical applications are used to develop a numeric, verbal, graphic and symbolic understanding of linear, quadratic and exponential functional relationships. Applications include use of data sets by artists, design of parabolic devices, motion graphics, tumor growth, pollution decay, and financial issues such as taxation, bank interest and credit card debt. Custom software is used to explain algebra in an interactive visual way particularly suited for visual thinkers, and commercial spreadsheet software is used for processing and graphing data.

    Prerequisites: FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LAMS203 Physics of Music 3 cr.


    This course uses principles of physics to understand musical instruments, scales, and chords. Required background: Students must be able to find notes from written music on an instrument of their choice. The course will draw upon high school algebra.

    Prerequisites: FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LAMS205 Mathematics, Logic, and Knowledge 3 cr.


    A study of the veracity of mathematics and mathematical thought. Axioms of mathematics, elements of formal logic, and Godel’s proof and its philosophical consequences are covered.

    Prerequisites: FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LAMS240 Biological Form and Function 3 cr.


    An examination of the importance of shape, or form, to biological function. Students explore selected examples at several levels of organization (molecule, cell, individual, community) in a variety of organisms (viruses, bacteria, plants, fungi, invertebrate and vertebrate animals, embryos and mature forms.) The course seeks to increase knowledge of biology and compare biological and artistic form and function.

    Prerequisites: FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LAMS320 Environmental Science 3 cr.


    A study of the fundamental principles of ecology, with the intertwining of many biological and physical science fields. The course distinguishes the scientific, technological, and social domains. This study of complex human impacts and environmental concerns (such as biodiversity, population size, food and energy resources, air and water pollution, waste management, recycling, and sustainability) also raises issues of environmental ethics, risk assessment, and policy planning.

    Prerequisites: FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LAMS400 Directed Study Math/Science 3 cr.


    Directed Studies are designed to provide students
    with the opportunity to pursue an independent
    research project in a Liberal Arts and History of
    Art area. Typically, the end result of this
    project would be a research paper of 30 plus
    pages, or the equivalent, as agreed upon by the
    faculty member supervising the project. A
    Directed Study is a 3-credit course. Because of
    their advanced nature, Directed Studies Courses
    are open only to seniors, and are limited to one
    per semester. No more than two Directed Studies
    may be counted toward degree requirements. You
    must fill out and return a Directed Study form
    with a complete description of the project
    including a bibliography, and a description of
    the final project. You must also register for
    Directed Study.

    Prerequisites: FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    Senior Elective

Liberal Arts: Social Sciences

  
  • LASS200 Pirates, Witches and Slaves: Studies in Early American History 3 cr.


    A study of American history beginning with its roots in early America, Africa and Europe, continuing through the colonial period, the War for Independence, the Constitution and the Creek War (also known as the War of 1812), which set the stage for the developing internal conflict leading up to the Civil War.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS206 Seminar in Romanticism 3 cr.


    What is Romanticism? To what areas of intellectual life does the term have reference? To art? Literature? Philosophy? Religion? History? Politics? The answer is yes to all the above, and then some. The seminar explores the nature of this immense cultural movement while focusing on the work of the great Romantic poets, writers and artists of the nineteenth century in Europe and America.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS208 Social Psychology 3 cr.


    Social Psychology explores the behavior of individuals and groups in social contexts. In this course, an emphasis will be placed on how social aspects may be relevant to being an artistic individual in today’s society. Some examples of topics to be discussed are: How are our thoughts, feelings, and behavior influenced by the presence of other human beings? Can we manipulate someone else’s opinion? Does self-fulfilling prophesy exist? What are social norms? Questions related to how a person’s self-image develops, how individuals think about and react to the world, and how they understand themselves and others will also be explored. In addition, students will learn about concepts such as impression and attitude formation, persuasion, pro-social behavior, prejudice and discrimination, obedience and compliance, aggression, group psychology, and personality.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS209 Civil War and Reconstruction Era 3 cr.


    US history from the Missouri Compromise of 1820 to the presidential election of 1876.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS210 Representations of Race 3 cr.


    This course will look at how “race” is constructed and affirmed, drawing on images and texts from nineteenth century minstrelsy through 1950s depiction of the American family up to the current pluralistic moment.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS211 The American Century 3 cr.


    From the Spanish-Cuban-Filipino-American War to the present.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS214 Revolutionary Boston 3 cr.


    The story of Boston in the 1760s and 1770s told from the point of view of the “mobs” who populated the streets of this port city. Sailors, pirates, prostitutes, apprentices, and indentured servants all played a part in the life of Boston at the time of the American Revolution. Their stories provide new perspectives on the events of that time.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS215 City and Society 3 cr.


    Cities are places of great opportunity for many, but at the same time, they are also places of great inequality. This course introduces students to how cities function on a variety of levels, including their development and planning, racial and ethnic transformations within cities, and the role of arts and culture in urban centers. The course includes lectures, guest speakers, lively discussion, and several optional site visits that enhance our shared understanding of Boston, and by extension, other urban locales.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS216 Economic History of the US 3 cr.


    This course surveys the economic life of the United States from colonial times to Reconstruction, focusing upon the history of capitalism and slavery in the long nineteenth century. Often opposed to one another, we will explore capitalism and slavery as commensurable, if competitive, modes of economic theory and practice, as we interrogate the interplay of those regional, national, and international economies that shaped the nineteenth century US. Topics addressed will include the relationship between Native Americans and mercantile colonialism, the international movement to abolish slavery and the growth of American industry, the relationship between financial speculation and American geography, the impact of the American Civil War on US currency markets, and the enfranchisement of African Americans and the rise of the corporation.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS217 Sub-Saharan African Politics 3 cr.


    Sub-Saharan African Politics is an open window on African countries’ politics since the independences, i.e. the 60s. It provides students with details on African political institutions and governance. It considers African countries in general, but concentrates much more on: Angola, Congo, Gabon, Central Africa Republic, Botswana, Burundi, Rwanda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo as cases covering the sub region. It depicts these countries’ political management, nation building process, cooperation, health care, and education projects. The course surveys Africa from the pre-colonial empires to republics, and depicts power structures and social limitations. A number of countries are presented in their evolution from the early 60s in order to show their political situation and changes often related to the international balance of power between the West and the East. The Cold War had a serious impact on African politics, its end inaugurated the era of African Democracies still submitted to a new kind of western presence. At the same time, Asia implements its presence in Africa and challenges the western world.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS218 Central African Art and Religion 3 cr.


    This course presents art produced in different parts of Africa, but concentrates on Central Africa. It discusses the understanding of symmetry versus asymmetry, and the use of color, wood, rocks, stones, iron, feathers, clothes, and other media in the production of artifacts. The class also teaches interpretation procedures, showing how religion, philosophy, and culture participate in artistry. It also explains how art and initiation participate in the same world vision, gender understanding, religion construction and power distribution in different communities.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS221 Free Speech, Free Art and the Law 3 cr.


    Would you like to know more about Shepard Fairey’s controversial poster of Barack Obama or “Dread” Scott Tyler’s confrontational art installation “What is the Proper Way to Display a US Flag?”? Or what do you make of the attempted censorship of Chris Ofili’s “Holy Virgin Mary?” In this course we will study recent debates as well as past disputes over freedom of speech and exhibiting works of art from socio-cultural perspectives including art historical and legal views on the subject.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS222 History of Modern Middle East 3 cr.


    One hundred years ago, the borders of modern Middle Eastern states did not exist. With the conclusion of World War I in 1918, however, the European powers divided up the territories of the former Ottoman Empire and created new borders, new states, and new conflicts. Beginning with the end of World War I, then, the class will explore the development of each Middle Eastern country’s unique identity and history and how they interact with one another, and with the outside world, today. In this context we will explore the differences between Sunni and Shii Muslims, Middle Eastern minorities such as Druze, Christians, Alawis, Alevis, and Ismailis, and the differences between Jews, Arabs, Turks, Persians and Kurds. The impact of the Arab-Israeli conflict, oil, the war in Iraq, and the rise of political Islam throughout the region will also be considered. The class will include readings, lectures, video, and class discussions in order to illuminate the region’s unique history and political style.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS224 Culture, History and Philosophy of India 3 cr.


    The course will be highly interdisciplinary and will explore the basic cultural roots of India through the study of a group of writers both ancient and modern. We will start our mental journey with the ancient Indian philosophical text “Isha Upanishad” in translation which is at the root of Indian culture and written by a group of unknown scholars in ancient times. We then come to the medieval India and read “Gita-Govinda” by Jaydeva the legend of Radha and Krishna which combines literature, philosophy and history of India during that time period. Thus, in the first phase, we read Pre-Colonial India through “Upanishad” and “Gita-Govinda” thus looking at the texts and listening to musical chanting. In the second phase, we study colonial India through Tagore’s novel “Home and the World” and study British colonization and culture of India during that time. To delve into philosophy we also read Tagore’s “King of the Dark Chamber” which deals with the critique of colonization and the notion of redemption and transcendence in colonial time. At the last phase, we construct the modern and postmodern Indian culture, history and philosophy through the writers who are writing in the USA both male and female, for example writers like Amitav Ghosh, Chitra Banerjee and Jhumpa Lahiri. We read Chira Banerjee’s “Mistress of Spices” and Jhumpa Lahiri’s “Namesake,” as well as Amitav Ghosh’s “Calcutta Chromosomes.” A special attraction of the course will be films of Satayjit Ray and Aparna Sena, the two great filmmakers of India.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS226 The Rise and Expansion of the Great Muslim Empires 3 cr.


    This course explores the history of successive Islamic empires and capital cities within them, from the foundation of Islam in the early seventh century to Napoleon’s conquest of Egypt at the dawn of the nineteenth century. The crusades and their continuing impact on relations between the Middle East and the west, as well as historically significant Islamic art and architecture are explored. Relations between Muslims, Christians, and Jews, as well as the lesser-known religions of the Middle East such as the Zoroastrians, Alawis, and Druze, are examined. Photos and videos that help to illuminate the region constitute an important part of this course and are used in every class.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS227 Markets, Minds and Mathematics 3 cr.


    Financial literacy. Practical knowledge about personal finance (budgets and credit) and money management (banking and the ABCs of investing). Readings and discussion on current financial topics.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS239 Entrepreneurship 3 cr


    Entrepreneurship; What does it take to start and run your own business.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture
    Elective
    Fall/Spring
  
  • LASS280 Introduction to Psychology 3 cr.


    An examination of the dynamics of the self from the interpretative, clinical perspective. The course discusses the growth and the making of the “solid self” and explores the influences that can further or hinder the constitution of a coherent, stable personality. Narcissistic disorders, the most common psychic disorders of our time, are also addressed.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
    Fall/Spring
  
  • LASS281 Psychology of Flourishing 3 cr.


    This course will examine psychology as it relates to the human potential for growth and flourishing as well as for resiliency. Traditionally, psychologists have aimed at helping individuals notice and fix unwanted or dysfunctional habits, uncover and repair unfortunate or traumatic childhood experiences, or calibrate damaged brain chemistry. Rather than focusing on human weakness and dysfunction, this class will explore the human condition from a positive psychology perspective. That is, students will study concepts such as hope, happiness, optimism, and resiliency, and will survey human core character strengths and virtues.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS299 African Global Diaspora 3 cr.


    Global Black Studies. This course intends to guide students in an introductory survey of Global Black Studies. The latter are more and more imposing themselves in a discipline at the crossroad of literature, history, literary criticism, and ideologies based on the analyses of Black life within a global diaspora. Visual didactic materials and the most representative books lead the study of the historical, political, religious, social and economic dynamics of the Black experiences all around the world. All through the course, a particular stress will be put on the perception of the Black (by Blacks and by others), prejudices accumulated all through history, the diaspora in time, identities, racism, artistry, underdevelopment versus development, and creeds. Texts are selected in such a way that a chronological line goes far in the past, but also predicts much for the future.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS300 Race in America 3 cr.


    How did various peoples from America, Africa, and Europe, speaking different languages and possessing different cultures, come to be defined as “red”, “black”, and “white”, and how did later immigrants or conquered peoples from Asia and the western hemisphere get fitted into this scheme? This class will examine how race categories were formed in the colonial period and have been repeatedly remade up to the present.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS301 Social Philosophy of Art 3 cr.


    This course is for enthusiasts, juniors and seniors, who like ideas and think that valid reasons exist to examine art in the social, intellectual, and cultural context. Our framework is that of social philosophy. Three central themes organize the course: the pre- modern and the rise of modernity, the transition of modernity into postmodernity, and the character of art at our current moment. We will examine the roots of the modern, and the current, in the pre-modern. Why did the Romanesque give way to the Gothic? Was it just that people became bored with the same old style? If not that, then what? How far do you need to go to understand the phenomenon? The art-historical background is paramount. If you do not have this background, you should take the course at a later date. I also rely on your historical background. If you do not have a sufficient background to understand historical references this material takes for granted, you will have to make up for it by reading. I have supplied the necessary historical texts in the Reader. Our intention is not descriptive but analytic and critical. Many of your preconceived notions will be challenged. We will use examples from art-history as we need them to enlighten a larger point: the intersection between ideas, culture, society, and the art world as it evolves from the premodern into the modern, and into our current moment.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    Junior, Senior Elective
  
  • LASS302 Gender, Class and Race in American Film 3 cr.


    This class looks at film as an important part of mass culture. The course is a social science course, not a “film viewing” one. Expect to analyze sociological themes having to do with gender, class, and race as such themes are reflected in the actions of the film’s characters; in their relations with other characters; in their expectations, hopes, and dreams; and, implicitly, in the film’s cinematic, visual aspects.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS303 Abnormal Psychology 3 cr.


    This course will provide an introduction to the field of abnormal psychology. Questions around what qualifies as “abnormal” or “normal” in historical and cultural contexts will be explored. In addition, students will study diagnostic criteria and statistical data of the major mental disorders as compiled in the DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). Treatment options for each disorders and associated theoretical perspectives will be examined. The role of environment, genetic factors, psychodynamics, neuropsychology, and biochemistry in the determination of psychopathology will also be discussed.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS304 Arab-Israeli Conflict


    This course explores the origins and development of one of the most intractable conflicts of our time - the Arab-Israeli conflict. It explore relations between Arabs and Jews under the Ottoman and British Empires between 1882 and 1948, and war, the prospects for peace, and the peace process after the foundation of the state of Israel in 1948. The course examines the diplomatic and military options the two sides have used, the impact of oil, religious fundamentalism, political militancy, and prospects for the peaceful resolution of the more than century-long conflict. In addition to a main textbook, excerpts from biographies and autobiographies of Israeli, Palestinian, and other Arab leaders are included . Extensive use of video, including newscasts, documentaries and dramatic movies dealing with the conflict, produced both from within the region as well as abroad, are used in every class and constitute a major part of this course.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS305 How Language Works 3 cr.


    An introduction to basic linguistic concepts, including word play, language games, and the symbolic power of language. Supplementing the course textbook are : Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass; cartoons by Saul Steinberg; remarks by Oscar Wilde and Groucho Marx; puns by Shakespeare; paintings that incorporate words; newspaper headlines; advertising slogans; bumper-stickers; word puzzles and brain teasers.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS306 Ancient History from Prehistory to Rome 3 cr.


    A survey of the extensive period from the Old Stone Age to the fall of Rome in the fifth century AD. The course first investigates the ancient river valley civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, and China, concentrating on the major achievements of each. The second half of the course offers a detailed account of the classical civilizations of Greece and Rome and an in-depth discussion of Judaism and early Christianity.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS309 History of Modern Europe 3 cr.


    A comprehensive overview of the last four centuries of European history. The course surveys political and international history, social history, and intellectual history. Students gain a deep appreciation for the rich complexity of European civilization and a solid understanding of the continuity of events from the seventeenth century onward.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS318 Seminar: Reading Marx 3 cr.


    A critical reading and discussion of some of Marx’s writings on history, philosophy and society, plus commentary.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100; LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS321 Bonds of Love: Attachment and the Brain 3 cr.


    This course examines intimate human relationships ranging from infancy through adulthood by exploring new findings in neuroscience as well as in developmental/relational/depth psychologies. The course treats questions about selfhood and emotion; the capacities for empathy, attachment and solitude, and received ideas of love in the relationships we form. Readings in psychology, neuropsychology and fiction; documentary and popular film clips.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100; LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS351 Intellectual History of Modern Europe 3 cr.


    A study of major trends in Europe from the French Enlightenment to the present. Topics include an analysis of the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, Romanticism, and major nineteenth and twentieth century schools of philosophy and criticism.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS354 Marxist Perspectives on Art 3 cr.


    An introduction to the relationship between art and politics, with emphasis on the application of Marxist ideas and categories to the arts.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS357 Civil Liberties 3 cr.


    An analysis of the relationship between the individual and the law, showing how and why the law is “political.” Students study the effects of politics and economics on the issue of constitutional rights.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS359 Technology and Change 3 cr.


    A study of the relationship between technological advance and social, economic, political, intellectual, and artistic change. Historical in method, the course concentrates on the last two hundred years.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS360 Memory and Dreams 3 cr.


    This course explores the intersecting realms of memory and dream. Dreaming is an entirely subjective experience, but how objective is remembering? How do we understand phenomena like post-traumatic or implanted or false memories? How can culture construct our memories–and our forgettings–for us? How can we separate identity from memory and either from forms of fiction? The world of dream: meaningful, nonsense, prophetic, usable? As in our work on memory, we’ll call on current neuroscience and neuropsychology, see film clips, read case histories, fiction, analytic theory. In preparation for the final project people will keep a nightly dream journal. In all this we’ll be asking questions about the nature of consciousness and subjectivity, about the existence of a coherent self over time, and about the creative uses to which memory and dream may be put.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  
  • LASS401 On Truth and Value 3 cr.


    The course is organized around the following core questions: What is truth and is it attainable? Why is truth important? How do we get to know objective reality? What is a “good life” in the ethical sense, and why should one desire to live a “good life”?

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective

Photography

  
  • MPPH100 Intro Photo for Non-Majors 3 cr.


    A beginning course for students with an interest in creative work and study in black and white photography. Teaches exposure controls, camera operation and rudimentary film development and printing.

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    All College Elective
  
  • MPPH206 Introduction to Digital Photography for Non-Majors 3 cr.


    An introduction to the digital darkroom that offers a solid foundation in digital imaging skills. Technical focus is on the current array of input, editing and output options. The content of student work is addressed in periodic critiques, and class discussions emphasize the role of the computer in contemporary photography.

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    All College Elective
  
  • MPPH240 Sophomore Major Studio I 6 cr.


    This required sophomore course is the first in the progression of major studio/hybrid seminars
    in photography. The course addresses the aesthetic and technical dimensions of contemporary practice in black and white analog photography. Proficiency in B&W darkroom techniques is
    emphasized. At the discretion of the instructor, the class will concentrate on the use of either
    4X5 view cameras or small/medium format cameras for the semester. Weekly assignments and
    critiques familiarize students with the importance of this equipment in contemporary
    practice as well as the history of the medium. Slide presentations and field trips are combined
    with the principles of optics, cameras, film, photographic chemistry and darkroom technique. Studetns are required to attend the regular lecture series that occurs within the limits of scheduled course contact hours.

    Prerequisites: Majors Only

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Requirement
    Fall
  
  • MPPH241 Sophomore Major Studio II 6 cr.


    This required sophomore course is the second in the progression of major studio/hybrid seminars in photography. The course builds upon the base of knowledge students gained about black and white analog photography in Sophomore Major Studio I. Advanced B&W darkroom techniques and fine silver gelatin printing  are emphasized. The class concentrates on the use of the camera format they were not exposed to in Sophomore Major Studio 4X5 view cameras or
    small/medium format cameras- for the semester. Weekly assignments and critiques familiarize
    students with the importance of this equipment in contemporary practive as well as in the history
    of the medium. Slide presentations and field trips are combined with principles of optics,
    cameras, film, photographic chemistry and darkroom technique. Students are required to attend the regular lecture series that occurs within the limits of scheduled course contact hours.

    Prerequisites: MPPH241

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Requirement
    Spring
  
  • MPPH303 Alternative Camera, Alternative Techniques 3 cr.


    An introduction to non-silver processes such as palladium and cyanotype printing and to unusual types of cameras including plastic cameras, pinholes, and others. This class will include regular demonstrations as well as critique and research techniques for seeking out unusual photographic materials.

    Critique
    Departmental Elective
  
  • MPPH304 Lighting for Photography 3 cr.


    This course is designed to introduce students to the fundamentals of photographic
    lighting. Students will explore the uses of strobe, tungsten and ambient light in both studio and location settings. Classes will consist of lectures on a wide array of approaches to the use of lighting, in-class demonstrations, and critique of student work. Over the course of the semester we will endeavor to create a collaborative conversation regarding the use of lighting and its integral relationship to the photographic image.

    Prerequisites: MPPH240 or permission of instructor

    Critique
  
  • MPPH323 Topics in Photography 3 cr.


    Courses with this title offer in-depth studies of special topics in photography. Past seminars have included “Ways of Seeing”, “Photo Book Making”, “Portrait”, and “Afterlife: Professional Practices in Photography”.

    Prerequisites: MPPH240 or permission of instructor

    Critique
    Culturally Diverse Content
    Departmental Elective
  
  • MPPH330 Word and the Photographic Image 3 cr.


    This course is an interdisciplinary look at the intersection of literature and art. Students will be creating work combining the visual and the written. The course will provide lectures and readings of work by artists working in both media, as well as critique of student work, field trips and visiting artists. Emphasis will be on making things, individual or collaborative, combining these two elements.

    Prerequisites: MPPH 100 or MPPH 200 or equivalent, LALW200, or by permission of instructor

    Critique
  
  • MPPH350 Visiting Artist Seminar 3 cr.


    This course introduces students to leading practitioners in the field of contemporary photography through frequent lectures by visiting artists, historians, and curators. The course also includes readings and discussion, film screenings, slide lectures, and visits to area exhibitions.

    Prerequisites: concurrent enrollment in Junior Projects, Senior Projects or Senior Thesis

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    Departmental Requirement
    Fall/Spring
  
  • MPPH360 Major Studio: Digital Photography 6 cr.


    This course is a rigorous introduction to the digital tools available to photographers. The class covers a wide array of topics, with emphasis placed on digital image capture and the use of the computer as a parallel tool to traditional photographic practices. Weekly critiques address students’ aesthetic and technical progress and are supplemented by readings, lectures, and discussions that evaluate the role of the computer in contemporary photography. Students are meant to develop a solid understanding of these digital imaging practices as well as an adaptable approach to emerging technologies.

    Prerequisites: MPPH260 and MPPH261

    Seminar/Hybrid
    Culturally Diverse Content
    Departmental Requirement
    Fall
  
  • MPPH361 Junior Projects 3 cr.


    In this required course, students develop and refine a personal vision of their own through long-term photography based projects, more advanced technical knowledge, and a deeper familiarity with uses of the medium. Weekly critiques, slide presentations and group discussions are important elements of this class.

    Prerequisites: MPPH260, MPPH261, MPPH360 and concurrent enrollment with the same instructor in MPPH350critique

    Culturally Diverse Content
    Departmental Requirement
    Spring
  
  • MPPH373 Photo Techniques 3 cr.


    Provides an in-depth knowledge of photographic chemistry and advanced black and white printing methods in both analog and digital printing. Techniques covered are print toning and bleaching, negative reducing and intensifying, experimentation with a variety of developers and papers, and archival finishing methods.

    Prerequisites: MPPH240

    Critique
    Departmental Elective
  
  • MPPH374 Photo: Documentary 3 cr.


    This course provides an overview of the history, theory, and politics implied in making documentary work. Assignments and weekly critiques of student projects will encourage our greater understanding of the world and of the photographic language of documentary. By the end of the semester, students will produce a coherent body of work following a specific subject chosen in consultation with the instructor. Related readings, discussions, and slide presentations will be introduced. Formely titled: Documentary Seminar

    Prerequisites: MPPH240

    Critique
    Culturally Diverse Content
    Departmental Elective
  
  • MPPH377 Landscape Photo 3 cr.


    A course designed to explore the contemporary landscape, both with the camera and through readings on the land and on environmental concerns. Emphasis is on student photographic work, discussion of imagery and literature, and developing a personal perspective on the human relationship to the land.

    Prerequisites: MPPH240 or permission of instructor

    Critique
    Culturally Diverse Content
    Fall/Spring
  
  • MPPH379 Image and Object 3 cr.


    Image and Object is a cross-media course that examines some of the possible intersections of photography and sculpture. The course will provide demonstrations of a number of photographic and sculptural processes, lectures about artists who work with both mediums as well as critiques, field trips and visiting artists. The emphasis in this course will be on making hybrid objects, on the development of individual projects and critiques.

    Prerequisites: jr. level or above

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    All College Elective
  
  • MPPH392 PH Course Assistantship


    A course assistantship allows qualified
    sophomores, juniors, and seniors to assist a
    faculty member with whom they have studied
    previously. Duties may include set up, assisting
    with demonstrations and critiques during class
    meetings. Course assistants may not grade
    students. Students may register for only one
    3-credit course assistantship each semester, and
    no more than two such assistantships may count
    toward degree requirements.
    Students selected by faculty to be course
    assistants submit a Course Assistantship form
    with the faculty and chair’s signatures to the
    Registrar during registration and no later than
    the end of the Add/Drop period. Students who are
    performing a Teaching Assistantship should follow
    Independent Study procedures

    Prerequisites: By Permission of the Instructor

    Fall/Spring
  
  • MPPH398 PH Internship 3 cr.


    An internship is a supervised professional
    experience that allows you to use classroom
    training in a real work environment, develop your
    skills, focus your career goals, and make
    professional contacts.
    MassArt offers students enrolled in a degree
    program the opportunity to register an internship
    for credit. An internship counts as 3 studio
    elective credits. To receive credit, the
    internship must meet our basic internship
    requirements, be approved by a faculty advisor,
    and registered before you start the internship.

    Prerequisites: By Permission of Instructor

    Fall/Spring
  
  • MPPH399 PH Independent Study 3 cr.


    Juniors and seniors who have a specific studio
    project which cannot be accomplished within the
    structure of a course may arrange to work with a
    faculty member on an independent basis. The
    Independent Study form (available in the
    Registrar’s Office) includes a description of the
    project. Students may take only one 3-credit
    independent study each semester, and no more than
    four independent studies will count toward the
    degree.
    Independent Study forms, with faculty and the
    chair’s signatures, should be submitted to the
    Registrar during registration and not later than
    the Add/Drop deadline.

    Prerequisites: By Permission of Instructor

    Fall/Spring
  
  • MPPH406 Polaroid 20X24 3 cr.


    This course is centered on using the specialized Polaroid 20X24 camera. Students work directly with the instructor to create work based in the studio. Students will learn lighting and collaborative techniques unique to the Polaroid.

    Prerequisites: MPPH260 or MPPH261 or permission of instructor

    Critique
    All College Elective
  
  • MPPH450 Visiting Artist Seminar 3 cr.


    This course introduces students to leading practitioners in the field of contemporary photography. Talks by visiting artists, historians and curators are organized by Instructors. On alternate weeks, the course breaks into sections to discuss the previous week’s lecture, assigned readings, view additional materials, or visit area exhibitions.

    Prerequisites: enrollment with the same instructor in MPPH361, MPPH460 or MPPH461

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    Departmental Requirement
    Spring
  
  • MPPH460 Senior Projects 3 cr.


    Students develop a specific project to be worked on throughout the semester and formally presented at final review. Weekly critiques of student work will be the emphasis of the course with time dedicated to developing artist statements, a written thesis paper, and preparation for a career in photography.

    Prerequisites: MPPH260, MPPH261, MPPH360, MPPH361 and concurrent enrollment with the same instructor in MPPH450

    Critique
    Culturally Diverse Content
    Departmental Requirement
    Fall
  
  • MPPH461 Senior Thesis 3 cr.


    In the final semester of the major, students are expected to complete a body of work, participate in a class exhibition, finalize a written thesis and complete preparation for pursuing a career in photography. The class will consist of critique, slide lecturers, student presentations, and discussions on assigned readings.

    Prerequisites: MPPH260, MPPH261, MPPH360, MPPH361, MPPH460 and concurrent enrollment with the same instructor in MPPH450

    Critique
    Culturally Diverse Content
    Departmental Requirement
    Spring

Studio for Interrelated Media

  
  • MPSM203 Video Sculpture 3 cr.


    This class functions as a laboratory exploring video sculpture, installation, performance and sitte specific projections. Every day you use your body as a tool to manipulate materials, create physical objects and act on others. Through this process your body acts as an extension of your ideas, making them physically manifest in time. This class will explore objects, time and space using video as a tool capable of acting on the 3D world.

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
 

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