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Academic Catalog 2015-2016 
    
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Academic Catalog 2015-2016 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Courses

 

History of Art
  

  • HART297 Roots of Design History, 1650-1920 3 cr.

    This course examines the history of designed
    objects, largely furnishings, inclusive of
    industrial design and graphic design, handicraft
    and automation. The industrial revolution changed
    the domestic sphere as much as the conditions of
    labor. The increase in mass- produced and
    accessible goods (and in ownership) is often
    referred to in shorthand as ‘democratization’ and
    as a characteristic component of the American
    experience. IKEA and Philippe Starck employ the
    phrase ‘democratic design’ and DIY practitioners
    use it to stake out their independence from
    corporations. Can we also use this perspective to
    evaluate the proliferation of such things as
    newspapers, clocks, mantelpiece statuary, chairs,
    ice cream bowls and sardine forks between 1650
    and 1920? (Formerly American Design, 1650- 1920)

    Prerequisites: HART100

    Lecture
    All College Elective
    Spring
  

  • HART300 Art of Ancient Iraq 3 cr.

    The arts of the ancient Sumerian, Babylonian, and Assyrian cultures of Mesopotamia (Iraq) from the eighth millennium BC through the fall of the Babylonian Empire in 539 BC. Emphasis is on the interpretation of art objects as evidence for such historical, social, and cultural developments as urbanism, social stratification, the institutionalization of religion, imperialism, and international commerce.

    Prerequisites: HART100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  

  • HART301 Art of Ancient Egypt 3 cr.

    Survey of the visual culture of ancient Egypt from the Predynastic period (ca. 5000 B.C.) until the end of the New Kingdom (ca. 1000 B.C.). Emphasis is on major examples of architecture, sculpture, and painting viewed in their historical, political, social, economic, and religious contexts. The class looks at the methods and goals of archaeological work in Egypt and how these have shaped contemporary views of the ancient culture.

    Prerequisites: HART100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  

  • HART302 Egypt of the Pharaohs

    Intensive study of the visual culture of ancient Egypt from the Predynastic through Roman periods (ca. 5000 to 0 B.C.). Visits to major sites and museums in Egypt will be accompanied by lectures on their historical, political, social, economic, and religious significance. Students are encouraged to make connections between the sights seen and their own research and visual interests. SEE TRAVEL COURSE SECTION FOR OFFICIAL REGISTRATION PROCEDURES. TRAVEL TO EGYPT REQUIRED.

    Prerequisites: HART100

  

  • HART304 Maya: Archaeology and Community (travel course) 3 cr.

    While the cities built by the ancient Maya of Guatemala are among the most sophisticated and widely studied archaeological sites in the world, the enduring culture of their descendents, the living Maya, often goes unrecognized. During this semester-long academic course on the archaeology and culture of the Maya, students will spend Spring Break in Guatemala visiting archaeological and cultural heritage sites, meeting local artists, and engaging in service-learning projects with Maya communities. Students will enrich their study of ancient Maya art and culture with an invaluable opportunity to live and work among Maya communities of today. Admission by application only.

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    Travel Course; By Application
  

  • HART311 Materials and Methods in Medieval Art 3 cr.

    This course will examine the broad range of materials used to create works of art during the Middle Ages, the techniques used and the thinking that underpinned medieval ideas about artists, art works and the process of artistic creation. Attention will be given to a variety of artistic media produced during the Middle Ages from monumental architecture, stone sculpture and wall painting, to manuscript illumination, textiles and metal work.

    Prerequisites: HART100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
  

  • HART320 Villas and Gardens of the Italian Renaissance 3 cr.

    An investigation of the architecture of leisure in Renaissance Italy, from the early Humanist villas of the powerful Medici family to the farm-villa complexes designed by Palladio in the sixteenth century. Gardens and villas are considered in their role as purveyors of the economic, social and political power of the elite, and in relation to ancient literary and archeological sources and Renaissance design theory. Examples include the Medici villa at Fiesole, Palazzo Te in Mantua, Palazzo Farnese at Caprarola and Villa d’Este at Tivoli.

    Prerequisites: HART100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  

  • HART325 Palaces,Pavilions and Gardens 3cr.

    Much of Islamic art is inspired by ideas of
    paradise. This course will explore the image of
    paradise and its models in Islamic arts from the
    8th through 18th centuries. Islamic palace and
    garden complexes such as the Alhambra, the Taj
    Mahal, Topkapi, and others will be examined, as
    well as paradisical themes in Islamic portable
    arts, color theory, and abstract geometries. The
    historical origins of Muslim paradise iconography
    will be investigated, including the role of
    Qur’anic and other early Islamic texts, and the
    ancient garden traditions of Persia, Rome, and
    Byzantium. 

    Prerequisites: HART100

    Culturally Diverse
    Undergraduate Elective
    Spring
  

  • HART331 Seventeenth Century Dutch Painting 3 cr.

    The focus of this course is the paintings and culture of the Dutch Republic during its “Golden Age” : 1600-1675. Topics to be considered in detail include Dutch Mannerism; the school of Utrecht; Hals and developments around him in Haarlem; Rembrandt and the Rembrandt Research Project; associates, pupils and followers of Rembrandt; Vermeer, the School of Delft and other genre painters; and Ruisdael, Hobbema and landscape painting. Emphasis is also given to Dutch painting in the following contexts: Dutch capitalism and the growth of Dutch wealth in the early Golden Age; the open market situation of Dutch “patronage”; Dutch work ethic Protestantism; and the greatness of Dutch lens-making as an aspect of Dutch science. Some of the following topics may also be considered: the “twilight” of the Golden Age 1675-1725; sources of the French Rococo in seventeenth-century Dutch painting; sources of eighteenth century English painting in Dutch realism. This course was formerly titled Northern Baroque Art.

    Prerequisites: HART100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  

  • HART340 Mayan Art and Archaeology 3 cr.

    An intensive study of the ancient Maya of Mexico and Guatemala, creators of magnificent sculpture, architecture, painting and ceramics. Students will examine the origins of the Maya, their calendars, writing and artistic traditions, trace the history of the major Maya cities and investigate the decline of Classic Maya art and civilization. The course concludes with the study of modern Maya culture and political issues.

    Prerequisites: HART100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  

  • HART341 Native American Art and Culture 3 cr.

    An examination of issues in the history of Native North America using architecture and art from the diverse societies of the region. Students confront questions of tradition, identity, authenticity, and display of sacred objects in the museum setting through understanding the social and religious use of art in a number of different Native American communities. Students also study the biographies of Native American artists, past and present.

    Prerequisites: HART100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  

  • HART345 Byzantine Art and the West 3cr.

    This course presents an overview and
    discussion of the interaction between Byzantine
    and Western European art and architecture. The
    period covered is early medieval through the
    twenty first century with a focus on the
    thirteenth through sixteenth centuries in Italy.
    Emphasis is placed on individual monuments,
    thematic trends, cross-cultural exchange, and the
    legacy of Byzantine art in the West.

    Prerequisites: HART-100

    Lecture
    Fall
  

  • HART346 Australian Art 3 cr.

    This course will examine aspects of visual art and architecture produced on the Australian continent before, during and after the colonial era. In addition to questions of style, meaning and technique, attention will be placed on the question of identity: what do terms such as Australian, Aboriginal, western, non-western mean in the context of contemporary Australia, its history and artistic culture.

    Prerequisites: HART100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
  

  • HART347 Renaissance Splendor: Venice + Mantua

    An on-site, comprehensive examination of the painting, sculpture and architecture produced during the Golden Age of Venice, the Veneto and southern Lombardy, 1200-1800. There will be a classroom component at MassArt, in which students will discuss relevant art historical texts and learn conversational Italian. Beginning with a week-long stay in the great city itself, we will study the evolution of Venetian culture from its origins as an outpost of the Byzantine Empire to its rise as the greatest and most enduring republic the world has ever known, as well as one of the richest and most magnetic artistic centers in Europe. After seven days in Venice, we will leave for Mantua, stopping first in the foothills of the Alps to view Palladio’s Villa Barbaro, and then at Padua to view the frescoes by Giotto in the Arena Chapel, which for many mark the beginning of the Renaissance. In Mantua we will study the architecture of Alberti, the frescoes by Mantegna in the Ducal Palace, and finally, the tour-de-force of Renaissance pleasure construction, Giulio Romano’s Palazzo Te. SEE TRAVEL COURSE SECTION FOR OFFICIAL REGISTRATION PROCEDURES. TRAVEL TO ITALY REQUIRED.

    Prerequisites: HART100

  

  • HART355 Survey of Chinese Art 3 cr.

    The long tradition of Chinese art is an important part of human aesthetic experience and a part of the cultural heritage of every modern woman and man in the global family. This class is a chronologically organized survey of the canon of Chinese art, including ceramic, jade, bronze, sculpture, architecture, garden, furniture, calligraphy, painting, and religious art. This survey is meant to provide a historical perspective on the works of art in their historical and social context over the centuries in China and to introduce the students to a repertoire of usable methods of approach to art. The concept of “China” itself is culturally constructed. Students in this class will be asked to think and examine critically how the works of art under the label “Chinese”. constitute a special tradition and how this tradition develops, changes, and interacts with other traditions of art through the ages.

    Prerequisites: HART100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  

  • HART373 Architecture of Boston 3 cr.

    This course will explore the evolution of Boston’s architectural landscape from colonial times to the mid-twentieth century. Challenging the common adage that “Boston’s streets were laid out by cows,” the course will identify the local geographical, industrial, and social factors that uniquely shaped Boston’s development, and will situate the city’s growth within the context of larger national trends. Topics will include individual neighborhoods, as well as celebrated architects like Charles Bulfinch, H.H. Richardson, and Ralph Adams Cram. Primary-source texts and local site visits will supplement in-class mastery of material.

    Prerequisites: HART100

    Lecture/Seminar
  

  • HART375 Landscape: Space and Place in Art 1600-2000 3 cr.

    Focusing on how artists have engaged with their environment from the eighteenth century through the twentieth, this class will subject the subject matter of landscape to close scrutiny. This class will look at parallel developments in Europe and America, and will consider how various stylistic movements in eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth century painting, as well as photography, graphic arts and even sculpture have reacted to the significance of space and place, and humankind’s impact on the land. Through regular reading assignments, student presentations and research projects, students will track their own relationship to the land, the city and the environment in which we live.

    Prerequisites: HART100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  

  • HART377 History of Printmaking 3 cr.

    A history of the invention and development of printmaking techniques through the study of the work of major historical and contemporary artists. Material is drawn primarily from Western traditions and includes cross-cultural influences.

    Prerequisites: HART100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  

  • HART382 Painting and Sculpture in the USA 1900-1950. 3 cr.

    This course will survey the most significant achievements in painting and sculpture from the Ashcan School to the origins and early development of abstract expressionism. Emphasis will be given to the relationships between American modernism and its European sources as well as to the more-or-less constant presence of realism in American art. The instructor will prepare a reader for the course which will include scholarship of monographic focus as well as selections from such classic studies about the period as Milton W. Brown’s “American Painting from the Armory Show” to the Depression, Abraham A. Davidson’s “Early American Modernist Painting 1910-1935,” and Irving Sandler’s “The Triumph of American Painting.” A special feature of the course will be the inclusion of assignments in American literature of specific pertinence. Selections from Hart Crane’s “The Bridge” will be studied in relation to visual representations of the Brooklyn Bridge by Joseph Stella and Sherwood Anderson’s “Winesburg Ohio” will be read in conjunction with the paintings of Charles Burchfield.

    Prerequisites: HART100

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  

  • HART400 Directed Study in Art History 3 cr.

    Directed Study is 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: By Permission of Instructor

    Fall/Spring
  

  • HART403 Archaeological Theory and Practice 3 cr.

    An introduction to applied archaeology as a preparation for participation in an archeological excavation. Investigation of archeological theory including history, purposes, goals, and ethics of excavation.

    Prerequisites: HART100 and any 200 or 300 level HART course

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  

  • HART404 Protection of Cultural Heritage 3 cr.

    Examination of the forces that threaten the world’s shared artistic, architectural, and archaeological heritage, and discussion of the practical and theoretical responses to deal with these threats. Class readings and discussion will focus on threats from looting, collecting, museums, and armed conflict. For Art History majors only.

    Prerequisites: HART100 and any 200 or 300 level HART course

    Lecture/Seminar
    Departmental Elective
  

  • HART411 Gothic Architecture: Great Cathedrals of Europe Great Cathedrals of Europe 3 cr.

    An in-depth look at the medieval Gothic architecture of Europe, focusing on selected cathedrals from the earliest examples around twelfth century Paris to the fanciful stonework and towering spires of fifteenth century England and Central Europe. Following an overview of the period and its monuments, students will undertake individual research projects with the professor’s guidance, and will share their progress and conclusions with one another. The course is designed to provide students with tools for professional and/or graduate work in the field of art history. Preference will be given to History of Art majors.

    Prerequisites: HART100 and any 200 or 300 level HART course

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  

  • HART412 Seminar: Monumental Images in Medieval Art 3 cr.

    This course will consider the large-scale sculpture, wall painting, and stained glass created for medieval architectural settings in Europe between about 1100 and 1400. The course will begin with an overview of materials and techniques and of common iconographic themes such as the Last Judgment, the passage of time, beasts and gargoyles, Biblical interpretation, and the Life of Christ. The ways in which these images were deployed in architectural settings, the effect of that architecture on one’s ability or inability to see images, and the meanings that might be read into the interaction of image and space will be ongoing themes in the course. Students will explore different methodologies that art historians have used to interpret medieval art in professional journals and recent books, and will produce a major research paper with the guidance of the instructor.

    Prerequisites: HART100 and any 200 or 300 level HART course

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
  

  • HART440 Seminar: When Worlds Collide: Aztecs at the Conquest and Beyond 3 cr.

    The 1521 Spanish conquest of the Aztec of Mexico forged a new world from a monumental collision of religions, philosophies and visual cultures. Through critical reading, research and oral and written presentation of 10-12 page papers, students in this seminar explore the power and paradoxes of Aztec civilization before and in the wake of conquest through examination of Aztec art and documentary sources including pictorial manuscripts and codices, sculpture, painting and architecture. Students also analyze first-hand accounts, memoirs and philosophical treatises recording Spanish conquistadors’ and clergies’ ambivalent responses to Aztec culture, to its sophistication and to its seeming barbarity. The influence of Aztec art on modernism in Mexico, North America and Europe also will be a focus of student discussion and research.

    Prerequisites: HART100 and any 200 or 300 level HART course; Art of Mesoamerica and/or Maya Art &Architecture (recommended, not required)

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  

  • HART451 Seminar on Chinese Calligraphy and Literati Painting 3 cr.

    In Chinese conception, calligraphy and painting are closely related to poetry. Many literati engage in two or all three of these arts. Theories of calligraphy and painting developed along parallel lines with those of poetry. Treatises on these arts use similar or even identical concepts, terms, and images that are closely related to Chinese concepts on Nature. In 687, Sun Qianli described different scripts of calligraphy are “sometimes heavy like threatening clouds and sometimes light like cicada wings; when the brush moves, water flows from a spring, and when the brush stops, a mountain stands firm.”. Zhao Mengfu (1254 - 1322) claimed that when he paints, “Rocks like Flying White; tree like the Great Seal script; the sketching of bamboos should include the Eight Strokes of calligraphic technique.”. This seminar focuses on the sophisticated written literature and the canonical works of Chinese calligraphy and literati painting. Students will read and discuss important ancient Chinese treatises (in English translation), perform book review on modern scholarships on Chinese calligraphy and painting, and write individual research papers (10-12 pages) and present their papers to the class. This course also includes a hands-on Chinese calligraphy and ink-monochrome painting workshop.

    Prerequisites: HART100 and any 200 or 300 level HART course

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  

  • HART455 Cultural Crossings: China and Japan after 1840 3 cr.

    This seminar is a critical examination of the visual cultures created in China and Japan after the events of the Opium War and Matthew Perry encounters. The visual cultural crossing between the West and East and between China and Japan is an important part of the developing inter-civilizations in the global age.

    Prerequisites: HART100 and any 200 or 300 level HART course

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  

  • HART481 Topics in Contemporary Art 3 cr.

    An advanced-level research seminar with intensive focus on a topic in contemporary art.

    Prerequisites: HART100 and any 200 or 300 level HART course

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  

  • HART484 Seminar: The American Scene, 1930-1950 3 cr.

    American Art of the 1930s and 1940s, including Regionalism, Social Realism, the Federal Art Project and the Mural Movement both in the US and Mexico. Using a variety of perspectives, we will examine art that was labeled as “American Scene,” and will discuss and problematize that very categorization. Through an examination of 1930s politics, Depression-era America, European modernism, cultural nationalism, and racialism, we will investigate the age-old question: “What is American about American Art?” and will look at artists who wanted to create a national art as well as those who resisted such an impulse. Artists include: John Stuart Curry, Grant Wood, Diego Rivera, Aaron Douglas, Charles Burchfield, Reginald Marsh, Jacob Lawrence, Thomas Hart Benton, Stuart Davis, Frida Kahlo, Jose Clemente Orozco, Romare Bearden, Andrew Wyeth, David Alfaro Siquieros, and Edward Hopper. The course will combine discussions with visits to local museums.

    Prerequisites: HART100 and any 200 or 300 level HART course

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  

  • HART486 Seminar: Topics in Modern Art 3 cr.

    Photographic technologies and modernism in the 1920s and 30s. During the years between the end of World War 1 and the beginning of World War II, avant-garde groups and modern artists, theorists and critics, eagerly explored the artistic and cultural promises of photography and film for a new vision of art. Their accomplishments and ideas continue to inspire and influence artists in the twenty-first century. In this course we will study European (mostly) and American developments, ranging from Constructivism and the Bauhaus, Brancusi’s use of photography, Surrealism, the Film and Photo League, and the writings of Walter Benjamin and Siegfried Kracauer. Students will write research papers and give presentations on their work to the class.

    Prerequisites: HART100 and any 200 or 300 level HART course

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  

  • HART490 The Methodologies of the History of Art 3 cr.

    This seminar explores the different ways of seeing, thinking, and writing about art and the history of art. Topics include: art historical narratives, history of form and style, iconology, psychology and art, biography and autobiography of artists, sociopolitical histories of art, gendered histories of art, semiotics— structuralism and deconstruction, post-colonialism, and museology. Students are exposed to the problems of why art changes over time, the hermeneutic challenge to interpret the meaning of arts of various cultures, and how art historians’ own perspectives shape the narratives of the history of art.

    Prerequisites: HART100 and any 200 or 300 level HART course

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  

  • HART491 Seminar: Topics in the History of Art History 3 cr.

    Today there are numerous approaches to the thinking and writing of art history each claiming, or implicitly assuming, greater validity than its rivals. The inquisitive student might very well ask “how did this situation come about?” Further curiosity might lead to the question “what is art history, really?” In this course we will not aim primarily to answer the second, ultimate question, which would entail philosophical approaches to our subject. We will, however, come closer to answering the first question. Our approach to art history will be itself historical. Throughout its history and development art history has been many things; that is, art history’s axioms, or basic assumptions, have varied greatly throughout its history, and the multiple “varieties” of older art history underlie the art histories of the present day. In order to study the history of art history effectively we will read with extreme care examples of art historical writings from the past 125 years in order to penetrate to the level of the writers’ assumptions about what constitutes art historical understanding.

    Prerequisites: HART100 and any 200 or 300 level HART course

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    Senior Elective

Illustration
  

  • CDIL205 Media Techniques 3 cr.

    An introduction to the practical application of a range of Illustration materials with a focus on water-based paint media. Through demonstrations, in-class exercises and comparative assignments, students build technical skills and increase knowledge of color in applied problems.

    Prerequisites: SFDN181, SFDN185

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Requirement
    Fall & Spring
  

  • CDIL208 Digital Illustration 3 cr.

    This course explores digital imaging using scanners, drawing tablets, digital cameras, Photoshop and Illustrator for the Macintosh. Concept-driven assignments have strong drawing components.

    Prerequisites: SFDN181, SFDN185

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Requirement
    Fall/Spring
  

  • CDIL211 Human Figure in Illustration 3 cr.

    By drawing the human figure in a variety of situations, students explore basic anatomy. Assignments include use of figure or anatomical drawing in professional practice situations.

    Prerequisites: SFDN181, SFDN185

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Culturally Diverse Content
    Departmental Requirement
    Fall/Spring
  

  • CDIL214 Drawing: Observation to Concept 3 cr.

    The course stresses the process of working with dry media techniques (graphite, pastel, colored pencil. scratchboard) basic drawing skills, and2D principles to render concepts. Visual, metaphors are explored by manipulating the contexts and relationships of objects and figures.

    Prerequisites: SFDN181 and SFDN185

    Critique
    Departmental Elective
    Fall/Spring
  

  • CDIL215 Sophomore Illustration 3 cr.

    An introduction to professional illustration with emphasis on drawing and painting from observation. Assignments will introduce students to a variety of illustration venues including book, editorial, and product illustration while exploring the visual methods of color and composition as precise visual tools.

    Prerequisites: Take 9 credits from CDIL-205, CDIL-20, CDIL-211 CDIL-214,
    CDIL-216

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Culturally Diverse Content
    Departmental Requirement
    Spring
  

  • CDIL216 Color for Illustrators 3 cr.

    Color is a powerful aspect of an illustrator’s education. In response to this assertion, this studio course draws upon the understanding of color theory -though the steadfast focus remains on practical application, on tutoring intuition, heightening awareness, and refining skill. Through a practical exploration of theoretical/conceptual issues, students investigate the complexity and interrelatedness of elements of color - its perceptual, emotional/psychological, technical and aesthetic aspects. Students are required to complete a series of studio projects emphasizing the informed intuitive awareness, creative use, and practical application of color as a formal means of visual communication and expression for storytelling.

    Prerequisites: SFDN181 and SFDN185

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Culturally Diverse Content
    Departmental Requirement
    Fall/Spring
  

  • CDIL302 Narrative Illustration 3 cr.

    An exploration of the storytelling power of illustration. Emphasis is on the research and drawing skills needed to develop strong characters in sequential imagery. Students work in a variety of media, both traditional and digital. The course also examines historical and emerging trends in the business of children’s books, textbooks, book covers, artists’ books, and graphic novels.

    Prerequisites: CDIL215 or permission of instructor

    Critique
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  

  • CDIL303 Watercolor 3 cr.

    An exploration of watercolor as a medium for illustration. Emphasis is on value, light, and applied color theory, working toward an evocative and personal palette. Work of historical and contemporary illustrators is discussed.

    Prerequisites: CDIL215 or permission of instructor

    Critique
    Departmental Elective
  

  • CDIL304 Advanced Drawing Projects for Illustrators 3 cr.

    The course is a continuing deep investigation into informed drawing. Focus is on drawing as a way of understanding objects, figures, animals, and place in terms of physicality, substance, and subjective response. The practice of drawing is explored as means for research, inspiration, and expression. A series of open-ended topics will be approached individually and idiosyncratically, with the goal of producing a series of rendered essays which inform, reveal, report, and narrate.

    Prerequisites: CDIL205, CDIL208, CDIL211,CDIL214, CDIL215, CDIL216

    Critique
    Departmental Requirement
    Fall & Spring
  

  • CDIL305 Word and Image 3 cr.

    Exploration of letterforms as pictures and pictures as symbols. Typography, the language of designers and art directors, is examined by studying the history and development of fonts and letterforms. Progressively challenging assignments use words and text as pictorial elements in illustrations to strengthen and reinforce concepts.

    Prerequisites: CDIL205, CDIL208, CDIL211,CDIL214, CDIL215, CDIL216

    Critique
    Culturally Diverse Content
    Departmental Requirement
    Fall & Spring
  

  • CDIL308 Painting for Illustrators 3 cr.

    This studio course explores various techniques using watercolor, gouache, acrylics, oil and mixed media in the development of advanced drawing and painting skills as they apply to illustration. The effective use of color will be a primary consideration in all assignments and exercises. Students work in class on painting and drawing skills through still life, landscape and figure studies.

    Prerequisites: CDIL215 or Permission of Instructor

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Elective
  

  • CDIL309 Digital Painting and Techniques 3 cr.

    This class will use software to apply traditional painting and drawing techniques in a digital format. The students will also have the opportunity to reinforce certain traditional aesthetic values in the creation of a digital painting. Students are encouraged to work as much as possible with their own images and references and to use traditional drawings and utilize found textures. They will be encouraged to use the program to experiment stylistically. This is an advanced course and a basic knowledge of Photoshop and its tools are required.

    Prerequisites: Take CDIL-205 CDIL-208 CDIL-211 CDIL-214 CDIL-215 CDIL-216

    Critique
    Departmental Elective
  

  • CDIL313 Experimental Illustration Techniques 3 cr.

    Students explore a variety of experimental techniques that push the boundaries of the 2D/3D plane.  By looking at the work of mixed media artists of the past and present this class will investigate the possibilities of alternative image making.  As the semester progresses these experiments  develop into more advanced conceptual pieces over multiple weeks.  Some of the techniques covered in the course: various media transfers, collage and layering techniques, various distressing techniques, screen printing, working with found objects, working with 3D objects and photographing your 3D pieces.  Basic drawing skills and being open to experimentation are required.

    Prerequisites: Take CDIL-205 CDIL-208 CDIL-211 CDIL-214 CDIL-215 CDIL-216

    Critique
    Departmental Elective
  

  • CDIL314 Book Arts 3 cr.

    Students will explore bookbinding techniques for various adhesive and non-adhesive book structures, as well as a range of spine structures: sewn, concertina, leperello, wrapped, stabbed, coptic. Methods for creating the student’s own cover papers will be demonstrated and explored. Students will design and create an illuminated trilogy using three different book structures, and design and build a container to hold these. Illumination media may be simple relief printing, painting, drawing, collage, stenciling, or photography, and incorporated text may be self generated or borrowed prose, poetry, lyrics, or dialog. Graphic design and printmaking majors welcome. Students should be at junior or senior levels.

    Prerequisites: Open to Juniors and Seniors

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
    Fall & Spring
  

  • CDIL319 Illustrative Mask-Making 3 cr.

    In this course students will create three-dimensional painted masks as mixed-media solutions to illustration assignments. Projects will focus on 2D and 3D character design, the history of masks in various world cultures, and puppets. Students will experiment with various traditional and non-traditional materials in making a series of masks, simple costuming and puppets, with a strong focus on research, sketching, painting and personal voice.

    Prerequisites: CDIL215 or Permission of Instructor

    Undergraduate Elective
    Fall & Spring
  

  • CDIL326 Junior Illustration 3 cr.

    This course explores various areas of professional illustration. Assignments address book, editorial, product and advertising illustration and emphasize working with color as
    a precise visual language.

    Prerequisites: CDIL-205,CDIL-208, CDIL-211, CDIL-214, CDIL-215, CDIL216

    Departmental Requirement
    Fall & Spring
  

  • CDIL327 Technical Illustration 3 cr.

    This course includes an introduction to the laws of linear perspective,–an exploration of how three-dimensional reality is depicted on a two-dimensional surface. Additional course content includes tools of the trade, various techniques for producing technical illustrations, informational art and instructional illustrations in sequential series.

    Prerequisites: CDIL205, CDIL208, CDIL211, CDIL214, CDIL215, CDIL216

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Culturally Diverse Content
    Departmental Requirement
    Fall/Spring
  

  • CDIL392 IL 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: Permission of Instructor

    Fall & Spring
  

  • CDIL398 IL Internship

    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: Permission of Instructor

    Fall and Spring
  

  • CDIL399 IL Independent Study

    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: Permission of Instructor

    Fall and Spring
  

  • CDIL400 Professional Freelance Studio 3 cr.

    A course designed for highly motivated students interested in freelance illustration. Assignments, developed in conjunction with publishers, corporations, and small businesses, focus on illustration for publication and the experience of taking an actual commission from concept to completion.

    Prerequisites: Seniors Only

    Critique
    Departmental Elective
    Spring
  

  • CDIL401 Black and White Illustration 3 cr.

    Students will explore various dry and wet black and white illustration media and techniques, both additive and subtractive, including some experimental printmaking. Course will include working with brush and ink, pen and Ink, gouache and acrylic paint, stipple with technical pen, pencil on toned paper, block prints, monoprints with emphasis on the power of creating dynamic value as a means to communicate ideas. Students will complete a series of assignments designed to showcase each media’s distinctive strengths.

    Prerequisites: Open to Juniors and Seniors

    Critique
    Departmental Elective
    Fall & Spring
  

  • CDIL403 Thesis Project I: Research 3 cr.

    The first of two semesters involving investigations of a topic of personal interest to
    each student which is relevant to illustration. This course demands far-reaching scholarly
    research and extensive comprehensive drawings in preparation for a finished body of work.

    Prerequisites: CDIL-304, CDIL-305, CDIL-327 or
    CDIL-210, CDIL-350, CDIL-326 or
    CDIL-310
    Runs concurrenlty with CDIL-404 Co-requisites: CDIL404

    Critique
    Departmental Requirement
    Fall
  

  • CDIL404 Thesis Project II: Imagery 3 cr.

    This course is the second of two semesters in
    which students continue to produce finished
    illustrations/animations and prepare a bound
    graphic summary for the degree project
    exhibitions. (Previoulsy Illustration Thesis
    Project II)

    Prerequisites: CDIL-304, CDIL-305, CDIL-327 or
    CDIL-210, CDIL-350, CDIL-326 or
    CDIL-310
    Runs concurrenlty with CDIL-403 Co-requisites: CDIL403

    Critique
    Culturally Diverse Content
    Departmental Requirement
    Fall
  

  • CDIL419 Senior Illustration 3 cr.

    This course is focused on the development of a body of images geared toward a specific area of
    the illustration marketplace that is of particular interest to each student.

    Prerequisites: CDIL-403 & CDIL-404

      Co-requisites: CDIL420

    Critique
    Departmental Requirement
    Spring
  

  • CDIL420 Illustration Portfolio 3 cr.

    Development of portfolio material based on the student’s professional focus. Through a series of discussions with the instructor and presentations by illustrators/animators in the field, students develop professional standards and produce finished portfolio pieces.

    Prerequisites: CDIL-403 & CDIL-404 Co-requisites: CDIL419

    Critique
    Departmental Requirement
    Spring

Industrial Design
  

  • EDID3X8 Ethnography and Culture 3 cr.

    This course explores methods of observing activities of human interaction within cultural context, and focuses on the applied use of these methods and observation activities to product development. The class looks at user culture within specific identifiable groups to aid in the development of design solutions for the needs of the end user.

    Prerequisites: EDID245, EDID315

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Elective
  

  • EDID205 Drawing for Designers 3 cr.

    The documentation and communication of ideas require fluency with symbolic and illustrative methods; a language. This course develops and refines the basis of this language, the “alphabet and grammar” used to communicate the characteristic of objects and systems. Through the exploration of various media using architectural or industrial design contexts, this language will be applied to objects and systems allowing them to be easily understood and reproduced.

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Elective
    Fall/Spring
  

  • EDID215 Industrial Design Principles 3 cr.

    An introduction to processes used in all areas of design and illustration, this course provides a foundation in the methods of concept, image, and form development. Using initial techniques such as brainstorming, mind-mapping, and researching, ideas are developed for a variety of 2D and 3D solutions to applied projects. Tackling common issues of personal engagement, collaboration, and client interaction, students express a personal voice within the specific parameters of each assigned problem.

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Requirement
    Fall
  

  • EDID216 Introduction to CAD/Solid Modeling for ID 3 cr.

    This course focuses on introducing (industrial) designers to the basics of solid modeling. Aside from basic software familiarization, concepts for 2D and 3D visualization will be introduced. CAD modeling techniques, including surface modeling and plastic design best practices are highlighted with emphasis on the role CAD plays within the design process. Various examples of how CAD can be used; from creating underlays and final mechanical drawings, to exporting files for photorealistic renderings and 3D printing, are explored. Basic familiarity with computers is a must.

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Elective
    Fall & Spring
  

  • EDID218 Product Rendering 3 cr.

    An in-depth study of several product illustration and presentation styles. Many different drawing and rendering media are used to develop skills in product design presentation.

    Critique
    Departmental Elective
  

  • EDID220 Joinery 3 cr.

    Students will develop and refine craftsmanship and design process in the context of furniture design and the construction of two or more furniture pieces. There will be lectures and student research on the history of furniture design, modern movements and techniques.

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Elective
  

  • EDID224 Conceptual Drawing 3 cr.

    The course stresses the process of working with dry media techniques (graphite, charcoal, pastel, colored pencil, scratchboard), basic drawing skills, and 2D principles to render concepts. Visual metaphors are explored by manipulating the contexts and relationships of objects and figures.

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Elective
  

  • EDID225 Industrial Design Form 3 cr.

    The purpose of this course is to endow students with a vocabulary of form with which to express the function and meaning of their ideas. This will be achieved through the exploration of the objects and object vocabulary, which surround us, and the development of the students’ skills to express ideas visually. The students will be required to develop their communication skills as well as refine their two and three dimensional conceptualization and actualization of projects.

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Requirement
    Fall
  

  • EDID235 Manufacturing Process I 3 cr.

    A materials and manufacturing awareness production course in two parts. Part one includes casting, fabrication, and molding techniques for metals and plastics. Students discuss production techniques, selection and use of modern machine tools, dies, jigs, and fixtures. Part two includes product development documentation (three-view preliminary design layout drawings) for manufacturing processes such as sheet metal, casting, extrusion plastics, injection molding, vacuum form, blow molding, and fiberglass.

    Prerequisites: EDID215, EDID225

    Lecture/Seminar
    Departmental Requirement
    Spring
  

  • EDID245 Human Factors Seminar I - Ergonomics 3 cr.

    Review of current theory and practice in issues related to human/machine interface, ergonomics, universal design, etc. Methods and practice of human factors research applied to the re-definition of a product idea.

    Prerequisites: EDID215

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Requirement
    Spring
  

  • EDID302 Packaging and the P.O.P. 3 cr.

    This course is an examination of 3D packaging design covering branding, graphics and the development of a P.O.P. “point of purchase” display. This studio course focuses on design phases from concept, design development to the three-dimensional actualization of a point of purchase display. The goal of this class is to develop a user-centered consumer experience with product/packaging that creates a memorable experience that resonates with the consumer. Open to Industrial Design, Graphic Design and Architectural Design juniors and seniors.

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    All College Elective
  

  • EDID314 Rapid Visualization and Perspective 3 cr.

    Course focuses on sketching as the fundamental tool for communication for designers. Students will be required to maintain a sketchbook as well as complete various weekly sketching assignments. Fundamentals of perspective will be introduced and practiced throughout the class. Examples of how rapid viz techniques fit into the design process as a whole will be illustrated.

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Elective
  

  • EDID315 Industrial Design I 3 cr.

    An introduction to the design process and problem solving techniques used in industrial design. The course presents the tasks required for research, preliminary concept sketching, design refinement, presentation, and fabrication possibilities. It also introduces the use of media and drawing techniques and basic scale model-making.

    Prerequisites: EDID235, EDID245

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Requirement
    Fall
  

  • EDID316 Human Factors II - Culture 3 cr.

    This course explores methods of observing activities of human interaction within cultural context, and focuses on the applied use of these methods and observation activities to product development. The class looks at user culture within specific identifiable groups to aid in the development of design solutions for the needs of the end-user.

    Prerequisites: EDID245

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Culturally Diverse Content
    Departmental Elective
  

  • EDID318 Branding - Product 3 cr.

    This course examines issues around industrial design in brand development, through applied problems. There is a focus on the relationship of telling compelling stories to connecting a brand with people.

    Prerequisites: EDID245, EDID315

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Elective
  

  • EDID325 Manufacturing Process II 3 cr.

    An investigation of specific problems in the manufacturing development of a product. The course uses a detailed case study of a new product from its inception to its completion. Topics include cost analysis and research into the technical problems of competitive manufacturing and marketing.

    Prerequisites: EDID235

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Requirement
    Fall
  

  • EDID335 CAID Surface Modeling 3 cr.

    The course explores the use of 3D surface-modeling programs as visual communication, design exploration, and a tool for production within the design industry and to communicate intent with clients, modelers, engineers, and manufacturers.

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Elective / Undergraduate Elective
    Spring
  

  • EDID345 Industrial Design II 3 cr.

    Integration of creative concepts with the development of visual communication skills, such as rendering and model-making.

    Prerequisites: EDID315

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Requirement
    Spring
  

  • EDID355 Portfolio and Presentation 3 cr.

    Directing of students through the process of developing a professional portfolio. Basic elements of Illustrator, Photoshop, PowerPoint, Acrobat, web-based. Students required to present complete portfolio piece at reviews.

    Prerequisites: EDID315

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Requirement
    Spring
  

  • EDID365 Product Development Laboratory 3 cr.

    Explores the process of bringing a product to fruition with special emphasis on the role of the industrial designer in new product development. The course will deal with the design and development of real products. Students work with local manufacturers and their product development groups.

    Prerequisites: EDID215, EDID225, EDID235, EDID315

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Requirement
    Fall/Spring
  

  • EDID392 ID Course Assistantship

  

  • EDID398 ID Internship

  

  • EDID399 ID Independent Study

  

  • EDID401 Multidisciplinary Entrepreneurship Lab 3 cr.

    This class puts students into multidisciplinary design teams with students from the School of Technological Entrepreneurship at Northeastern University. The students work on collaborative projects through the development of product innovation as applied to design and manufacturing.

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Elective
  

  • EDID415 Industrial Design III 3 cr.

    Design projects developed in full four-phase programs: Analysis and Conceptual Refinement;Final Design and Documentations; Model and Presentation.

    Prerequisites: EDID345

    Studio
    Departmental Requirement
    Fall
  

  • EDID425 Degree Project I - Research 3 cr.

    A student selected and faculty approved project of significance.

    Prerequisites: EDID345

    Critique
    Culturally Diverse Content
    Departmental Requirement
    Fall
  

  • EDID435 Degree Project II- Development 3 cr.

    A student selected and faculty approved project of significance.

    Prerequisites: EDID425

    Hybrid Studio/Critique
    Departmental Requirement
    Spring

Liberal Arts: Freshman Seminar
  

  • FRSM100 Freshman Seminar 3 cr.

    A freshman seminar is a course for first year students that seeks to develop reading & thinking skills. It is a skills-development course designed to complement LALW100 Written Communication. It seeks to teach students to read written texts with college-level comprehension skills and to think analytically. Freshman seminar topics vary by section. Educating students in a particular subject or discipline is a by-product, not an objective, of  a freshman seminar.

    Lecture/Seminar
    All College Required
    Fall/Spring

Liberal Arts: Literature, Writing, and Film
  

  • LALW100 Written Communication 3 cr.

    An introduction to essay writing. Six to eight writing assignments concentrate on the expository and critical essay and may include some subjective writing and a research paper. Students also read and discuss outstanding pieces of prose, poetry, and fiction. All college required.

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Required
    Fall/Spring
  

  • LALW200 Literary Traditions 3 cr.

    An exploration of the sources of culture through a survey of literary masterpieces from the ancient world to the seventeenth century.

    Prerequisites: LALW100; FRSM100 (Freshman Seminar

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Required
    Fall/Spring
  

  • LALW201 Men, Women, and the Myth of Masculinity 3 cr.

    The course examines the idea of masculinity and how it is portrayed in literature from ancient times to the twenty-first century. In addition to studying traditional views of manhood, we will also look at men’s attitudes towards women, since “masculinity” is usually defined in opposition to “femininity.” There will be many opportunities to discuss perceptions of what it means to be a man or a woman, and to explore the elusive concept of gender identity. The syllabus will include works by Shakespeare, Ovid, Ibsen, and Hemingway, among others. We will also watch and listen to selected films and operas.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  

  • LALW203 Film Viewing and Criticism 3 cr.

    A critical study of the expressive elements of film. Class meetings consist of film viewing, evaluations, and discussions. Students frequently write critical papers.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  

  • 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 explores the art and composition of the graphic novel and examines its many sub-genres, from superhero tales to memoirs to manga. The textbook is Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics. Other texts include Watchmen, Contract With God, Sandman, Maus, and Persepolis. For the final project, students create and make preliminary sketches for an original graphic novel.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    All College Elective
  

  • LALW210 Famous Writers & their Celebrated Illustrators 3 cr.

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

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture/Seminar
    Culturally Diverse Content
    All College Elective
  

  • LALW214 History and Issues of Documentary Films 3cr

    Documentary, as defined by John Grierson, is the
    creative treatment of actuality. Grierson coined
    the term in his review of Robert Flahertys Moana
    (1926). Contemporary culture expands on classical
    rhetorical and observational forms to include
    docusoaps, agitprop, advocacy, animation, sensory
    ethnography, mockumentary, first-person, and more.
    In this course we will explore the origins of
    documentary, discuss the central issues of the
    field, examine historical and contemporary trends,
    and identify the aesthetic strategies and
    techniques used by documentary makers along with
    their rhetorical effects.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture
    Undergraduate Elective
    Spring
  

  • LALW220 Creative Nonfiction 3cr

    Our strongest and deepest experiences cannot be paraphrased and that is why we need creative nonfiction. Nonfiction is an experimental art because meaning is discovered in the act of creating; playing with form is part of the process. Come try your hand at flash nonfiction. Make a collage or braided essay. Learn how memoir is blended with larger narrative stories using research. Today’s reader of creative nonfiction needs to be flexible, open, and exploratory. The same subject is treated in very different ways. Take food, for example. In The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, journalist Michael Pollan describes the process of preparing four meals and tracks down the origins of the ingredients. In Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, Barbara Kingsolver, novelist and essayist, tells a story of her family trying to raise or grow their own food for one year in southern Appalachia. Creative Nonfiction moves from narration to reflection to surprising insights in film, graphic memoirs, video essays, weblogs, and online essays. Join us for some new reading and writing experiences. No prior writing experience required.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture
    Undergraduate Elective
    Fall
  

  • LALW221 Environmental Writing 3cr.

    Through readings and feature films, students study the tradition of nature writing. Students write two contemporary environmental essays that integrate storytelling, personal reflection, and philosophy or science. Primary readings exemplify writings by participants in today’s debate regarding human interaction with natural phenomena. Additional readings include works by premodern Native American writers.  Readings include Walden, Nature’s Economy: A History of Ecological Ideas, Caught Inside: A Surfer’s Year on the California Coast, Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man Nature, Climate Change, Cadillac Desert, The Future of Nature, editor Barry Lopez, essays by William Cronon, Bill McKibben, Black Elk Speaks, A Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux, Selected works of Sherman Alexie, Joy Harjo, Louise Erdrich, and About a Mountain. The course teaches how contemporary environmental writers use personal voice, story telling, and philosophical thought to probe intersections of the human with the natural. It teaches students how they, too, may explore these issues in their own original writing.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture
    Spring
  

  • LALW222 Fantasy Worlds 3cr

    Modern fantasy literature consists of fantastic
    stories set in imagined  worlds. It features
    characterscreated by the author rather than drawn
    directly from traditional myths and legends. The
    course examines the origins of the genre, which
    emerged during the nineteenth century, and which
    has taken both epic and satiric forms. Although
    some attention is given to the legends,
    folktales, and romances that provided models and
    inspiration to fantasy authors, the main focus is
    on the classic works of the genre.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture
    Undergraduate Elective
    Spring
  

  • LALW223 American Literature Mid-20th Century Masterpieces 3cr

    A critical survey of American writings (novels and shorter works of fiction, essays, journalism, poetry) from WWII through the 1960s-a range including Baldwin, Bellow, Cheever, Ellison, Kerouac, Mailer, Nabokov, O’Connor, Salinger, Updike (and their critics)-amid other aesthetic ferment in the aural/visual arts during a quiet (increasingly noisy) crisis in America’s cultural history.

    Prerequisites: LALW200

    Lecture
    Undergraduate Elective
    Spring
  

  • 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
  

  • 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
 

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