2026-2027 Academic Catalog
This course is designed to give students an,introduction to film as an art worthy of critical,attention. Students develop the ability to think,,discuss and write about film in an academic,context.
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: WRT 102 and any 200 level Liberal Arts (General Education),subject.
This course focuses on artists’ response to the,sweeping social, philosophical and political,changes that began in the late nineteenth century,,including Expressionism, Cubism and Futurism.,Students explore the work of modernists who,affronted their audiences in order to bring about,changes in perception, including the artists of,the Dada movement, who mocked art and society, and,the Surrealists, who explored the unconscious as a,resource for art. Artists studied include Henri,Matisse, Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, Pablo,Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, Salvador Dali and Max,Ernst.
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: WRT 102 and any 200 level Liberal Arts (General Education,Elective) subject.
This course examines the visual and material,culture of ancient Egypt-its multifarious art,forms, architecture, artifacts-through ancient,Egyptians’ everyday experiences, religious,practices, social hierarchies, political,(in)stability, cross-cultural trade with far-flung,empires, and war (against the Hyksos, Hittites,,Persians, Greeks, Romans, etc.). The,archaeological record will be read and analyzed,with three primary lenses in mind: (1) divine,kingship, (2) mythology, (3) the afterlife.
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: WRT 102 and any 200 level Liberal Arts (General Education),subject.
This course explores the various roles of women in,the art world, both as artists and subjects, from,1550 to the present. Figures studied include,Artemisia Gentileschi, Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun,,Angelica Kauffmann, Mary Cassatt, Georgia,O’Keeffe, Louise Nevelson and Judy Chicago.,Topics include feminist imagery, politics and,contemporary feminist criticism.
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: WRT 102 and any 200 level Liberal Arts (General Education),subject.
In this course, students explore world mythology,and the works of art they have inspired. Western,artists historically have drawn inspiration from,Christian beliefs and symbols as well as from the,myths of ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. ,Contemporary artists have also been influenced by,the beliefs and symbols of Asia, India, Native,America, Africa and other cultures. These are the,basis for most animated stories, video games,,films and many other forms of literature and,works of art. The course will explore the,beliefs, meanings and symbols of many cultures as,they are used in art both historically and today.
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: WRT 102 and any 200 level Liberal Arts (General Education),subject.
Film Noir, with roots in German Expressionism and,American hard-boiled fiction, is an enduring,cinematic phenomenon. Beginning in the 1940s,,Hollywood-produced stories of ill-fated,protagonists seduced by femmes fatales, dirty,deals, and double-crossing partners, struck a,nerve with American audiences (and soon after,World War II with French critics who named and,defined the “Noir” style). These dark tales,reflected a 20th century malaise spawned by the,Great Depression, WWII, and a contemporary shift,in gender roles. Our course will examine the,origins of Noir.
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: Any 300 level Liberal Arts (General Education) subject.
In this course students will explore the ways in,which science fiction films have represented,contemporary culture trends such as fear of the,other and cold-war paranoia in Invasion of the,Body Snatchers, the terror of the body in Aliens,and the transhumanism in District 9. Course,readings will examine the development of the,science fiction film as a distinct genre from a,variety of viewpoints including historical,analysis, race and gender studies, and critical,theory. This course may apply as an upper level,English and Liberal Arts elective.
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: Any 300 level Liberal Arts (General Education),subject.
Beginning with the idea that “all representation,is transformation,” students in this course will,examine the ways in which documentary films both,(re)present the sociohistorical world-the,”real”– and shape our perceptions of that,reality. Films drawn from a wide range of eras,,cultures, and perspectives will provide the,opportunity to explore concepts such as,authenticity, identity, evidence, authority, and,argument while course readings will analyze and,critique documentary films from a variety of,viewpoints including historical analysis, race,and gender studies, and critical theory.
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: Any 300 level Liberal Arts (General Education),subject.
The socio-political aftermath of World War II in,Japan, China and Korea led to an explosion of film,culture in those countries, one inspired by the,commercial and art cinemas of the West, but one,that has rivaled them in terms of innovation. ,While addressing the histories and present-day,climates of their mother countries, East Asian,films since 1945 have developed unique approaches,to narrative and culturally specific imagery, and,furthered a dialogue between the three neighbors,that reflects their centuries old interrelations.,This course will trace the evolution of film,language from the master directors of post-war,Japan (Ozu, Mizoguchi, Ichikawa and Kurosawa) to,the various filmic modes in post-revolutionary,China (Ang Lee, Wong kar-wai, Zhang Yimou and Hou,Hsiao-hsien) to the radical transformations of,contemporary Korean cinema (Park Chan-wook, Bong,Joon-ho and Na Hong-jin).
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: Any 300 level Liberal Arts (General Education),subject.
This course offers an introduction to one of the,world’s largest film industries, and a major,entertainment art form of our times, popularly,referred to as Bollywood. Students come to,understand the dynamic evolution of this,international art form and the ways in which it,responds to historical, political, economic, and,aesthetic contexts.
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: ANY UNDERGRADUATE 300 LEVEL LIBERAL ARTS COURSE*
