This course develops basic design literacy and teaches basic problem solving methods and skills in preparation for tackling complex design problems in architecture, object and furniture design as well as numerous other areas of construction and fabrication, including sculpture, ceramics, packaging, environmental graphics etc. Students are introduced to a basic vocabulary of three-dimensional form making, space making and they learn to solve simple design problems methodically, with creativity and imagination. Design exercise are integrated with skill building assignments from concurrent courses in representation and fabrication methods. Students concurrently enroll in two 1.5 credit short courses, AD 201 and AD 202, which together with this studio form a 6 credit learning experience.

Corequisite: AD 201 (Fabrication Technology) and AD 202 (Design Drawing)

This workshop introduces the student to wood shop and metal shop techniques amongst others and to conceptual strategies for integrating material, details and construction. Students study the processes of making, their imprint on the work, as well as participate in conversations and readings that help connect materiality to a conceptually based approach to design. This 1.5 credit course is taken concurrently with AD 200 and AD 202.

Corequisite: AD 200 (Integrated 3D Design) and AD 202 (Design Drawing)

Design Drawing introduces the methods of architectural representation into the rich visual vocabulary students bring from Foundation year. The plan, section, elevation, scale model making and axonometric are taught in counter point to the requirements of concurrent studio courses. This 1.5 credit course is taken concurrently with AD 200 and AD 201.

Corequisite: AD 200 (Integrated 3D Design) and AD 201 (Fabrication Methods)

This studio course examines how history, research and on-site experience inform studio practice. Students will combine visual and archival research techniques in order to investigate, analyze and document the stories that are told by the physical form of the city. The dialogue between Baltimore’s development and that of the nation presents a unique case study through which students will unpack the spatial environment and history of the city. Visual material made from observation in various media – drawings, photography, recordings, etc – will be integrated with research findings to construct storybook-journals. The class will visit and collaborate with the Maryland Historical Society, who will archive the students’ work. The Enoch Pratt library system and other sources of historic information around Baltimore will serve as important resources as well. Baltimore is home to a wealth of historically significant locations, and frequent field trips and independent, on-site art-making will be important components of the class. Locations may include MICA’s own campus, Penn Station, Fort McHenry, The Washington Monument, The Basilica, Federal Hill, The Baltimore Museum of Art, and Camden Yards; as well as local churches, synagogues, and row houses, just to name a few examples.

In this introductory studio, students are immersed in the philosophies and strategies of solving three dimensional design problems in general and spatial design problems in particular. Students integrate multidisciplinary competencies they may already have with new design skills. Projects explore idea generation, concept realization in 2D and 3D media including basic orthographic drawings.

Can re-designing a water bottle help save the planet? What will the next iPhone look like? Why can’t my shoes recharge my cell phone while I walk? Design is about looking into the future. Design is about people. Design is about thinking, inventing, solving problems, collaborating, being curious, asking questions, and challenging everything. Design is about new forms, new structures, and new materials. In this course, students imagine the issues our future holds and design products to meet these challenges. At the same time, they become familiar with current design issues, new materials, smart technologies, and presentation techniques. This course serves as an introduction to the practice of product design: where creations are imagined, developed, and realized. Through workshops and hands-on experimentation, students invent products no one else has yet to dream up.

A first-year foundation experience, this course introduces issues of fundamental importance to art, the artist, and art history. Though each instructor teaches it largely from his/her area of expertise and perspective, the course centers around concepts common to each section. Moreover, instructors address a common list of topics that encourage students to think broadly about issues that will be of critical importance to them in their careers as artists; these topics include library use and research, the artist’s profession, the role of the artist, censorship, the history of art history, the museum, authenticity, and aesthetics.

This course surveys European art from the 14th through the mid-19th centuries. It surveys Renaissance art in Italy and Northern Europe, its origins in medieval art, and examines shifts in artistic concepts and forms from the 16th through the mid-18th centuries that led to the emergence of Mannerist, Baroque, and Rococo art. The course concludes with an examination of Neoclassicism, Romanticism, and Realism. Prerequisite: AH 100.

Prerequisite: AH 100 (Art Matters)

Offers a survey of avant-garde European and American art from the mid-19th century to the present. Some of the many artistic movements covered include Realism, Impressionism, post-Impressionism, German Expressionism, Cubism, Dada, Surrealism, de Stijl, early American Modernism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Minimalism, Conceptual Art, and post-Modernism. Prerequisite: AH 100.

Prerequisite: AH 100 (Art Matters)

Surveys the art of Europe and the Near East from the prehistoric period through the 14th century CE. Cultures and styles examined include Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Romanesque, and Gothic, with an emphasis on how the arts of the ancient and medieval periods interact to form the basis for the later Western tradition. Prerequisite: AH 100.

Prerequisite: AH 100 (Art Matters)

Involves an extended consideration of several patterns of thought in the Italian Renaissance, and of the relationship between the history of ideas and the history of art. Generally, each session involves a close analysis of an artist or groups of artists, of related primary documents, and of the broader implications of both. By the end of the semester, students should be comfortable discussing the Italian Renaissance as an artistic and intellectual movement, as well as the work of many of its primary artists and thinkers.

Prerequisite: AH100 (Art Matters) & Sophomore level or higher

This class is an introduction to world architecture from pre-history to the mid-nineteenth century. We will analyze buildings, sites, and cities from Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Europe, alongside architectural concepts, artistic movements, and social phenomena. In this way, this course is a focused examination of key architectural developments in time and space. Students will gain not only a broad repertoire of architectural references, but—more importantly—a critical perspective on architecture in its cultural and historical context.

Prerequisite: AH 100 (Art Matters)

What is art? What do we mean by beauty? Can we ever really understand a work of art? Through a number of deeply influential primary readings, this course offers an introduction to the history of aesthetics. Authors to be considered may include Plato, Kant, Weitz, and Danto; discussions, reading responses, and a longer essay allows students to formulate their own positions. Prerequisites: AH 100 and LA 101.

Prerequisite: AH 100 (Art Matters) & HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Indian art is a creative, mythical, ethnically valued, extensive area for artists to explore, and yet many research scholars after their years of research have discovered very little. There is a resulting new explosive and dimension of exploration, interpretation and inspirations. This subject gives a basic understanding on Indian art and a perspective towards its nature and existence. Note: No class on May 27.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

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Prerequisite: AH 100 (Art Matters)

Examines the arts of Japan from pre-history to the 20th century with reference to religious, cultural, and literary traditions. Group and individual projects. Prerequisites: AH 201 (Modernism and After).

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

“What is the function of a critic?” asked W.H. Auden in 1963. This course considers a range of potential answers to Auden’s question, through an overview of the history of art criticism, through a close reading of the work of several influential art critics, and through assignments that will require students to develop critical stances of their own, in relation to current shows and/or films. Prerequisite: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After) or Graduate/ Post-Bac standing

Surveys American Art of the 19th century, concentrating on painting, sculpture and architecture.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Examines important developments in American and European art and criticism from the 1960s until the present. Topics include Minimalism, Pop, Conceptual Art, Earthworks, the art of institutional critique, performance, Feminism, site-specificity, appropriation and commodity art, activism, and Post-Modernism. Prerequisites: AH 100 and AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Examines the diverse artistic traditions of the ancient Near East: pre- and proto-historic Sumerian, Akkadian, Neo-Sumerian, Babylonian, Kassite, Middle and neo-Assyrian, neo-Babylonian, Persian, Hittite, Phoenician, Ugaritic, Syro-Palestinian, Israelite, and the Hellenistic and Roman East. Topic-driven and centered around student exploration and discussion, this course is for those interested in ancient art, archaeology, and Middle Eastern culture. Prerequisites: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

An introduction to the study of Nigerian art and archaeology. Students discuss a number of significant ancient and modern cultures, with complex histories, religions, social and political systems that are situated in modern Nigeria. The course begins with an examination of the ancient cultures of Nok, Igbo, Ukwu, Ife and Benin that are most famous for the hundreds of exquisite terracotta and bronze sculptures. The class goes on to examine cultural expressions and their contexts in modern Nigerian societies. With the participation of African nations in a global society during the post-independence era (second half of the 20th century) the art of Nigeria became an extremely complex cultural phenomenon. We examine the major movements, figures, and styles in Nigerian modern art. Prerequisite: AH 201

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Examines traditional art forms from the continent of Africa. It deals with conceptual, philosophical, and aesthetic issues in African art, and with the fundamental character of its iconography, movement, and form. Prerequisites: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Surveys African-American art from the pre-Columbian period to the present. Prerequisites: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Ten societies spanning ten thousand years of African history to the present will be examined in this course with emphasis on the diversity and culture within Africa and unified artistic systems from Africa throughout the Diaspora. This course meets at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Fulfills non-Western art history requirement. MICA van provided. Juniors and seniors only.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Examines the art and architectural traditions of one of the most influential of the world’s civilizations: ancient Egypt. Beginning with the village culture of the pre-dynastic period, the class studies the rise of the pharaonic power and the Egyptian state in the early dynastic period, the great achievements of the old, middle, and new kingdoms, the increased impact of foreign ideas in the late dynastic period, and the brilliant new culture formed by the arrival of Greeks and Romans in the Ptolemaic and Romano-Egyptian periods. If time permits, some of the other civilizations of northeast Africa, especially those of Sudan are investigated. The class is a lecture-discussion style; students are expected to participate in class discussions and complete an oral report as well as more traditional course work. Prerequisites: AH 100 and AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Investigates traditions of sculpture, painting, and architecture of the Far East, and includes reference to cultural history, religious traditions, relevant literature, and performing arts. Students complete group and individual projects. Prerequisites: AH 201. Students who enroll in this class may not enroll in AH 321.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

An in-depth treatment of the art and architecture of ancient Greece from the Bronze Age to the Hellenistic period, focusing on important topics currently or traditionally discussed in the discipline, including problems of interpretation in Bronze Age art, attributions in Archaic and Classical art, perceptions concerning Hellenistic art, the influence of Greek tradition on later art styles, and the continuation of Greek art as a living tradition within the modern Western consciousness. Lecture/discussion style. Prerequisites: AH 100 and AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Through a series of introductory lectures and training in field research methods, students design and conduct research projects that address the three main pivots of folk cultural studies—community, genre, and interpretation. Prerequisite: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This course looks at the arts of Japan from prehistory to the 20th century with reference to religious, cultural and literary traditions. There are group and individual projects and an exploration of local and Worldwide Web resources. Class meets on-line.

This course will provide students with a general overview of the development of textile forms and practices in various geographies and cultures, including Africa, Asia, the early Americas, India, Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, and Islamic cultures.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This course, aimed at upper-level students with experience in art history, examines the relations between Romanesque visual culture and the industry of pilgrimage, often viewed as a dynamic force in the development of architectural forms in the years after 1,000 CE. Through a study of relevant primary sources and recent work on medieval pilgrimage routes, this class investigates the ways in which 11th- and 12th-century art and architecture anticipated and responded to a rising tide of pilgrimage. By the end of the class, students should have a familiarity with the seminal works of the Romanesque era and an ability to relate them to contemporary economic and artistic patterns. Prerequisites: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Examines the evolution of modern printmaking from the Renaissance through the 19th and 20th centuries using the collections of the Baltimore Museum of Art, particularly those from the Lucas and Cone collections. The first part of the course will focus on the technical innovations of earlier printmakers including the invention of lithography and seriography. With these innovations and a growing recognition of the print’s artistic significance, the stage was set for the rapid growth of the print in the 20th century. Prerequisites: AH 100 and AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Examines cultures from each of the major geographic regions of the Pacific: Melanesia, Indonesia, Australia, Micronesia, and Polynesia, in terms of the form and content of artistic expression and the roles of art forms in their respective societies. Specific areas are used to illustrate the importance of art forms to trade, religion, social reproduction, and social authority. This course enables students to visually differentiate between artistic forms from various parts of Oceania, to broaden their factual knowledge about the region, and to enable them to understand the variety of ways in which people express history, cosmology, and identity. Prerequisites: AH 100 and AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Over the past centuries, the Indigenous peoples of Oceania have experienced drastic changes affecting their lifestyles and cultural forms. Following the initial transition from independent nations to colonized populations, Indigenous communities have become active participants in an increasingly global world. Oceanic art has broadened from being a traditional device for symbolic communication within and among Indigenous communities to include multifaceted devices for contemporary global exchange. Part I of this course examines art created by Indigenous Australians. Attention will be paid to art production in different Australian regions, contexts, and periods. Part II will examine Melanesian art with a focus on the Trobriand Islands, and a focus on the dichotomy between art endowed with magical power for community success, and non-magical art created for internal sale.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Explores the role of fashion in modern and avant-garde art movements from the nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. The course will begin with the Aesthetic Dress and Dress Reform movements and their connections to the Pre-Raphaelites in England and the Secessionists in Vienna. Considering ways that designers engaged with and influenced artistic movements and trends, the course will examine the role of fashion in Cubism, Constructivism, Futurism, Dada, and Surrealism. Looking at designs of the Wiener Werkstätte and designers such as Mario Fortuni, Paul Poiret, Sonia Delaunay, Varvara Stepanova, Lyubov Popova, Coco Chanel, Elizabeth Hawes, and Elsa Schiaparelli, the course will consider a wide range of themes including utopianism in dress, collaboration between artists and designers, and issues of gender within modernism.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Surveys of the development of photography from its prehistory through the present day. It includes an examination of the interrelationships between photography and other arts, the effect of technology on the photographic image, the tradition of the popular photograph, as well as the study of major photographers and photographic movements. Prerequisites: AH 201 Preference is given to photography majors.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

A banquet for the eyes with works by the 17th-century artists Caravaggio, Velasques, Rubens, Rembrandt, and Poussin, among others, set in sumptuous locales like Versailles, as well as middle-class homes and peasant hovels. The concept of "baroque," despite its originally pejorative connotations, is discussed as a pan-European cultural movement with regional variations, as a reaction to the increasingly airless art of late 16th-century mannerism, and in a certain sense as a revocation of some of the ideals of the Renaissance. Murder, mayhem, political intrigue, and scandal are also on the menu. Prerequisites: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This course examines the art and architecture of Italy from the 1560s to the 1670s, taking in the work of such major figures as Barocci, Annibale Carracci, Caravaggio, Bernini, Borromini, Poussin, Claude and Pietro da Cortona. We will focus largely on artists working in Rome who, in the seventeenth century, produced some of the most influential images, monuments, styles and genres in the history of Western art.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

An examination of the art and architecture of ancient Rome, this course explores topics relating the arts of Etruscan and early Roman Italy, the role of Greek and other influences in the Central Mediterranean, the developments of a distinctly “Roman” art under the Republic, the influence of Augustus on art and architecture, the development of Roman imperial art, and late Roman art down to the time of Constantine the Great. Organized around distinct art historical topics and student discussions, the course is designed for those with a specific interest in ancient art. Prerequisites: AH 100 and AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This course begins by recognizing the neoclassical style as it was promoted by the French Revolution and continued to dominate through the Napoleonic era. In the 1820s, however, romantic art, with its interest in drama, emotions, and the exotic, challenged the neoclassical tradition; by mid-century realist artists also began to rebel against an academic art that was widely perceived as “petrified.” In the process, modernism was born, and the foundation for 20th-century art established. Prerequisite: AH 201. Students may not take this class if they have taken AH 355.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After) or Graduate/ Post-Bac standing

An overview of the development of Islamic art and architecture. Lectures and discussions focus on the evolution of mosque architecture and calligraphy and on important regional centers. Prerequisites: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Aims to make designers literate about their own discipline and help them understand the connections between design and a broader history of objects and ideas. Students are exposed to a wide array of images as well as a broad range of reading materials, including primary texts by designers and cultural critics. The course focuses on 20th-century design in Europe and the United States. Prerequisites: AH 100 and AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This six-credit multidisciplinary course (listed jointly with Painting) fuses technical art history and studio painting. Students explore materials and techniques used in painting from the 13th century to the present, including egg tempera with gilding, specific applications of oil, and various synthetic media. Students prepare surfaces and make paint and mediums using historic materials and sources in the reconstruction of masterworks, and in the application of historic methods to original compositions. Individual projects may include encaustic or fresco. The basic principles of art conservation are introduced, and trips include a visit to the National Gallery conservation studio. Many topics covered are applicable to disciplines other than painting.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

The practice of art history has never been monolithic; its methods, its goals, and its underlying assumptions are inevitably diverse. This course is designed for students with some art historical experience, and traces the development of art history as a discipline, closely examining some of the field’s more influential methods, including formalism, iconographic analysis, reception theory, feminism, and structuralism. Prerequisites: AH 100 and AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Material culture is the tangible evidence of those things created by man—including categories of site, place, architecture, fiber, and ceramics as well as theater, music, literature, and art. This material evidence has direct links to the socioeconomic and political influences under which it was created. In this class, the impact of the Industrial Revolution on the design and production of material culture and specifically the work developed in the Arts and Crafts movement will be discussed. The lectures will look at work across the disciplines of fine arts and design, with particular emphasis in the areas of environmental design, fiber, ceramics, and sculpture. Weekly lectures are augmented by a series of guest speakers and organized to reflect the range of interdisciplinary interests in this material culture course. Prerequisites: AH 100 and AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

A survey of material culture including architecture, furniture, painting, sculpture, textiles, jewelry, transportation, clothing, and decorative arts, as it relates to influences of time, place, and use in the human experience. Topics covered are socio-political/economic factors as well as important designers who have influenced each period to make them uniquely characteristic to a given time and place and in turn provided inspiration to later and future artists and designers. Prerequisite: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Offers a generally chronological overview of European medieval art and architecture, with side glances at the influences of Byzantium and Islam. Through a series of period-based lectures and discussions of relevant primary documents, students gain a flexible, fluent knowledge of primary works made between 300 and 1348 CE. Secondary readings will also suggest a variety of applicable methods, and two visits to The Walters Art Museum will allow students to view original works and to consider the difficulties of treating medieval art outside of its original context. Prerequisites: AH 100 and AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This course explores the connections between food, object design, and the built environment from historical and critical perspectives. The production, presentation, distribution, and consumption of food have an impact on the design and organization of buildings, public spaces, and cities. Food is also at the center of object design, from furnishings and appliances to food carts and trucks. Finally, food is also itself an artistic and design medium, the object both of traditional arrangements and innovative compositions—from Japanese lunchboxes and kaiseki meals to the deconstructed dishes of molecular gastronomy. This course will tackle these themes from a variety of disciplinary approaches, from architectural and urban history to design theory and practices. Themes will include: café culture and the emergence of an urban public sphere; the aesthetics of Japanese architecture, food, and design; urban agriculture; food and public spaces; and food as a medium in modern and contemporary art, among other topics.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Traces the concept of illustration as narrative art beginning with Lascaux cave paintings and working down through to contemporary times. Students look at visual storytelling and the cultural, social, political, and technological issues that shaped—and were shaped by—this terribly vital art form. Examples such as Egyptian papyri, illuminated manuscripts, Renaissance painting, moveable type and the development of printmaking (Dürer, Rembrandt, Goya), Art Nouveau and the rise of the poster, the Golden Age of American Illustration and the rise of magazine ephemera, and graphic novels and contemporary approaches to storytelling and mass production are studied. Prerequisite: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This course connects the history of modern graphic design to issues in current practice. In the first unit, students will discover how avant-garde artists, architects, and poets in the early twentieth century laid the ground for the modern design professions. In the second unit, students will explore the development of typography in terms of history, theory, technology, and form. The third unit considers the relationship between design and systems; topics range from branding and rule-based aesthetics to environmentalism and social design. This hybrid course includes both an on-line and classroom component. Each week, a two-hour lecture will be complemented by one hour of moderated online discussions, quizzes, and other activities. Substantial reading and writing assignments complete the course. Prerequisite: Modernism & After

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This course addresses world prehistory; that is, the period from the rise of hominids in Africa to the development of complex cultures c. 3000 BC (“mankind’s first three million years”). This era represents the vast majority of humanity’s experience here on earth, yet most people know very little about it. Some of humankind’s most important intellectual breakthroughs occurred in prehistory: the development of social systems and subsistence strategies that made human beings the most resilient, adaptable, and ultimately dominant species on the planet; the manipulation of natural materials to make tools and other objects (“material culture”); the creation of symbolic systems of communication and complex representation (language, writing, and “art”); the development of plant and animal domestication, and of complex and hierarchical social systems (“civilization”). Prerequisite: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This course will cover specific topics in Russian Art, proceeding roughly chronologically. The course will discuss Russian icons of the 12th – 16th centuries, the major changes in painting under Peter the Great, art in Imperial Russia, the Russian Avant-Garde, Socialist Realism, and Non-Conformist Art. Particular attention will be paid to the methodologies and biases of secondary sources; primary sources will be addressed in seminar discussions and group projects.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Examines painting and sculpture of 19th century Europe, investigates romanticism from Neo-Classicism through the Realist and symbolist movements. Key artists of the first half of the course include Constable and Turner in England, Goya in Spain, Friedrich in Germany and Ingres, Delacroix, and Courbet in France. Also explores the modernist movements of Impressionism, post-impressionism, and symbolism. Prerequisite: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

While films have historically been produced and exhibited as emblems of national culture, international film festivals, multinational production companies and global distribution systems have encouraged film producers to make work that focuses on global issues and reaches a global audience. This course examines the structural issues that shape both the form and content of contemporary global cinema, and will touch on several related themes: expatriation, nativism, diasporas, and the future of globalization. Prerequisite: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Considers visual and other forms of performance art from a global perspective. We will evaluate issues of intercultural artistic presentation broadly in terms of both history and culture. We will start by considering the current state of contemporary art as an intercultural practice, defining the field through a variety of examples from the worlds of art and performance. Moving into specific locations and events, such as festivals and other international venues around the world, the course will interrogate the politics behind and around the resulting aesthetics associated with these contexts. Prerequisite: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Surveys the last three centuries of the development of modern utilitarian and decorative design. It provides for the examination of the rich legacy of craft production and the creative use of newer materials, from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution to the rise of modernism, and the pluralism of today. The course investigates the often contested duality between artist and artisan within the Western tradition of the visual arts, the relationship of design and mechanization, technology, environmental responsibility, individual needs, the design reforms and the role of standards for design, and the expression of social values, including the concept of “good” design and popular culture. Prerequisite: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Debates about the social implications of design significantly marked modern design movements. In contemporary design theory, modern principles of social engagement have evolved and taken on new ambitions. This course provides an historical overview of texts written by important design movements and practitioners since the 19th century. Theories of architecture, product design, graphic design, textiles, and experience design will be explored through primary- and secondary-source texts. Movements to be examined include: Arts & Crafts, German Werkbund, Bauhaus, International Style, Deconstruction, Postmodernism, and interdisciplinary directions in contemporary design practice.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

An overview of the history of African-American art from the colonial era to the present, with an emphasis on subjects such as the idea of a distinctively African-American art, the notion of “invisibility,” and the Harlem Renaissance. Also concentrates on ways in which artists have used creativity to confront, deny, or complicate understandings of racial identity and racism, and encourages a familiarity with individual artists such as Henry Ossawa Tanner, James Van Der Zee, Aaron Douglas, Romare Bearden, and Adrian Piper. Prerequisite: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Offers an overview of African cinema. Through screenings of selected African films, different styles, techniques and aesthetics will be explored. Students will be introduced to cinema as an artistic medium in a non-Western context through technical and formal analysis and through consideration of alternative uses of cinema. Different trends of African cinema will be addressed, including “return to the source” of the pre-colonial past, “Social Realist” narratives and critiques of postcolonial Africa, reconstruction of colonial history from the colonized perspective, and the documentary. This course offers an opportunity for looking at African culture as well as issues of social change, gender, class, tradition and modernization through African eyes.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This course will examine the history and theory of modern craft though a study of ceramic artists and movements, primarily from Europe and America. From the Orientalists and Adelaide Robineau to today's expanded formats, this course will consider the radical changes that ceramics has experienced since the late-19th century. Lectures and readings will provide students with a chronological overview of more than a century of ceramics occurring within art, design, and architecture, but will also consider the field's links to other crafts. Time will be reserved for discussions on the consequence of socioeconomic, political, philosophical, and industrial influences as drivers of change. Prerequisite: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

At the same time that information is increasingly delivered by pixel rather than ink, printed matter has become the defining visual language of the industrial world. How can print be dead when it is literally everywhere one looks? In this context, the art world has witnessed a new print revival. Through lectures, readings, field trips, and discussions, this course explores the current state of art in print and the various parallel communities that support the creation of printed art and self-publication. This course will also focus on the critical implications of new technologies, including discussion of the implications of an increasingly digital culture for artists. Prerequisite: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Explores the history of animation from its beginnings to the present, and the social, artistic, and political contexts in which those films were created. Prerequisite: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This course explores the contributions of women to the world of art as creators of both traditional fine arts and crafts. This is a broad chronological study that surveys the artistic creations of women from a global perspective.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

In a seminar format, students examine a series of case studies in recent artistic production, generally organized around a common theme; the central theme varies from year to year and instructor to instructor. Fall 2012: This course will examine some of the issues raised by the emergence of art from the Middle East on the international art scene in the last two decades. In particular, we will explore the implications for questions of regional, national, and personal identity of the development of new institutions for art in the region, of the rise in interest in Middle Eastern art since 9/11 and more recently, since the events of the “Arab Spring,” and of the strong presence on the international art scene of diasporic Middle Eastern artists.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

The course focuses on Western sculpture, its origin and centuries-long evolution. Special attention is given to the radical break with this long tradition early in the 20th century as constructed and abstract sculpture emerged. The course explores how later in the century and up to the current time, an eclectic approach to three-dimensional art forms becomes an important venue for conceptual structures and objects.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Explores prehistoric through contemporary art of North American native peoples. Focus is on the perspective of the artists and their culture. Prerequisites: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

An introduction to modern architecture and urban planning, with a focus on those instances when the dialogue between the two professions was at its most fruitful and productive. Some topics include Haussmann’s transformation of Paris, Cerda, Gaudi, and the Eixample, Burnham, the City Beautiful, and the Chicago School, the Garden City Movement and its legacy, Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie School, the Bauhaus, the Futurists, and the Russian Constructivists, CIAM and the International Style, Rossi’s Neo-Rationalism, and Venturi’s Postmodernism. Time is also reserved for a discussion of contemporary ideas about architecture and urban planning, including the “New Urbanism,” of Duany and Plater-Zyberk, the “Posturbanism” of Rem Koolhaas, and the “Everyday Urbanism” of Venturi and his disciples. The class concludes with a survey of contemporary strategies for sustainable architecture and development. Prerequisites: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After) or Graduate/ Post-Bac standing

Defined loosely as “an arena in which diverse social and ethnic groups can coexist, interact, and generate complex relationships and networks,” the ideal of the Open City is typically contrasted with the reality of the built environment in America, where homogeneous and exclusionary suburbs are abundant. This class considers the Open City as an ideal urban condition. It first traces the history of this idea, with a focus on how it has been advanced in architecture, art, philosophy, and literature; then it considers case studies of American communities, asking to what degree these communities exhibit the Open City’s ideals. Finally, the class considers how architecture and urban planning have tried to enact versions of the Open City, using tools such as inclusionary zoning and smaller-scale, site-specific projects. Prerequisites: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This is a class about the contemporary city. Its aim is to evolve an awareness about the ways in which cities around the world are changing, and to use this awareness to challenge prevailing notions about urbanity, urban life, and the urbanized world. After considering various theories of globalization, the class considers case studies of various western and non-western cities and regions in order to develop a language for talking critically about what’s happening out there. Following this, with the aid of our most acute observers of global urbanization (for example, Castells, Harvey, Sassen), the class considers the social, political, and cultural currents that shape the built environment, and, finally, the implications of some of the more spectacular aspects of contemporary urbanization. Prerequisite: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This course presents a selected range of topics in contemporary architectural theory and criticism. Diverse answers to the question ‘What is Architecture?’ will be discussed from a historical perspective, as well from the perspective of current debates. Examining key readings in architecture and in theoretically related areas, students will learn to contextualize design questions, cross reference written texts with works of architecture, and to articulate their own design positions in written form. Invited instructors will teach this course and the precise topic of study may change from year to year

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

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Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This course offers an introduction to the theory and practice of object conservation, as practiced in contemporary museums and related institutions. Featuring a range of examples in different media and drawn from different cultures, and involving several appearances by specialist guests, the course will accent a cross-disciplinary approach to the subject of conservation, and will stress connections between the fields of art conservation, ethnography, and anthropology. Topics will also include deteriorating factors, procedures for handling, storage, and display, and preventive treatment.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Takes a critical and historical look at independent video production and video art. Beginning with work produced in the early 1970s, the class views and discusses the different strategies of video and related theories. Numerous artists have a critical relationship to television, and many of the tapes and readings center on this relationship; others works are concerned with critical commentaries of contemporary culture and social behavior. Prerequisite: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This course will introduce and engage students in the consideration and observation of the broad spectrum of exhibition and presentation possibilities in the context of the larger art world, as well as introduce important practical skills associated with exhibition development and execution, art handling, and art presentation.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Historic preservation has made an important contribution to the design and management of the built environment – by affirming the value of the past, and by challenging excesses of urban renewal. But where does our current approach to preservation come from? Why do we preserve? How do we preserve, and for whom? This course will explore these questions, looking at the theory and practice of preservation from an historical and critical perspective.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

An overview of film history. Among the topics covered are the prehistory of cinema in the 19th century; the early emergence of narrative and documentary forms; the growth of silent film as a popular art form; the influence of Soviet montage and German expressionism; the conversion to sound cinema; the rise of such movements as the French New Wave, the American avant-garde, and revitalized Asian cinema; and such contemporary trends as “indie” cinema, digital filmmaking, and computer animation. Weekly film screenings are required in addition to regular class sessions. Prerequisite: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This course is designed to provide students with professional development in the field of art history. Field trips and guest speakers will introduce students to a variety of archival sources and help students gain professional knowledge regarding academic, museum, and gallery settings. Students will also draft applications to graduate school and help develop programming for the lunchtime speaker series, Art@Lunch. Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism & After)

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After) or Graduate/ Post-Bac standing

3 Credit. For students wishing to work with a particular instructor on subject matter not covered by regularly scheduled classes, a special independent study class may be taken. A contract is required, including signatures of the instructor and the student's department chair. A 398 class may not be used to substitute for a department's core requirement or senior thesis / senior independent. Minimum of junior class standing and 3.0 GPA required.

Prerequisite: students at the Junior/Senior level with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of at least 3.000

Explores the emergence of the Latin American aesthetic in the art of the 19th and 20th centuries within the context of cultural nationalism. Examines the pre-Hispanic and African heritage, the colonial past, as well as political and religious themes in Latin American art and their relationship to European and North American cultures.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This two-semester seminar examines the curatorial process through the research, planning and production of a major exhibition. Students serve as curators, designers and educators as they develop and implement proposals for the exhibit’s graphic and exhibit designs, interpretive texts, public programs, community outreach, website, publications, and public relations strategy. Fall semester (Part I) is devoted to the conceptualization and development of the artistic, design and educational components for the exhibition in spring semester. Previous exhibitions include Follies, Predicaments, and other Conundrums: The Works of Laure Drogoul , Comics on the Verge and At Freedom’s Door and Baltimore: Open City. Requirement: Enrollment in both semesters (Fall: AH 405- Art History elective; Spring: EX 405- studio elective in your major). Open to undergrad and graduate students in all majors by Permission of the instructor only.

An introduction to individuals making art today with an emphasis on specific information from a private collection of slides, audio and videotapes, and periodicals. Reference will be made to (1) artists’ aesthetic beliefs/attitudes and specific intentions, along with criteria that determine their different art styles, and (2) specific examples of their art, concentrating on the subjects, materials, methods of working, and ways of structuring (formal organization) that makes everyone’s work what it is. Discussion is twofold, including the metaphorical relationship of artists to their world through their work and working methods, as well as the metaphoric relationship of the students to the work viewed. Prerequisites: AH 100 and AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After) or Graduate/ Post-Bac standing

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Examines artists whose works belong to the original “Earth Art” movement and monumentallyscaled land masses (Smithson, Heizer, De Maria, Turrell, Ross, etc.), artists whose works emphasize the transitory and the ephemeral (Vicuña, Oppenheim, Goldworthy, Long), and artists whose works are sited in nature and acted out in the body (Mendieta, Metson, and Abramovic, among others). Special attention will be given to the relationships between art and nature (transforming, interpreting, invading, interrupting, defining, marking, and reversing); materials; significance of site; documentation of work; environmental and ecological consciousness; time, space, and scale; and spirituality. Slides, videos, readings, open discussion, student on-site in-nature projects, a paper, and a journal constitute the essence of the course. Prerequisites: AH 100 and AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This course addresses the arts and artists of Africa from the 1950s to the present. Although contemporary African art is essentially post-colonial in terms of its dates, students will be introduced the historical as well as transnational contexts within which various art movements emerged. In addition to exploring the works of selected artists such as Twins Seven-Seven, Sokari Douglas Camp, Ibrahim el Salahi, Berni Searle, and Yinka Shonibare, the course examines artworks within the context of issues such as decolonization, independence, modernity, nationalism and globalization.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After) or Graduate/ Post-Bac standing

This graduate seminar will focus on a variety of visual cultural forms that address events surrounding the Holocaust and its aftermath. The central questions guiding our inquiry will revolve around notions of history, memory, and the ethics of representation. This course will examine diverse media ranging from painting, sculpture, film, and television to graphic novels/autobiographies, monuments/memorials, museums, individual curatorial projects/exhibitions, and performance. We will consider works by artists and architects, including Christian Boltanski, Rachel Whiteread, Art Spiegelman, Shimon Attie, David Levinthal, Renata Stih & Frieder Schnock, Daniel Liebeskind, Peter Eisenman, Charlotte Salomon, Anselm Kiefer, and Gerhard Richter as well as writings by Primo Levi, Sigmund Freud, Theodor Adorno, and Alexander and Margarete Mitscherlich. Discussions focus on questions related to genocide, cultural memory, mourning, and commemoration. Open to Graduate, Post-Bac, and Senior level students only.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Explores how the artist’s studio has evolved since the 15th century. We see how the studio’s evolution sheds light on the artist’s changing status in society, how artists have promoted their works over the centuries, the effect of modernization of art materials in the studio space, and the history of artistic collaboration. Specific areas covered include the itinerant versus the professional artist, problems of attribution related to the studio workshop model, use of the nude model and plaster casts in the studio, art education (apprentices and assistants) in the studio, use of optical instruments in art production, and the role of manuals and treatises over the centuries. The class spends time in local museums studying works of art and learning about methods of connoisseurship. Prerequisites: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Examines issues in Japanese print culture, especially the development and circulation of ukiyo-e prints, during the Edo and Meiji periods (1615-1912). Topics will include technological innovations, the role of publishers, censorship, prints as didactic objects, and the reception of ukiyo-e prints in the West. Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

A course based in both the theoretical and the hands-on aspects of the Japanese tea ceremony. It is cross-disciplinary, with experiences in museums and a school of tea; lectures (historical background, aesthetic theories, stylistic analysis, research on sound); hands-on participation in ceramics, fibers, graphic design, environmental design, and flowers; and participation as host and guest at tea by learning traditional gestures and postures. The style of tea taught in the course is the Urasenke School Ryakubon Form, or tray-style—the simplest, least formal, and most flexible form. Prerequisites: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This course explores artistic development in China from the late nineteenth century to the present. This has been a period of extensive political upheaval including the fall of imperial rule, the growth of warlordism, the war with Japan, a civil war, and the Communist rise to power. In addition, China has been transformed by rapid economic changes since the 1980s. In this course, we will examine the effect these changes have had on the visual arts in China, focusing on painting, sculpture, and printmaking. This period provides an opportunity to examine how a country with long-standing artistic traditions can alter its visual language in response to great political, economic, and social change.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Throughout the Middle Ages illuminated manuscripts were one of the most important vehicles for the development and transmission of visual ideas. This course provides a survey of European manuscript production from the early medieval period through the late Gothic era, and touches on the early history of printed books. Students learn about the lavish miniatures found in deluxe manuscripts and examine the ornamental treatment of the text, including display script, illuminated initials, colored parchment, and marginalia. Manuscript illumination is discussed in the context of the owners, users, and purchasers of these objects. In addition, students learn about the techniques and materials used to make manuscripts and the binding of medieval books. Includes lectures, class discussions, and several trips to the Walters Art Museum to view manuscripts firsthand Prerequisites: AH 201

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

In the 1920s and 1930s, artists, writers, and filmmakers of all nationalities produced work that was rooted primary in notions of non-rationality and intuition. Rejecting Enlightenment “reason” as complicit with systems that had used logic to justify the mass destruction of World War I, these cultural producers celebrated instead the marvelous, the irrational,and the accidental. This course examines diverse output of these so-called Dadaists and Surrealists. Should time provide, students also reflect upon the Dada revival of the 1960s and its similar roots in an antiauthoritarian age. Prerequisites: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Cross listed with AH 435. The poet, Rainer Maria Rilke, suggests “the artist’s task is to imprint the temporary earth into ourselves so deeply and passionately that it can rise again inside us." Sculptor Jackie Bookner echoes Thomas Berry’s belief that our own actions are truly creative only when we surrender to the intimate experiencing of the primacy of the natural world and its spontaneous functioning in all we do. Students will explore these ideas through field studies at Baltimore’s Herring Run Park. Their research into basic ecological principles will serve as the foundation for an inquiry into the relationships between self and the natural world and between close observation and the impulse to create. Lectures, field experience and notebook, independent project and written critique form the basis of this class. Prerequisites: AH 100 and 201, LA 101.

This is a 6 credit course. Concurrent enrollment in PHIL 435 required. Prerequisite: AH 201 and HMST 101

Enjoy the world of Japanese music, theater, performance, and sound aesthetics. Introduction to traditional musical instruments; secular and religious (Shinto and Buddhist) performance; and Noh (masked), Kabuki (popular), and Bunraku (puppet) theatre. No music background necessary. Prerequisites: AH 100 and AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Over the last decade, art historians have increasingly examined aspects of embodied subjectivity in art and architecture. These inquiries have been critical to the understanding of such analytical themes as performance, spectacle, ritual, gender, and the materiality of the media within the scope of producing, viewing, and experiencing the visual world. This course will explore ideas of embodiment and experiential encounters with “art” from the late 19th century to the present within a global context. Relying on diverse theories and methodologies that address the body, corporeal encounters, spectatorship, and embodiment (such as anthropology, cultural studies, Lacanian psychoanalysis, film and theater studies), this course will examine a range of artistic works, including photography, installations, performance art, monuments and memorials, site-specific works, and architecture.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Examines the practical and theoretical innovations of the Bauhaus school of design, located in Germany between the First and Second World Wars. Examines the highly influential pedagogical model of the preliminary and form-theory courses as well as the significant objects and prototypes conceived in various workshops—such as weaving, pottery, furniture, metalwork, and graphic design. Also looks at the shift from the early, so-called Expressionist phase of the Bauhaus to the later, functionalist phase, which coincided with the move of the institution to the city of Dessau. While examining this history, the class also considers the key debates that have shaped Bauhaus scholarship and the reception of Bauhaus ideas within art and design history. Prerequisites: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Examines several examples of literary adaptation, reading closely both the literary texts and their cinematic counterparts. Investigates the politics of adaptation, as well as the criteria by which we can evaluate films based on texts as works of art in their own right. Analyzes both the films and the texts that we cover, focusing on individual authors’ works, as well as how they generate a dialogue between one another. Prerequisites: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This course will investigate postwar art practices that emerged out of a discontent with the ideals of functionalism and progress preached by international architecture on the one hand, and technoscientistic oriented pictorial and sculptural practices on the other. Throughout the Americas and Europe, the postwar situation was marked by both a crisis of rationalism and an ethics of reconstruction: in Europe, the horror of mass extermination; in the U.S., the eminence of capital and mass consumption; and in the Americas, the clash between modernity and underdevelopment. During this period, artists as disparate as Helio Oticica, Dan Graham, and Constant, in their efforts to supercede conventional object-based sculptural and pictorial paradigms deployed various architectural strategies such as the use of real space, environmental scale and temporal conditions, an engagement with urban experience, a concern with spectator involvement and public address, a critique of monumentality, and the incorporation of the vernacular. In exploring more recent aesthetic practices engaged in a dialogue with social space and its different constituencies we will ask: What is the relationship between socio-economic urban structures and emergent visual practices? What models of spectatorship and participation are embodied? How is the city and the global administrative network that regulates it, subverted or foregrounded? These are some of the questions that we will address in class.

Focuses on the major monuments of Jewish art produced in the ancient and medieval periods. It considers issues such as the function and (sometimes the problem) of “the image,” interaction with surrounding cultural and religious traditions (such as Hellenism, Christianity, and Islam), the decoration of the synagogue, and the illumination of manuscripts. Prerequisites: AH 100 and AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This course will consider historical and contemporary writings by artists and examine artworks that use text as an integral element. Considering issues of representation, appropriation, and modernism versus postmodernism within these documents, we will ask: When is the artist who writes a cultural critic, a diarist, scriptwriter, or archivist? What is the relationship between his or her textual and artistic practice? Artists’ writings will be considered in their historical context and alongside relevant works of art.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Considers movements and issues in art since the 1960s in relation to students’ own studio work. Combines lectures and seminars with group and individual critiques and reading programs. Lectures and seminars focus on the work, primarily since the ’60s, that reflects on its own art-historical, architectural, institutional, and discursive contexts. Topics include minimalism, performance, conceptual art, the art of institutional critique, and site-specificity. Examines the relations between artistic movements, considers their social and political context, and studies key texts by artists and critics. Prerequisites: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

In many traditions, reliquaries have been fashioned to house sacred remains, and to signify the link between past and present. This course will explore the main themes of the special exhibition Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe at the Walters Art Museum. In addition, it will consider cross-cultural and contemporary conceptions of reliquaries. Students will develop a broad understanding of reliquary traditions through an analysis of primary and secondary sources; research on the formal and symbolic aspects of reliquaries; and museum visits. Prerequisites: AH 100 and AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This seminar examines the visual culture of Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia, and Greece under Metaxas with a view toward how totalitarian regimes do (and do not) shape visual culture. Before embarking on four case studies, students review working models of what constitutes avant-garde and modern practice in order to consider these regimes’ influence on the art, architecture, and film produced within the greater context of European modernism. Throughout the course (e.g., WPA programs), students analyze both the aestheticization of politics and the politicization of aesthetics. Lastly, the course includes a brief consideration of visual culture in the United States contemporary to the four European totalitarian regimes under investigation. Prerequisites: AH 100 and AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Focuses on post-colonialism and cultural theory as the theoretical framework for understanding contemporary culture and art of Asia. The readings of Asia extend beyond the scope of traditional, Eastern, and Oriental perspectives of study. Students look at the difference between the Asian experience, as embodied by personal politics, to the disembodied/dislocated Internet advertisement of Asia-exotica in order to gain a broader understanding of what determines “Asian-ness” and its difference within a cultural situation, and how Asian cultural objects are manifested in a global context. Prerequisite: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This interdisciplinary seminar examines portraiture through case studies that combine the work of specific artists with art criticism and theory. In addition to providing a historiographic overview of the genre, the course examines the motivation behind and function of portraiture in varied settings. Authors to be read include philosophers and psychoanalysts such as Montaigne, Barthes, Foucault, Freud, Lacan, and Derrida, as well as critics Louis Marin, Georges Didi-Huberman, and Richard Brilliant. Artists featured are Bruce Nauman, Glenn Ligon, Dawoud Bey, Cindy Sherman, Nikki Lee, Ken Lum, Fiona Tan, William Kentridge, Shirin Neshat, Lorna Simpson, Gillian Wearing, Ben Gest, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Zwelethu Mthethwa, Christian Boltanski, Jenny Saville, Yasumasa Morimura, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Adrian Piper, Isaac Julien, Diane Arbus, Chris Ofili, Sophie Calle, Tracy Emin, and more.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

The Trojan War has fired imaginations since the end of the Bronze Age in Europe, from Homer’s Iliad to Ovid’s Metamorphoses, from medieval romances to modern movies and graphic novels. But it also inspired the birth of the science of archaeology, as scholars of the 19th and 20th centuries attempted to prove that the war and its great heroes really existed. This seminar-style class examines the Bronze Age cultures of the ancient Aegean, as well as the ancient sources and documents, and try to address the question: Was there really a Trojan War? Prerequisite: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After) or Graduate/ Post-Bac standing

Work for Central Baltimore," a unique studio class that we propose to teach at MICA in the Spring of 2010. The studio would critically examine recent strategies to use the arts, history and culture as tools for revitalization. Taking Central Baltimore and its "Station North Arts District" as our focus, the studio will ask students to work with members of the Central Baltimore community to analyze and assess existing arts-based revitalization strategies in order to suggest new ways in which art can contribute to Central Baltimore's vitality and sustainability. Ultimately, the studio's goal will be to produce a collection of implementable arts-based design and planning ideas for Central Baltimore, ranging in scale from vision plans, to temporary events, to small-scale, interventions.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Explores the role women have played in the visual arts as artists, patrons, critics, and historians. This upper-level course is suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate students. Prerequisites: AH 100 and AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

An overview of modernism and nationalism in Italian visual culture from 1861 to the present. Movements covered include Realism, the Macchiaioli, Stile Liberty, Divisionism, Futurism, Rationalism, Metaphysical Painting, Novecento, Arte Povera, and Memphis. Readings and lectures focus on the relationship between art, architecture, design, and politics, beginning with Italy’s reunification and continuing through the post-war decades of reconstruction. Through the study of international exhibitions and expositions, students also consider intersections and interactions between Italian artistic practitioners and their foreign counterparts. Prerequisite: AH 201

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Examines the world’s fair phenomenon from 1851, when the first major international exposition was held in London, to the International Decorative Arts and Modern Industry fair held in Paris in 1925. These large-scale exhibitions were encyclopedic in their scope and were designed to demonstrate western progress in industry, trade, transportation, arts, sciences and culture. This course will closely examine approximately 12 international fairs held in Europe and the United States from 1851 to 1925. Pays special attention to the design of each fair, including its architecture and layout, and importantly, the classification and display of nations, peoples, and objects. Prerequisite: AH 201.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

The course presents Latin America’s modern architecture in relation to cultural, political, artistic, and economic currents. We will consider the meaning of “Latin American Modernism” and the very possibility of an autonomous, self-determined local identity in a region that has been historically constituted out of multiple global forces. These forces include the material and symbolic legacy of the Iberian colonizers; the influence of immigrants from Europe, Africa, and Asia; the presence of diverse indigenous cultures; and the ambivalence towards foreign cultural models. Case studies will be drawn from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Venezuela, and Uruguay, among others. We will raise questions of modernism and modernity, local identity, political independence, economic development, social inequality, globalization, recent architectural developments, and heritage.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

The artists covered in this course—from South, Central, and North America—considered spectatorship and subjectivity, public address and environmental scale, as integral to their sculptural and pictorial work. Although under the aegis of Constructivism, these artists sought to absorb and displace Constructivist tenets: autonomy, rationalism, functionalism, objectivity, systematicity, and technological optimism. The concept of crisis will be used to understand (1) the transfigurations to the Constructivist model performed by these artists, (2) the historical conditions that underscored the reception of certain European artists and works in the region, and (3) the aesthetic operations that led to a redefinition of the modernist work of art, the exhibition space, and the viewer.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This seminar will examine modern and contemporary visual production from the Arab world using as a lens key texts that highlight issues pertaining to post-colonial contexts. Some of these texts will be specific to the history of art, while others will be drawn from cultural studies more broadly. The aim of this course is twofold: first, to familiarize students with a little known area of visual production, and second, to acquaint them with textual and critical tools that might be applied to other contexts in the visual arts.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This seminar investigates the connections between artmaking and trauma in the twentieth century. Our particular emphasis will be on the cataclysmic effects of armed conflict, from WWI to Vietnam, 9/11, and Afghanistan. Other modes of disruption and dislocation will also be considered, such as forced migration, slavery and diaspora, economic crisis, and psychic or domestic violence. As such, we will investigate a wide spectrum of artists and practices, from Weimar-era painting and Marcel Duchamp's portable objects to Cindy Sherman's photographs and Mike Kelly's installations. Readings will blend primary sources with passages of military and social history, and will be supplemented be germane film and literature. Key art historical touchstones will be Rosalyn Deutsche, TJ Demos, Susan Emily Apter, Susan Buck-Morss, and Hal Foster.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This course investigates the development of performance art from the 1960s to the present. It is guided by inquiries into how conceptual and performance work has encouraged new theorizations of identity (gender, class, race, sexuality) on a personal and social scale. Our investigation will interrogate the politics of participation and the ethics of spectatorship. Serving as an introduction to the practice of visual artists using their bodies, time, and space as mediums for their work we will engage the history of performance art to gain an understanding of these practices, their context, and their influence on the contemporary world. Special areas of focus will be: Futurism, Fluxus, Neo-Dada, the 60's and 70's in America, and the Interventionists. We will examine artists such as: Sol Lewitt, Joseph Beuys, Chris Burden, Allan Kaprow, the Womanhouse Project, Judy Chicago, Marina Abromovic, e-Xplo, Orlan, YOMANGO, Critical Art Ensemble, Tino Seghal, and Gregor Schneider among others. By the end of this course, students will be able to (1) Demonstrate a familiarity with canonical and lesser-known performance artists and their work (2) Approach performance historically and theoretically as a lens for understanding, critiquing, and creating art, and (3) Critically think through the complexities of the world they live in and the relationships of performance art to their worlds.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Postmodernism and Postcolonial theory are vital avenues into understanding the production and reception of art during the past fifty years. This course will explore the various debates that constitute those critical formations, emphasizing art practice, theoretical texts, criticism, and exhibition design from the United States and Europe to Africa, Latin America, and South Asia. In so doing, we will look more deeply into the formation of global modernity and its entanglements with the colonial enterprise, in order to answers questions such as: is the "post" in postmodern the same as in postcolonial? Is postmodernism a continuation of the modernist project? Can we speak of centers and peripheries in the history of contemporary art? And what is the difference between the modern and the contemporary?

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

Investigates the recent, expanded concept of the "medium" in contemporary art. We will begin by considering the debates that shaped the definition of "medium" and "medium specificity" within European and American modernism, and then consider how, in the 1960s and 70s, movements like minimalism, conceptual art, and institutional critique rejected those modernist criteria. More recently, relational aesthetics has defined its "medium" as a set of situations in which viewers actively participate. And artists since the mid-1990s consider it normal to use a spectrum of media—from drawing to video, installation art to performance—within a single body of work. Authors and critics to be examined include Clement Greenberg, Michael Fried, Hal Foster, Rosalind Krauss, Alex Potts, Nicolas Bourriaud, and Tim Griffin.

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

This graduate seminar will explore the thorny issues of site specificity and monumentality in contemporary art. We will trace their genealogy in the work of the sixties and seventies (Smithson, Matta-Clark, Serra) and will map the experimental terrain they engendered in the sculptural reversals that followed: (Wodiczko, Holzer, Jaar, Salcedo, Whiteread). Issues of memory and representation in public space will be addressed by case studies of artists engaging the notion of the "countermonument" and monumentality and of exhibitions which attempted to articulate similar issues (Mary Jane Jacob's Culture in Action, 1993 and Bruce Ferguson's Longing and Belonging, 1995). Finally, we will discuss "aesthetic agency," community-oriented work and the influence of relational aesthetics in work produced in the last ten years (Sierra, Hirschhorn, Tiravanija and others).

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

The course introduces students to research and studio practice surrounding the topic of settlement patterns and strategies in the Middle East, from the origins of town life to the contemporary period. Topical discussions will focus on issues like settlement patterns and lifeways in the Middle East; the importance of nomadic pastoralists and other “alternatives” to patterns of sedentism; the role of geography and natural resources; behavioral and cultural reactions to stressed geographies and ideas of sustainability; interaction of different settlement/behavioral patterns through time, the art and architecture of early city dwellers, and survivals of traditional lifeways in the contemporary era. The weekly six-hour course meeting will be divided in to lecture and discussion periods, and studio-based practica involving mapping, modeling, and other environmental design techniques.

This is a 6 credit course. Concurrent enrollment in SSCI 485 is required. Prerequisite: AH 201

This course includes a survey of the history of garden and landscape design from prehistory to the 20th century. It explores the relationship among gardens, buildings, and human beings throughout history from ancient Mesopotamia to contemporary America. Putting equal emphasis on eastern and western traditions of the garden design, it discusses interactions among different civilizations and their impact on the design of gardens and pavilions. This course also examines contemporary approaches in studying gardens through landscape, architectural, and artistic lenses. It examines the cultural, political, social, metaphysical, and materialistic context of gardens and explores the relationship between solid and void in the history of landscape and garden design. (Please Note: No Class May 27)

Prerequisite: AH 201 (Modernism and After)

The senior thesis seminar in Art History will instruct students in advanced library- and archival-research methods. Students will produce substantial thesis papers and create presentations for a formal conference of their research. The course will help focus their research and writing through in-class workshops and individual meetings with the professor.

Art History, Theory & Criticism majors only.

3 credits. Arcadias. Offered fall, spring. This introduction to the art of 2D hand-drawn animation familiarizes students with the principles of animation and teaches them to create strong believable animations by developing a sense of observation, timing, and motion. A good understanding of how to represent movement is an important foundation for using computers and technology to their full potential. This class also emphasizes artistic and aesthetic creativity, intending to push the boundaries of the imagination, to think out of the box and to familiarize students with storytelling. Prerequisite: FF 210

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in FF 210 (Electronic Media and Culture)

This introductory level course initiates students to the enormous creative capabilities of the 3DStudio Max program. From a basic understanding of the program’s operation, students learn to visualize, plan, and model in three-dimensional space as well as explore its animation capabilities. This powerful and sophisticated tool can be a great help to sculptors, designers, architects, and ceramic, wood, fiber, and installation artists to develop and enhance their studio concepts. Prerequisite: FF 210.

Prerequisite: FF 210 (Electronic Media and Culture)

3 credits. Marchand. Offered occasionally. In this hands-on animation class, students get the opportunity to explore a number of animation techniques such as painting on glass, sand animation, cut-out animation, and clay animation. According to their own level, new students learn how to develop a sense of motion and timing through direct manipulation under the camera and simple assignments. Experimentation is encouraged in order to develop a personal style. Prerequisite: FF 210.

Prerequisite: FF 210 (Electronic Media and Culture)

3 credits. Sheridan. Offered occasionally. Introduces the core technologies, software tools, I/O systems, and presentation environments used in contemporary animation. Through a combination of hands-on projects, group activities, and system demonstrations, students learn to understand and effectively exploit the wide range of rapidly changing creative opportunities available to contemporary animators. Emphasizes helping students integrate diverse systems to capture their thoughts, produce engaging animated ideas, and present the results effectively. Prerequisite: : EA210/FF210. Intended for animation majors but open to all.

Prerequisite: FF 210 (Electronic Media and Culture)

This class covers the different programs that will be necessary for animators to deliver or produce their animation. Programs include After Effects, Premiere, Flash, sound work and more.

Pre: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in AN 202 (Intro to 2D Animation) or AN 203 (Intro to 3D Animation)

This research course is being offered through a partnership between MICA and Direct Dimensions. Direct Dimensions is a leading company which specializes in 3D scanning technologies. They build scanners capable of scanning anything from a fingerprint to a battleship. They are also involved in working with numerous artists around the country. One of their latest projects was working with Jeff Koons. Students will learn to use various types of scanning equipment and software. Projects range from scanning the human form into the computer to developing and building 3D models and sculpture for scannings. To be enrolled in this research course, students must complete and submit an application. Enrollment is limited to 10 students. For more information, please see your Department Chair or Rich Lipscher in the Experimental Animation Department.

Introduces the various career paths available to animators; prepares students to express themselves effectively, work well with others, and plan successfully for a professional future. Required for and intended for sophomore animation majors.

Sophomore Animation Majors Only

3 credits. Arcadias. Offered fall, spring. This course is about developing a personal voice and also animation film directing from research to post-production. Students explore different themes used in animation films as a way of thinking in depth about the meaning and making of animation. This class works as an open studio. Prerequisite: AN 202.

Prerequisite: AN 202 (Introduction to 2D Animation)

3 credits. Lipscher. Offered fall, spring. Taught from a sculptural perspective, this course enables students to experience in depth the sophisticated modeling, rendering, and animation capabilities of the 3D Studio Max program. As they develop greater understanding of the many potentials of this powerful tool (e.g., surface mapping, camera and lighting techniques, and key framer and video post editing functions for animation), students are encouraged to work towards their own personal goals and interests. These may relate directly to their current studio work or as independent research in digital imaging. Prerequisite: AN 203.

Prerequisite: AN 203 (Intro to 3D Computer Animation)

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Prerequisite: AN 203 (Intro to 3D Computer Animation)

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Prerequisite: AN 203 (Intro to 3D Computer Animation)

The objective of this class is to provide students with the basic fundamental skill sets of 3D modeling, texturing in 3D Studio MAX. The major topics covered will be: •How to give your character personality through visual clues. •How to create visually compelling characters that are modeled efficiently. •The purpose of normal maps and there usefulness in sculpting organic objects. •Sculpting high resolution figures in Mudbox and ZBrush. Applying animation to the character

Pre: AN202 and AN302

3 credits. Sheridan. Offered spring. This course introduces students to the core technical concepts and systems that make the digital arts possible. Using a case-study approach, students gain an understanding of the theoretical and material aspects of the computer hardware, software, programming, and input-output systems that simultaneously enable and constrain their creative processes. The system integration, maintenance, cost, and control issues that confront artists who use multimedia digital technologies in gallery, installation, and performance settings are also explored.

MA in Digital Arts Students Only

3 credits. Sheppard. Offered occasionally

1 credit. Staff. Offered Fall & Spring.

Pre: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in AN 202 (Intro to 2D Animation) or AN 203 (Intro to 3D Animation)

1 credit. Staff. Offered fall, spring. This workshop teaches a dynamic way of drawing people, animals, scenes-in the light of motion and through observation and acting games. This workshop changes each semester with a relevant topic and in-depth instruction. Prerequisite: Credit earned or concurrent enrollment in FF210. Meets for five weeks.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in FF210 (Electronic Media and Culture)

1 credit. Staff. Offered fall, spring. Workshop focusing on how to translate a story into a visual form to make an animation film. Students learn how to break a short script into sequences and scenes and how to apply basic elements of cinematography through sketches. This workshop changes each semester with a relevant topic and in-depth instruction. Prerequisite: Credit earned or concurrent enrollment in FF 210. Meets for five weeks.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in FF210 (Electronic Media and Culture)

1 credit. Staff. Offered Fall & Spring.

Pre: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in AN 202 (Intro to 2D Animation) or AN 203 (Intro to 3D Animation)

1 credit. Staff. Offered fall, spring. From the land art concept, the process consists in direct interventions on real landscapes, urban scenes, or interiors to make animation. Students learn to use surroundings and daily objects as possible actors of a short animated film, learn how tell stories with them using imagination and the sense of observation. This workshop changes each semester with a relevant topic and in-depth instruction. Prerequisite: Credit earned or concurrent enrollment in FF 210. Field trip required. Meets for five weeks.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in FF210 (Electronic Media and Culture)

1 credit. Staff. Offered fall, spring. From the land art concept, the process consists in direct interventions on real landscapes, urban scenes, or interiors to make animation. Students learn to use surroundings and daily objects as possible actors of a short animated film, and learn how to tell stories with them using imagination and the sense of observation. This workshop changes each semester with a relevant topic and in-depth instruction. Prerequisite: Credit earned or concurrent enrollment in FF 210. Meets for five weeks

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in FF210 (Electronic Media and Culture)

1 credit. Staff. Offered Fall and Spring.

Pre: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in AN 202 (Intro to 2D Animation) or AN 203 (Intro to 3D Animation)

1 credit. Staff. Offered fall, spring. Rotoscoping is an animation technique in which animators trace over live-action film movement, frame by frame, for use in animated films Students use real footage and software such as Flash, After Effects, or Photoshop to create sequences of rotoscopy while learning how to use reality and transform it into animation. This workshop changes each semester with a relevant topic and in-depth instruction. Prerequisite: Credit earned or concurrent enrollment in FF 210. Meets for five weeks.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in FF210 (Electronic Media and Culture)

1 credit. Staff. Offered fall, spring. Focuses on the graphic research phase of an animation project such as character design, set design or atmosphere sketches in order to create “the look and feel” of a film. This workshop changes each semester with a relevant topic and in-depth instruction. Prerequisite: Credit earned or concurrent enrollment in FF 210. Meets for five weeks.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in FF210 (Electronic Media and Culture)

3 credits. Lipscher. Offered fall. Explores the expressive potential and technical underpinnings of the computer rapid prototyping processes such as 3D printing and laser cutting that are transforming the way artists create objects and think about what is “real.” Students begin by producing virtual objects using software such as SolidWorks, and then proceed to realize the objects in thephysical world using one or more rapid prototyping systems. Students produce items ranging from poseable action figures to models of utilitarian objects such as furniture or articulated sculptural forms that can be used in kinetic artworks. Prerequisite: AN 203.

Prerequisite: AN 203 (Intro to 3D Computer Animation)

If you've always dreamed of making that special animation film, this is your chance. This class is open to any student from any level with an animation project they want to develop under the guidance of the instructor. No formal animation training necessary. Seniors from other departments or graduate students are very welcome.

Prerequisite: FF 210 (Electronic Media and Culture)

This class covers the preliminary steps of producing an animation film from storyboarding, to concept art, to character design to layout.

Prerequisite: AN 203 (Intro 3D Animation)

In this class students will collaborate on the production of a short animation film and thus get a chance to go through the different steps of producing an animated film up to the final copy. The project will be selected from the AN345 pre-production class. This class is open to 2D and 3D animators but 2D techniques will be favored as the instructor is a 2D practitioner.

Prerequite: AN 202 (2D Animation) or AN 203 (3D Animation) and AN 345 (Animation Pre-Production)

3 credits. Arcadias. Offered fall. Introduces students to the process of creating effective animated characters. Students learn to articulate a character’s persona and embody that persona in appropriate movements and gestures by producing a series of short animations that explore a character’s temperament, behavior, expression, timing, balance, mood, and attitude. Students also experiment with acting techniques that will help them create memorable animations that engage and excite audiences. Prerequisite: AN 202, 203.

Prerequisite: AN 202 (Introduction to 2D Animation)

3 credits. Staff. Offered fall or spring. Designed to give animators insight into the method of 3D character animation based on the classical principles of 2D animation. The class focuses on the development and movement of 3D characters within a narrative structure. Narratives are provided in order to explore and develop visual acting, staging, physical weight, and emotion in 3D space. The fundamentals of 3D character modeling, rigging, and texturing to achieve believable movement are taught using 3DStudio Max by Autodesk. The concepts and techniques discussed throughout the course transcend the specifics of any software application. Students acquire 3D character theory and knowledge that can be deployed in any 3D character platform environment.

Provides an opportunity for students to research specific animation career options in depth while learning to present themselves and their work more effectively. Students also begin planning for their senior thesis projects in this class. Required for and intended for junior animation majors.

Animation Majors at the Junior level only

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Prerequisite: students at the Junior/Senior level with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of at least 3.000

3 credits. Staff. Offered fall. During senior thesis, students develop and produce a senior project that reflects the creative skills and technical expertise acquired over the past three years. This thesis serves as the basis of the student’s professional portfolio. Each successfully completed animation is screened in Falvey Hall as part of the campus-wide Commencement Exhibition. Students also plan installations to showcase their work as part of that exhibition. The first semester is spent designing and developing individual projects. Once projects are approved, students complete and document the pre-production and early production phase of their senior project. Required for and intended for senior animation majors.

Animation Majors at the Senior level only

3 credits. Staff. Offered spring. During the second semester of the year-long senior thesis class, students complete and document the production and post-production phase of their senior project and put together their installation for the Commencement Exhibition. Additionally, students prepare promotional materials, including an artist statement, a résumé, a portfolio for the web and/or a demo reel for future employers. Students present their work to faculty, guests, and peers. All senior projects are exhibited at MICA Commencement Exhibition. Required for and intended for senior animation majors.

Animation Majors at the Senior level only

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The CDP engages students in the process of problem solving and collaboration using the power of design to make a positive impact on society. Each semester, students work with a specific organization or initiative and focus on a specific objective or issue. Projects and partners change each semester. Past partners have included the Baltimore City Health Department, Baltimore City Public Schools, JHU Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Maryland Energy Administration. Past projects have focused on energy efficiency, food access, lead poisoning, HIV/AIDS, injury prevention, and health care to name a few. CDP students work alongside educators, design professionals, nonprofit and corporate organizations to research and experiment on the ways design can support project goals. Permission of instructor.

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This course is designed to introduce students to the discipline of handbuilding in ceramics. Students will learn the technical processes involved in forming and firing. Tools will be introduced including the slab roller, extruder and others. Basic glaze and clay chemistry and physics will also be covered. These techniques will be explored in the context of ceramic art historically and in its contemporary concerns. Students will engage in making and research in these pursuits. Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

This course is designed to introduce students to the discipline of wheel throwing in ceramics. Students will focus on the wheel as a tool that can be used to approach a wide variety of forms. Basic glaze and clay chemistry and physics will also be covered. These techniques will be explored in the context of ceramic art historically and in its contemporary concerns. Students will engage in making and research in these pursuits. Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

Initiates students to the many possibilities of fired glaze surfaces. A basic understanding of the chemistry of glaze formulation leads to experimentation and testing for various firing ranges, color, and texture possibilities to enhance the student’s personal direction and goals in the studio program. Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms) Two 1.5 credits workshops in the 3D area will combine to fulfill a 3-credit studio elective.

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

Ceramic minerals and rocks can be thousands and sometimes of millions of years old, removed from the earth and shipped to us as random bags of colored powder. This class seeks to dispel the mystery of these powders, restore the geologic history of the materials artists usually take for granted, and develop an understanding of their behavior within the ceramic medium. Includes study of each of the major chemicals that make up clay bodies and glazes, creating a base knowledge of what these minerals do and how these materials behave. Introduces clay body formulation for a variety of approaches and effects. Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms) Two 1.5 credits workshops in the 3D area will combine to fulfill a 3-credit studio elective.

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

Everything you ever wanted to know about kilns, now you can ask. After clay itself kilns are the most important ceramic tools. Discussion will include the history of kilns to contemporary designs and materials, kiln design and the effects that can be achieved by using specific kilns. Experimental kilns will be built and fired. Emphasis will be on the department’s gas and electric kilns to familiarize students with their operation, from loading to maintenance and repair. Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms) Two 1.5 credits workshops in the 3D area will combine to fulfill a 3-credit studio elective

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

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This course explores both historic and contemporary approaches to tile design, forming techniques, and decorating processes involved in ceramic wall murals. Students will work from flat to low and high relief formats and experiment with tile as modular units in repeat pattern to free form imagery. Mold making for casting and impressing tile as well as tile mural installation techniques will be covered. Personal direction will be emphasized after initial exploration of basic forming and finishing techniques. Field trips and visiting artists will be scheduled. Prerequisite: 3 credits of 200-level 3-d courses (i.e., CE 200 or FB 200 or SC 200 or WD 200).

Prerequisite: CE 200/201 (Intro to Ceramics) or FB 200 (Intro to Fiber) or IS 200 (Intro to Sculpture) or IS 202 (Intro to Wood)

Continuation of Tile and Mural I. Will explore both historic and contemporary approaches to tile design, forming techniques, and decorating processes involved in ceramic wall murals. Students will work from flat to low and high relief formats and experiment with tile as modular units in repeat pattern to free from imagery. Mold making for casting and impressing tile as well as tile mural installation techniques will be covered. Personal direction will be emphasized after exploration of basic forming and finishing techniques. Field trip and visiting will be scheduled.

3 credits. Barnes. Offered Summer. This is a ceramic class with many glaze solutions. Students create a body of work starting with a central theme in the first four weeks of class. Variations on the theme are created to examine the different possibilities available to finish the work. First we fire in ^04 oxidation and then ^6 reduction examining the potentials of clays and glaze at each temperature. The final week (July 25-July 29) we travel to upstate Pennsylvania for a 5 day intensive firing event. The class camps (tents & sleeping bags are provided) on a 10 acre property and glaze, load and fire a wood burning kiln. While the kiln is cooling we explore Raku firing. This class is a chance to explore what glaze surface is appropriate for the form and function of each piece. Prerequisites: Prior ceramic experience is needed.

Focuses on using the potter’s wheel as a tool but not as an end in and of itself. The wheel then becomes a jumping-off point for questions about form, functional and sculptural. Students build new skills and refine existing ones, creating more inventive, larger and more complicated forms. A number of firing and finishing options will also be covered. Prerequisite: CE 200 or 201.

Prerequisite: CE 200 or CE 201

Learning the basics of plaster mold design from simple open-face, one-piece press molds to more complex, multiple-piece, slip-cast systems, students explore the creative studio potentials of what are usually thought of as industrial ceramic techniques. Casting gives the artist the ability to quickly replicate original designs from tile and other low-relief, to full three-dimensional forms. Likewise, by capturing in plaster practically any form, texture, or material, natural or manufactured, the ceramist can borrow, alter, manipulate, rearrange, assemble, or mimic the “real” into their own sculptural or functional vision. Prerequisite: One 200-level 3D course (3 credits; i.e., CE 200, FB 200, IS 200, or IS 202).

Prerequisite: 3 Credits of 200 Level 3D Coursework

Since the Industrial Revolution, studio ceramics has paralleled the production of everyday utilitarian objects while simultaneously distancing itself from a perception of a cold, lifeless, aesthetic present in industrially produced objects. By linking traditional practice with a close examination of objects that are typically deemed beneath notice, students look at ceramics as a material and as a contextual history with a broader lens. This class provokes questions surrounding the dichotomy of ubiquity, function, making and meaning by asking for close examination of objects that are often regarded as to be so lacking in value that they are frequently considered disposable. Nothing is served by defining the borders between ubiquitous object and art object, but a lot may be instigated by pushing these borders. Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms) .

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

This course will celebrate the Crisco white underbelly of ceramics by looking at the kitsch history of the material and its roll in framing cultural viewpoints. This course will plumb the aesthetics of the cheap and forgotten, the DIY, glitter and glue. In this class, we will look at figurines, lawn ornaments, commemorative objects and yes, even ashtrays. We will be engaged in the study of objects that might be found in a double wide, or tossed into the rubbish heap of aesthetic cultural detritus. Assignments will be structured so as to study and to inquire “What IS kitsch? As the semester progresses, students will be expected to evolve an independent body of work. There will be some readings and research required. Prerequisite: CE 200 or CE 201 or One 300-level CE course

Prerequisite: CE 200, CE 201, or one 300-level CE course

Skin, glaze, pattern, decoration, ornamentation…these terms frame our experience of the surface of ceramics. The surface of ceramic art is an incredibly complex technical issue and is loaded with aesthetic, emotional, and political questions. This class will combine several trajectories to deal with both these technical and conceptual layers. From higher temperatures to room temperature, this class will introduce students to the technical issues of surface and multiple firings and will ask them to consider surface within the politics of reference, both historical and contemporary. Glaze chemistry, firing approaches, commercial surfaces as well as digital approaches to generating decoration, pattern and ornamentation are covered within the social and political history of surface in ceramics. The course uses research, writing, and studio practice in its investigation. Prerequisite: CE 200 or CE 201.

Prerequisite: CE 200 or CE 201

In its natural or original position or place; in position; - said specif., in geology, of a rock, soil, or fossil, when in the situation in which it was originally formed or deposited. (Webster's, 1913) This class will focus on site-specific work in ceramics. Projects may take the form of architectural ceramics, large scale sculpture and installation, public art, ceramic design, functional pottery, community engaging practice, etcetera. The potential for conceptual, visual, and functional activation of space will be explored. Students will gain valuable building and surface skills through simple but effective construction techniques. The course will be taught through demonstrations, lectures and readings. Assignments will be both individual and collaborative.

Prerequisite: CE 200, CE 201, or one 300-level CE course

This class will be inspired by Bruce Mau’s “Incomplete Manifesto for Growth” focusing its potential on Ceramic problems in design as a multidisciplinary practice; one that integrates many areas and crosses boundaries. From architectural tiles/ cladding systems to domestic forms, this class will ask students to reimagine contemporary ceramic product design and focus on design problems that utilize clay’s potential in the development of original concepts and objects. Prototyping, small edition processes utilizing slip-casting in plaster molds and some new technologies will be explored. The course will be taught through demonstrations, lectures and readings. Assignments will be both individual and collaborative.

Prerequisite: CE 200, CE 201, or one 300-level CE course

Ceramics is the most ancient of technologies, rooted deep in our history. Ceramics is also a cutting-edge technology used in many aspects of industrial design. This class looks at where these worlds meet, exploring hybrid methods; the relationship between the machineand hand-made; combines the newest technologies available in the Art-Tech Center with processes and practices utilized in the ceramics studio; explores interdisciplinary practices: industry, design, science, and art; and focuses on inventing new ways of making as well as challenging the boundaries between technologies. The course uses research, written assignments, and studio practice in its investigation. Prerequisite: CE 200 or CE 201.

Prerequisite: CE 200 or CE 201

Animals have been replicated in art since the cave paintings at Lascaux; it is difficult to imagine humans evolving as successfully as we have without them. This class looks at the animal as fetish, the animal as muse, the animal as icon; the animal body, animals in history, animals in society, animals as commodity; domestication and wildness, anatomy, and phylogeny. This is a ceramics class but use of multiple material approaches is welcomed. Begins with assignments, but as the semester progresses, students are expected to evolve an independent body of work. Some readings and research are required. Prerequisite: FF101 (Sculptural Forms) + 3 Credits of 200 Level 3D Coursework

Prerequisite: FF101 (Sculptural Forms) + 3 Credits of 200 Level 3D Coursework

Explores the use of ceramic and non-ceramic materials in the larger context of sculptural possibilities. Questions regarding the appropriateness of materials to concept and the limitations and possibilities inherent to materials are addressed. Students are expected to test, challenge, and redefine those parameters in the context of their own works. The use of a multitude of materials and processes is fully supported; as always, the challenges lie within making technically and conceptually suitable choices. After an introductory assignment, students are asked to integrate their own concerns and research into a cohesive body of work. A variety of clay bodies—including porcelain, stoneware, and red earthenware—are available. An emphasis on research and introspection is expected. Students are asked to make presentations based on this research. Prerequisite: CE 200 or CE 201 or One 300-level CE course

Prerequisite: CE 200, CE 201, or one 300-level CE course

This course addresses the hollow hand-built ceramic figure. Students investigate clay’s ability to record gesture from inside and out and examines the emotional impact of opening, fragmenting, and distorting the figure. Special attention is paid to developing evocative poses and characters. Students contrast active and static poses, experimenting with the relationship between the figure and its audience and explore how particular clays and firing surfaces shape our perception of the human figure. Through periodic slide lectures students are introduced to ceramic traditions from Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. The class also looks closely at contemporary figurative work being produced in clay. While clay is the primary media, students also include found objects in some compositions and investigate working other media directly into ceramic figures. Prerequisite: CE 200 or any 300-level ceramics course (3 credits).

Prerequisite: CE 200, CE 201, or one 300-level CE course

Ceramics is perceived as a linear medium, form-fire-glaze-fire. This perception limits the medium’s range and potential, and underestimates its relevance to contemporary and more flexible practices. This course focuses on breaking this approach apart to look at the medium’s potential within collage, mixed media, and installation frameworks, studying these approaches through the introduction of new forming and deconstructing methods, the technical issues and requirements around combining clay with other materials and processes, and the conceptual implications of exploring the medium in its many states, from raw to fired. Issues of site-specific and research-based studio practices are discussed and explored. The group engages in research, collaborative discussions, and local excursions in its investigation. Prerequisite: CE 200 or CE 201.

Prerequisite: CE 200 or CE 201

American art has often been obsessed with the notion that ³bigger is better.² Yet artists such as Richard Notkin and Kathy Butterly have made powerful and moving work that generally occupies a space that fits within the palm of a hand. This class will explore the notion of the significant small-scale object. Students will explore concepts surrounding monumentality, intimacy and fetishism, among others, through the creation of diminutively scaled objects. Although this is a ceramics course, the use of non-ceramic materials is fully supported, as long as they are technically and conceptually appropriate to the inquiry. Prerequisite: CE 200 or CE 201 or One 300-level CE course

Prerequisite: CE 200, CE 201, or one 300-level CE course

This class will explore the use of ceramic materials in the larger context oof sculptural possibilities. Students will be encouraged to bring their expertise, questions and explorations from other areas, be they studio based or academic, to the production of new work. Questions will be raised regarding the appropriateness of materials to concept, and about the limitations and possibilities inherent to materials. Students are encouraged, indeed expected, to test, challenge and redefine those parameters in the context of their own works. This process will be augmented through examples of historical antecedents. The use of a multitude of materials and processes is fully supported. As always, the challenges lie within making technically and conceptually suitable choices. After an introductory assignment, students will be asked to integrate their own concerns/research/explorations into a cohesive body of work. A variety of clay bodies including porcelain, stoneware and red earthware will be available. An emphasis on research and introspection is expected. Students will be asked to present based on this research. Prerequisite: CE 200 or CE 201 or One 300-level CE course

Prerequisite: CE 200, CE 201, or one 300-level CE course

This course will focus on a set of themes, concepts of techniques unique to the instructor’s aproach and expertise. Prerequisite: One 200-level 3D Course

Prerequisite: 3 Credits of 200 Level 3D Coursework

3 credits. Staff. Offered fall, spring. For students wishing to work with a particular instructor on subject matter not covered by regularly scheduled classes, a special independent study class may be taken. A contract is required, including signatures of the instructor and the student's department chair. This class may not be used to substitute for a department's core requirement or senior thesis / senior independent. Learning contract required before registration. Minimum of junior class standing and 3.0 GPA required.

Prerequisite: students at the Junior/Senior level with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of at least 3.000

In this course, students develop a coherent body of personal independent work to be completed during senior year for final presentation to a jury selected from sculptural studies faculty. The course consists of thesis and seminar. In Thesis, students develop their personal work with periodic critiques to discuss progress, content, and process are conducted by faculty and guest critics. In Seminar, professional materials, practices, critical writing are developed as well as a written thesis/artist’s statement evolving to accompany studio work. Senior Ceramics Majors Only

Senior Ceramics Majors Only

The continuation of CE 400 leading to the final presentation of a body of work for exhibition to a jury of interdisciplinary sculpture faculty. The course consists of thesis and seminar. In Thesis, students develop their personal work with periodic critiques to discuss progress, content, and process are conducted by faculty and guest critics. In Seminar, professional materials, practices, critical writing are developed as well as a written thesis/artist’s statement evolving to accompany studio work. Senior Ceramics Majors Only

Senior Ceramics Majors Only

Advanced-level studio in which students develop individual projects in consultation with the instructor. Students are expected to work independently but to maintain the studio hours of this course plus a minimum of three hours outside of class time per week. Periodic critiques of progress, content, and process are conducted by faculty and invited critics. Prerequisite: Any 300-Level Ceramics Course

Prerequisite: Any 300-Level Ceramics Course

Advanced-level studio in which students develop individual projects in consultation with the instructor. Students are expected to work independently but to maintain the studio hours of this course plus a minimum of three hours outside of class time per week. Periodic critiques of progress, content, and process are conducted by faculty and invited critics. Prerequisite: Any 300-Level Ceramics Course

Prerequisite: Any 300-Level Ceramics Course

Based on the dual premise that writing is a form of thinking on paper, and—like painting or sculpture—a written piece is a “made thing,” requiring structural integrity and thoughtful, original use of materials (in this case, language). Students analyze a wide range of writing, including their own, and experiment with different structural and organizational strategies, sentence-level revision techniques, research methods, and the nitty-gritty of achieving a tight, powerful final draft. Required of all incoming students. A waiver is possible for students with acceptable transfer credit or after Critical Inquiry/Art Matters faculty assessment of an academic writing sample. Students for whom the workshop is required will take a total of three elective credits.

Please contact department for course description.

Please contact department for course description.

In this course we will write poems, stories, essays, and scripts. We will focus on the fundamental elements of a variety of genres, learning from the examples of a spectrum of prose writers, poets and dramatists. In-class exercises and assignments will encourage us to experiment with character and scene development, narrative strategies, dialogue, point of view, autobiography, time and space, poetic compression, form, and the documentary practices of journalism. Our work will familiarize us with the many ways writers turn experience into expression and form into meaning. Visiting guest writers may offer observations of their respective crafts. In addition to in-class exercises and workshop critiques of student work, assigned readings will develop awareness of historical contexts and innovations. Required for all LLC Creative Writing minors and for all intermediate and advanced writing workshops.

Prerequisite: HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry) or Permission of Instructor.

This course introduces the initiate poet to the basic poetical forms and the tradition of poetry in America in English. However, it focuses on developing the student’s facility to think critically and use language in ever more innovative ways as a transferable strategy to engaging creativity as a process. The POETRY SPEAKS text and compact disc set of readings and the HANDBOOK OF POETIC FORMS are required reading along with selected local and contemporary poets’ work. Requirements include portfolio assignment poems, one analytical peer essay review, one analytical essay based on assigned texts and two copies of a ten-page chapbook of original poetry to be celebrated at two required public readings with classmates.

A writing course focused on the craft of popular-culture journalism, that genre of newspaper/magazine reporting that covers art, music, film, theater, and the cultural "scene". Students will complete a portfolio of three types of stories: a review, a profile, and a feature. Each assignment will have three component parts: a written pitch, a draft copy and a ready-for-publication revision. The class will be run primarily as a workshop, but will also include guest speakers--A&E reporters, critics, and editors from the City Paper, The Sun, and a lifestyle magazine (Baltimore or Style).

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

So you want to make a children's picture book? Great. This course will help you develop your text. But as we begin reading children's books (and books about children's books), writing manuscripts, and sharing them with each other, we will quickly encounter some challenging questions. What is this book for? Who is it for? Does it appeal to children and adults in different ways? What assumptions does it make about the world of childhood and the relationships children have? How does it obscure, reveal, comment on, or attempt to change the truths of life—things like love, desire, satisfaction, hurt, difference, sickness, and death? What values or norms does it establish—or subvert? Do the words and pictures reinforce one another or is there tension between them, and to what effect? What values or expectations are at stake as the story or pattern unfolds? Assignments include analyzing a children's book or books, reading books with children, emulating a specific author, reworking an old story, and developing an original story or concept. We will discuss both text and illustration in published picture books, but the creative assignments and workshop discussions will focus on the text component. Ideally, each student will conclude the semester with a manuscript that is ready for illustration.

Prerequisite: HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry) or Permission of Instructor.

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Prerequisite: One Writing course at the 200-level or above, or Permission of Instructor (includes CWRT 209, 226, 281, 403, 404, 406, 322, 326, 330, 365, L 227, 240, 254, 275, 289, 304, 309, 326, 389, 407, 456, LIT 268, and PERF 380).

This poetry writing course utilizes a blend of ancient text including the Persian The Green Sea of Heaven: 50 Ghazals from the Diwan of Hafiz and contemporary text that includes Laughing Blood by New York visual artist and poet David Colosi and the recently released Alone With the Terrible Universe by Baltimore’s Alan Britt. It also includes a workbook with varied writing exercises and samples. To enlarge your poetic possibilities, the Persian text offers concepts and methodologies for innovation that are not western. There are tentative plans for the two Euro-American poets in the assigned reading to visit class. Essentially, you are working to expand your range of innovation in creating poems, using your analysis of the assigned reading and doing peer critiques to improve your critical revising eye. Grade requirements include writing 10 original poems, one analytical essay, creating 2 copies of one chapbook of original poetry, giving 2 public readings and a number of minor in-class assignments.

Surveys some of the successes and scandals in contemporary memoir, focusing on the use of both writing and reading in dealing with personal pain, dysfunction, and disaster. In addition to weekly and ongoing creative writing assignments, students read from the following list: This Boy’s Life by Tobias Wolff; The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Bauby; The Kiss by Katherine Harrison; The Liars’ Club by Mary Karr; A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers; Secret Life by Michael Ryan; Experience by Martin Amis; Permanent Midnight by Jerry Stahl; and Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen. Critical reaction to and reviews of these works are also read and discussed.

Prerequisite: One Writing course at the 200-level or above, or Permission of Instructor (includes CWRT 209, 226, 281, 403, 404, 406, 322, 326, 330, 365, L 227, 240, 254, 275, 289, 304, 309, 326, 389, 407, 456, LIT 268, and PERF 380).

This workshop centered course focuses on the practice and direct use of technology in composing original works of poetry, fiction and/or non-fiction. Through examining the use of words, images, and sounds in hypermedia and hypertext works, students will explore the relationship between conventional literary forms and emergent digital media. Hypertext theory challenges the author to abandon conventional ideas of center, margin, and linearity and invites one to consider connectedness, decenteredness, and the possibilities of multi-linear narrative. Readings will include works of writers, theorists, artists, and practitioners such as Shelley Jackson, George Landow, Michel Foucault, Robert Coover, Michael Joyce, Stuart Moulthrop, and Jean Baudrillard, as well as a broad range of visual artists actively engaged in using computerized images in their works. In order for students to fully gain a working knowledge of hypertext, they will be expected to create a series hypertext documents. Additionally, they will complete two hypertext projects: a smaller introductory work and a larger culminating piece.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

The advanced topics courses offer students opportunities to go deeply into a particular genre. Where the emphasis in introductory and intermediate writing workshops is on exploration, experiment and on developing a critical sensibility, the advanced courses invite a commitment to a specific body of work: a collection of poems; personal or critical essays; a novella or collection of short stories. Each semester faculty teaching these courses will offer specific, focused topics for their particular course.

Prerequisite: One Writing course at the 200-level or above, or Permission of Instructor (includes CWRT 209, 226, 281, 403, 404, 406, 322, 326, 330, 365, L 227, 240, 254, 275, 289, 304, 309, 326, 389, 407, 456, LIT 268, and PERF 380).

Designed for students who want to experience the immediacy of theater, this workshop offers participatory experiences in scene writing, improvisation, and acting. Other activities include readings of student work and analysis of selected plays. The course culminates in a workshop production of scenes, monologues, and performances written and staged by students.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 300 level or higher, or Grad/PostBac standing.

This course is designed for students who have studied theatre and drama and who want to write plays. The worship focuses on giving the students the tools and experience to write short plays. In addition to playwriting exercises, students see a play, meet with a visiting director, attend a visiting playwrights panel, read interview with playwrights, and analyze short plays by modern and contemporary playwrights. Staged readings of the students' one-act plays are performed throughout the semester.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 300 level or higher, or Grad/PostBac standing.

“Poetic” describes the sublime accomplishment in all the arts. Poetry is the sister art of painting, and the urge to appreciate, study, and make poetry is a traditional and natural desire of the visual artist. This class is for experienced poets, a forum to uncover and gratify the desire for poetry in our lives. Students read the work of accomplished poets and write and critique the work of themselves and other members of the class.

Prerequisite: One 300- level writing course (CWRT 322, 326, 330,365, or PERF 380) or Permission of Instructor

Those who work in the genre of creative nonfiction recognize that writing can be creative while using factual materials. This course focuses on learning and refining the craft of creative nonfiction through the development of personal narratives. Students work on refining the traditional techniques of journalism and reportage, while maintaining a strong and special individuality, and a singularly distinctive voice. They read a series of essays that which all possess this unique subjectivity of focus, concept, context, and point of view, and analyze the way in which information is presented and defined. The final project includes the completion of a longer narrative or a series of shorter narratives.

Prerequisite: One Writing course at the 200-level or above, or Permission of Instructor (includes CWRT 209, 226, 281, 403, 404, 406, 322, 326, 330, 365, L 227, 240, 254, 275, 289, 304, 309, 326, 389, 407, 456, LIT 268, and PERF 380).

Histories are great stories, and there's no better way to learn about the past (and the difficulty of interpreting it) than to try to tell one of its stories fully, accurately, and with narrative drive. Students will read and discuss a broad range of narrative histories, each with its own way of framing problems, presenting evidence, building credibility, structuring narrative, and delivering a good read. In the first half of the course students will experiment with a variety of writing techniques, and in the second half they will pursue an in-depth independent research and writing project with an optional visual component. Pre-requisite: a 300-level writing workshop or permission of instructor.

This sophomore core course is designed to help students explore their artistic vision and begin to plan the way they would like to construct their own version of the drawing major. New drawing majors are assisted in forging a personal approach to visual exploration and expression. This course is strong on personal attention via frequent one-on-one discussions. Corequisite: DR 252 or DR 298 Drawing majors only.

Pre: Earned Credit or Concurrent Enrollment in DR 252 (Life Drawing) or DR 298 (Studio Drawing)

An intensive study of the nude. Issues of form, structure, volume, movement, composition, and expressive possibilities are explored and practiced. Prerequisites: FF 198 and FF 199. Recommended sophomore course.

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II).

A general introduction to portrait drawing, this course covers skulls, planes and masses of the head, muscles of expression, age differentiation, characterization, adornment, lighting, and the double portrait, among other subjects. There are models of all ages and some clay modeling. Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II) Fulfills studio drawing requirement. Recommended sophomore course.

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) & FF 199 (Drawing II) or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

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Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) & FF 199 (Drawing II) or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

In this course, compositional elements are explored for their expressive and formal possibilities within the general framework of realistic space. Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II). Fulfills studio drawing requirement. Recommended sophomore course.

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) & FF 199 (Drawing II) or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II).

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II).

Perceptual drawing may be thought of as the simulation of objects, people, or events in the everyday world on a piece of paper—accurate and faithful rendering being its goal. By contrast, in conceptual art, the idea, used as an expressive device, is the most important part of the work. By placing an emphasis on the planning and decisions made before the drawing is executed, conceptual drawing attempts to extend the parameters of drawing by pushing past work that is made primarily for the sensation of the eye to something that engages the spectator cerebrally as well. Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II). Fulfills studio drawing requirement.

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) & FF 199 (Drawing II) or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

This course in structural linear drawing is designed for students who are interested in using drawing as part of the process of developing 3D works. Drawings and small 3D models will feed off of each other in the development of 3D pieces, giving students the tools to develop their ideas three dimensionally without having to construct them in full scale. The course includes examination of site-specific ideas for indoor or outdoor public sculpture. Students examine the work of sculptors such as Eva Hesse, Maya Lin, Christo, Claes Oldenburg, Vito Acconci, Alice Aycock, and Andy Goldsworthy. Open to all, but of special interest to students involved with 3D projects. Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II). Fulfills studio drawing requirement. Recommended sophomore course.

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II).

The techniques necessary to create more effective visual illusion are explored in class problems and homework assignments. The perceptual process involved in the depiction of distance and volume is studied to assist the understanding of what is required in spatial illusion. Slides show various ways artists use illusion from realistic to paradoxical effects. Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II). Fulfills studio drawing requirement. Recommended sophomore course.

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) & FF 199 (Drawing II) or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

The emphasis of he class will be to explore effects of light to form and space. We will draw and explore with different materials from dry mediums, to wet mediums, to collage, and mixed media using natural light, man-made light and conceptual light. The exploration will go anywhere from nocturnal to white bright hot light. We will discuss mood and energy that comes from the selection of light place in the drawings. The imagery will vary looking at landscape, still life, the figure, theatrical setups, and imaginary light, photography, film, slides, books, etc. Classroom demonstrations, slide lectures, articles, books, films, and guest lectures.

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) & FF 199 (Drawing II) or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

This course explores formal optics of color perception/interaction along with the psychological implications in drawing. The first half of the semester will deal with review of color theory and introduction to various tools and techniques (dry, wet mixed media). The second half of the semester each student will develop a body of work that deals with a subject of their own choosing. Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II).

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) & FF 199 (Drawing II) or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

Still life and interiors are studied separately and in combination with one another. Emphasis is placed on careful observation and articulation of volumes, space and place, tonal values, rhythms, effects of light on subject matter, and compositional clarity. Students are encouraged to develop personal resources, images, and forms. Investigations take place in the classroom as well as at sites around the city. Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II). Fulfills studio drawing requirement. Recommended sophomore course.

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) & FF 199 (Drawing II) or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

This is a course in creative drawing as informed by the art of the past. The class meets and works at the Walters Art Museum. Attendance is mandatory. Homework is based in varying degrees on master drawings, attitudes, and techniques. Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II). Fulfills studio drawing requirement. Recommended sophomore course.

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) & FF 199 (Drawing II) or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

This drawing class is a exploration of observational composition using different formats and picture planes. Students strengthen their abilities to depict complex compositions using the elements and principles of drawing and push the placements of the figure/ground-interactions. Students define space using a variety of media. Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II). Fulfills studio drawing requirement. Recommended sophomore course.

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) & FF 199 (Drawing II) or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

This course explores natural subject matter through observation and aesthetically selective description. Emphasis is on light, composition, form, surface, space, and environment. Students use skulls, shells, birds, animals, live crabs, landscape, and flora, and take field trips to zoos, conservatories, and gardens. Slides of contemporary naturalists and old masters (i.e., Redoute, Ehret, Audubon, and Fuertes), and videos of Banks Florilegium, Robert Bateman, and Beatrix Potter are shown. Homework consists of individually developed projects that are broader than class study. All black and white materials and the Nature Library are used. Watercolor is optional but encouraged. Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II). Fulfills studio drawing requirement. Recommended sophomore course.

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) & FF 199 (Drawing II) or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

An exploration of situations which place the artist/viewer in between the conditions of Inside versus Outside. Through the practice of sketching on site, students strengthen their abilities in depicting complex compositions and lighting conditions through a variety of traditional and not-so-traditional subject matter at locations usually outside of MICA around the city of Baltimore. What are the compositional devices that put the viewer inside looking out or vice versa? Start from inside the still life, then walk through corridors and passages of erratically lit interiors, before throwing open a window to gape upon the chaotic surround of the cityscape. Based on your perceptual explorations in class, the homework will emphasize how to metaphorically, conceptually or symbolically construct a drawing (or drawings) of the subject matter emphasizing formal, psychological and conceptual contrasts along the continuum of exploring Inside/Outside. Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II).

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) & FF 199 (Drawing II) or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

This course teaches the ancient Asian art of sumi-ink. Students learn the traditional vocabulary of sumi ink while gaining an understanding of history and philosophy of ancient Eastern culture. Material and techniques include working with rice paper, sumi-ink, rabbit skin glue, and backing. Students address the different genres of line drawing, plant painting (the Four Gentlemen), calligraphy, still life, figures, and landscape. There are weekly assignments, a midterm, and a final. Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II). Fulfills studio drawing requirement. Recommended sophomore course.

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) & FF 199 (Drawing II) or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

This course is a naturalistic approach to drawing from the landscape that includes traveling (using the MICA van) and working at a variety of sites in Baltimore and the surrounding area. Students explore various materials and their possibilities as they relate to the landscape. In mid-November, class will come indoors and continue with landscapes and interiors looking on to landscapes. Various slide talks relating to the subject of landscape are presented. Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II). Fulfills studio drawing requirement. Recommended sophomore course.

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) & FF 199 (Drawing II) or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

This free-hand drawing course uses observation-drawing exercises to develop the spatial awareness critical to developing a convincing sense of depth and atmosphere in representing architectural space. Direct observation, abstraction of observation drawings, perspective studies, and plan and section drawing types are employed to understand and convey complex spatial relationships. Pen and ink, charcoal, and watercolor are used in the studio and on site. Architectural field trips are a significant component of this course. Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II). Fulfills studio drawing requirement. Recommended sophomore course.

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) & FF 199 (Drawing II) or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

This course emphasizes issues of representational drawing and draftsmanship that reach beyond their most familiar and traditional linear expression to incorporate greater range of mark-making and media as in works of such artists as Rembrandt, Boya, Tiepolo, and Diebenkorn. Students explore relationships between line and mass, observation, and experimentation. Prerequisites: FF 198 and FF 199. Fulfills studio drawing requirement. Recommended sophomore course.

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) & FF 199 (Drawing II) or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

To be convincing, expressive marks need to understand the structures they attempt to describe. Employing conventional and unconventional free-hand drawing tools, this course explores the structures of forms. Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II). Fulfills studio drawing requirement. Recommended sophomore course.

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) & FF 199 (Drawing II) or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

An exploration of the structural, formal, and expressive qualities of trees. Their subjective quality will be considered through the specific characteristics of proportion, dimension, density, thrust, texture, and underlying structural design. Course includes: tree anatomy, design, and inherent natural and symmetrical form, and irregular haphazard tree forms resulting from ravages of the environment. Studio and field work supplemented by critiques and slide study of master drawings. Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II).

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) & FF 199 (Drawing II) or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

Artists in the 21st century are products of a televisual and cinematic era. Questions arise as to how this both shapes the way in which we understand and make images and how we create and consider traditional modes of expression like drawing, while taking into account the power of the moving picture. This course undertakes a conceptual and process-based approach to drawing, rather than a media specific or form-based approach. This class challenges students to examine and investigate the multi-dimensional potentialities of drawing thoroughly and how it relates to their work. Prerequisite: DR 252 (Life Drawing) and DR 298 (Studio Drawing).

Prerequisite: DR 252 (Life Drawing) and DR 298 (Studio Drawing)

Students who are involved in a personal direction or who are in a search of one receive individual critiques and participate in small group discussions of their work. Requirements: attendance at three individual critiques, three small group discussions, two full class show and tell reviews. Prerequisites: DR 252 and DR 298. Drawing majors with junior level status only.

Junior level Drawing Majors only.

This class provides students a wide mix of methods, ideas, unique facilities, settings, and sources. Although students will be encouraged to develop a body of work that naturalistically represents or abstractly interprets a specific subject or activity such as rural landscape, horses, orchestra, theatre, and ballet dancers, any kind of independent work is acceptable. Slide presentations, as well as group and individual critiques, will augment the weekly studio and on-site experiences.

Drawing requires answers to a number of questions. How to suggest three dimensions in a two-dimensional format? How to imply movement in a product that is still? What to omit and what to include to achieve a given effect? The purpose of this course is to provide a basic understanding of the human musculoskeletal system through a combination of lectures, labs, and directed studio assignments. The hope is that by better understanding human structure and motion students find their own answers to these questions. This is not a course in medical illustration, nor is it intended to be an academic approach to figure drawing. Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II).

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II).

Outstanding movies are viewed weekly and discussed for their cinematic techniques and thematic content. At home, students do interpretative drawings that are inspired by the viewed movies. Mornings are for seeing and discussing the movies, afternoons for group critiques. Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II).

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II).

An exploration of sexuality and eroticism as a drawing topic. Students produce work that addresses pertinent aspects implicit in the subject, such as gender identities and roles, the spectrum of sexual orientation, concepts of beauty and aesthetics, paraphilias and taboos, and censorship and socio-cultural context. The work of both historically (Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Jean Cocteau, Hans Bellmer, Luis Caballero, David Hockney) and contemporary (Chris Cunningham, Jean Paul Goude, Dimitris Papaioanou) artists from different fields will be examined and analyzed. Students may be able to work in a variety of drawing materials. Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II).

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II).

Students continue to develop illusionistic skills through more advanced in-class assignments that push technical and conceptual power using space and volume. More advanced perceptual science is presented with each topic. Out-of-class work includes developing a series of related works that apply illusionism in an individual way, exploring possibilities that challenge past limits and developing a personal way of using illusion for one's own goals. Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II).

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) & FF 199 (Drawing II) or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

Mindfulness and the process of drawing go hand in hand. Whether working predominately from visual, felt, or thought perception, the relationship to one’s mind and body is crucial. This course will incorporate a variety of contemplative and artistic experiences to enrich and deepen one’s ability to create from a more holistic place, developing relevant skills and personal interests along the way. Traditional and non-traditional approaches to drawing will be addressed; various tools and techniques will be touched upon, including simple graphite, mixed media, and the use of digital technology. Fluctuating between structured and open problems, we will also explore physical movement including aspects of dance and yoga, mindfulness practices including breath awareness, stillness and walking. Working from visually observed reality, and felt sensations, students will work both in and out of class, and will develop a written journal as part of their daily practice.

This Drawing Studio will utilize working from the model to explore ways of extending drawing possibilities through a wide range of historical approaches. Distortion, foreshortening, manipulation of viewpoint, compression of picture plane, environment, mark, and abstraction will be explored. The sketchbook will be of pivotal importance in this class. Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II).

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) & FF 199 (Drawing II) or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

The idea that drawing may occur through the materialization and fabrication of line is a phenomenon which is inherent in work seen throughout the history of contemporary fiber, sculpture and of all material-based media. This highly experimental course will engage the student in making drawing on the wall or in space, utilizing every conceivable material, working through both known and invented processes. The course will include slide lectures showing work related to the problem along with regularly scheduled individual and group critiques.

This course explores the activity of drawing at the intermediate to advanced level. The course wiill investigate how drawing relates to other media such as installation, performance, photiography and new technologies. The course also explores comtemporary drawing practices and theory. Through regular in-class drawing sessions that build upon the skill level of each participant, this course will consider drawing from various cultures and contemporary approaches.

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II).

Working from selected objects of their choice, students familiarize themselves thoroughly with their subject matter through a series of carefully observed perceptual drawings. They then explore associative, expressive, and metaphoric possibilities of the objects, devising long-term independent projects that develop the metaphoric expression as richly as possible in a series of drawings. Various techniques are used to help elicit associative responses to the objects, including sketches, automatic writing, and studies of texture, surface, form, shape, and color of the objects. Choice of medium and combination of mediums are up to each student. This highly experimental course will engage the student in making drawing on the wall or in space, utilizing every conceivable material, working through both known and invented processes. Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II).

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II).

Many artists work with the human figure in a way that does not require live models or an observational approach. These artists create the figures out of their minds. This workshop provides a gathering place for many styles, media, methods, and techniques to co-exist. Both two- and three-dimensional approaches will be acceptable. Students are encouraged to develop a body of work unique to their own vision of how and what the human body means to them without the aid of live models. There are weekly one-on-one critiques and slide discussions that cover artists whose work illustrates course content. Students are required to work in the classroom. Prerequisite: DR 252 (Life Drawing) and PT 200 (Painting II).

Prerequisite: PT 200/FF 175 (Painting II/Foundation Painting II) and DR 252 (Life Drawing)

The purpose of this course is to sensitize students to new levels of color understanding through the medium of drawing. In the first half of the semester emphasis is on color observation and the dramatic, unexpected color change that light causes. Special attention will be paid to the subtly and complex relationship between color and value. Through these first projects which are done in pastel, students expand their vocabulary and use of color beyond their familiar habitual palettes. These projects lay the groundwork for the second half of the semester in which students develop individual, independent projects of their own choice, exploring an idea or approach of their own choosing, working in any color drawing media. Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II).

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II).

The goal of this drawing (and/or painting) class is to open the student's eyes to seeing more color in both the observation of the real world around us, and in the understanding of how color functions in painting and drawing. The plan for the course grows out of the observation that in much student work color is often the weakest, most challenging, and lest understood element, particularly the relationship between color (hue, temperature) and value (tone). The semester is divided into two sections. The first half consists of specified problems dealing with the careful observation of color in light, in which the goal is to understand the enormous wealth of color out there in the real, everyday world that we normally overlook and actually don't see. Emphasis is on both the observing of the color and the replication of it in paint or other media. Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II).

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II).

This course is a search for abstract imagery, meaning, and understanding with an individual approach to abstraction. Slides, discussions, and one-on-one critiques will be used to help students clarify their own issues and to develop their own language of abstraction. Students are required to work in the classroom. Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) & FF 199 (Drawing II) or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) & FF 199 (Drawing II) or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

Varied approaches to watercolor as drawing medium. Emphasis on handling of wash areas and brush strokes in traditional and experimental ways; on use of color, on representation of volumes and spaces, and on techniques unique to watercolor medium. Prerequisite: DR 252 (Life Drawing) and DR 298 (Studio Drawing).

Prerequisite: DR 252 (Life Drawing) and DR 298 (Studio Drawing)

This course explores the techniques used for color media: pencil, pastel, and wash. Through these media, the formal expressive and psychological uses of color are explored within the context of drawings. Emphasis is also on these media and techniques as a bridge between drawing and painting. Prerequisite: DR 252 (Life Drawing) and DR 298 (Studio Drawing)

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I) and FF199 (Drawing II).

3 credits. Staff. Offered fall, spring. For students wishing to work with a particular instructor on subject matter not covered by regularly scheduled classes, a special independent study class may be taken. A contract is required, including signatures of the instructor and the student's department chair. This class may not be used to substitute for a department's core requirement or senior thesis / senior independent. Learning contract required before registration. Minimum of junior class standing and 3.0 GPA required.

Prerequisite: students at the Junior/Senior level with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of at least 3.000

The objective of this course is further mastery over representation of the nude through independent practice. Students are provided with two models, one for a five-hour pose, the other for action; studio; and an instructor for general oversight, occasional lecture, and individual discussion or critiques upon request. Attendance the full five hours is required. All drawing media are acceptable. Prerequisite: Earned grade of B+ or higher in DR 252

Prerequisite: Earned grade of B+ or higher in DR 252

In this studio, projects combine analysis and design to explore conditions of site, ritual, meaning, and use implemented by various cultures, marking the landscape and creating built environments. A survey of fundamental place-making strategies examines sites as diverse as Roman encampments, Greek Temple sites, Anasazi cliff dwellings, and the city of Paris as it emerged from a Roman camp to a modern metropolis. Each site reflects its culture responding to a series of conditions over time. Patterns of place making and systems of growth are imprinted on ancient ruins and active cities, alike. Students implement these imprints as they develop their own series of place-making projects. This course provides a look at culture from a systemic point of view, revealing the history of patterns of why we live the way we do. It is meaningful to any student working at an environmental scale. Prerequisite: ENV 200 and 202.

This introductory course covers a range of materials through hands on experimentation in the shop environment. The physical properties of wood, plywood, metals, paper, and cloth are explored by making pieces, finding limits, and discovering opportunities unique to each material through sculptural exercises. In the second half of the semester, projects focus on combining materials. The connective properties of each material and how different materials interact and connect offer the added complexities and richness of combining and joining unlike materials in sculptural assignments and full-scale design prototypes. Fundamental principles of balance, mass, and form, and an overall sense of craft emerge from this hands-on experience.

The purpose of this course is to establish the fundamentals of the theoretical and technical elements of industrial design with an emphasis on the design and construction of production furniture. Students will focus on historical ideas, materials, industrial methods, form and function relevant to innovative design solutions. They will apply problem-solving skills to the product development process, which will require the comprehension and application of two- and three-dimensional skills, such as sketching, 3-D computer modeling and physical model making. Prerequisite: ENV 200.

Scenography is the creation of a three dimensional scenic world in which tales are told. Although the class will focus on production techniques relating to the theatre, those techniques are applicable to wherever a scenographic environment is required, be it for stage, screen, architecture or digital reality. Students will explore the various dramatic styles used in transforming a script into a production. They will learn how to do a script analysis and how to transform that information into dramatic space. In addition the various techniques necessary for the creation of a scenographic world will be investigated, from how research informs the design, to development of ground plans and elevations. Basic model making techniques and the use of Photoshop as a rendering tool will also be explored. All elements surveyed will be illuminated with field trips, films and guest lecturers.

The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction to the practice of product design with an emphasis on user-centered solutions. Design is problem solving. That is why students are challenged to research and identify ways to improve human conditions, brainstorm solutions, and create prototype products choosing the best suited production methods and materials. Emphasis is placed upon innovative thinking, 2D and 3D mock-ups, model construction, and simple engineering concepts. Through team and individual projects, students develop and understand goals and methodologies employed in this discipline, including contemporary material technologies and the global impact their design decisions may have. Throughout the course, short workshops and lectures are conducted on social and environmental issues, materials and processes, important designers, and patent law. Other activities include visits to local industrial design studios and prominent product design laboratories. Prerequisite: ENV 100, ENV 200 or permission of instructor.

Concurrent Enrollment in ENV 267 Required for ENV Majors Non-Majors need permission to waive co-requisite.

3 credits. Staff. Offered spring. Through considered analysis of the human body, the city, and of movement and space, students are introduced to three core phenomenologies of architecture: body, site, and program. Students are encouraged to develop their own innovative ways of looking at these omnipresent issues of architecture and develop a working competence in using them to solve concrete problems. The dialectic of interior and exterior thus developed pushes the envelope of design beyond the commonplace into a poetic and creative realm where light, material, and structures follow in a logical manner and where design produces new sense to both the designer and the inhabitant of the space. Readings, field trips, and analytical workshops are organized into a semester that allows students to develop progressively sophisticated strategies of design. Prerequisite: ENV 200 or permission of instructor.

Concurrent Enrollment in ENV 266 Required for ENV Majors Non-Majors need permission to waive co-requisite. Prerequisite: ENV 200

A roadside diner in 1950’s Baltimore. A walk through a tropical rain forest. A decadent Parisian dance hall. A mythic elfin kingdom. Each evocative of a particular time and place. But to bring these worlds fully to life requires an understanding of each world in all its complexities, and that means research. Unfortunately, for many, research conjures up images of high school term papers. And yet, research is the back bone upon which so much creative expression is built. It is a well spring from which the artist may draw inspiration. And yet so few understand how to do that. It is the intention of this course to show you how. And so whether your interests lie in film, illustration, exhibit design, scenic design, the digital arts, painting or whatever, you will discover how much richer your work will be if you simply understand how to do explore various times and places and to make use of what you find there. Students will discover the many areas that can be investigated and manifest their explorations as miniature environments, illustrative renderings or computer models. Students will also study landmark films and, by engaging in “reverse research,” discover the study that went into achieving that particular work’s unique artistic vision. In short students will discover how history is part of the creative process and how to take advantage of it. Field trips to various museum installations are also planned.

3 credits. Coberg. offered fall. A roadside diner in 1950’s Baltimore. A walk through a tropical rain forest. A decadent Parisian dance hall. A mythic elfin kingdom. Each evocative of a particular time and place. But to bring these worlds fully to life requires an understanding of each world in all its complexities, and that means research. Unfortunately, for many, research conjures up images of high school term papers. And yet, research is the back bone upon which so much creative expression is built. It is a well spring from which the artist may draw inspiration. And yet so few understand how to do that. It is the intention of this course to show you how. And so whether your interests lie in film, illustration, exhibit design, scenic design, the digital arts, painting or whatever, you will discover how much richer your work will be if you simply understand how to do explore various times and places and to make use of what you find there. Students will discover the many areas that can be investigated and manifest their explorations as miniature environments, illustrative renderings or computer models. Students will also study landmark films and, by engaging in “reverse research,” discover the study that went into achieving that particular work’s unique artistic vision. In short students will discover how history is part of the creative process and how to take advantage of it. Field trips to various museum installations are also planned.

“All the world’s a stage!” It would be better to say, The stage is all the world! Where else can you create the Egypt of the Pharaohs, Chicago during the Jazz Era, the French Quarter or Dickensian London? “The play’s the thing!” Learn how to make the verbal, visual. Discover the techniques necessary to take the written description of a setting and make it a physical reality; a three dimensional world through which characters move. What is the image for a play? What are the various theatrical styles available to a designer? What is the correct dramatic space and how do you find it? What is a theatrical ground plan and how do you draw it? What are sightlines and how do they affect the shape of a set? What is a white model and how do you build one? What are paint elevations? In short, what is the theatrical design process? These, and more questions, will be answered though the designing of two theatrical works, from concept to completion. Classes will be illuminated with tours of local production facilities, as well as by guest lecturers from the world of professional theatre.

Continuing the exploration into the world of theatrical design, this course will focus on those dramatic works that make use of multiple settings to tell their tale, and exist in a place beyond the literal. In designing such productions, students will learn to understand the arc of a play, the manner in which scenes flow from one to another, and how to create a setting that allows for many different places to exist within the same dramatic space. Furthermore, students will learn how to move beyond the physical reality of a dramatic work into a more emotional and conceptually driven approach to a theatrical environment. Students will explore a design from concept to completion, going from an image for the play to designer drawings. Pre-requisite: ENV 286

Without a model to climb, King Kong would have been left standing on the animation table. Without a miniature (though they called them bigatures) “The Lord of the Rings” would have been minus a Minas Tirith. Learn the techniques, the materials, the digital processes used in creating the miniature worlds so necessary for both stage and screen. Once the basics are mastered, students will research, design and then build a miniature environment of their own choosing, be it set in a realistic or fantastical world. Patience required.

In this unique hybrid studio / seminar, we will consider the relationship between art and urban revitalization, with a focus on recent, top-down efforts by cities and states to use the arts, history and culture as tools for revitalization. Taking Central Baltimore and its Station North Arts District as our focus, the studio will ask students to work with members of the Central Baltimore community to analyze and assess existing arts-based revitalization strategies, and then make recommendations for improving them. Ultimately, the studio’s goal will be to produce a collection of arts-based design and planning ideas for Central Baltimore, ranging in scale from vision plans, to temporary events, to small-scale, implementable interventions. A book and a website that document the semester's analyses and projects will be made in order to contribute to the real dialogue about the revitalization of the neighborhoods in Central Baltimore. This is studio is part of a 6 credit sequence and students must be enrolled in both ENV 309 and AH 470B. By permission of instructor only.

Concurrent enrollment in AH 370 required, total 6 credits.

The way we experience and perceive the world affects our decisions and informs our creative processes in which we choose to express ideas. The focus of this course is to bring emphasis/study to the student/participant as to their presence in this universe through methods of phenomenology. The intent is to provide a series of organic explorations, through which the student/participant will indulge in an examination of self and the environmental context. Participants are encouraged to question their own values and perceptions. As these questions arise, the student/participant must be able to explore and delineate, perhaps further evolving the process in that an idea presents itself and perceptions form. The results of these explorations will be delineated through various mediums chosen by the students/participants (sketch, paint, film, image, form, written and/or spoken word, music, whatever methods may convey the idea or message). This course is an empty canvas, an opportunity to explore boundaries and perceptions, all which affect our creative process, in turn the environment in which we inhabit. NOTE: There is a $250 fee for this course.

An introduction to how artists and designers play a crucial role in how we understand history. Students are exposed to the fundamental issues and techniques used in the fields of historical preservation, restoration, and archaeology. In the real world, artists and designers are intimately involved in all aspects of these fields and this class is no different. Each semester the class partners with a real, historic place in the greater Baltimore area and works with professionals in a team-based setting to enhance the public’s understanding of history. This course is recommended for any student wishing to gain professional experience by working on a diverse, trans-disciplinary team engaged in a real-world project. Presentations of these projects are made at the end of each semester to the directors and their staff of the projects undertaken. May be repeated for up to 6 credits.

Digital fabrication practices have revolutionized design and manufacturing, and are literally reshaping the world around us. Increasingly these tools are being employed by artist to create works heretofore impossible or impractical to make. This class will be an exploration of computer-aided modes of fabrication and their integration into contemporary art and object making. A strong emphasis of this course will be technical training on the laser cutters, 3D printers, and CNC routers in MICA’s Digital Fabrication Studio. We will also spend a considerable amount of time working in CAD and CAM software, with a particular emphasis on Rhinoceros. We will also examine the affect of this technology on our understanding of space and material, the structure of our economy and modes of production, and other social and philosophical considerations.

Covers fundamental digital techniques for visualization in design, focusing on the use of computers in architectural design, production, fabrication, presentation, and communication. This class is intended to develop visual literacy in computer applications used in design. In addition, this course examines the use of digital media through exercising its potential as a generative tool and as a form of design thinking. Emphasis is on the visual communication of an idea through the use of integrated media. The course also discusses technology’s use in and impact on the architectural process, as well as the effect of digital media on design and on education. The study of contemporary architects and short class lectures begin to explore the applicability, value, and potentiality of technology in defining or redefining architectural design and practice.

Linchester Mill, Carloline County on the Eastern Shore of Maryland is a small mill town and mill, which has its origins as early as 1681. The mill building (owned by the Caroline County Historical Society) and its environment will be documented using techniques if field measurements, free hand technical drawings, research and field trips to other mills in Maryland, to develop a philosophy and interpretive program toward the restoration of the mill itself and the redevelopment of the town environment. The class will travel to the site and work with the Caroline County Historical Society and the instructor, John Wilson, a member of its board of directors.

This course looks at the city through the multi-disciplinary lens of environmental design. Readings from fiction and non-fiction, film viewings of works such as Blade Runner and Metropolis, and selected field trips in the Baltimore area present a broad view of the physical urban environment. This wide-range of materials is divided into thematic sections that explore the physical presentation of urban concerns such as race, gender, class, safety, and publicness. Each student is expected to make a final project, with the media of their choice, that documents Baltimore's urban environment through one of the class themes.

Utilizes the historic ship as a vehicle to allow students to formulate a vision for their professional future and enables students to begin making this vision a reality. Students work together in teams towards specific goals, using real-time design projects. Teams document, study, and interpret a selected ship, using methods and techniques of institutions that professionally preserve and interpret historical ships. The class learns the elements of ship design, develop criteria for evaluation of the proposed ship restoration, and design an interpretation facility, using design drawings, renderings, architectural models, and computerrelated presentation techniques. The class is co-taught by a professional naval architect and in collaboration with various museums and maritime societies. May be repeated for up to 6 credits.

AAs designers, we are caught in the complex relationship between innovation and precedent. Technical and specialist information, critical to the innovative designer, is rooted in precedent, both contemporary and historical. This course is an immersive learning experience in the complex ways in which the innovating mind of the designer learns from and uses precedents for the purposes of understanding architectural history, materials, and details and structures. The course is taught in a highly participatory and interactive environment, which focuses on integrated and qualitative knowledge. It aims to give students valuable experience in how to investigate and use historic precedents as a learning resource, how to understand the relationship between innovation and precedent to self motivate and pursue individual research, and how to appreciate design competence as multi-faceted and yet integrated effort.

Concurrent Enrollment in ENV 387 Required for ENV Majors Non-Majors need permission to waive co-requisite.

In this advanced Environmental Design studio, we will work with poetic and practical aspects of water in the urban environment. Addressing global issues of climate change and conservation of resources, we will be working with local non-profit, community and city organizations in east Baltimore to help us pinpoint where and how our efforts will be most effective. By looking at the local conditions of storm water, parks, underutilized places and opportunities for improvement, students are encouraged to develop water-based art and design proposals that will be supported within the community. Proposals can be sculptural, design-based, or socially driven and take on forms in the language of landscape, architecture, as objects or events. Collaborations are encouraged. We will be working collaboratively with IS 355. Suited for undergrads in sculpture and environmental design, these courses are excellent elective options for MACA and MASD students.

This course focuses on design research, including user needs, marketing, and material studies. The “why behind the why” method is used to identify the underlying necessities of product development. Material properties, production methods, human factors, and social, environmental, and economic project drivers comprise critical aspects of each project. Students engage in a continuous cycle of research, conceptualization, and development. By utilizing a variety of research methodologies, students arrive at a final “proof of concept-research” that validates the design solution. Prerequisite: ENV 266 or by faculty approval.

Prerequisite: ENV 266 (Object Design II) or permission of instructor

This 6-credit introduction to architectural design processes begins with a study of drawing types and spatial experiences to familiarize students with the language of architecture and the organizational principles of significant structures. Building on free-hand and technical drawing experiences, students move into an exploration of three-dimensional spatial arrangements to bring focus to the primary concepts of hierarchy, sequence, scale, proportion, and figure. These key components of architectural design are then explored within the context of a real site and program where students learn to integrate conceptual and spatial design ideas with problem-solving skills to develop practical solutions with aesthetic merit. Prerequisite: ENV 200.

Prerequisite: ENV 267 (Spatial Design II)

Climate change is arguably the most important challenge affecting our future and shaping the environment we live in. Artists and designers need to be cognizant of and engaged in the complex relationships between the built environment and the processes of climate change if the needs of the groups most vulnerable to its effects, i.e. those who are least able to mitigate or adapt, are to be represented. Students will learn about climate change processes and impacts, including their inequitable distribution, the role of cities, current strategies for mitigation and adaptation on local and global levels through a selection of global case studies and including innovative examples from artists and designers, and finally how climate change is often driven by the global north (or local rich) and suffered by the south (or local poor). In addition to papers and exams, students will research and develop an individual area of focus and will be asked to address a social or physical problem as a studio project within their discipline of practice.

This new course introduces students to the interface between graphic design, industrial design, and other components of the successful innovative product development and marketing. First, students are “deep diving” into the user world to observe and document the “why behind the why.” Then teams process the information, pinpoint the real “why,” and brainstorm the new product concept. The development process includes 2D and 3D sketches, mockups, and communication materials. Students not only develop new product designs but also concentrate on communicating the features of the design, including structural packaging, POP, marketing campaigns, advertising, and websites.

Prerequisite: ENV 366 (O3: Object Design)

In this three-credit continuation of ENV 367, students apply conceptual and spatial skills developed in the first semester and examine a series of real-world project sites through an architectural process of analysis and synthesis. Working from the armature of the architectural program, students are invited to join the discourse of this potent and timehonored art form and are encouraged to explore the cultural and formal expressions unique to this field. Integrating formal, cultural, and historical perspectives, each project is tailored to bring into focus a different aspect of the complexity and richness of the architectural language. Students are encouraged to work in a wide range of drawing, building, and digital media and to incorporate personal interests and related course work into their studio experience. Prerequisite: ENV 350.

Prerequisite: ENV 367 (S3: Spatial Design) and concurrent enrollment in ENV 338

This class is dedicated to the collaborative design and construction of public installations. MICA has partnered with the Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC) to design and build an installation in McKeldin Square by the Inner Harbor. The installation is an evolutionary sculpture that is added to, subtracted from, or manipulated with successive classes. Each semester will be divided into design sessions and fabrication/installation sessions. The class benefits from diverse areas of expertise - sculpture, environmental design, fibers, painting, animation, graphic design, and the community arts. The class focuses on 'real-world' conditions, how to provide and adapt for them, generating documents for constructing the installation - including construction and fabrication details. We will then make provisions for material procurement, organize assembly means and methods, and construct the installation. The diversity of the team is important to the collaborative effort, and students will learn to work in a team environment, assisting with their own expertise while getting educated by the expertise of others.

For students wishing to work with a particular instructor on subject matter not covered by regularly scheduled classes, a special independent study class may be taken. A contract is required, including signature of the instructor and the student's department chair. This class may not be used to substitute for a department's core requirement on senior thesis/ senior independent.

Prerequisite: students at the Junior/Senior level with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of at least 3.000

Introduces urban design in a studio format and covers issues of form, spatial relationships, and the mix of intention and circumstances to shape our cities. Students look at the city at a variety of scales: the street, park, and larger civic spaces. They examine the forces such as geography, transportation, political structure, and others that influence the design of cities. To build an understanding of urban processes, students look at cities through a variety of lenses, namely experiential, historic, and political. The studio includes research, readings, and short-term and longer-term projects. The longer term project includes looking at a site within Baltimore City in collaboration with the Baltimore City Department of Planning. The class concentrate on urban areas of Baltimore but look at other American cities and cities around the world as well.

Thesis students are expected to develop a body of work that reflects specific convictions as a designer, their most profound work as a conceptual thinker, and their highest level of craft as a maker. The thesis gives the student an opportunity to pursue questions, explore ideas, and formulate a response as a body of work particular only to the student’s career at MICA. Students are encouraged to select one of the department’s four themes to both fulfill a concentration and provide inspiration for their career. Environmental design majors only.

Prerequisite: ENV 387 (Architecture and the City 2) or permission of Chairperson or concurrent enrollment in ENV 366 (Object Design)

During this studio, the student will develop the thesis project constructed and begun in Thesis 1. The course instructors and visiting critics will provide a framework for the students’ independent pursuit of the project. Each student will develop his or her own project requirements in response to the criticism provided during class and at formal reviews. Students are expected to demonstrate the ability to conduct a complex spatial or object design investigation; to engage in social and professional criticism and produce a conceptually sophisticated body of work that is crafted to professional standards. An electronic book of the thesis project, a hard copy of the electronic book and a compilation of high quality digital images are required to be submitted at the time of the final review.

Prerequisite: ENV 410 or permission of Chairperson

In this final semester of a two-semester seminar students will install the spring exhibition previously planned by the class in fall semester. Additionally, students will implement all educational, community outreach and public programs. Prerequisite: Fall - Exhibition Development Seminar, Part I (AH 405) Note: EX 405 is a studio elective in your major.

Prerequisite: Enrollment in AH 405 during the fall semester

3 credits. Shipley. offered spring. Studio component of PERF 303.

Concurrent enrollment PERF 303 required, totalling 6 credits. Enrollment by permission of Instructor

Seniors are given assistance in developing personal directions as artists. Work is independent, either at home or in a designated studio. The senior independent or thesis program offers qualified students an opportunity to work on a continuing series of projects of their own choice in studio spaces provided in the Fox or Main buildings. Requirements: at least three individual critiques with a participating instructor, a final critique with a visiting artist, and a midterm review by a panel of the program’s instructors. In addition to the regular individual and class critiques in each student’s studio art courses, progress is evaluated by visiting artists, critics, writers, philosophers, and filmmakers, and by various faculty members from different departments, with reviews of student work twice each semester. Prerequisite: Senior DR, GFA, PT, or PR Majors Only

Senior DR, GFA, or PT Majors Only

A continuation of FA 498 into the spring semester. Prerequisites: FA 498.

Prerequisite: FA 498 (Senior Thesis I)

This course presents students with technical, historical and conceptual grounding in the medium of fiber. Students learn the basics of fiber processes, including spinning, weaving, felting, loop-construction, screenprinting, sewing, surface manipulation and embellishment. Technical explorations, supported by the study of historic precendent and contemporary practice supports individuals in exploring fiber as an expressive medium. Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

Part one of a two-part workshop covering the process of design and fabrication used in the apparel industry. This course offers a foundation in the fundamentals of pattern drafting and draping, stressing the importance of proper fit and craftsmanship. Combining both draping and pattern drafting methods, students develop a basic muslin pattern, known as a “sloper,” for garments including pants, skirts, and bodices. Students are taught to manipulate the sloper, allowing them to create multiple designs. Students are also introduced to freeform draping, which does not rely on patterns, and are encouraged to change the shape of the dress form, adding layers and bulk, to create free-form garments. Prerequisite: FB 200. Required for experimental fashion concentration.

Prerequisite: FB 200 (Introduction to Fiber)

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Prerequisite: FB 200 (Introduction to Fiber)

Part two of a two-part workshop covering the process of design and fabrication used in the apparel industry. This course focuses on reading a garment rendering, evaluating design elements, and translating it to fabric. Students are introduced to standard practices and sewing/assembly methods through designing a series of garments and fabricating them. Tools, equipment, and practices used to create professional garments are reviewed. Workroom and production problem-solving is covered. Patterning for finishing such as closures, linings, and hems is explained. Prerequisite: FB 200. Required for experimental fashion concentration.

Prerequisite: FB 200 (Introduction to Fiber)

Introduces students to advanced computerized pattern making and production. The coursework exposes students to a variety of garment industry technical procedures from concept through production. This course is an introduction to Polynest software, pattern digitizing, grading systems, technical sketching, and spec sheets. Students create a spec package: a visual reference for garment pattern development. Prerequisite: FB 206.

Prerequisite: FB 206 (Garment Design and Production Workshop I)

This workshop covers the principles and processes of hat-making. It will focus on the form and function of specific hats along with the design, pattern, and creation of mockups necessary for successful execution. Students will become familiar with the available equipment and supplies of the craft, constructing structural foundations from materials such as buckram, wire, and felt while utilizing blocking techniques and flat patterns. Application of fabric coverings and linings, as well as trimmings and embellishments will be explored.

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

How do we capture and give shape to air, this formless substance all around? In this course students will learn multiple techniques for harnessing the physical form of air through the construction of inflatables. From early inventions such as sails, hot air balloons, and zeppelins to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, to radical 1970s Antfarm structures, to works by contemporary artists, Inflatables are a portable, lightweight way to make a big impression. Students will learn digital and non-digital ways of designing patterns for inflatables and construction. Studio work will be informed through experimentation, readings, slides and in-depth exploration of context for students’ works. The course will culminate in an air-driven inflatable exhibition.

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms) and FB 200 (Introduction to Fiber)

The “Introduction to Smart Textile Techniques” workshop will begin to equip students with the tools they will need for future work in, and exploration of, the Smart Textiles and Wearable Technology field. The course will cover basics of programming (using the arduino environment), circuit development (hard and soft circuits) and mechatronics (motor and mechanism integration as well as some foundational fabrication techniques). Students are strongly encouraged to take this 1.5 credit workshop while taking either FB 387: Smart Textiles, FB 361: Wash and Wear Electronics, or FB 425: International Collaboration/Wearable Technology.

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

With its many forms and functions, the stitch represents one of the most elemental and versatile verbs in the textile language. Students in this class will explore the stitch by learning the technical skills of machine and hand embroidery, needlepoint, and counted thread work to build image and pattern. Structural stitches – such as those used in mending, tucking, smocking, and pleating, will be examined as a means to synthesize elements and create texture and form. Central to our study will be a visit to an historical textile collection, where each student will choose an historical stitched textile to investigate fully. Through a multi-faceted approach of written research and multiple “re-makings” of the historical object of their choosing, concepts of labor vs. leisure, function vs. decoration, and tradition vs. originality will be addressed.

Prerequisite: FB 200 (Introduction to Fiber)

For the novice and the experienced beader, this course covers a broad range of techniques from traditional bead embroidery (i.e., backstitch, couching, seed, tambour) to off-loom beading structures (peyote, right angle, square, brick, helix ndebele, etc.). Sample groups comprised of each technique covered in class will be created by students for their reference. Integral to the creation of the sample groups will be an exploration of the effects of color and structure by working with beads of different colors, sizes, finishes and shapes. Projects are developed from sample group explorations and cover both two-and three-dimensional approaches to building surface and form. Throughout the course, students are encouraged to expand the concept of what constitutes a bead, what alternative surfaces for embroidery exist and how beading structures can be applied to large-scale and installation work. Prerequisites: Three credits of an introductory 3-D course (WD 200 or FB 200 or CE 200 or SC 200) or equivalent experience with permission of instructor or department chair.

An exploration of the world of costume and personal adornment through demonstrations, technical and conceptual information, and the use of historical and contemporary examples. Coursework and critiques emphasize development of the idea, personal expression, and technical proficiency. Students are exposed to a broad visual vocabulary and an array of the following materials and techniques: pattern-making and alteration, draping and fitting on a dress form, armatures and coverings, surface embellishment on pliable/flexible planes, and found objects. Prerequisite: FB 200 (Introduction to Fiber)

Prerequisite: FB 200 (Introduction to Fiber)

Material constructions, flexible structures, lightweight structures, and the architectonic nature of cloth are explored in this course. Students develop constructions line by line and explore methods of netting, tatting, and other building structures. These are flexible structures that can be purposeful in form building. The armature and lightweight structures are addressed as support systems for pliable flexible materials. Also, cloth is considered as environment and its capacity in larger-scale constructions. Prerequisite: 3 credits of 200-level 3D coursework.

Prerequisite: FB 200 (Introduction to Fiber)

Uniformity, serialization, modes of production, fashion, repetition, difference, originality - this is the beginning of a glossary of terms for this course. These terms come from the vernacular of both the marketplace and the production of culture. Recognizing that it can be scorned or embraced to effect different ends, artists ranging from Sid Vicious to Andy Warhol to Leni Riefenstahl have instrumentalized uniformity and repetition in their work. Modernist architects built urban landscapes in the thrall of industrialization’s mandate for efficiency and progress while tract housing homogenized the look of suburbia. This course uses the tools of studio practice and seminar to investigate fashion, uniforms, architecture, media, and DIY trends. Readings, including Craig Owens, Theodor Adorno, Michel Foucault, and Susan Sontag, support multifaceted semester-long projects. Prerequisite: 3 credits of 200-level 3D coursework. Recommended for juniors and seniors.

Prerequisite: 3 Credits of 200 Level 3D Coursework

An exploration of the dynamics of performance and physical action as they relate to adornment and extension the body. Looking to the history of non-theatrical performance and examples of international culture, fashion, and architecture, we will experiment with function provided by the garment within performance, how the adorned body relates to the space surrounding the performer, and with group movement and action as they influence the audience/performer/participant’s perception of environment. Utilizing a variety of materials; traditional, non-traditional, found, borrowed, or bought; students will construct identities, disguises, body extensions, wearable sculptural elements, as well as physical and conceptual connections to their surroundings and to one another. Demonstrations include methods of accumulation, fabric manipulation and stiffening, and work with structural materials such as boning/reed and millinery wire/buckram.

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

An introduction to methods of silkscreen printing on textiles with emphasis on the single compositional work and development of repeat pattern designs. Processes include paper and cut stencils, hand-drawing, drawing fluid and screen filler, and photo silkscreen. Dyes and pigments are used. Students examine effects and usage of single and multiple image and pattern through using a number of silkscreens and manipulating image and cloth. Direct painting, material considerations, and printing are explored. Prerequisite: 3 credits of 200-level 3D coursework.

Prerequisite: FB 200 (Introduction to Fiber)

The application of image, pattern, and surface manipulation to cloth using contemporary and traditional resist methods is explored. Processes from Japan, Central America, West Africa, and Europe are shibori (knotted resist), arashi (wrapped resist), and starch and paste resists. New directions in altering surface color, structure, and texture are cloque (shrinking), devore (eroding), chemical resists, and discharge printing and painting (removing color from cloth). Collage, piecing, and 2D and 3D ideas are encouraged. Prerequisite: FB 200 (Introduction to Fiber)

Prerequisite: FB 200 (Introduction to Fiber)

Offers students a sound understanding of weave structures and how they can be used to generate engaged woven surfaces that can stand as independent works of art. The three projects in this class will serve as both introductions to different methods of creating imagery through effects of color and structure and to address weaving as a drawing process. Students source ideas from the here and now of their own experiences and interests by keeping a blog during the class and will develop engaged pieces of cloth that stand as metaphor for place, atmosphere and identity. Prerequisite: FB 200 (Introduction to Fiber)

Prerequisite: FB 200 (Introduction to Fiber)

Discontinued

Fiber and cloth making are a rich and complex territory. Understanding both historical and contemporary textiles and perspectives invigorates the perceptions on our work. Connecting with museums, public, and private collections in the region, we will explore fiber and textile objects and their history. Using several themes to guide us, we will look at textiles and fiber as a means of research and response. Experiencing the physical presence of cloth is fundamental, as is comprehending the history, function and context of objects. This class is project based, enabling students to form and develop work relating to their interests. Readings, discussions, and research coupled with material studies and studio work form the basis of this class. Knowledge of basic fiber processes is helpful. Working across media is encouraged. Prerequisite: FB 200 (Introduction to Fiber)

Prerequisite: FB 200 (Introduction to Fiber)

Combines the mining of material resources with the exploration of additive processes to discover form and meaning in textiles. Traditional surface embellishment, basketry, and feltmaking techniques will be demonstrated as means of discussing metaphors of entanglement, sedimentation, and rhizomatous (network). Various methods of material procurement are presented. Both individual and collaborative work will be encouraged. Prerequisite: 3 credits of 200-level 3D coursework.

Prerequisite: 3 Credits of 200 Level 3D Coursework

Part two of a two-part workshop covering the process of design and fabrication used in the apparel industry. This course focuses on reading a garment rendering, evaluating design elements, and translating it to fabric. Students are introduced to standard practices and sewing/assembly methods through designing a series of garments and fabricating them. Tools, equipment, and practices used to create professional garments are reviewed. Workroom and production problem-solving is covered. Patterning for finishing such as closures, linings, and hems is explained. Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms).

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

Emphasizes principles of color and pattern as applied to the making of hand-woven cloth. A variety of dye processes, weaving techniques, and finishing procedures are introduced, enabling students to create woven fabric that reflects their personal aesthetic and artistic and conceptual interests. Demonstrations, slide presentations, readings, and discussions inform students and encourage a thoughtful and committed working practice. Prerequisite: 3 credits of 200-level 3D coursework.

Prerequisite: FB 200 (Introduction to Fiber)

This research-based lab/seminar course is designed to foster a critical and analytical viewpoint of the nature and context of smart textile design. In this lab/seminar a team of students will investigate innovative smart textile design, and create artwork integrating new textiles through process-led research. In this class, students will investigate innovative smart textile design, and create artwork integrating new textiles through process-led research. Students will explore and work with wearable forms of interactive electronics. Using an arduino, jeenode or Lilypad, a tiny wearable (and washable) computer, students will learn about sensors, interactivity, and various smart textile materials and methods. Basic electronics, fabrication, and programming techniques will be developed throughout the semester. The body-interface and responsive textiles concepts will be contextualized by in-depth critical readings and discussions. Throughout the semester, faculty and students will present related research on new materials, methods, and projects. This course is structured around weekly meetings, visiting artists/scholars, historical research and critical readings augmented with independent study to enhance the student’s ability to analyze their work and its relevance to contemporary culture and art.

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

Textile print and pattern design has a long history that engages textile technologies. In this course, students create work that use one of the newer pursuits in pattern making, that of digital printing. Students will examine pattern history, review different repeat pattern methods and symmetries, and look at some of the masters of its usage. Software such as Point Carre and Adode Photoshop will be used to move through colorway options and design principles. Projects will address pattern, site-specificity, limited production, and one-of-a-kind printing. Students should budget for purchasing their own fabric and for the dyes used in digital printing. Prerequisite: FB 200; digital camera required.

Prerequisite: FB 200 (Introduction to Fiber)

Focuses on the consideration of the constructed, pieced, and sculpted surface. Students explore the interpretation and invention of cloth construction, layering, sculptural surfaces, pieced and collaged surfaces, and the multiple as possibilities. Collecting, salvaging, and mixing materials will be involved. Students respond to and attend numerous exhibitions and lectures taking place during the spring semester involving historical and contemporary textiles. These lead to discussion on the issues and ideas that have made pieced, sculpted cloth construction a relevant and vital history.

Prerequisite: FB 200 (Introduction to Fiber)

Predicated on the idea that artists are always working in response to internal and external events, visual stimuli, philosophical inquiry, etc., Fabric of Conscience is a class where students will work collaboratively, producing live events, costume props, visual scores and any form that considers the relation between action and fabrication. Questions that will guide the class are: What is an act? What is conscience? What is the role of pleasure in the political? What is the relationship between theatre and the everyday? Readings and screenings play a significant role in the class.

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

This course investigates piecework and quiltmaking as means of expression and conceptual platform within a plethora of cross-cultural, historical and contemporary contexts. Students will learn the basic structure of a quilt, including piecing, layering, quilting and stitching techniques, as well as learn how to use the Fiber Department quilting machines. We will also explore the Korean piecework techniques for pojagi, with its hidden seams. These various piecework techniques will be used toward 2D works, sculptural and installation-based approaches. Sourcing cloth, investigation of non-traditional fibers, and research-driven material use will be major components of the course. Through critical readings and course projects, students will investigate themes such as reading quilts as texts, intimacy vs. publicity in quilts, embedded secret histories and the sociality of quiltmaking. A quilting bee can be developed as a performance-based student initiative, and could be utilized for at least one group project.

Prerequisite: FB 200 (Introduction to Fiber)

This project-based lab/seminar is a pioneering multi-disciplinary course to foster a critical and analytical viewpoint of the nature and context of smart textiles design. In this class a team of students investigate innovative smart textile design and create artwork integrating new textiles through process led research. Case studies in the textile industry and in contemporary art will be investigated. Models of Research and Development (R&D) in textile and product design are examined. The body-interface and responsive textiles concept will be contextualized by in-depth critical readings and discussions. The instructors work in collaboration with a group of students from different majors in an experimental manner researching the possibilities of the integration of the intelligent textiles in artwork. Weekly meetings, visiting artists, historical lectures, and critical readings augment the independent study to enhance the student’s ability to analyze their work and its relevance to contemporary culture and art. Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in FB 287 (Intro. to Smart Textile Techniques) strongly recommended.

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

BACK TO WORK is a studio class with an emphasis on 3D work. The class is overwhelmingly devoted to work time and reading artists’ writings. Commencing in the 3rd week of class, there will be critiques every week on a rotating basis. A field trip to NYC includes studio visits with artists. BACK TO WORK is a new course designed directly in response to the challenges of working habitually with materials. The course encourages students to notice the quality of their particular relationship with discipline and practice and looks closely, through writing and studio visits, at the myriad ways that other artists manage these crucial demands.

Prerequisite: CE 200/201 (Intro to Ceramics) or FB 200 (Intro to Fiber) or IS 200 (Intro to Sculpture) or IS 202 (Intro to Wood)

3 credits. Staff. Offered fall, spring. For students wishing to work with a particular instructor on subject matter not covered by regularly scheduled classes, a special independent study class may be taken. A contract is required, including signatures of the instructor and the student's department chair. A 398 class may not be used to substitute for a department's core requirement or senior thesis / senior independent. Learning contract required before registration. Minimum of junior class standing and 3.0 GPA required.

Prerequisite: students at the Junior/Senior level with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of at least 3.000

Students develop a coherent body of work completed during the senior year for final presentation to a jury selected from sculptural studies faculty. Periodic critiques to discuss progress, content, and process are conducted by faculty and invited critics. Prerequisite: Fiber majors only.

Senior level Fiber Majors only.

This course is a continuation of FB 400. Prerequisite: FB 400 (Fiber Thesis & Seminar I).

Prerequisite: FB 400

What does it mean to be a citizen artist? What kind of social change can art and design create? In this year-long course, students will address these questions through the lens of cottage industry, experiencing a cooperative craft based enterprise as 1) a supportive space for the exchange of ideas, and 2) a means of grassroots development. The course will be grounded in an understanding of the history of race, class, and industry in Baltimore, as well as methods of community engagement and social art practices. Critical readings will contextualize these collaborative, participatory modes of production in the broader landscape of contemporary art. The sewing circle will be our model for collaboration, creating a space to build trust and stimulate dialogue. Students will work with a group of low-income mothers in East Baltimore to enhance and promote their business, Mother Made, and to help produce their signature product, re-usable vegetable bags. This field experience will offer an understanding of a cooperatively run, worker-owned business, from design to production to marketing and sales. Students are encouraged to use video, graphic design, photography, oral histories, writing, web based projects, and other media to document the business and connect the local project with global issues. Throughout the year, students will work in committees to produce and market the products, enhance and implement the company’s business plan, and create an accessible body of information about Mother Made; additional projects will be proposed by students in the early fall. Guest artists, crafters, economists, activists, designers, and organizers will visit the class throughout the year and contribute to the dialogue. Enrollment in both Fall and Spring semesters is required to form a consistent team; the course is open to undergraduate and graduate students.

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

Fashion and clothing can be called material zeitgeists of culture. This course addresses the influences, affinities, and relationships of fashion, the visual arts and culture. Issues covered in this studio/seminar are contemporary fashion's relationship with the high and low divide in art and popular culture, the power of connection and communication through clothing, ethical questions surrounding fashion and production, and ubiquitous venue of clothing as an artistic endeavor. In addition, this course explores questions of the historical significance of cloth, clothing and culture for the discourse of fashion. This class is structured around student's experimentation with and development of a multifaceted research and creative practice that supports their artistic concerns. Readings, discussions and research enhance the student's skills in interpreting and articulating their understanding of art, fashion, clothing and culture.anding of art, fashion, clothing and culture. Prerequisite: FB 200 (Introduction to Fiber) Priority is given to students concentrating in experimental fashion.

Prerequisite: FB 200 (Introduction to Fiber)

This honors course develops a collaborative theme to share cross-culturally with international partners involving new textile technologies and their implementation. Technology is likely to play a more influential role in shaping human values in the future. Technological developments in textiles have catalyzed social upheavals, improved the quality of life, and ignited controversy over labor and environmental practices. Adding intelligence to preexisting materials and production through research, students will apply technology to the design and production of “fabrics” that would serve to enhance specific realms of human society. Through research and project based work, students will explore unique material properties and applications addressing specific needs and challenges for wearable or smart fabric techniques in design applications. Technical workshops, contextualizing content, readings, discussions and independent research are aspects of this course.

Prerequisite: FB 287 (Smart Textiles Workshop), FB 361 (Wash & Wear Electronics), or FB 387 (Smart Textiles) or permission of instructor

Multi Media Event: Experimental Fashion is a two-semester course, and a capstone experience for students in the experimental fashion concentration. Students develop an individual or collaborative body of work inspired by garment, costume, fashion and performance. All students in the course then collaborate to design and produce a multi media event to present their work. Multi Media Event I revolves around students’ individual work. Students develop a body of work while learning about the history and development of the fashion show, fashion history, the relationship of art and design over the last century in the West, contemporary trends and issues, fashion ethics, and the emergence of concept designers. Prerequisite: FF 102 (Elements of Visual Thinking II) and FF 199 (Drawing II)

Prerequisite: FF 102 (Elements of Visual Thinking II) and FF 199 (Drawing II)

Multi Media Event II focuses on the practical aspects of designing and producing an event and professional practices. Topics addressed include p.r. and promotions, logo and identity design, site design, budget management, lighting design and installation, styling, model and performer auditions, collaboration and directing, and establishing and fostering community partnerships. The course concludes with basic workshops in graphic design and portfolio preparation to create a professional package. Prerequisite: FB 387 (Mulit-Media Event I) or permission of Instructor

Prerequisite: FB 387 (Mulit-Media Event I) or permission of Instructor

Provides a foundation and an environment for investigating concepts and principles of visual organization, color, and design. Students cultivate the ability to access, field, and interpret different kinds of information. Encourages analysis of problems and personal inquiry as students develop vocabulary, technical skills, and critical awareness necessary for establishing a base for creative visual expression. A wide range of approaches and media may be used to develop greater perceptual and conceptual awareness and understanding. Each section of Elements of Visual Thinking is linked to the art history component, Art Matters, during one semester, and to the LLC component, Critical Inquiry, during the other semester. This structure emphasizes an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural learning experience. The instructor of Elements of Visual Thinking is also a primary advisor for the students for the entire freshman year.

Principles of three-dimensional thinking form the groundwork for all design, planning, and building of forms in real space. Functional objects and utilitarian forms, sculpture and site-oriented installations, environmental art and architecture—all call upon a basic threedimensional vocabulary. This course helps students develop an understanding of the interaction of forms in space. Using basic sculptural processes and readily available materials, students investigate three-dimensional ideas and decision making.

Continuation of Elements of Visual Thinking I.

Prerequisite: FF 100 (Elements of Visual Thinking I)

This class is a support class for ESL students for their foundation studio courses ( Elements of Visual Thinking, Drawing, Painting, Sculptural Forms and Electronic Media and Culture). Students will concentrate on speaking, listening and comprehension skills, especially in regard to ‘critiques’, so they can better integrate into the classroom dynamics at MICA. Each week students will be asked to bring their studio assignments to class to practice presentation and critique skills. There will also be attention paid to brain storming, research, collecting reference images, so the student can learn to independently develop ideas for assignments. Cultural adjustment and social integration issues, as well as communication issues with teachers and classmates will be addressed. The class will also serve as a point of contact for mentoring/advising and aiding in communication with other studio instructors.

Freshmen only.

In this course, Baltimore is not a place but a process of self discovery -- a “finding” of sorts that provides students with the opportunity to think critically about their place in the world. As a group, students will travel throughout the City; interact with a host of people from different walks of life; visit new, wonderful, and unusual places; and investigate the important issues and themes of the day. Students will keep a visual diary of their ideas, opinions and feelings about these interactions and make artwork in a wide variety of media. Students also have the opportunity to work with local elementary school children or senior citizens -- and produce small murals or other site specific artwork. This course emphasizes the importance of “being there,” present in the moment and fully cognizant of one’s own relationship to a real, living environment. The vast majority of class sessions will be held “somewhere” in Baltimore. Students will carpool. Guest speakers and community artists will visit with students throughout the semester.

Freshmen only.

Presents the fundamental principles and techniques of painting. Through a wide range of problems, students learn about preparation of various supports, use of painting tools, color mixing, and analyzing surface qualities. Integration of drawing and design concepts are emphasized as students investigate color-value connections, articulation of form, composition, and spatial relationships. Working primarily from observation, students explore subjects ranging from still life, interiors, landscapes, and cityscapes, to self-portraits and the figure.

Consolidates concepts and methods from FF 150 Painting I and leads students to expanded perceptual awareness. Projects may include still life, landscape, and the figure, as well as abstract and conceptual concerns to enhance each student’s formal and personal development. There is ongoing concern with painting materials and techniques.

Freshmen only.

With emphasis on observational drawing, this course develops the student's greater conceptual and technical understanding of drawing as an expressive medium. Various drawing materials, methods and subjects are explored as a means to cultivate perceptual ability and descriptive drawing skills. A range of drawing concepts is covered, including: effective use of line, mass, value, composition and perspective. Note: Cross listed - see FF 199

Continuation of Drawing I, further develops the student’s abilities in observational drawing, moving them into more individualized problems within a broader conceptual range. To help students find a personal direction, various approaches to drawing are explored. Students may work with, among other subjects, the figure, mixed media, color, narration, and abstraction. Prerequisite: FF 198.

Prerequisite: FF 198 (Drawing I)

EMAC is a studio class that broadly introduces students to electronic media, cultural literacy, and technologies, as they relate to art and design. Recognizing that one must be as proficient in critical thinking as understanding the digital tools and processes, Students will be introduced to a variety of electronic art forms; network experiences; contemporary artists and designers; and authoring tools necessary for static and time-based production including video, digital photography, sound, and online interaction.

Social Media Art & Culture is a hybrid online studio course where students will explore creative production with online tools. (Hybrid online means some classes will be taught in person in the lab and some classes will be online though we will have the ability to share images and speak to each other in real time.) We will use social media and tools to develop media literacy and express contemporary art & design ideas and concepts. Students will develop their creative process(s) in a networked culture. They will explore and define for themselves the options for manipulating content to create meaningful work; determining a new literacy relevant to aesthetics that is beyond technology adoption. It will be an exploration of what’s possible with a critical understanding of social media and culture. Pre-requisite: prior experience with adobe software and processes such as scanning and printing. Permission of Instructor.

3 credits. Staff. Offered occasionally. Focuses on the French New Wave, paying attention to what the critic Jonas Mekas calls the “American New Wave,” and considering the concept of the auteur and how this manifests itself in editing, subject matter, mise-en-scene, and other aspects of filmmaking. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Staff. Offered occasionally. This exploration of 14 films deemed far from the Hollywood norm provides the springboard for an exploration of the dominant, unspoken paradigms of cinema and how each of these films have violated an invisible tenet. Students gain an understanding of the fundamentals of film theory, write 14 short essays and one longer critical essay on this body of transgressive cinema, and see some crazy movies. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Staff. Offered occasionally. Examines the origins and development of horror cinema over the last century, with attention paid to a variety of periods including German Expressionism, American 50s horror, Gore, Japanese horror, and conceptual horror. The class looks at a variety of filmmakers from Murnau and Wiene to Warhol, Carpenter, and Nakata, to see how genre concerns are balanced with the director’s aesthetic prerogative. Students study films within cultural contexts to see how horror films are frequently a reflection of social concerns, and investigate the fine line between camp and genre excellence. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Staff. Offered occasionally. The term “B movie” has taken on numerous definitions in recent years—some equate the phrase with “camp,” others with “cult,” and others with “inexpensive.” This class explores the origins of the B-movie as a marketing tool and its evolution into a film-type with a rough set of criteria. Aesthetic and historical examinations of films by Roger Corman, Orson Welles, Sam Raimi, as well as so-called “anonymous” directors are examined. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Many novels by female writers have been adapted to the screen, providing an important way for women to enter the male-dominated discourse of mainstream cinema, even though the movies based on their work are usually directed by men. This course examines novels, stories, and films in the traditionally “feminine” genre of melodrama, employing gender theory, adaptation theory, genre theory, and auteur theory. Works studied may include “Make Way for Tomorrow” (Lawrence/McCarey, 1937), “Jane Eyre” (Brontë/Stevenson, 1943), “Imitation of Life” (Hurst/Sirk, 1959), “The Birds” (Du Maurier/Hitchcock, 1963), “Wise Blood” (O’Connor/Huston, 1979), “The Color Purple” (Walker/Spielberg, 1985), “The Age of Innocence” (Wharton/Scorsese, 1993), and “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Sapphire/Fletcher, 2009).

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Aziz. Offered occasionally. The course is aimed at re-evaluating the normative concepts and values regarding the body and its complex relationship with space as found in classic texts of modern architectural theory. Students will begin with a study and analysis of the OEsensory motor function¹ that informs the dynamics between body and space in Deleuze¹s theory of cinema. The critical terms from this investigation will then be used to examine the assumptions about the body & space in works of literature, art, film and architecture.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

3 credits. Staff. Offered occasionally. Through extensive screenings, readings, and discussions, this course explores the continually shifting and elusive boundary between reality and illusion in film, video, installation, and animation; identifies the ways in which the moving image constructs fantasy or reveals its self-reflexive nature, using as a theoretical framework key texts and concepts from the fields of aesthetics, semiotics, and ethics. Explorations include the structural components that connote a space of “fantasy” or “verism” and a meditation on the social dynamic that generates or bridges the distances between self and other. Our examination will be expansive and generous, ranging from Hollywood classics like Singing in the Rain to the recent emergence of the indie mumblecore movement, to documentaries, to the new realm of YouTube, and to experimental video and film. Prerequisites: One IH1 and one IH2 course.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

3 credits. Sterritt. Offered occasionally. Prerequisite: One 200-level course in literature or one IH1 or IH2 course.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 200 level or higher.

The 20th century was not only the most brutal century in the history of the humanity, but it was also a century during which the last great ideological utopia sank in perdition. Out of all documentarians, for good and for bad, the name of Joris Ivens has become synonymous with the documentary project of the 20th century. This course simulates a three-dimensional journey into Ivens' breathtaking 62 year filmic overture and panoramic exposition of his filmic enterprise. In 1988, at 90 years of age and literary on his death bed, Ivens created his filmic-epitaph: 'A Tale of the Wind', a declared philosophical and transcendental journey into the heart of the invisible spirit of China. Throughout the course, we will ask ourselves what this personal account and filmic odyssey can (or rather should) teach us about ourselves and about our enterprise in the 21st century.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Staff. Offered occasionally. Provides an introduction to gender as a critical tool for film analysis. Students watch films of various genres, different historical periods, and cultural backgrounds. In addition to analyzing and discussing film as cultural creation, the class reads essays on film theory and cinematic production and pays particular attention to the constructions and representations of concepts such as femininity and masculinity, and to racialized, classed, and sexualized representations of otherness as they intersect with gender in film. The course also provides students with the scholarly vocabulary needed to critically engage with and write about film. Prerequisite: One 300-level course in literature.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 300 level or higher, or Grad/PostBac standing.

Students are introduced to the basic concepts of visual communication through projects that balance the learning of conceptual development, technique, and design tools. Assignments range from individual to collaborative, and are built to introduce design thinking, critical discussion and personal decision-making in relation to the choice of graphic design as major. This course offers a scoping picture of the discipline of graphic design. No prerequisite.

Explore methods for designing patterns in this course. Students will work with a few techniques for generating graphic surface patterns that could be used to cover spaces with fabric or wallpaper. Students will work with low-fi techniques such as stamps, drawings, photocopiers, and cut paper but will also work with digital software. They will learn strategies for mirroring, scaling, using geometry, and scale. This course is recommended for Graphic Design majors.

Explore ways to express music through design: album covers, show posters, concert projections, tshirt graphics, etc in this course. Students will listen to music and attend a concert before selecting a musician or band to explore graphically in a variety of projects over the course of the semester. This course is recommended for Graphic Design majors.

Create the concept, prototype, brand, and packaging for a toy in this course designed for graphic design majors. Analyze and explore existing toys for their ability to educate, delight, and inform the users. Explore prototyping methods, user testing, and packaging strategies. This course is recommended for Graphic Design and Environmental Design majors.

This course offers foundation skills relevant to the discipline of graphic design. Students develop and expand their vocabularies in visual communication, exploring basic design elements and principles for solving communication problems. Students conduct research, generate ideas, study form and media, learn to analyze and discuss their own work as well as that of others, and become familiar with the graphic design process. Prerequisite: FF 100 (Elements of Visual Thinking I) and FF 199 (Drawing II)

Prerequisite: FF 100 (Elements of Visual Thinking I) and FF 199 (Drawing II)

Typography is the art of organizing letters in space and time. Students gain a familiarity with typographic terms and technologies, an understanding of classical and contemporary typographic forms, an ability to construct typographic compositions and systems, and an appreciation of typography as an expressive medium that conveys aesthetic, emotional and intellectual meaning. Students are introduced to digital typesetting and page layout software. Prerequisite: FF 100 (Elements of Visual Thinking I) and FF 199 (Drawing II)

Prerequisite: FF 100 (Elements of Visual Thinking I) and FF 199 (Drawing II)

Balancing functionality with aesthetics, this course introduces interface design principles and production tools. Students are introduced to the concepts and basic principles of user experience. The integration of concept and content will be realized through projects designed for the web. Production tools like html, css, and relevant software will be introduced.

This course provides extended study of graphic design principles and their application to more complex and comprehensive solutions. Experimentation, research, conceptual thinking, and process are emphasized in design for the screen. Students learn essential design tools and techniques for the development of interactive media. Students work with XHTML and CSS to understand code as a fundamental building block for their design compositions. Prerequisite: GD 200 (Graphic Design 1)

Prerequisite: GD 200 (Graphic Design 1) or GD Post-Bac student standing

Building on the fundamentals of typographic form and function introduced in Typography 1, this course extends and applies basic vocabulary and understanding to more complex problems that address typographic hierarchy, context, sequence and gestalt. Through a focused series, students explore how typography behaves across media. Increasingly complex typographic systems are implemented in three-dimensional, sequential page or time-based projects. Prerequisite: GD 201 (Typography 1)

Prerequisite: GD 201 (Typography 1) or GD Post-Bac student standing

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This course is applicable to all students who want to present their work in a blog; want to express themselves with the written word; or have a passion for something besides art/design. It's an excellent component of a current professional development toolkit. Blogs are an integral part of marketing oneself/ one's work/ one's company (freelance included). If students have a current website it can be connected to create a healthy ecosystem for self- promotion.

This course, taught by Bob Cicero, former owner of Globe Poster, will cover the craft of letterpress as it relates to the art of poster-making. Cicero will discuss the history of Globe, best-known for its eye-popping, content-rich design of music posters, and the style and form that made Globe posters so distinctive. In 2011, MICA acquired many of Globe's assets — extensive wood type, photo and illustration cuts, hand-carved lettering, and sketches and posters. Using these materials, students will learn the craft of letterpress printing, from setting type to locking up forms to printing on the Vandercook proof presses in the studio. Students will design and print a number of posters, first learning the style of Globe and then building on that foundation to make their own mark on the art of poster-making. In addition to letterpress, students will learn basic screenprinting techniques and will combine screenprinting and letterpress, one of the hallmarks of the Globe style.

In this professional practice-oriented course you will develop a portfolio website using a current website or create a new one with a Content Management System such as Wordpress or SquareSpace. Give your future employers or gallery owners the most enjoyable, efficient experience with smart website interactions. You will learn to photograph your work; curate your work for the best presentation; Once the website is up, you’ll want to know how to promote yourself/your brand online as well as off-line. By the end of the semester you will know how to get the most eyes and interest on your work.

Acting as cultural producers, students develop a fashion identity from product to promotion. Students make a small collection of clothes or accessories, design a logo and brand identity, and finally, photograph the collection for promotional purposes. By managing all aspects of their comprehensive project, students learn about entrepreneurship in the graphic design context. Further, students work in teams to produce a promotional event. This class encourages interdisciplinary collaboration as students swap skills and share resources. May be repeated for up to 6 credits. Prerequisite: FF 102 (Elements of Visual Thinking II) and FF 199 (Drawing II)

Prerequisite: FF 102 (Elements of Visual Thinking II) and FF 199 (Drawing II)

Students actively engage motion graphics as strategic medium for experimentation, idea generation, problem solving and communication. Motion and interactivity are studied in the context of aesthetic, cultural, historical and critical issues. Students learn essential design processes and techniques in their exploration of time-based media both as a tool and as a medium for evolving designers. Prerequisite: GD 220 (Graphic Design 2)

Prerequisite: GD 220 (Graphic Design 2) or GD Post-Bac student standing

This intermediate design course offers students the opportunity to work with a diverse group of professional designers. Students participate in workshops of their choosing and investigate a variety of approaches. Emphasis is on solving real-world problems in a professional studio atmosphere. Prerequisite: GD 300 (Graphic Design 3)

Prerequisite: GD 300 (Graphic Design 3) or GD Post-Bac Student

Design thinking commonly refers to the processes of ideation, research, prototyping, and interacting with users. In this course, students will build strong visual problem solving skills and explore three main phases of the creative process: defining problems, getting ideas, and creating form. Participants will take on a single project from beginning to end, and along the way explore a variety of techniques for creative problem solving relevant to artists and designers. Activities might include sketching, compiling lists, diagramming relationships, mapping webs of associations, and finally executing a complete product. This course can count towards major degree requirements with approval from chair: Graphic Design 1, 2, or any studio elective.

This course examines the design of magazines, newspapers, ’zines, and other serial forms of publication. Format, identity, audience, content development, and emerging formats are addressed and students build strong skills in typography, layout, and photo editing. May be repeated for up to 6 credits.

Prerequisite: GD 201 (Typography 1) or GD Post-Bac student standing

This interdisciplinary course invites writers, artists, photographers, designers, illustrators and cartoonists to learn all aspects of publication design through serving as staff for FORMICA, the college's student-run magazine. Students will serve as the publication's editorial board, in addition to generating content themselves. tHey will seek work from the greater MICA student community. Class memebers will create, design, produce and market the magazine. Recommended for highly motivated students who manage time well, this class will be organized on a schedule and structure that closely models a professional working environment. Faculty leaders will guide students creating an effective editorial process, working to a realistic production schedule and budget, but class members will retain full responsibility for the publication, additional policy, content, and design. This course may be used as either a studio or liberal arts elective. Open to all majors.

Students develop strengths in conceptual thinking and formal experimentation. Students are encouraged to develop languages of design that reflect their own artistic and cultural identities while communicating to various audiences. Projects are presented in a variety of media.

Prerequisite: GD 300 (Graphic Design 3) or GD Post-Bac Student

This course provides instruction in complex typographic systems for page and screen, including grid structures, comprehensive style sheets, and complex compositional structures. Students learn more advanced features of software for typography and build compelling projects working with multi-layered information. Prerequisite: GD 221 (Typography 2)

Prerequisite: GD 221 (Typography 2), GD post-bac, or MFA GD student standing.

Design Coalition is dedicated to creating partnerships in the community. Through an intense, collaborative, process-based approach, this class explores the principles of social and community-based design. Students will be challenged to expand their comprehension of design problem solving for new audiences and will develop skills in design methodology: identifying problems, design research, ideation, formal experimentation, and implementation. Best practices are demonstrated in the pursuit of creating relationships and design solutions that make a positive impact on society. With an emphasis on learning outside the institution, students will be exposed to community leaders and residents through immersion in underserved city communities.

Students develop the critical thinking and technical skills to use photography in their work as designers. Both theoretical perspectives and practical applications of digital imagery are introduced, as well as their relationships to graphic design.

Prerequisite: FF 210 (Electronic Media and Culture)

This course explores the visual aspects and structural flow of interface design. Students will prototype screen-based experiences that humanize computer interaction, empathetic to the needs of the end user. Interfaces ultimately shape the experiences of users as they interact with products to achieve their goals and objectives. Students will mediate relationships between people and products, environments, and services across a variety of contexts.

Prerequisite: GD 220 (Graphic Design 2) or GD Post-Bac student standing

This course is taught in modules designed to explore various media languages relevant to visual problem solving: HTML 5.0, CSS, javascript, processing, or others could be covered in short workshops. Students will be exposed to a broad range of programming languages that are used in professional design practice.

Prerequisite: GD 220 (Graphic Design 2) or GD Post-Bac student standing

Students explore the comprehensive branding process by creating functional design solutions. The student gains a new level of understanding of how design and communication can help define a organization’s message or product as well as engage how it performs. The course investigates the brand positioning process, strategic thinking, brand case studies, integrated brand communications, the launch of new products, target audiences, and a collaborative design process. May be repeated for up to 6 credits.

This studio course focuses on three-dimensional structures for a broad range of products that not only protect package contents but also create an experience for the user. Students examine how messages behave when distributed in three-dimensional space. Conceptual development, prototyping, materials, type, image, layout, design and form are fully explored to create commercial packaging. The class will also focus on social, sustainable and environmental issues. May be repeated for up to 6 credits.

Inspired by the book D.I.Y., published by MICA GDMFA faculty and students, this course is for students who want to publish words, images, and ideas on paper, on t-shirts, on the Web or anywhere else. Learn how to self-publish, how to think like a designer, and clarify your ideas to pull together the materials, services, and software you need to make your concepts real. This course demystifies the technical side of small-scale publishing in various media while experimenting with the creative side of design. May be repeated for up to 6 credits.

This course focuses on time-based design elements of space, pacing, motion, and interaction as they relate to graphic communication. Projects will push the boundaries of emerging media environments and could explore designer-controlled narrative, haptic interaction, sound, or user interaction. Students are encouraged to focus projects around their thesis work or other self-determined endeavors. May be repeated for up to 6 credits.

Students learn design skills critical as applied in the advertising industry including the relationship between design and art direction, project identification and problem solving, concept development, presentation, and media placement. Studio projects, guest speakers, field trips, and case studies provide insight into effective working practices for the design interested in the advertising world. Elective. May be repeated for up to 6 credits.

3 credits. Staff. Offered fall, spring. For students wishing to work with a particular instructor on subject matter not covered by regularly scheduled classes, a special independent study class may be taken. A contract is required, including signatures of the instructor and the student's department chair. A 398 class may not be used to substitute for a department's core requirement or senior thesis / senior independent. Learning contract required before registration. Minimum of junior class standing and 3.0 GPA required.

Prerequisite: students at the Junior/Senior level with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of at least 3.000

Students prepare to enter professional practice with a series of intensive, complex projects aimed at portfolio development. Emphasis is placed on cultivating the student's personal interests and abilities, editing and refining the range and quality of portfolio work, and crafting a comprehensive self-presentation package that will serve as a graceful extension of the work.

Prerequisite: GD 301 (Flexible Design Studio) and GD 320 (Graphic Design 4)

NEW! Hybrid Presentation: Both in-person meetings and online activities will enhance this pre-professional practices course for graphic design seniors. Moodle will be used to deliver online instruction that supports the course objectives and to augment in-class presentations by visiting designers. Students build their knowledge of design discourse and professional practice in the discipline through a mix of readings, writings and practical projects. This course complements the portfolio development goals of Advanced Graphic Design 1 and 2. Visiting artists provide critiques and seminar presentations.

Senior Graphic Design Majors Only

This capstone course is centered around the senior self-directed project, an independent project in design studies requiring the development of a body of work in consultation with faculty and peers. As a parallel track, students continue to hone their portfolios and learn job-seeking protocols.

Prerequisite: GD 400 (Advanced Graphic Design 1)

This course is a laboratory to explore how processes and materials can both form and inform design. The synthesis of old and new, analog and digital, and hand- and computer-based methods provides students with an opportunity to work beyond the constraints of the computer and take advantage of the aesthetic effects that actual materials bring to visual communication. Students will complete a series of experiments investigating different approaches to synthesizing analog and digital methods into graphic design artifacts.

This class explores the role of artists and designers in the environment of the World Wide Web. Students create animated Web pages; learn about HTML, the coding language of the Web; delve into the problems and properties of Web site design; and explore the unique characteristics of hypermedia in information design.

Prerequisite: GD 220 (Graphic Design 2) or GD Post-Bac student standing

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Students explore a range of possibilities in visualizing data and information. In addition to archetypical diagrams such as pie, bar, plot, line diagrams, complex data can be expressed through matrices, graph-based visuals, comparisons, three-dimensional visuals, or motion graphics. Various methodologies will be explored for visualizing information for clarity, readability, and editorial voice. May be repeated for up to 6 credits.

Design for Change builds upon the experiences of Design Coalition and is likewise dedicated to creating partnerships in the community. Through an intense, collaborative, process-based approach, this class explores the principles of social and community-based design. Students will be challenged to extend their learning in the community, implementing projects developed in the precursor course.

Students explore traditional and experimental approaches to letter-making in the context of design. The role of the letter arts in contemporary design will be explored through a series of workshops, assignments and lectures. Instructors draw on their professional working experience as letterers and typeface designers to expose students to unusual working methods, lettering, typeface design, and typography. May be repeated for up to 6 credits. Prerequisites: GD 201 and GD 221.

Prerequisite: GD 201 (Typography 1) and GD 221 (Typography 2)

Students explore experimental and traditional approaches to typography and custom lettering in the context of design, art, and theory. Class projects and subjects encompass a wide variety of technical and conceptual approaches to the letter arts, including typeface design exercises, experiments in conceptual lettering, and real-world applications. May be repeated for up to 6 credits.

Prerequisite: GD 221 (Typography 2), GD post-bac, or MFA GD student standing.

In this project-based course, students collaborate with existing organizations to solve real-world problems. Students engage in the hands-on approach to developing product concepts and their associated business plans. They combine business and marketing concepts with to develop a product and marketing planthat is feasible for implementation. Participants explore the product development cycle including field research, interview techniques, brainstorming, ideation, and the creation of physical and virtual prototypes.

This class will introduce students to a variety of methodologies applicable to the graphic design practice. Each class session will introduce a new means of exploration in the arenas of form, concept or context. Non-traditional formal exploration, variations in ideation, and transparency in collaborative process will be utilized to encourage a unique approach to research and development amongst individual students. Students should have a laptop to enroll.

This course examines the relationship of communication design to the 3d realm. Large scale graphics, signage systems, and exhibition design are explored through a series of projects and presentations. Students will gain skills in developing environments for sharing information. Materials, fabrication processes, and documentation methods will be reviewed.

3 credits. Staff. Offered Fall. Graphic Design/ Illustration Workshop comprises two consecutive 8-week workshops, one in graphic design and one in illustration. This course was created especially for freshmen thinking about these two majors to help them understand the similarities and differences between the two disciplines. GD/IL Workshop is offered fall only. Students should compare this course to Introduction to Graphic design (GD 100) and to Drawing as Illustration (IL 100), which offer full 16-week introductions to graphic design and illustration, and are offered spring only. Freshman elective.

Freshmen only.

GFA is the major where ideas drive techniques. And just as techniques can be taught, ideas can be germinated adn nurtured. Problem solving skills are addressed in many classes, but developing a problem or recognizing the subtlties of one that already exists is a different endeavour all together. Through a series of excercises adn projects this course will help the student hone these skills while developing an individual authentic voice as an artist. Projects will be based on all the major "catagories" of ideas (formal elements, history, etc.) and end with an independent project. Prerequisite: Freshmen only

Freshmen only.

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This sophomore core course is designed to help students explore their artistic vision and begin to plan the way they would like to construct their own version of the general fine arts major. New GFA majors are assisted in forging a personal approach to visual exploration and expression. Virtually all media are acceptable. This course is strong on personal attention via frequent one-on-one discussions. Prerequistie: Earned Credit or Concurrent Enrollment in DR 252 (Life Drawing) or DR 298 (Studio Drawing).

Pre: Earned Credit or Concurrent Enrollment in DR 252 (Life Drawing) or DR 298 (Studio Drawing)

This new studio course emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach to art making by exploring ways in which contemporary artists use photography as part of their process as in works by Elizabeth Peyton, Marlene Dumas, Gregory Crewdson, Angela Strassheim, Sara Van Der Beek, Oliver Herring, Robert Melee, and Peter Piller. Over the course of the semester, students discuss artists that paint and draw from their photographs as well as artists that use photography to document performances such as temporal sculptures, body art, and narrative stage-sets. The course examines artists that use photography in collage and installation work. Students interested in a range of materials and processes investigate the role of photography in their process while developing a personal body of work. Prerequisite: FF 199 (Drawing II).

Prerequisite: FF 199 (Drawing II)

This course is being run concurrently in the Illustration Dept and the General Fine Arts Dept as one double section class. In this class students will work in the traditional studio/life drawing manner with models and varying timed sessions [quick sketch through sustained drawing] but will work exclusively in digital form using tablets and laptops. Composition, action, dramatic lighting and many other drawing schemes will be employed. Students will be supplied with a tablet but must supply their own laptop. Enrollment max will be 36 students.

This class will be an opportunity to work with each artist for three weeks. As performance has become central to the contemporary definition of interdisciplinary practice, this workshop will help to refine students' capability to plan and execute performance and performance-based installation works. Students will explore and master the technical aspects of gallery-based (as opposed to theatrical) performance art, and study historic performance works. Students will develop and hone performance skills, including planning, production, and the performance itself. The workshop will conclude on the final week with the presentation of a performance or performance-based installation work.

We are fundamentally connected to water. On an individual level and as a civilization water permeates all aspects of our lives. This course is an opportunity for students from majors to deepen their understanding of water and to apply their developing skills as artist to this subject. Through readings, film, guest lectures and field trips we will immerse ourselves in the science, history and esthetics of water. This class will be an overview of how historical and contemporary artists have approached water as a subject in their work. We will focus on our current relationship with water and how rapidly changing climate is resulting in a massive redistribution of this substance. The impacts of drought, sea level rise, storm intensity and polar ice melt are rapidly becoming major factors shaping our lives. This is a multi-disciplinary class so students are welcome to develop projects according to their major snd field of study.

The goal of InterArts: MICA/BSO is to present contemporary visual art to a new audience: visitors to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s Joseph Meyerhoff Hall. Through frequent class meetings and rehearsal and concert attendance students will be guided through the process of transforming concepts into site-specific works of arts that will be installed as a cohesive exhibit in the symphony lobby at the end of spring semester. A wide variety of mediums are encouraged. Previous exhibits have included painting, graphic design, illustration, video, photo, drawing, printmaking, fiber, digital arts and sculpture. Prerequisite: Undergraduates at the Sophomore Level or Higher Only

Undergraduates at the Sophomore level or higher only.

Collage has been described as the primary medium of the 20th century. The multi-layering of images and materials reflect the cultural and technological flux of the modern age. This mixed-media course explores the 2D and 3D possibilities of working with collage and assemblage. Course content examines the formal narrative and conceptual issues of the collage process and form. Weekly slide lectures and materials examine artists working within these media. Students are encouraged to develop a personal direction.

As artists we are part of an evolving world culture. This studio course helps students see the common denominators as well as the differences in various cultures and apply those insights to their own work. By investigating certain patterns/aspects of human behavior (e.g., death, marriage, celebrity) students expand their thinking about their work and how it communicates in the larger context. Students may work in any media/genre and complete four works over the semester. This course is offered using a pass/fail grading basis. Prerequisite: Undergraduates at the Sophomore Level or Higher Only

Undergraduates at the Sophomore level or higher only.

Students develop a body of work bridging the gap between traditional painting and drawing media and the digital image (especially the use of Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter). The similarities and differences in working by hand and onscreen are explored. Typically, initial work is hand-drawn or painted; then images will be scanned and manipulated via the computer. The resulting digital prints are reworked by hand and possibly scanned again until the desired effects are achieved. Students are asked to push the restrictions usually associated with the digital image. This course is designed for students with a background in painting and drawing and a basic knowledge of computer imaging. Prerequisite: EA 210/ FF 210 (Electronic Media and Culture)

Prerequisite: FF 210 (Electronic Media and Culture)

This class will focus on a variety of contemporary book forms and emphasizes the freedom to develop the content within. Structures will created experimenting with scale from the small and intimate to the large and expressive, to the sculptural, with a look at installation. We will be creating with a variety of materials, exploring the relationship between the book form and materials selected. Some areas explored will be trace monoprints, contemporary paper cutting, wet and dry media, embroidery drawing, alternative surfaces, and dipped paper encaustics for transparent books. The class will be supplemented with related artists slide lectures, articles, MICA's Book Arts collection, and visiting artists. Prerequiste: Undergraduates at the Sophomore Level or Higher Only

Undergraduates at the Sophomore level or higher only.

As the world increasingly connects, this studio class introduces students to a culturally diverse group of artists, curators, critics, and more. Students will learn of and research artists of varied backgrounds, while exploring current issues such as ethnicity, race, class, gender, and identity all within global context. Developing a body of work over the semester is critical and contributes to the course dialogue. Research findings will inform the topics and presentations for allotted weekly discussion. In class and out of class working is expected. Visiting artists bringing their unique perspectives will join the class for reviews and critique sessions. This course is open to all media.

New studio course; explores interdisciplinary ways to create atmospheric, interactive installations and performances that dig into the passions and obsessions of the human condition. In the the first half of the semester, students examine questions of identity, place, perspectives, and context through a wide range of cutting-edge works by such artists as Lee Bul, E.V. Day, Cai Guo-Qiang, Christine Hill, Christoph Buchel, Thomas Hirschhorn, Judy Pfaff, Dieter Roth, and Jason Rhoades, as well as various collaborative teams at the 2007 Venice Biennale, such as New Forest Pavilion, P3, and system projects such as Migration Addicts. In the second half of the semester, they shift to a collaborative brainstorming team and create a unique tag or identity for purposes of self-promotion.

Aimed at developing conceptual and philosophical ideas in each individual’s work. A range of thoughts in different disciplines from science to religion and literature is discussed to provoke deeper exploration into individual points of view. Students work in any medium. In-class work facilitates exploration of the day’s topic. Group critiques are used to review work done out of class with a focus on content expressed. Prerequisite: FF 150 (Painting I), DR 252 (Life Drawing) & DR 298 (Studio Drawing).

Prerequisite: FF 199 (Drawing II)

Throughout history some of the most eloquent responses to events of the times were images. From Goya and Daumier to Sue Coe and Mel Chin, artists have shown the significance of events in ways that words can't. Beyond just illuminating important relationships and power structures, art points to significance on an emotional level and reveals what it's like to be alive in this time. Each class will begin with a discussion of the week's events, linking them to ongoing issues and looking at ways that our different backgrounds and personal life story influence the way we view current events. Class time will be used to develop a piece based on the discussion which will be discussed at the end. Out of class time is devoted to completing a series on an area of particular interest.

Students are assisted in developing a personal direction in any fine arts medium or combination of media. This course provides the opportunity to explore the initiation of a sustained body of work in preparation for the senior independent program. Attendance at all critiques and at least 12 hours of committed effort per week are mandatory. Instruction is via regularly scheduled individual and group critiques. Junior General Fine Arts Majors Only

Junior level General Fine Arts Majors only.

This interdisciplinary studio/lecture course will deconstruct varied approaches to understanding the depiction and production of science fiction narrative in literature and media. Using their choice of media and material context, students will be encouraged to develop a series of projects that address science fiction imagery, production design, concepts, 3D objects or props consistent with science Fiction narratives. The practice of representing this content will encourage conceptual skills and pictorial methods already present in the media that surrounds us. Students will research past and existing models of futuristic content while using already familiar traditional media and also learning new tools, materials, and methods for 3D fabrication. There will be technical demonstrations of practical prop-building, as well as3D software and its application to the machines available in the digital fabrication DFAB lab, for those students who want to use these methods for object building. Students will work in a studio for a majority of the course with a smaller portion reserved for lectures, slide presentations, selections from cinema and intensive critique of the work produced. This course will require eight hours of homework each week.

Landscape since beginning of time has served as muse and metaphor for life. Contemporary view of landscape in Amerrican urban environment suggests a world and place of conflict and crisis. Course explores phenomenological, poetic, social, and political aspects of place through analysis of role landscape has played in various art forms and through a focus on specific site or trail in Harford County. Team-taught by painter and landscape architect, trail will be a vehicle for examining such issues as how we physically and culturally respond to our environment, implications of path vs. pilgrimange, public vs. private art, permanent vs. ephemeral, and role of artists as intermediary of culture.

War paint. Eyeliner. Tattoos. Scars. Piercing. Thin body. Broad body. Expressive face. Poker face. Fashion. Costume. Plain. Beautiful. Loose and open body language. Tight and closed body language. All and many more inventions and behaviors have contributed to the vastly varied human visage. All have triggered far-flung creative imaginations and will continue to do so. In this course students select their own projects and are free to work in any 2D or 3D medium (video, painting, drawing, photography, digital, animation, fiber, printmaking, ceramics, etc.). Instruction is via slide lectures and movies and includes individual and group critiques. Model is provided on request.

In this interdisciplinary class - a keen desire to invent, investigate, and interpret is a prerequisite - students in this course will be asked to define and confront the cultural moment and by marring media while disregarding traditional notions of material boundaries will endeavor to advance the aesthetic frontier. The probability that a robust discourse will accompany such open-minded and dynamic experiments, explorations, and experiences is a forgone conclusion. Students taking this class will be expected to make innovative work vigorously and to engage in a healthy dialogue energetically.

Visual comparison of cinema with other visual arts media with emphasis on how each medium treats space, light, time and storytelling. Course taught with films and slides screened on alternating weeks. Frequent critiques of student's individualized visual responses to the ideas presented in the class. Wide exploration of form and medium are encouraged.

How might learning about the origin and elements of the Renaissance enhance one's creative practice in 21st Century Baltimore? What existed in the cultural environment of Florence circa 1500 that contributed to the explosion of ideas and creative energy in literature, philosophy, politics, science, religion, and principality, the arts? And how might we as artists, five hundred years later, seize our own cultural moment, affect and enhance our artistic milieu, and stimulate and fortify intellectual life in our own time and place? In this course, intended for sophomores, students will have the opportunities experienced by their Renaissance forbears to expand their own cultural awareness, develop an artistic identity, share philosophical and technical discoveries with their artistic peers, and, ultimately, to begin to think of themselves as cultural agents empowered to make connections across communities, cultures, and even centuries.

This course is designed to use the computer to reexamine and explore existing work at new levels using motion, sound, and interactivity. Using it as a point of departure, past work is scanned and manipulated with Adobe Photoshop and Director. The possibility of using other programs is discussed. Students create a series of integrated animated loops that the viewer can explore interactively. Prerequisite: DR 252 (Life Drawing) and DR 298 (Studio Drawing).

Prerequisite: DR 252 (Life Drawing) and DR 298 (Studio Drawing)

This interdisciplinary studio/lecture course will explore varied approaches to dealing with the narrative. Students using their choice of medium, will be encouraged to develop a series of work revolving around a single narrative theme. Students will explore the many aspects of visual storytelling while learning to use numerous skills and pictorial devices. Students will work in studio in a concentrated block of the class and a smaller portion will reserve for lectures, slide shows, selections from cinema and intensive critique. This course will require eight hours of homework each week.

Prerequisite: FF 198(Drawing I), FF199 (Drawing II), and an additional 3 credits of Drawing

Our climate is rapidly changing due to the effects of human industry. Climate change is presenting the global society with the necessity for new criteria of industrial and social production. How will this include the production of art and design? The goal of this course is to present students with the challenge to examine, investigate, confront, and potentially apply what these criteria are. This class focuses on the theoretical, practical, and aesthetic issues of sustainability. Beginning with an overview of the history of the science of climate change, students look at global movements responding to this event. Students who are considering entering some aspect of this field are welcome as well as those who are seeking to extend their art practice to address the many issues encountered in the massive change toward global sustainability. Undergraduates at the Sophomore Level or Higher Only

Undergraduates at the Sophomore level or higher only.

This course is an opportunity for students to be engaged in an experimental research practice that focuses on understanding and solving challenges facing Baltimore City. This will be developed through investigating and developing new artistic processes and material outputs. Guided by concepts like metamodelization and schizoanalysis, this class will look to processes of examining the social, psychic, and scientific models currently in place, then recombining or replacing these models with something that might work better. Students will be focused on multiple threads of a central social challenge: the economic crisis and its impact on employment in Baltimore City. The studio format will be a non-stagnate framework, functioning like a drifting platform moving through the city and building relations, information and ideas while disseminating new understandings and inventions. The class location methodology can be seen as an assemblage of the Situationist International’s subversive “derives” and Colin Wards ideology of “streetwork”—using the urban environment as a resource for learning, which integrates a community based program of decision-making on local urban issues.

Prerequisite: FF 199 (Drawing II)

Students will explore sources for the ideas expressed in their work by examining their personal history and artistic identity. Topics common to artists throughout the history of art range from psychological and philosophical to scientific and mythic. These will be presented to encourage deeper exploration into individual points of view. This course is appropriate for the Intermediate/Advanced level student who has developed a personal direction or the student who is making the transition from assignment based courses to independent personal based work. There will be weekly slide lectures, discussions or museum visits and regular group adn individual crits. An inner disciplinary course, there are no restrictions on medium, form or imagery.

The Intermedia Studio is intended to encourage collaboration among student composers, performers and artists at MICA and Peabody Conservatory in a team environment, and to engage students in the investigation of a range of interdisciplinary multimedia projects, including Internet, live performance, electronic theater, installation, video, and animation. This course is envisioned as an ongoing structure to bring music and visual arts students together from MICA and Peabody to promote and facilitate the creation of intermedia art and to further explore shared resources, joint research, and exhibition/performance opportunities. Juniors and Seniors Only

Juniors and Seniors only.

In the contemporary art world, artists are not only responsible for making work, but for providing the context for it. This course takes a comprehensive look at the practices of contemporary artists, how artists working today relate to one another, historical models of art making, and the contemporary art market. The focus is on the young, up-and-coming generation of artists. The first half of each class introduces a group of artists and take some position on their working practice, the second half is concerned with group critiques of students’ individual work. The idea is to present a holistic picture of what it means to be an artist today. Undergraduates at the Sophomore Level or Higher Only

Undergraduates at the Sophomore level or higher only.

From its start, cinema has influenced and been influenced by the other art forms, from literature, painting, photography, illustration, and the comics through costume design, fashion design, stage set design, graphic design, and performance art. This course invites students from all disciplines to enter this relationship via their own independent works in media of their own choosing. For inspiration, movie imagery is studied via movie clips in tightly structured class meetings. The course includes many clips from classic and foreign movies, including European, South American, Asian, and Icelandic. Students work at home on projects of their own choosing inspired by movies.

Prerequisite: FF 199 (Drawing II)

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This is an honors course in which selected students will work on animation/video projections and/or painted drops in collaboration with faculty and artist in residence David Humphrey to develop and produce visuals for the October 2013 premiere of the opera Defrosted – A Fantasy Opera about Roy and Walt Disney in 2 acts. The course will meet for two weeks in January and then bi-weekly throughout the spring semester.

Surveys the long history of the Middle East with special attention to the 20th century, including the Arab-Isaeli conflict, the fragmentation of Lebanon, the rise of religious fundamentalism, the struggles for power, and the Gulf War. In the first half of the 20th century, the Middle East has become a region of great interest and importance, not only because of its oil resources, but also as a focal point for the cold war and other conflicts.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Sizer. offered occasionally. City living is literally synonymous with civilization: the root of the word civilization is the Latin word civis, meaning city. This course will trace the history of urban life back to its origins in the Middle East, to understand the roots of urban culture, its meaning, its significance, its varieties. This investigation will combine studies of particular cities: what they looked like, their inhabitants, their rituals, but will also engage in an extensive look at theories of what cities are and how they have shaped the mentalities of those dwelling in them. Is there an urban personality? Are cities the zones of cultural and artistic dynamism? Do cities create freedom or restrictions on human life? What are the environmental impacts of cities? For their semester-long project, each student will select one particular city on which he/she will focus: possibilities include Rome, Delhi, Beijing, Babylon, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Paris, Tenochtitlan/Mexico City, and many others.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Staff. Offered occasionally. In 1348, the disease that would be called the Black Death swept west from Central Asia to Europe, where it quickly annihilated up to a third of Europe’s population in the span of one short year. This was neither the first nor the last occurrence of this dread disease in world history. The effects of the plague on the social fabric of the societies with which it came into contact were considerable, but so were the psychic effects, and the intellectual and artistic worlds felt compelled to attempt to understand what the plague was, as well as its grander philosophical and moral implications. This course studies some of those efforts, with discussions of readings from Boccaccio, Defoe, Villon, Camus, danse macabre and grotesque literature, artistic responses, and the necessary social background of the Black Death and theories about the impact of disease in history from writers such as William McNeill, Jared Diamond, and others. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

HST 251-IH2 Architectural and Social History of Baltimore 3 credits. Staff. Offered occasionally. In many ways Baltimore is a microcosm of the growth of the United States. The opening of the B&O Railroad linked the vast agricultural areas of the Midwest to the Port of Baltimore and the Atlantic trade system. Baltimore lay at the heart of the industrial revolution. Architecture is perhaps the art form that most closely records the economic, demographic, and political record of a city. This is especially true of Baltimore’s architecture—its churches, factories, harbors, and neighborhoods. This class explores Baltimore’s history, using architecture as a roadmap of its development. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

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For the 10000 years since human beings first started living in complex societies, civilization has had its supporters and its detractors. For some, being human necessarily means striving to create, to build, to order, to civilize. Others have attempted to reject or critique civilization by returning to the wilderness and celebrating the natural over the constructed world. In all, defining the civilized has been a fundamental part of to defining the modern. This course will investigate and interrogate the intellectual history of the concept of civilization, reading both those who have sought to define and celebrate it, and those who have, in some way, rejected it. Readings and topics may include: the pros and cons of the Agricultural Revolution, Early Christian wilderness saints, medieval Wildman legends, Norbert Elias's "Civilizing Process," Freud's "Civilization and its Discontents," living 'off the grid' and John Krakauer's "Into the Wild."

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

HST 320-TH Crowds, Riots, and the Mass Society All historical societies have routinely described collective groups of people as primary actors in political and community life. Current politicians invoke "the American people”; pollsters and historians speak of a community's public opinion; medieval chronicles and modern newspapers alike describe scenes of mass hysteria, the dangerous rabble, and other similar manifestations of a sort of collective will. This class discusses the phenomenon of crowds, riots, and the mass and the various theories that have been developed to explain them. Topics include: theorizations of the crowd and the collective, mass hysteria and fear, demonstrations, sociological/mathematical modeling of crowd dynamics, the "flash mob," and the relationship of the individual with mass society. Includes readings from Plato, Marx, Rousseau’s concept of the General Will, Freudian studies of the collective psychology such as Gustave Le Bon, Canetti, contemporary sociological studies, and Existentialist literature, as well as materials from other media such as the 1928 classic film The Crowd, supplemented by field studies of crowds in action and other activities. Prerequisites: One IH1 course and one IH2 course.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

3 credits. Orr. Offered occasionally. This course examines the contested nature of historical inquiry and narrative during the past 100 years, addressing a number of central themes: What is the nature of the historian’s craft, and what is the relationship of historical research and writing to art, literature, and the social sciences? What is the role of moral judgment in historical inquiry, and what ethical duties must historians consider in interpreting the past? What is the nature of historical “truth,” and on what basis does the historian make truth claims? What is the nature of the historical “record,” and what constitutes historical evidence? What is the relationship of theory to historical practice, and has the use of theory enhanced or hindered our understanding of the past? Authors studied will include Herbert Butterfield, Marc Bloch, E. H. Carr, G. R. Elton, Hayden White, Quentin Skinner, Roger Chartier, and Richard J. Evans. Prerequisites: One IH1 course and one IH2 course.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

3 credits. Merrill. Offered Spring. An intensive study of the history of public relations, propaganda, and the rise of mass media, this course will also undertake an "alternative" history of recent world events. In a seminar or project-style class, we will analyze media coverage of the Middle East and the region's relations with the United States (e.g., terrorism) as a way of coming to an understanding of such media outlets as the New York Times, TV news programming, NPR, and others. We will measure the news against the actual history. It is often said that totalitarian societies are characterized by high levels of propaganda and control of symbolic productions (expression and the arts). Propaganda is, in fact, a cornerstone of democratic societies. In societies where governments cannot routinely resort to brute force in order to control social policy, they adopt more subtle means of controlling thought, as in George Orwell's "Thought Police." The founder of the public relations industry, Edward Bernays, wrote early in the 20th century that, "The engineering of consent is the very essence of the democratic process." Bill Moyers has called this the creation of a "Public Mind." This class will examine the influence of public relations firms and the US government on news coverage. This course is aimed at those interested in advertising, public relations, or contemporary world history and politics. We will study Bernays and also Chomsky, Naomi Klein, Ewen, Herman, and many others. Students will contribute to an anthology on the nature of mass media in the US. (Note: this class is a revision of L-448 Design of Meaning.)

Undergraduates at the Sophomore level or higher only.

This course will survey theoretical approaches that address what dreams are and what they mean, with an emphasis on Jung and the post-Jungians. We will consider the various forms of dreams – recurring, panic, erotic, the nightmare, lucid, and prophetic – and attempt to illuminate their underlying psychological meaning. Dreams as they have appeared in art, literature, and film will also be explored, as well as daydreams, fantasies, memories, and collective dreams. To complicate our exploration, we will hold the idea in our minds that we don’t know what our dreams are about, and appreciate the presence of loss and mystery in relation to our dreaming life. Students are asked to keep a dream journal throughout the duration of the course.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

History often covers the powerful people, epochal events, and great geniuses of the past, but in this course we will seek to discover some of the lost beliefs, practices, and daily rituals that shaped the lives of the ordinary people who constituted the vast majority of those who have lived before us. We will focus on Europe and Colonial and early post-colonial North America, from roughly 1200-1850, a period both formative of our own cultural experience and distant enough so that uncovering the history of its people will seem foreign and poignant to our 21st-century experience. This course will provide advanced students skills in research in primary source material (songs, recipes, diaries, narrative accounts, material culture) as well as theoretical and technical issues involved in the study of popular history. We will also study the social world in which folk practices developed, which may be of particular interest to students whose studio work draws from these traditions. As a final project, students will be asked to present research which could include a recreation or performance of some ritual, practice, or activity from this “lost” time.

Pre: Junior level or higher (Includes Graduate and Post-Baccalaureate students).

It is often said that totalitarian societies are characterized by propaganda and control of symbolic productions, while democratic societies maximize freedom of belief and expression. This class begins with the opposite assertion -- propaganda and thought control are, in fact, the cornerstone of democratic societies. In societies where governments and moneyed elites cannot easily use brute force to control people, they must adopt more subtle means of control, and in the 20th and 21st centuries this has been the control of thought through carefully designed spectacles and constructed meanings of contemporary events. This is not to say that force isn’t used in democratic societies, but an important part of the constructed meaning of “democracy” is that it is not used. While totalitarian societies control bodies, democratic societies control people’s minds. This is the lesson of George Orwell’s 1984. The contest over symbols and meanings in so-called “free or open societies” is therefore more crucial than it is in “closed societies.” Thus, as we will see in this class, public relations and propaganda have merged in the 20th century with news reporting and journalism so that now they are completely indistinguishable, or, to say it another way, most major journalism is in reality public relations. One of the founders of public relations, Edward Bernays, wrote that, “The engineering of consent is the very essence of the democratic process.”

Prerequisite: HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry) or Permission of Instructor.

According to most historians, the modern world was born from the French Revolution. Concepts such as popular opinion and sovereignty, the secular state, the Right and Left division of politics, the belief in change and progress as opposed to tradition and status, and the idea of Revolution itself, are in many ways legacies of the French Revolution of 1789. Because it went through several phases from moderate Republic to the extremism of the Reign of Terror to Napoleon’s popular dictatorship, the Revolution has also become the primary laboratory of theories of history, having been subject to Marxist, Feminist, Freudian, Revisionist and other historical interpretations. This course will review first-hand accounts of the Revolution, political documents, treatises and speeches, and also read several of the various historical interpretations that have tried to understand it, from De Tocqueville, Marx, Lefebvre, Hunt and Furet.

Investigates the political, economic, social, and military aspects of the American Civil War, beginning with an overview of the conditions and events of antebellum America and proceeding to the war itself, observing and analyzing its causes and effects. Covers the chronology of its battles and other events that punctuated the lives of Americans, from politicians to generals, from the common soldier to families left at home, from writers and artist to pundits and scalawags. Finally, the course will explore post-war Reconstruction and the slow and painful beginning of the America we know today. Extensive reading is augmented by lectures, films, demonstrations, and field trips, all of which will culminate in active discussions. Examinations are given and an in-class presentation is required.

Undergraduates at the Sophomore level or higher only.

3 credits. Staff. Offered fall, spring. This course asks students to explore the intellectual and aesthetic foundations of their work and the work of others. This calls for a vigorous investigation into the nature, sources, and consequences of personal values (intellectual, moral, formal, philosophical) and such values are invoked in the process of creation and critique. Students are given opportunity to sharpen and extend their ability to articulate their critical responses, both in written and spoken form, reinforcing the essential link between critical thinking and artmaking, and demonstrating the powerfully complementary nature of language as a medium vital to the thoughtful artist.

This foundation elective class is intended for students interested in exploring MICA’s double major in Humanistic Studies and one of the studio majors – those interested in pursuing an integrated and socially concerned program of study in their college career – and beyond. Artists of the 21st century are increasingly multi-disciplinary. They want to be object makers as well as writers and spokespersons for their culture. This class is designed to examine the problems and strategies of working across traditional disciplinary boundaries. It also serves as an introduction to Humanistic Studies and the role of the “public intellectual” in today’s world. It opens the debate on a wide range of issues – historical study, feminism, contemporary philosophy, film, politics, and many more. The discussions in this class will grow out of the most important intellectual crises of the 21st century.

This is the first required class for majors in Studio Art + Humanistic Studies. It explores the question of what it means to be a human being through a review of concepts developed by thinkers and writers throughout history and in a global context on the problem of human nature. The goals of the course will be to build the students’ analytical reading skills along with substantial experience in research and writing. Readings will include texts in literature, philosophy, history, the sciences, as well as an examination of material productions such as art, architecture, states, and nations. Humanistic Studies majors are to take this course in conjunction with the Spring semester course On Being Human II.

Prerequisite: HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry) or Permission of Instructor.

The class follows closely on the Fall seminar. The two semesters are actually “serially team taught”; that is, two faculty with different approaches or theoretical frameworks will address essentially the same theme – the human experience. They will consider different historical and cultural configurations. For example, a philosopher might be paired with someone from Literature. The two instructors will work together to prepare their syllabi so that the work over the two semesters is complementary. In both semesters, students will begin to consider professional opportunities for graduates in the humanities and arts.

Prerequisite: HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry) or Permission of Instructor.

A sophomore requirement for majors in Studio Art + Humanistic Studies which explores our contemporary world and world events, especially as they relate to the interests of Humanists. This course takes a “non-western” perspective. All readings are by authors, activists, and scholars outside the Euro-American nexus. Its goal will be to bring students up to date on where human development and the progress of societies stand in the 21st century. This class will introduce students to non-western ways of looking at the contemporary world and to the “world systems theory.” It will also consider the media through which so much of the world is represented and understood.

Prerequisite: HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry) or Permission of Instructor.

This class is the first Junior level requirement for all Studio Art + Humanistic Studies majors. It looks at social, intellectual, and other theories that are brought to bear on the analysis of culture, especially in the context of the last hundred years or so of work. For example, students may explore the tradition of anti-humanism from Nietzsche to Foucault, or theories of race, feminism, gender, sexuality, or theories of semiotics, language, and meaning. Theoretical explorations into community, political, and economic structures are also be important. Some community involvement may also be required, especially in MICA’s Community Arts Partnership program. Substantial research and writing will be required.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

This class follows closely on the Fall semester of Humanistic Theory. Like the sophomore seminars, these two classes are “serially team taught” by two different instructors who bring different perspectives and intellectual frameworks to the subjects of the class. This class will require substantial research and writing and may require some community involvement, especially in MICA’s Community Arts Partnership. Further work in professional development will be required. Students will also work on making connections with the projects they are doing in the studio side of their integrated major.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

Writing is important in all Humanistic Studies classes, but this class takes a practical stance. Students will be asked to write for on-line journals, blogs, discussion forums or student-run professional conferences and journals. They will be introduced to the world of practicing writers, working on areas such as film, book, or art exhibit reviews, and commentaries on current issues. Students will make public presentations of their work in readings, conference-style seminars, and other forums. The goal will be to get students involved in the on-going discussion of contemporary issues and to move them into the role of the “public intellectual” who helps his or her community understand the issues of the times.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 200 level or higher.

What are the essential qualities of the “being” that the Humanities study? Do they evolve over time and across historical eras? Have we now crossed into a “Posthuman Age” in which qualities such as freedom and dignity are obsolete? The goal of this class is to help students locate the articulation of “being human” in the humanities and arts by addressing directly the issues raised by Posthumanism. We will do this by reading comparatively certain key texts from the period of Renaissance Humanism and from the Posthuman age. For example, Richard Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene might be read against Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments. This class will include both analytical and creative components. The re-definition of “being human” is shaping up to be the great challenge of the 21st century and those who are students today will be the creators of this new definition. This class welcomes Graduate Students.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 300 level or higher, or Grad/PostBac standing.

Fall and Spring of the senior year, will be taught by a single instructor who will serve as the mentor for each student’s senior thesis project. The class will also focus on contemporary issues in Humanistic Studies. This will serve as a culmination of work done at the lower levels. The thesis project will begin very early in the fall with a written proposal by each student. Some students will choose research papers; some will choose an integrated project linking their studio work with their academic work. Students should undertake a major project that grows organically out of their three years of experience at MICA as a combined Studio Art + Humanistic Studies major.

Senior Humanistic Studies Majors Only

Students concentrate on their thesis projects. Class presentations and group critiques will take place as work progresses. All students should work toward a public presentation at the senior show. This can be in the form of a Humanities conference or some other venue developed by the class.

Senior Humanistic Studies Majors Only

Students are introduced to the materials, concepts and forms of new media, robotics, games, and sound. Through studio work, lectures, presentations, and discussion, students are familiarized with current practices of integrated digital art making.

This course is designed to provide a basic framework for recording, editing, and composing with sound in a variety of media. No prior production knowledge is assumed. Classes will focus on creative projects, while establishing a common technical and aesthetic vocabulary through in-class demonstrations and discussions. Sound processing, editing, and performance software such as Reason, Ableton Live, audiomulch, and turntables will be covered.

An introduction to the concepts and practices of IDA, Integrating new media art, games, and systems thinking. Students will be introduced to the relevant technologies, histories, and materials of integrated digital art making. Students will create several projects over the semester, as well as developing a context for their work via lectures, presentations, and critiques.

Prerequisite: FF 210 (Electronic Media and Culture)

Intended for electronic media artists and designers who want to integrate the digitally programmed with the handmade, this action oriented class will teach students how to study the properties and behaviors of commonplace materials and how to build with them using traditional and experimental techniques. The class will focus on understanding readily available media as structures, surfaces, textures, and fasteners, and how they affect sound, light and movement. The class is ideally suited for students whose practice incorporates electronics/robotics, games, and sound, and who wish to complement their digital skills with handmade techniques.

This is an introductory course about game culture, theory, design and development. Students will play, make and analyze games in order to build a common and more extensive vocabulary to both discuss and understand the form. Principles from traditional board games, sports games, and party games will be analyzed and this analysis will then be applied to designing two paper-based games over the course of the semester. The later half of the course will focus on digital games and the development of a small 2D game. No prior digital expertise necessary.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in FF210 (Electronic Media and Culture)

Sound Art is a studio introduction to the development of sound as an expressive, sculptural, environmental, networked & musical medium. Students will be introduced to a broad range of historical, contemporary and hybrid techniques, ideologies and creative approaches used by artists working in the field. The course will also survey such pivotal genres of sound art and the avant-garde as: Musique concrète, Tape music, Electroacoustic music, Industrial & Noise music, Ambient, No Wave, IDM, Glitch, etc. Artists and Composers who helped define these genres will be introduced through lecture and discussion. Concepts of interactive sound installation, acoustemology, deep listening, live performance, networked music and sound in relationship to video & the internet will also be covered.

Prerequisite: FF 210 (Electronic Media and Culture)

Students will learn and apply various new media methods and technologies to create networked art projects. Sound, electronics, games, gaming, play and beyond will be used for the creation of participatory net/web events. Students will work both individually and collaboratively throughout the semester. Studio work and techniques will be supplemented by readings, lectures and discussions on current and historical perspectives on new media, electronic art, systems, and networks.

Prerequisite: IDA 215 (IDA 1)

Series of IDA workshops, each focusing on a different topic or concept.

This workshop will introduce, build, and reinforce foundational skills within the processing programming language (processing.org). the workshop will cover the essentials, including basic programming skills, the development environment, and workflow to support future course work, and/or supplement current classes.

This workshop will introduce and build foundational skills in the multi-media authoring environment max/msp/jitter (cycling74.com). The workshop will familiarize students with the development environment, basic functionalities, workflow, and essential skills for future course work and/or self-directed projects and research.

This class will introduce the arduino (http://www.arduino.cc) micro-controller, sensors, programming and various output devices (lights/sound/motion) as media for art making. Each student will create their own robotic work for presentation at the end of the semester. Studio work will be supplemented by lectures/presentations, video, critiques, and readings.

This class will teach the techniques of creating digital games in Flash. Students will create individual, screen based projects. In addition to creating one’s own unique games, students will learn video game history, theory, and production, including current trends in digital games and gaming.

Prerequisite: IDA 225 (Game/Play)

This class will explore games, game theory, play, and particpatory culture from a broad, and experimental perspective. Students will be familiarized with innovative game and play practices across a wide spectrum of media and contexts. Through guided and self-directed research, lectures, presentations, discussions, playing, and proto-typing, students will develop experimental games that re-define the game and play experience.

Prerequisite: IDA 225 (Game/Play)

This class about making art with various forms of electric light. class members will learn how to use contemporary forms of electric light/lighting, including LEDs, EL wire (cool neon), lasers and more. Through the process of creating their own projects, students will locate their own interests and sensibilities, and develop essential techniques in the medium of contemporary, electric light. In addition to studio work, history and context will be established by readings and presentations. Final projects will be shown publicly at the annual RobotFest in Linthicum.

Prerequisite: IDA 277 (Robotic Arts Introduction), Permission of Department Chair, or Graduate Standing

Max/Msp/Jitter is a powerful, graphical, multimedia authoring environment for realtime sound and/or video. It is ideal for realtime processing of data, such as serial input (arduino/sensors, game controllers), MIDI messages, sound, video, and system messages, and mapping data from one media to another. Projects are created by interconnecting different icons from a library of objects that represent small snippets of code, Max's graphical interface allows non-programmers to create programs without having to learn or to write code. This course will introduce students to the basics of Max's programming interface and teach students to construct their own patches (custom programs created within Max). Each student will work on small, individual projects throughout the semester and create a final project at the end of the course.

Prerequisite: IDA 215 (IDA1) or IDA 277 (Robotic Arts Introduction)

This course is designed to provide a lab based environment for students to explore and develop projects in robotics, sound, and light, using Max/MSP/Jitter, and the arduino microcontroller. Through technical instruction, lectures, discussions, and presentations students will have time to research, contextualize, and realize a personal project over the course of the semester.

This class will cover the basics of 3D design and printing in the MICA 3d studio. Students will work with zbrush, rhino, processing, arduino/sensors and other open source applications to create printable, watertight 3D models for their robotic arts, sound, games and new materials projects. 3D laser scanning will also be covered, as will outsourcing fabrication strategies.

Prerequisite: IDA 215 (IDA 1) or IDA 277 (Robotic Arts Introduction)

This hands-on class will cover studio recording and editing techniques for in studio and live environments. Students will be taught best practices for mixing, monitoring, mastering, microphone design and applications, acoustics, live recording, synchronization, amplifiers, and more.

Prerequisite: IDA 202 (Into to Sound) or IDA 230 (Sound Art)

Students will learn how to integrate live video (both from web cams and the kinect 3d camera) into their projects. Object and blob detection, skeletal and color tracking, facial recognition, and more will be covered. In addition, students will study the properties and behaviors of LEDs, Electro-luminescent wire and other digital light sources and learn how to control them by processing live camera feeds and connecting the resulting data streams to the Arduino.

Prerequisite: IDA 215 (IDA 1) or IDA 277 (Robotic Arts Introduction)

This course will provide students with an immersive laboratory in which they can experiment with new modes of sound manipulation in live performance. We will explore sound-manipulation skills in real time, using audio technology ranging from contact microphones to turntables to laptop software such as Ableton Live. DJing and audio improvisation will be practiced in dialogue with live video mixing and a variety of other performance media. Broad topics of study will include looping and evolving sonic space, dissonance and synchronicity, form and time. Creative projects will follow the students' individual interest, while also contributing to a common performance event.

Prerequisite: IDA 202 (Into to Sound) or IDA 230 (Sound Art)

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Prerequisite: students at the Junior/Senior level with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of at least 3.000

This studio class will focus on making art objects whose contents and processes include robotics, and new/electronic media. Centered around the arduino micro-controller (arduino.cc), sensors, motors, electric light, and interfacing with processing (processing.org) and max/msp/jitter (cycling74.com) will be covered. Studio work will be supplemented by lectures, self-directed study, presentations, readings and critiques.

Prerequisite: IDA 277 (Robotic Arts Introduction), Permission of Department Chair, or Graduate Standing

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Senior Interaction Design and Art Majors Only

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Interaction Design and Art Majors only

The scope and orientation of the class is global, looking at the rise and fall of centers of cultural and humanistic activity and considering as much as possible lines of influence from earlier civilizations to later ones. While some general historical and analytical books will be assigned, the emphasis will be on reading primary sources in their entirety and books that hold something of the status as major or classical contributions to the humanities or human knowledge. The goal of this class is to provide a foundation that can be further developed and explored in upper level courses in art history, literature, and the humanities. Prerequisite: HMST 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

An interdisciplinary course informed by history, intellectual history, the visual arts, anthropology, and literature. Observation of “exotic” peoples in order to gain knowledge of humankind is as old as Herodotus. But since the Western encounter with the New World and with non-Western cultures in the Early Modern period, the Western imagination has also turned the anthropological approach to purely artistic ends. This course examines actual travelers’ and explorers’ descriptions of “exotic” cultures, as well as fictional accounts and visual representations of these societies. It traces the development from amateur and ad hoc ethnography to the scientific observations written by modern anthropologists, and also considers the work of artists who have imagined societies that do not exist and who give us a “scientific” report on them. In some cases, it is difficult to distinguish the imaginary account from the true one. In all cases, however, the class discovers what the observer’s statements about the foreign society tell us about our own society. Readings include Herodotus, Captain Cook’s diaries, Melville, Michaux, Kafka, Levi-Strauss, Malinowski, Sahlins, and other works of art, fact, and fiction. Prerequisite: HMST 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Orr. Offered Occasionally. This course examines the different movements initiated for the reform of western Christendom in late medieval and early modern Europe. The course will examine the medieval, scholastic, and renaissance contexts of the reformations of the sixteenth century, as well as the thought of the leading reformers. These will include, not only the major figures of the Protestant Reformation, but also those calling for internal reform from within the Catholic Church. Particular readings will include selections from the writings of such authors as Desiderius Erasmus, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Ignatius Loyola, as well as the decrees of the Council of Trent.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Staff. Offered Occasionally. This course surveys the rich culture of religions that grew in the eastern Mediterranean, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, in their historical framework. We survey precursor pagan religions in Egypt, Israel, Persia, and Greece before considering the early development of Christianity and Islam. We will examine both the complex world-views of these religious traditions, and the role they played in everyday life, dealing directly with the texts, rituals, and religious symbols. Special attention will be paid in a comparative manner to the development of law derived from religious texts.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

The outlaw is a paradigmatic figure that elicits admiration and fear, sympathy and revulsion, and whose example promotes both subversion and conformism. As a figure that, by definition, is removed from society, the outlaw’s example tests the limits and validity of society’s institutions in the popular mind, and thus outlaw stories have become vital tools for the questioning of authority and institutions for centuries in all societies. Larger issues such as the place of the Individual in the State, the interplay between mainstream and underground culture, crime and punishment and the police, and the limits of community solidarity, can all be addressed through the history of the outlaw.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Does being human have a special meaning related to possessing the power of creation? Does human meaning come from the self’s creative and productive interactions with an external world through art and work? What is the difference between art and work? Are there dangers, both environmental and moral, to a conception of human beings as manipulators of nature? It is these questions, all spinning off of the central issue of humanity’s creative nature, that will be at the core of a new seminar. The different historical/cultural understandings of the relationship of the creative - and creating - self with other objects (nature) and other selves (society), and these differences are connected with a set of larger fundamental questions about the purpose of human life. Beginning with the Prometheus myth, continuing through readings of Mary Shelley, Marx, Arendt, Kant, Joyce, Shakespeare, neuroscientific studies of genius, and ending with student project profiles of a creating person (artist, artisan, or worker), literary, scientific, historical, and other theoretical perspectives will be placed alongside accounts of artistic and working practices of creation - both exceptional and everyday - to provide students with a full range of the ways that different people have understood the meaning of their creative endeavors.

Prerequisite: HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry) or Permission of Instructor.

Investigates major events in the rise of Europe—the Crusades, explorations into new worlds, scientific experimentation, economic innovations, Protestantism—alongside developments in philosophy, the arts, and political thinking. The goal is to gain an understanding of the foundations for what came to be called Modernism. Prerequisite: HMST 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

This class will study the vibrant world of Arabs, Turks (Ottomans), Persians, Jews, and North Africans who flourished between 800 AD to 1800 from Spain across North Africa to Iran. As an exploration in intellectual history, we will attempt to understand social and political history through readings in literature, philosophy, and the arts. We will, of course, include some straight history as well, but the emphasis will always be on reading primary texts and works that have gained the status of classics. The period known in European history as the Crusades (1095-1250) is actually the Arab world’s Golden Age of philosophy and literature. The great writers and libraries of the Muslim and Jewish Middle East (which included Spain) provided the intellectual material for the rise of Europe. After the Arabs came the empire of the Ottoman Turks. The class will conclude with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the late 1800s and the rise of the Islamic Resurgence or Nationalism in the mid-twentieth century.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

As most people know, when Columbus set sail in 1492 he was not trying to find the Americas; rather he sought a sea short cut into the vibrant Afro-Asiatic trading system and the center of the world’s wealth and culture at the time. But most people don’t know much about this world cultural center that extended for 1,000 years from the fall of Rome (c. 400) to the rise of Europe (c. 1500) and encompasses the land areas of Africa and Asia, a cultural and economic system centered on the Indian Ocean. This class proposes to explore the intellectual history of the Afro-Asiatic world system that attracted the interest of Europeans and gave them their intellectual and scientific foundations. It includes the empires of Mali and the Ottomans; the rise of Islam and the Islamic World; the Buddhist cultures in S.E. Asia and Japan.

Prerequisite: HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry) or Permission of Instructor.

Throughout the history of civilization, people have perceived same-sex love differently. While in classical Greece man-boy love was considered a socio-economic privilege and tradition, in medieval Europe men and women were burned and hanged for what is now called homosexuality. This intellectual history of homosexuality surveys the period in the West from early Greece to the present and also includes a survey of homosexuality in Imperial China (500 BCE–1849 CE) and pre-Meiji Japan (800 BCE–1868 CE) The class also explores the conjunctions of this history with same-sex love in the visual arts and literature, from ancient Greece and Rome through the Christian Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the Baroque, the Pastoral Elegists, and the Gothic. The class continues with the birth of Modernism, the American Renaissance and Aestheticism, the Decadents, Realists, and Symbolists, the 19th century sexologists, the New Woman, Wilde, and the emerging “queer” culture. Prerequisite: HMST 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

This course will focus on the origins of western philosophy and the pre-history of superstition and religion, considering the origins and tenets of hermetic belief systems such as alchemy, the occult, kabbalah, freemasonry, and other gnostic traditions and styles of thought.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Addresses the rise and decline of the witch hunt, exploring the underlying social, cultural, and intellectual changes that gave rise to the European and early American “witch craze.” During the period 1450–1750, upwards of 110,000 women and men in Europe alone stood accused of maleficia—of being in league with the devil and practicing “witchcrafts.” Almost half were convicted and subsequently executed. The belief in witches was at this time pervasive and held at all levels of society from the lowest peasantry to elite society; this included high-ranking magistrates who took the threat of witchcraft to the security of the state very seriously, producing a number of learned treatises on how it might be effectively countered. The course will examine a variety of readings from the period, including treatises on witchcraft, inquisitor’s manuals, literary sources, and actual transcripts of witchcraft trials. Prerequisite: HMST 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Takes an interdisciplinary approach to the problem of evil: If God is all good, all knowing, and all powerful, then why is there so much evil and suffering in the world? Readings will include some biblical literature, early Christian thinkers like Ireanaeus and St. Augustine, as well as selected poetry, fiction, and drama, including Voltaire’s Candide, Alexander Pope’s Essay on Man, Albert Camus’ The Plague, and others. Prerequisite: HSMT 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Staff. Offered occasionally. Explores the relationship between three key themes: (1) the role of symbolism in the historical context of Russian traditional culture in the late 8th to early 16th centuries CE; (2) motifs of ethnographic imagination in literature, visual arts, music, and architecture; and (3) the synthesis of philosophy, artistic expression, and religion as a way of life in old Russia. The class further explores the vocabulary of the Eastern Slavic folk art and the syncretic themes embedded in the Slavic ritual traditions. By exploring the aesthetic and philosophical roots of these “primitive” sources, students come to understand how the assimilation and integration of these sources—the symbolism and artistic language of icon painting, the traditions of old Russian books and literary monuments, the image and the role of the cathedral (khram), and design of a traditional costume—brought about the spiritual and creative energy of the modern Russian intellectual life. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Offered occasionally. Greek and Roman myths are the foundations of Western civilization, the means by which classical civilizations made sense of incomprehensible and powerful forces in the world, the elements, the heavens, and human destiny. In these stories, passed through the ages from their origins as oral and communal stories, generations have witnessed the birth of gods and goddesses, immortals who reside apart from humans, procreating, waging war, and intervening in the affairs of mortals. Versions of these myths entered the literary and in philosophical work of Homer, Hesiod, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripedes, Herodotus, Plato, Pindar, and the lyric poets Ovid and Virgil. This course examines Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology, and later the founding myths of Mayan, Native American, and Celtic cultures, along with their enduring influence on literature, art, music, dance, and film. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Mattison. Offered fall. This course to be taught in Spanish and English. Were the Americas 'discovered' in the 15th century, or were these lands invaded and their peoples destroyed? What did contact with Europeans mean for the Western Hemisphere? When did the conquest begin, and where does it end? This course will include readings from Bartolome de Las Casas, Prescott's The Conquest of Mexico and The Conquest of Peru, Galeano's The Open Veins of Latin America, Che Guevara's Diaries, as well as writings that address the most recent issues of international trade and the self-determination of indigenous peoples.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Orr. Offered occasionally. Civic humanism refers to a cluster of themes in Western political thought emphasizing the active, engaged life of the citizen and the cultivation of civic “virtue.” This course examines the development of civic humanism in Western political thought from ancient through Early Modern times, the varieties of civic humanist thought (communitarian and juridical), and the evolving attitudes of civic humanist writers towards the emergence of commercial society. Authors studied may include Aristotle, Cicero, Niccolo Machiavelli, John Milton, James Harrington, Algernon Sidney, Thomas Jefferson, and Thomas Paine. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Staff. Offered occasionally. A survey of the hidden origins of Europe in the period between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance of the 12th century. This class begins with Roman explorations into barbarian Europe (Tacitus, Agricola, and Germania) and looks at the movements and settlement of various tribes (Goths, Franks, Huns) that became the nations of Europe. It covers the great epics such as Beowulf, Song of Roland, Niebelungenlied, or Scandinavian sagas of Grettir, the Volsungs, or Burnt Njal. Religious writings running from St. Augustine (The City of God) through the pious De Contemptu Mundi of many popes and finally to the Vatican Councils will be covered. Finally, this class looks at medieval science in writers such as Isidore of Seville. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Intellectuals and dreamers throughout history have imagined utopias—perfect worlds in which all of the moral and social problems that eternally plague human societies are absent. Often, this has been accompanied by a religious or prophetic conviction in the apocalypse. Imaginings of utopia and apocalypse have produced some of the most vivid and profound religious, political, and artistic literature in history. This course will investigate many of the expressions of utopia and apocalypse in human history, beginning with the ancient writings of the Bible and Plato and continuing to the present day. At the heart of our investigation will be the following questions: What is the purpose of utopian literature? What role has it played in the development of political thought? Who is included and who is left out of Utopia? What happens when people try to realize utopian societies? Are utopian ideas dangerous? Useful? Necessary?

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

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The United States as a political formation, physical space, and cultural ideal has been shaped by its encounters with other nations. This course examines American civilization from the late eighteenth through the twentieth centuries as it was wrought on a world stage, through dialog as well as violent conflict at and beyond its borders. It will focus on the role of ideas about the frontier, manifest destiny, and American exceptionalism in the formation of the U.S.; the expansion of settlement and influence westward and into the Pacific; immigration; war and commercial enterprise abroad; and the symbiotic relationship between foreign affairs and domestic culture.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Offered occasionally. Begins with some representative Enlightenment thinkers in various fields and genres (Bacon, Newton, Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau, Jefferson, de Sade). The second part of the course focuses upon some traditional critiques of the Enlightenment found in the writings of the Romantics and the German Idealist philosophers, as well as in the works of various nationalist, Marxist, and conservative writers. After considering the very different approaches to the Enlightenment of Nietzsche, William Morris, and Dostoevsky, the course examines contemporary American “culture wars” as a battle over the legacy of the Enlightenment. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Tracing key developments in American intellectual history since the end of the Civil War, the course examines important topics such as the rise of Naturalism in the late 19th century, the birth of Progressivism, the emergence of intellectual and aesthetic Modernism, challenges to democratic culture, the emergence of New Deal liberalism and post-war conservatism, and the recent postmodernist turn. Students read works by important figures in the intellectual history of the modern United States, including William Graham Sumner, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Jane Addams, Thorstein Veblen, Clement Greenberg, Martin Luther King, Betty Friedan, Allan Bloom, and Noam Chomsky. Lectures and class discussions examine the readings and place them and their authors in intellectual and historical context. There are no prerequisites for this class, although a working knowledge of the general trajectory of post-Civil War U.S. history is an advantage. Prerequisite: HMST 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Modern Western thinkers from Hobbes to Hegel, from Max Weber to Norbert Elias, associate "becoming civilized" with the overcoming of violence by reason. A polity is deemed civilized when the brute force of all against all is transformed into a monopoly of the legitimate use of force by the modern state (Weber)--with the modern state understood as an institution bound by, and binding its citizens with, the authority of reason expressed in the rule of law. By voluntarily surrendering violence to the state, the citizens become "internally pacified," "civilized" (Elias), and capable of self-discipline. Contrary to these thinkers' speculation that the civilizing process would bring peace, the history of modernity has been scarred by violence unprecedented in magnitude and in kind. This course will be devoted to examining the (misguided) logic underscoring modern political thinkers' association of the modern state with peace. Authors discussed will include Hobbes, Locke, Grotius, Kant, Hegel, Weber, and Elias.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Covers American history and thought from the Civil War and the rise of Naturalism in the late 19th century to industrial America in the Gilded Age and the consequent rise of Progressivism. It then moves on to Modernism (1910–1930) and the challenges to democratic culture (1930–1970), culminating in the student anti-war movements of the 1960s. Prerequisite:HMST101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Examines the broad scope of Russian intellectual history from its beginnings through the early 20th century, with particular focus on the work of Petr Chaadaev, Leo Tolstoy, Vladimir Soloviev, Nicholas Berdyaev, and Mikhail Bakhtin. Students travel back and forth through the Russian philosophical and cultural traditions, including the visual arts and music. Of special interest are the Russian contributions to spirituality, creativity, and organicity. Prerequisite: HMST101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

This course will examine US history over the past two centuries by way of the major legal decisions that have shaped and changed American society: Plessy v Ferguson, Brown v Board of Education; Roe v Wade; Casey v Planned Parenthood; Cruzan v Missouri; among others. We will examine the historical context of these landmark decisions, and the notable controversies they have stirred—some continuously. We will also consider the difficult social and moral issues behind these cases—abortion, euthanasia, affirmative action, desegregation-- and how they have evolved (or not) in American society. What impact has the law had on these moral issues? Has the law successfully changed US society? How were the major legal decisions in US history made? How has society in turn shaped the law? Prerequisite: HMST 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Covers the Utopian socialists, origins and fundamentals of classical Marxist theory, the split between communism and social democracy, and the construction and eventual demise of socialism in the Soviet Union, China, and elsewhere. The course studies trenchant critics and defenders of various brands of socialism and explores the possibility of a 21st century socialism that, drawing the lessons of its own history, can address either the problems besetting a seemingly triumphant capitalism around the globe, or the possibility of socialism’s obsolescence. Prerequisite: HMST 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

This course explores Charles Darwin's ideas of natural selection and evolution, their origins, and their influences. It considers not only the work of Darwin himself, particularly "The Origins of Species" (1859), but also the historical context of his thought. Particular issues covered include the question of precursors to Darwin, the social, political, and theological ramifications of Darwinian thought, and the subsequent reception and influence of Darwinian ideas in the 19th and 20th Centuries.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

This course in the history of science, medicine, and American culture will examine scientific ideas about race, sex, sexuality, and heredity form the early nineteenth century through the present. Scientific and medical ideas about differences in anatomy, physiology and psychology have shaped social norms, public policy, and the development of identity. To better understand these processes, we will examine the ways in which scientific ideas about difference have evolved and persisted in American culture (as well as in Western Europe, occasionally, whose intellectual cultures informed American scientific and medical discourse). Authoritative scientific arguments about what makes people different from one another and what these differences mean has taken many forms. In particular, we will investigate the historical intersections of scientific, medical, and popular ideas about differences in bodies and behavior, the relationship between ideas and heredity and the evolution of sexual mores, gender norms, definitions of deviance, and the ways the exotic, the beautiful, the monstrous, and the pathological have been constructed and culturally and politically embedded.

Prerequisite: HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry) or Permission of Instructor.

3 credits. Morrison. Offered spring. Surveys the period in the West from the 19th century to the present and also includes a survey of Islamic homosexuality and readings on the Native American berdache, or “man-woman.” The class explores the birth of modernity in the West, the American Renaissance and Aestheticism, the Decadents, Realists, and Symbolists, the 19th century sexologists, the New Woman, Wilde, “gay culture” during both world wars and the McCarthy Era, Stonewall and gay lib, and the emerging “queer” culture. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Staff. Offered occasionally. Surveys modern conceptions of political violence through direct engagement with primary texts. The class follows a broadly chronological order and considers a wide array of theoretical texts deriving from and dealing with a range of modern historical matters of political violence—from state-sponsored violence and popular uprisings to mass extermination and anti-colonial revolutions. Major themes for discussion and debate include the distinction between political violence and warfare; the relationship between violence, national identity, and the rise of modern states; the causes and consequences of violence as a form of political contestation; the rise of the police as a modern institution of violence; the dynamic interaction of terrorism and torture in modern warfare; the correlation of various ideologies (based on religious communities and texts, scientific discourses on health and hygiene, and rhetoric of progress and enlightenment, etc.) to political violence; and alternatives to violence within political discourse. Most readings come from leading modern theorists of violence. Authors whose authority stems from a personal relationship to political violence (purveyor, victim, witness) are considered. The goal of the course is to provide the student with both a general background in the modern intellectual history of political violence, and a deep understanding of the problems and challenges political violence poses for the contemporary world. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Orr. Offered occasionally. Examines changing conceptions of selfhood and human nature and how they have informed political and moral theory since the 17th century. Is human nature constant in all times and places or is it historically contingent and the product of environment? What are the ramifications of modernity’s progressive erosion of the strong conceptions of selfhood that informed classical moral thought? Readings include Descartes, Locke, Bentham, Dostoevsky, Ortega y Gasset, Golding, Sartre, Heidegger, Taylor, Derrida, and MacIntyre. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Mattison. Offered occasionally. From Aristophanes’ Lysistrata in 410 BC to the early Quakers, from The Beatitudes of Jesus to the writings of Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King, the vision of peace has been one of the great hopes of mankind. In times of war, who are the peacemakers? This course examines the seminal writings of the advocates of peace and nonviolent solutions to political conflict, from the ancient Greeks to the 21st century. The course questions the received wisdom, challenges conventional assumptions, and envisions our way toward a just and lasting realization of peaceful societies in the century to come. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Garral. Offered occasionally. This course critically examines the history of American Cites – in particular, the historical forces that have shaped the American city from colonial times to the present day. Using readings in history, architecture, urban ethnography & literature, we will seek to uncover the largely invisible forces that have created the physical shape & social experience of the American city. Topics include: urban order & disorder, industrialization, the City Beautiful Movement, congestion, slums, suburbanization, and urban renewal. Highlighted cities are: New York, Chicago, L.A., and especially Baltimore, which we will use as our lab.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Mattison. Offered occasionally. Traces the use of silence in human activity and thought, from the earliest written sacred texts and mystical practices of Western, Middle Eastern, African, and Asian cultures up through the use of silence in humor, silent film, and the music of John Cage. We explore silence as a contemplative space and a communicative medium in visual and literary art, philosophical inquiry, and spiritual practice, from the experience of Medieval monks to contemporary politics and astrophysics. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Staff. Offered occasionally. A critical introduction to the relationships between humans, animals, and machines, as these have colored philosophical, scientific, and social thought in the West since the 1870s. Students first study a series of definitive moments in the scientific and political understanding of animals (Darwin’s revisions to natural selection, controversies surrounding vitalism and mechanism, eugenics and racism, and the literary treatment of animals from Orwell to Coetzee). They then address the human dependence onand interaction with machines (e.g. the Marxist conception of technology, the Fordist effort toward a fusion of economic and social goals, and early AI). The remainder of the course examines contemporary problematics, such as animal rights and “animality” in ethics, the limits of artificial intelligence in philosophy and film, and the intermeshing of human desire and freedom with technology and cyberspace. Darwin, Marx, Ballard, Dreyfus, Oshii, Ford, Coetzee, Canguilhem, Rabinbach, and Oshii are among the figures studied in this course. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Rhee. offered spring. This course traces the history of sensibility in the last two hundred years, from the idea of lyric sensibility in England in the late eighteenth century, to the romantic sensibility that thrived in Germany in the early nineteenth, to the notion of decadence in late nineteenth century France, and by way of the so-called modern sensibility in the U.S. in the early decades of twentieth century, finally to the Cold War sensibility through which we view the texts written in the divided nation contexts of Germany and Korea. Focusing on the works of representative writers from the opposite sides of the globe, we will discuss the literary texts against the historical backdrop of a nuclear world, and we will address a range of social and intellectual issues that inform their intelligibility. These issues include modernism, modernity, "belated modernity," enlightenment and the dialectics of enlightenment, collective guilt, trauma, "diasporic consciousness," and, importantly, the changing concept of the nation as "home."

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Ghaussy. Offered occasionally. Writing women and women’s difference into history is a contradictory project. Too often “women’s thought” is seen as separate or in opposition to men’s thought, rather than in congruence with it. Yet, when looking at the gross of intellectual history survey courses, it becomes all too obvious that women, and feminist thought, are still conspicuously absent from the canon. This course seeks to overcome the bias that there is only a marginal female intellectual tradition that remains outside of “proper” history before the advent of the contemporary women’s movement. This does not involve the exclusion of men from the ranks of liberatory thinkers concerning the woman’s question. When looking at feminist and women’s thought in Europe and the U.S. from the 18th century to the 1970s, it appears that gendered intellectual production is relational, i.e., tied to socio-political conditions that allow its expression. Hence the revolutionary period of the late 18th century attracted men such as Dafoe and women such as Olympe de Gouge, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Flora Tristan to write about education, citizenship, human rights, and poverty. Enlightenment ideals and the Industrial Revolution had staunch critics in figures like George Sand in France, Mary Shelley in England, and the Romantic salonières Varnhagen, Günderrode, Schlegel-Schelling, and Arnim in Germany. The 19th century has been characterized as solidifying the separation of gendered social spheres for men and women, and many women wrote about and undertook social and philanthropic work in this period. The course examines suffrage and abolitionism as feminist preoccupations in the U.S., nationalism and imperialism as forces that influenced women’s intellectual lives in Europe, and writing such as J. S. Mill, F. Engels, and A. Bebel on gender and the conditions of the working class. The Bolshevik Revolution also inspired figures such as Rosa Luxemburg and Clara Zetkin, two leading intellectuals and socialists in Germany. Finally, the focus shifts to Simone de Beauvoir in the mid-20th century in Europe and Betty Friedan in the U.S. as advocates of an active intellectual tradition of thinking about gender and women in the West. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. D’Oca. Offered occasionally. From the ruins and excesses of the 20th century American city, we are left with 21st century urbanism—the multiple, ever-shifting ways in which people now experience public space and activity. This course examines the trends and ideologies that gave rise to the industrial city and suburbs, urban renewal areas and ghettos, and finally the contemporary city, which simultaneously recycles, mixes, and mourns all of these to produce American urbanism. Readings, class discussions, local site visits, and guest presentations from architects and artists highlight design on an urban scale. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Offered occasionally. The violent revolutions and uprisings of the 19th and 20th centuries base many of their revolutionary ideologies in the ideas of secularism that characterized the enlightenment and informed 19th and 20th century ideology. This course traces some of the dominant ideas and movements that defined and fed revolutionary fervor and culminated in revolutionary actions from the 18th century to the present, where revolution is characterized by fragmentation, competing schools of thought, and movements, and in some cases a return to a religious order. To understand what kinds of epistemologies (knowledge-forming ideas) dominated and influenced the worldview of the writers and thinkers, scientists, artists, and activists, students immerse themselves in the intellectual climate of the time. Students read primary texts that serve as a gateway into understanding ideas that shaped the knowledge of the writers of the time. This course is interdisciplinary and therefore looks beyond the ideas of revolutions, cultural revolutions, social movements, and the tenor of revolutionary ideas in de-colonizing nations in a variety of texts—ranging from literature, the arts, and philosophy to political and economic theory. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Merrill. Offered occasionally. The concept for this course grows out of Erik Erikson’s Life History and the Historical Moment, in which he writes that certain individuals raise their individual patienthood (i.e., neurosis) to a general cultural level, and through tremendous struggle resolve for the entire culture what they could not resolve for themselves as individuals. Modernism rises with the self-consciousness of individuals. Readings include Rousseau’s Confessions and Erikson’s own Young Man Luther, Freud’s work on da Vinci, and many others that attempt to understand history through the psychoanalysis of individual men and women who may have lost their own lives but in the process created enduring historical movements. The course covers the period of history from the Renaissance and Reformation to the 20th century. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. DeBrabander. Offered spring. What is the best political state in which humans should live? What form of state delivers and protects individual freedom best? Is individual human freedom even a desirable political goal or concern in the first place? What can ensure peaceful cohabitation of diverse populations within a state? What can ensure peaceful cohabitation between nations? What political constitution is best equipped to achieve economic prosperity? Alternately, what form of state is most suited to fostering great cultural achievements? What makes for the most tolerant state? When, if ever, is political, cultural or religious tolerance excessive? These are some of the most significant and vexing questions that recur among political theorists over the past 2 centuries. In this course, we will examine the writings of modern and contemporary political theorists and consider their- and our- responses to these urgent questions, among others.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Merrill. Offered occasionally. The conceptions of human nature that we hold today were the creation of the Renaissance. We will trace the creation and evolution of the ideas of humanism from the Renaissance through Modernism. Post-modernism is better thought of as Post-humanism, a rejection of the Renaissance conception of human nature. This class will follow the rise and fall of the idea of humanism.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. DeBrabander. Offered occasionally. In this course, we will study the history, origins, development and transformations of psychoanalytic theory, as handed down from Freud. We will start by examining some precursors to Freudian psychoanalysis, in Greek and Early Modern European philosophy and psychotherapy. Then we will focus on Freud’s work, the basic doctrines of his theory, and its changes over his lifetime. Finally, we will follow the developments and transformations of Freudian theory in his followers and successors: Jung, Adler, Rank, Lacan, Kristeva, Klein, among others.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Most people have heard of Linux, a free "open source" operating system which was developed collaboratively. Prior to the advent of the internet, some ideas and designs were shared, not sold, in academia or in non-profits but lacked access to the streamlined distribution system present in the market that would allow them to be developed and tested by users in many different contexts. Now that the digital divide is closing, open source concept testing is faster and has the opportunity to circumvent the marketplace. Now used in art and manufacturing as well, this work model impacts culture, social stratification, morality, politics, and conceptions of property. In this course, we will use sociology of work literature to trace the origins of open source, identify its core elements, and begin to understand its consequences.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Staff. Offered occasionally. Recent genetic research has revealed that humans are more than 99.9 percent identical and racial categories have no meaningful basis in biology. However, race remains a powerful idea in contemporary society, contributing to our personal identities and persistent inequalities. This course examines the history of the idea of race, beginning in the late Middle Ages when Europeans first encountered the diversity of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. These initial encounters formed the basis for a “science” of race that emerged during the Enlightenment and reached its peak during the Victorian period, when the presumed superiority of white Europeans was used to justify the exploitation of non-white peoples. The course ends with a consideration of the experiences of those who were oppressed during the 19th century, as revealed in their memoirs.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Staff. Offered occasionally. The American South produced five of the first seven American presidents and the first great chief justice, and also generated the bloodiest war this nation ever fought. It gave the world blues, jazz, country music, William Faulkner, Elvis, and Martin Luther King. A slave society in the land of freedom, a bastion of agrarianism in an urbanizing nation, the South stood both inside and outside the American mainstream. Students study the Southern founding fathers, including the conflicted Jefferson; America’s strongest conservative tradition ever as represented by John C. Calhoun and George Fitzhugh; and read Wilbur J. Cash’s iconic study, The Mind of the South. They examine Southern literature, social thought, and the cultural matrix that produced both Robert E. Lee and the Klan, both Birth of a Nation and To Kill a Mockingbird, and explore the mythical South, and endeavor to replace it with the authentic one. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

This course gives freshmen who are interested in illustration a basic approach to drawing and composition as a means of story telling. Using models, students also explore effects of body and facial expression created by dramatic lighting. This class includes location drawing and explores the use of the camera as a tool in the creation of drawing and composition in illustration. A portion of the class will be done in conjunction with rehearsals at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and/or other experimental music performances or broadcasts. Freshman elective only.

Freshmen only.

This course is an introduction to the ever-changing and exciting world of illustration in all its capacities. Through lectures and assignments students become exposed to and experience the multiple facets of illustration today, such as book illustration, editorial, sequential art, concept art, character development and others. The relationship of Illustration with other fields such as Animation, Graphic Design and Painting is examined.

Freshmen only.

Designed to provide an informative initiation into the discipline of illustration, this course includes information on the history of illustration, and instruction and demonstration of traditional and digital techniques. Students learn to be adept at variety of media and investigate the role of the artist as storyteller, problem-solver, symbol-maker, and social/ cultural reporter. Fulfills the sophomore IL core requirement; fulfills one book arts concentration required course.

A continuation of Illustration I, this course is more challenging. The course includes media demonstrations and a continuation of discussion of historical and contemporary illustrators. Emphasis is on the elements that form strong visual ideas. Prerequisite: IL 200. Fulfills a sophomore IL core requirement; fulfills one book arts concentration required course.

Observational drawing is the foundation for all work and study in visual journalism. In the tradition of the best visual reportage, students travel off campus throughout Baltimore City meeting and recording its people, music, social fabric, and urban landscape. This class blends experiences like Baltimore Symphony Orchestra rehearsals, jazz ensemble sessions, market scenes, and the streets of Baltimore’s ethnic neighborhoods into a rich stew of social politics, on the street and in the community. Historical examples of reportage art including Honoré Daumier, Kathe Kollwitz, Ben Shahn, George Luks, the Ash Can School, Jacob Lawrence, Saul Steinberg, Julian Allen are studied and utilized. Students fill sketchbooks, expand to more finished pieces, and learn how to create art that literally moves. Fulfills a sophomore IL core requirement and/or an IL elective; fulfills one book arts concentration required course. Preference is given to sophomore IL majors.

The faculty in Studio Remix changes each semester providing exposure to a variety of artists in an intensive workshop environment. Projects are based on each artist’s methods and work habits, allowing students to experience the range of illustration as it is created today. Faculty are chosen from noted professionals working in the field. Fulfills a 200-level IL elective. Preference is given to sophomore IL majors.

In this hands-on studio the two realms of Fine Art and Illustration are explored through drawing, painting, mixed media, with digital options. Working from the model, photography, sketchbooks, memory, automatic drawing, and dreams, we will explore the cross-pollinations, conflicts, enrichments and influences, of unbridled creativity and collaborative applied problem-solving. Total commitment to drawing will be stressed.

This course explores the endeavors to depict illusionistic space by artists from ancient eras to the contemporary and the way in which these methods are used to enhance expression. Particular emphasis is placed on learning and applying the key concepts of linear perspective through studio exercises and life drawing.

In this class students will learn to use color to create mood, time and place, emphasis, temperature, drama, etc... They will explore objective versus subjective color, psychological color, monochromatic schemes, complementary color schemes and other color arrangements. They will learn how to build suspense with color, create empathy, amuse, disturb, delight, etc.... This will be done through weekly assignments in a variety of two-dimensional mediums.

This class will look at the illustrated map and its functions. We will explore different types of maps, charts, board games, and other illustrated ways of conveying information, and plotting the narrative. The projects will explore the real, the imaginary, the personal and the commercial. We will look at conventions and breaking conventions. A love of hand lettering is encouraged, as is a desire to solve problems.

An experimental, cross-disciplinary and multi media class. Combining traditional and non-traditional stage practices, the course will culminate in a performance at the B-Box theatre. In this class the students will develop all aspects of the production, will create environments and characters through painting, drawing, mixed media, animation and projections, and will develop a non-traditional interpretation of the story.

In this class students learn to use the language of storyboards, how they resemble and are yet are distinct from other forms of sequential art. Their origins and history are discussed, examples of great story board artists examined and assignments are completed that hone the students skill for working in this format. Storyboards applications to all kinds of motion-based entertainment (film, video, TV, animation, games, etc...) are covered in the course.

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During the early 20th century, collage emerged as a populist form that embraced early commercial ephemera. The cut paper effect was further mimicked in mid-century graphics and also rose to prominence in editorial art in the 1970s and 1980s. This course explores a variety of contemporary uses of collage from using found ephemera to creating students’ own collage materials. Fulfills a 200-level IL elective; fulfills one book arts concentration required course. Preference is given to sophomore IL majors.

Students will delve into a universe where character is king, and where good character design is taught through an emphasis on idea, shape, structure, and fun factor. The goal: to create characters that captivate the eye, provoke the mind, and pull the viewer into their world. Students will learn how to breathe life into their characters though drawing from the model, studying the anatomy, and observing movement. These ideals will be reinforced by watching them in action through inspiring art presentations, animated films/shorts and video games.

This class deals with how to tell an original story. The basic aspects of narrative structure are covered in this class. Students learn to make their own stories through writing and image making. These include personal narratives, adaptations of Classic tales and new fictional creations. Students address how to make sound choices when it comes in expressing a range of aspects that contribute to narratives. Stories will have conventional and non-conventional plots, and utilize a variety of materials, both traditional and nontraditional.

Photography can be an invaluable tool for illustrators: it can be used to create references for painting and drawing, it can be incorporated into hand drawn images in collage and digital illustrations, and it can be used to reproduce and modify finished illustrations. This class will explore the specific photographic methods most useful to illustrators: How to pose, costume, and light models, how to shoot for imaginary or fantasy images, how to photograph one's portfolio of work, etc. The relationship with photography work of several historical and contemporary illustrators will be examined and analyzed, and students will complete a series of assignments based on the material covered in class.

In this class projects start with sketches and them move quickly to the digital realm. Assignments emphasize traditional illustration skills such as visual problem-solving, rendering, and drawing, while exploring the digital possibilities to execute the artwork. Students spend half of their time in the studio working on sketches and concepts. They spend the second half of their time executing these assignments in digital programs. The emphasis will be on Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe Photoshop. Crossing software and mixing media are encouraged.

This course is being run concurrently in the Illustration Dept and the General Fine Arts Dept as one double section class. In this class students will work in the traditional studio/life drawing manner with models and varying timed sessions [quick sketch through sustained drawing] but will work exclusively in digital form using tablets and laptops. Composition, action, dramatic lighting and many other drawing schemes will be employed. Students will be supplied with a tablet but must supply their own laptop. Enrollment max will be 36 students.

The origins and multiple applications of Concept Art, from its origins in Scenography, Production Design and Costume Design to its current forms for Film, Television, Animation and Video Games are investigated along with the confluence of the Visual Arts and the Performing or Movement Based Arts. Students learn the basics of this practice through assignments that involve a variety of stylistic approaches.

Letterforms express more than information, they can also convey sensibilities, ideas, and emotions. This class gives students basic language on letterforms and, through a series of drawing workshops, prepares students for directed lettering projects from the legible to the abstract. Fulfills a 200-level IL elective. Preference is given to sophomore IL majors.

In this studio class, students explore the aspects of painterly techniques best suited for narrative art. The storytelling possibilities of color, lighting, composition, and perspective are examined and practiced in class and homework projects. Students learn traditional rendering techniques in watercolor, gouache, acrylic, and water-based oils. Assignments include a variety of topics such as portraits, nude and clothed figures, interiors, cityscapes, and landscapes. Approaches range from reality to fantasy. Fulfills a 200-level IL elective. Preference is given to sophomore IL majors.

3 credits. Lacombe, staff. Offered spring. In this studio class, students explore the aspects of dry media techniques best suited for narrative art. The storytelling possibilities of color, lighting, composition, and perspective are examined and practiced in class and homework projects. Students learn traditional rendering techniques in graphite, charcoal, pastel, and conte. Assignments include a variety of topics such as portraits, nude and clothed figures, interiors, cityscapes, and landscapes. Approaches range from reality to fantasy. Fulfills a 200-level IL elective. Preference is given to sophomore IL majors.

An introduction to the art of the illustrated story. Students learn traditional parts and functions of illustration when it pertains to books as well as the fundamentals when it comes to choosing the themes to visualize in a narrative. A basic history of the Illustrated Book is covered with both historical and contemporary examples examined. Different types of illustrated books are addressed; Graphic novels and comics are not included in this course.

An introduction to the art of comics. The art of making effective, strong and original layouts is emphasized in this course. Students acquire a basic understanding of the history of the medium current trends, orthodox and experimental narrative techniques that are possible. Concentrating on the visual narrative structure, students learn how to created clear panel-to-panel transitions and dynamic layouts.

The illustrated food market is strong and healthy, and the ability to make mouth-watering, thoughtful illustrations is a marketable skill. This course explores the nature, preparation, tasting, presentation, and culture of food. Students sketch and paint ingredients; cook and draw the food; visit restaurants, cafés, farms, markets, and kitchens. In addition, guests may come and prepare food in the classroom as students draw. The work created is part reportage, part still life, part personal expression, and an overall exploration and illustration of the senses. Homework may include visits to specific sites, buying and drawing ingredients and working on articles and assignments. Students experience local food and ethnic cuisines, appreciating the role that food plays in economics, society, family, culture, and history. Fulfills a 300-level IL elective. Preference is giving to junior IL majors.

Having taken IL 228 (Character Design) in advance is strongly recommended. THis class challenges students to utilize their illustration skills to create characters for one of three genres: Film, Animation, or Video Games. The class is structured like a professional environment, with three groups working together on a project of their choosing, so emphasis on teamwork, professionalism, and consistency of design and style play a key role. Each assignment requires the student to do visual research as well as explore the design of their characters from many different angles, and in a way that truly explores the individual characters in depth, I.E. movement, facial expressions, details, environment, etc.

This class delves into the world of fantasy subjects: fairy tales and folk tales, myths and legends, sword and sorcery and heroic fantasy, science fiction, horror, and supernatural tales. Students become familiar with the visual vocabulary specific to these genres. The origin of fantasy art and its relation to symbolism, visionary art, and surrealism will be examined, and the work of the great fantasy illustrators will be discussed. In addition, the assignments emphasize awareness of the roles that fantasy art and escapist literature, film, animation, and games play in society. Prerequisites: DR 252 or DR 298, IL 200 and 201, and two 200-level IL electives. Fulfills a 300-level IL elective.

An exploration of sexuality and eroticism as an art topic. Students produce work that addresses pertinent aspects implicit in the subject, such as gender identities and roles, the spectrum of sexual orientation, concepts of beauty and aesthetics, paraphilias and taboos, and censorship and socio-cultural context. The work of both historically (Aubrey Beardsley, Felicien Rops, John Willie, Vargas, Tom of Finland) and contemporary (Chris Cunningham, Jean Paul Goude, Dimitris Papaioanou) artists will be examined and analyzed. Students may be able to work in a variety of two-dimensional mediums. Fulfills a 300-level IL elective.

Having taken IL 272 (Digital Illustration) in advance is strongly recommended. Adobe Photoshop and other programs have become increasingly sophisticated, allowing artists to create illusions and mimic effects previously possible only with traditional techniques. From flat bold colors to subtle textures to the illusion of watercolor and colored ink line work, this class focuses on advancing technical skills in digital programs using a variety of in-class demos, exercises, projects and assignments, and step-by-step instructions. This class is for the student who wants to be challenged and is willing to work hard. A basic knowledge of Adobe Photoshop is necessary.

The object of this course is to provide a solid grounding in creating sophisticated ideas for images, the procedures and practices of illustration, and the development of a personal vision. Students learn about representational, narrative, and conceptual approaches to problem solving and how they apply to the practice of illustration in the 21st century. Techniques and professional practice are discussed. Fulfills the junior IL core requirement.

Regular Semester: This course is a continuation of IL 340 and the further development of a personal style and approach to illustration. Students begin to consider directions that will lead to their senior thesis. Informal discussions are held on the business of illustration, professional practices, client relations, studio practices, and self-promotion. Extended Spring Semester: The object to this course is to provide a solid grounding in creating sophisticated ideas for images, the procedures and practices of illustration, and the development of a personal vision. Students learn about representational, narrative, and conceptual approaches to problem solving and how they apply to the professional practice of illustration in the 21st century. In a workshop and blended (online/in class/homework) intensive class, the students will be required to interact, participate, ad be involved. The class will be lively and focus on rapid idea formulation and editing. The students will take their best concepts to finished illustrations. In addition, there will be presentations, field trips, and students will become aware of the contemporary field. Fulfills the junior IL core requirement.

Prerequisite: IL 200 (Illustration I) and IL 201 (Illustration II).

Artists are emerging as authors and entrepreneurs in a variety of new markets and media. New methods such as print-on-demand books, the wave self-publication and festivals that facilitate distribution, prototyping, high-end output devices and laser cutters, and creative directions such as bodywear imagery, instructional, political or socially inspired projects, weblogs and archives, games and animation, and literary works are a few of the directions being taken to create content and get ideas out in the world. In this class, students learn how to actualize one idea or theme through creating, planning, prototyping, branding, documenting, marketing, and exhibiting it to an appropriate commercial, institutional, or cultural venue. Field trips, workshops, and guest lecturers augment class critiques. The class is the student’s laboratory. Fulfills a 300-level IL elective. Preference is given to junior IL majors.

This course combines the course Sequential Art and the course Character Development into one. For students who have already taken Sequential Art and or Character Development, this course combination allows for continuation/expansion of projects already started. Students may concentrate in either or may create work in both areas of study. For students who have never taken Sequential or Character Development, class work will be done through introductory assignments. Students develop original characters and bring them to life in innovative narratives. In addition, students’ work is inspired by weekly presentations and discussions of the history and convention of Comics. Students are challenged to develop their own unique styles. Class work has an emphasis on drawing with particular attention on black and white ink drawing. Final projects do not need to follow the traditional look of Comics.

Having taken IL 247 (Concept Art) in advance is strongly recommended. This class places its focus on the art of world-building, and using thinking and ideation skills just as much, if not more, than pure illustration or rendering skills. The class will teach students how to think about designing their own “world” in a meaningful and imaginative way through maps, real-world visual research, environment mood pieces, drawings of details like flora and fauna, character design, vignettes of daily life, and key scenes. The student will have to present a “design bible” or style guide, an accurate representation of the types of work a concept artist might actually be asked to do in the film, video game, and theme park design industries.

This course promotes illustration and design as a tool for persuasion and criticism. It examines, through historical and contemporary images (European and American propaganda from the ’30s, protest posters from the ’60s, the New York Times op-ed page during the ’70s, and alternative comics today), the practice of making images that engage the outside world. Students are encouraged to debate current political, ecological and socio-cultural issues as they unfold in real time during the course of the semester. This is an advanced-level course. Students should anticipate intensive work outside of the classroom. Fulfills a 300-level IL elective. Priority is given to illustration and graphic design majors.

Having taken IL 266 (Book Illustration) in advance is strongly recommended. Students are expected to have knowledge of all the basic concepts involved in illustrating a story. In this class the students tackle the advanced aspects of book illustration, including styles, market, reproduction, etc. Students will work on independent projects and explore the subject in depth. A wide variety of illustrated books are addressed. Graphic novels and comics are not included in this course.

Having taken IL 272 (Sequential Art) in advance is strongly recommended. Students are expected to have knowledge of all the basic facets of visual story telling. This class explores advanced aspects of drawing ones own narratives in sequential art form. Media, color, lettering and formats are considered. The students will explore different approaches to making comics, from style to content. Differences and similarities between American, European and Asian comics are explored.

Focuses on the methods, manners, techniques, and presentation utilized by the illustrator interested in lifestyle and fashion projects. The role of the illustrator in the world of lifestyle and fashion has broadened and changed a great deal in the past 50 years. The illustrator is tasked with not only presenting conceptual work for design, but also commenting on behaviors and attitudes. Although fashion has had a longer history as practice, lifestyle provides a broader umbrella as a means of forging a sense of self and creating cultural symbols that resonate with personal identity, reflecting pop culture and communicating desires, fantasies, and general visual luxury. The topic is approached from the standpoint of the casual observer and the active participant, tasked with recording the world around us and imagining what’s brewing beneath it. Fulfills a 300-level IL elective; fulfills one course for the experimental fashion concentration.

3 credits. Staff. Offered fall, spring. For students wishing to work with a particular instructor on subject matter not covered by regularly scheduled classes, a special independent study class may be taken. A contract is required, including signatures of the instructor and the student's department chair. This class may not be used to substitute for a department's core requirement or Senior Independent. Contract required before registration. Minimum of 3.0 GPA and junior class standing.

Prerequisite: students at the Junior/Senior level with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of at least 3.000

In this course students start to prepare the final body of artwork to be produced while in the Illustration Department, building their portfolio to achieve a personally rewarding and commercially viable group of images. Working closely with instructors and peers, students create weekly projects that are reviewed in individual and group critiques. There are visiting artists, critics and lecturers and field trips to places of interest.

Senior level Illustration Majors only.

A continuation of IL 400 and completion of the student’s senior year. Students are encouraged to complete their portfolios and prepare a cohesive body of work to present to future clients. Students will present their work and participate in the campus-wide Commencement Exhibition and the MICA Illustration Showcase, a portfolio review by art directors and designers.

Senior level Illustration Majors only.

This course focuses on the transition from student to professional artist. Career choices available after graduation are explored including employment, freelance and entrepreneurial opportunities. Topics essential to the professional artist are considered, including careers, copyright, financial concepts, marketing, studio practice, continuing education, professional networking, pricing, and ethical guidelines and more. Senior IL majors only.

Senior level Illustration Majors only.

Internships are required for Photography and Video & Film Arts majors and Curatorial Studies concentrators. However, many departments recommend internships. To complete an internship for credit through the Career Development Office, students must submit a learning contract by the add/drop deadline for the semester he/she is receiving credit. The Career Development Office does not place students in internships; however, they can assist in securing an internship. Please contact the Career Development Office for more information. Students must submit a learning contract. See the Career Development Office for more information.

Introduces the 3D format and exposes students to an overview of processes, tools, and materials used in sculpture. Students explore the relationship of ideas to materials and construction techniques. Prerequisite: FF 101. May not be repeated for credit.

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

This course presents an opportunity to manipulate wood as a sculptural material. Slides, photographs, and books of contemporary wood sculpture are presented and discussed. Exercises in scale drawings and models help to understand and realize projects. Quick fastening and building construction techniques are covered as well as experiments with shaping, laminating, and finishing wood. The goal is to further individual creativity. Prerequisite: FF 101.

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

Teaches the skills of mold making as a simple means of reproducing original work accurately, efficiently, and in any quantity using plaster piece molds and flexible rubber molds. Consists of demonstrations followed by individual instruction for each student. Students learn how to dye and cast plastic, cast both solid and hollow forms in plaster and wax, and how to prepare a pattern for metal casting in aluminum or bronze. All necessary materials can be purchased through the MICA store or will be available in the sculpture department. Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

This intensive eight-week workshop uses evolution as a metaphor for a particular process of working through materials. “A periodic table” of elemental techniques particular to each material is discovered/uncovered. Then these techniques are used “molecularly,” in combination to make forms that as the weeks go on become more and more complex. The work is evolved over many generations through the selection and reproduction of “accidents.” Craft, for the purposes of this class, is defined by the ability to reproduce accidents. As the work evolves and fluency is established with the material, intention and accident become confused and it is more difficult to distinguish at any given moment between which aspects of the work are the result of the artist’s hand and which are the way they are due to the qualities/limitations of the ever-changing material. Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

Do you want to learn to shoot better slides of your artwork? This class covers advanced camera use, films and filters, metering, controlling and modifying lights, and professional portfolio presentation. The emphasis is on a hands-on approach through demonstrations and assignments where students use their own cameras to shoot slides of their work. Students meet individually with the instructor to evaluate their work and solve specific problems. May not be repeated for credit. Two 1.5 credit workshops in the 3D area will combine to fulfill a 3-credit studio elective.

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

This class guides students through the application process for grants available to graduating seniors. Students decode the specific application guidelines and forms, set up a work schedule for completing applications, select and label slides, write a grant narrative, write a résumé with an exhibition history, and assemble the final grant package. Emphasizes a concrete, “how-to” approach; however, wider issues and techniques in grant writing are also discussed. May not be repeated for credit. Two 1.5 credit workshops in the 3D area will combine to fulfill a 3-credit studio elective.

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

Students use InDesign software to create brochures of their work, exhibition announcements and business cards. Discussion includes photo retouching, color management, artist statements, interviews or essays of student’s work, colophon acknowledgments and printing resources. The files can be applied to printed matter or the web. The course emphasizes a “DIY” approach.

These class will employ diverse strategies such as street performance, guerrilla architecture, public interventions, community-based projects, walking tours, food production and urban farming. This class will introduce students to the emerging field of social practice, specifically looking at how such work can critically respond to the social, economic and ecological context of Baltimore City. Working individually or in small groups, students will develop a semester-long project that uses creative means to address conditions of inequality and ecological crisis in the city.

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

A sculptural exploration of space, environment, and atmosphere. The sculptor works with space similar to how a pilot navigates a plane, a wanderer takes a journey, or a chess player makes moves on a game board. The course explores how objects are located in space, how systems play into sculptural practice, how artists “map” space environmentally, and how the atmosphere surrounding objects can be visually charged. Students are encouraged to work across disciplines to develop their concepts by experimenting with materials, including light and sound and interaction in space. Through a series of studio assignments and readings, students develop skills to represent and manifest spatial concepts, perceptions, and experiences. The critical element in making a three-dimensional work of art or performance is how the artist defines, uses, occupies, and interprets space. Students create works that explore the aesthetic, corporeal, and philosophical issues of space. Open to all interdisciplinary sculpture students.

Offers a studio-laboratory environment for transdisciplinary, cross-media experimentations in time-based, performance, relational, video/electronic arts, installation, light/space, and locational/spatial practices. Students are encouraged to develop new methods and sites to realize their ideas and concepts through material, process, form, and technology. Through rigorous critiques, students investigate their artistic intentions and how these are executed through the work to create meaning. The objective of this course is to guide students toward a thorough understanding and articulation of their work within larger cultural, theoretical, and historical contexts. Importance is also placed on developing skills to documenting these genres through photographs, video, and other techniques. Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms) or Post-Baccalaureate Standing

This course provides a unique opportunity to combine life drawing and sculpture together. Focus revolves around in-depth study of the human figure, emphasizing anatomy structure, proportions, mass, and quick studies. Both disciplines enrich eye-hand coordination. At the end of each sculpture exercise students are encouraged to photograph their work. Sculpture credit only (not Drawing).

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

An introduction to the fundamentals of making both figures and portrait heads from models. Small quick clay sketches, bas-relief, and plaster waste mold techniques are covered. At the end of each exercise students are encouraged to photograph their work. May not be repeated for credit.

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

Green wood working is a technically advanced, specific study of wood as a sculptural medium. This study begins with a living tree or a freshly cut log. The living material of the tree is encountered directly. The class provides a means for furthering a safe technical mastery of raw wood. Students learn a combination of modern and traditional skills in modern milling (sawing logs into planks), drying and skills in wood bending, riving, and shaping. Hand tools and some power tools are covered. Prerequisite: IS 202.

Prerequisite: IS 202 (Introduction to Wood)

The emphasis of this course is to introduce students to various metal working processes and materials. In this course students will develop technical metal working skills exploring steel fabrication, welding, and foundry procedures including casting aluminum and bronze. Students will begin working with microcrystalline wax and learn the lost wax ceramic shell investment casting process. It is expected that through mastery and the application of these processes as a means to an end, students will combine formal and conceptual subject matter to articulate their own artistic direction. Advanced Metal Fabrication and Foundry Procedures is an expansion upon the knowledge and techniques learned in Metal Fabrication and Foundry Procedures I. Students become an integral part of the studio and are expected to work toward developing a more cohesive body of work through more specific investigation and research. Prerequisite: IS 200 (Introduction to Sculpture)

Prerequisite: IS 200 (Intro to Sculpture) or Post-Baccalaureate Student

The act of consuming is fundamental to living in a culture that thrives on capitalist ideals. In our society, consumer culture has had a negative effect on the natural environment and human well being due to irresponsible design. Eco-logical design can play a part in restoring our interconnectedness with the natural world. The Recyclable and Sustainable Materials workshop will explore materials and methods that promote sustainable and eco-logical solutions in art, design, architecture and fashion. We will examine designers and artists who play an integral role in promoting environmentally conscious products and concepts.

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

Nonsense has been used as a critical device throughout the history of modernism. Much of this critique was directed towards the following interrelated and overarching assumptions of the modernist project: (1) It is possible to completely and fully describe the world, and (2) in order to do that we must be able to see from more than one place or perspective at a time. Students work through these assumptions in their assignments. They attempt to make visible that doubling that is always already there, presupposed by our Cartesian language. To do this, they enter into their own specific nonsense. They have to “observe in order to see what they would see if they did not observe” (Wittgenstein). By looking at and making work that accounts for what frames the way they see, students begin to discover their own voice. Prerequisite: IS 200 (Introduction to Sculpture)

Prerequisite: IS 200 (Introduction to Sculpture)

Focuses on the multiple histories involved in site-specific works that include architecture, media, and landscape, among others. Consideration is given to aesthetic, political, and poetic concerns that are part of the creation of “place”. Students are encouraged to explore beyond traditional art exhibition sites in order to understand how the content of work cannot be separated from its context. Model making and drawing are used as tools in the development of ideas and processes before full-scale work is created. Students need to be highly motivated and use their initiative in order to work in this context where focus is on creating a spatial experience rather than an individual object. Prerequisite: CE 200, FB 200, or IS 200.

Prerequisite: CE 200/201 (Intro to Ceramics) or FB 200 (Intro to Fiber) or IS 200 (Intro to Sculpture) or IS 202 (Intro to Wood)

This class will focus on the artistic, social, political and ecological issues of growing food in the city. We will start in mid winter by preparing seeds indoors and conducting a seminar on historical and present day issues of food production. We will look at how this activity has been approached by artists historically and look at the vast amount of new work in this area. This will be a project-based class and students will be asked to respond to this information with either a single or series of projects. We will partner with 6-8 urban farms where students will have an opportunity to learn practical gardening skills and each farms unique strengths and challenges.

Creative disruption of everyday life is inherent in the exploration of public art and art intervention. The creative process is affected by working outside of the privacy of one’s studio in a social sphere. These issues raise inherent questions: How does the artwork address situations and issues of concern to those who experience it? Does the work encourage wide-ranging conversations and collaborations while taking risks? Is critical reflection a priority? Students have the opportunity to consider this as they develop a series of unrelated works or a body of related ones. Individual interests determine the direction and content of the work. Slide lectures, readings, and class discussions complement individual investigations. Prerequisite: FF101 (Sculptural Forms) + 3 Credits of 200 Level 3D Coursework

Prerequisite: FF101 (Sculptural Forms) + 3 Credits of 200 Level 3D Coursework

Collaboration is a process of mutual transformation in which the collaborators, and thus the common work, are in some way changed. Most important, the creative process itself is transformed in a collaborative relationship. The focus of this course is to explore collaborative partnerships. How, why, with whom, and to what end does an artist become involved in this practice? Students are encouraged to consult, involve, or engage individuals or groups as a part of their creative work. In addition, studio work is augmented with readings, classroom discussions, and lectures focus on how one gathers professional and technical support, the many venues of public art, and the potential for community involvement. May not be repeated for credit.

Masks and headdresses have the power to transform one’s character. They make a statement about the nature of change. In this course, students explore the human body as a site and springboard for questioning art, gender, or politics. These issues are addressed while exploring a variety of materials and techniques. Armature and construction methods are introduced through video demonstrations and hands-on experimentation. Slide lectures provide historical, contemporary, and cultural background information. Students are graded on their individual progress and in comparison with other students, as well as on their participation in weekly class discussions and critiques. Attendance counts. Supply costs vary depending upon the scope and scale of individual creations. Prerequisite: 3 credits of 200-level 3D coursework. May not be repeated for credit.

Prerequisite: 3 Credits of 200 Level 3D Coursework

A guiding spirit or a source of inspiration, often in the form of dialogue, engages one to muse and become absorbed in self- and other-referential thought. In this studio class students work, converse, and imagine with targeted audiences from areas outside the immediate MICA community in a concerted effort to take an active, collaborative, and reciprocal role in community engagement. Students develop ideas for their proposed projects after extensively researching possibilities and conducting self-directed outreach with a given group. Recent projects have worked with the Men’s Center in East Baltimore, the Water Treatment Plant in Baltimore, and Baltimore Act Up. Students are encouraged to work collaboratively with the understanding that their artwork will become a critical voice in the engagement with and empowerment of the public sphere. Projects may take the form of site-specific work in or around the City of Baltimore, community collaborations, performances, tours, or other types of interventions.

In an attempt to explore notions of reality, metaphor, and myth, students create works that subvert, enhance, extend, or replace our notions of the human form. Students examine a broad range of work, from the gigantic puppets of Royal de Luxe to the work of Matthew Barney, starting with the clown nose—a simple gesture with wide-ranging cultural implications of identity. In addition to studio work, this class employs readings, films, and slides to explore the use of performative objects and prosthetics devices in contemporary culture. May not be repeated for credit.

Prerequisite: 3 Credits of 200 Level 3D Coursework

Students make sculptures that have been conceived to demonstrate permanent bends and controlled warps through the use of stacked lamination, heat, and steam techniques. They experiment with pressing methods and determine and document the compressibility ratios and stress range of several species of lumber. Students build some equipment needed for the bending process. Prerequisite: IS202. Lab fee: $75. May not be repeated for credit.

Prerequisite: IS 202 (Introduction to Wood)

This course features 17th-century woodworking techniques to build sculpture of green wood. Green wood is lumber taken directly from a freshly cut log and is softer and much more pliable than commercially available dried wood. The goal of the course is to expand the possibilities of sculpture making by the direct manipulation of raw material. This study focuses on the primal reality of this raw material and the use of hand tools as a fundamental expressive force for realizing sculptural idea. Basic skills and an understanding of traditional woodworking concepts are developed by first learning to split, shape, and join green wood. This process allows students to work much more quickly and spontaneously than possible with dried lumber. Students make some tools and equipment necessary for the process of green woodworking. Prerequisite: IS 202. Lab fee: $50. May not be repeated for credit.

Prerequisite: IS 202 (Introduction to Wood)

This class will focus on digital kinetics and smart motor control for robotic art. Using the arduino microcontroller, students will learn how to use servo motors, stepper motors, reversible dc motors, solenoids, and ac motors. In addition to motor control, programming the arduino and the use of sensors will be covered. Students will produce a final project. Studio work will be supplemented by lecture/presentations, video, critiques, and readings.

Prerequisite: IDA 277 (Robotic Arts Introduction), Permission of Department Chair, or Graduate Standing

Sound Installation Art is a studio introduction to the sonic possibilities of a three dimensional space while also considering sound as an independent sculptural medium. The course will address the use of sound in a variety of media including photography, drawing, video, performance and sculptural materials. Concepts of interactivity, site specific sound art, net-worked sound installation and kinetic sound sculpture will also be covered. Prerequisite: IDA 202 (Into to Sound) or IDA 230 (Sound Art) or Permission of Instructor.

Prerequisite: IDA 202 (Into to Sound) or IDA 230 (Sound Art)

Water is everywhere before it is somewhere. This studio will address water; the physical substance, the subject of local and global politics and the substance celebrated and ritualized in everyday practice across many cultures. Water’s connections to East Baltimore will be the aesthetic, social and environmental subject of our inquiry. A portion of this course will be situated in East Baltimore, utilizing the resources at MICAPLACE. The course begins with team workshops and individual research. Final projects may be sculptural, design-based or social driven objects, spaces or events. Students in ENV # and IS 310 will research issues and actors, map their findings, geography and ideas; and envision individual or group projects that address water in community, ecology and culture. Collaborations are encouraged.

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

From everyday exchanges on Facebook to ambiguous fears of Al-Qaeda, we live in an era shaped by networks. This course addresses the “object of networks” in two separate, but related, senses. We consider the purpose of networks and examine how they function. We explore the social, political, and technological implications of different network structures. In the second sense of the title, this course examines the object as it exists and functions within networks. We explore how objects in networks create us as subjects and shape our world. This class is academically rigorous, but as a studio course, we also apply and advance these ideas through making objects. To challenge this notion of the object, nontraditional media and artistic approaches are explored and supported. Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

Using wood as a primary medium this course features skill building and material knowledge. Sculptural idea and conceptual rigor will be generated and informed largely through direct involvement with objects, materials and ways of making. Through an emphasis on the ways in which material relationships and fabrication methods can inform the content of the work. Though grounded in traditional craft, more varied and experimental or irrational relationships will be sought to determine unexpected narratives. Students will be encouraged to find or invent new ways of working or fastening materials and objects. Students will be challenged to discover appropriate means for making any particular expressive arrangement. The safe and proper use of wood shop tools will be a primary feature of this class. Students will increase creative freedom by an expanded knowledge of materials and greater proficiency in the use of hand tools and some power tools; (e.g.. Routers, jig saws, circular saws and some stationary tools.)" Prerequisite: IS 202.

Prerequisite: IS 202 (Introduction to Wood)

Art takes time to be made, and may, as well, rely on timing to be exhibited. Often the most enigmatic artworks become imbued with meaning over long periods of time—hopefully not to be forgotten. A work may cause one to relive a past event or to experience a premonition of the future. A work may make one aware of time passing at a particular speed, or feel that time has been standing still for centuries. This course will vary in its emphasis each semester, focusing on sound, performance, or process. Prerequisite: 3 credits of 200-level 3D coursework. May be repeated for credit with approval from chair.

Prerequisite: 3 Credits of 200 Level 3D Coursework

Focuses on sculpture that moves mechanically. Students build objects that move themselves or move by human power. Existing machines will be salvaged, recombined, and re-contextualized. Electric motors and control circuitry will be used. Classical movements such as gears, pulleys, cams, ramps, spiral drives, etc., will be discussed. Performance, installation and interactivity are options for the presentation of moving artworks. Visual impact, physical movement, ergonomics, sound, and safety are criteria for student projects. Prerequisite: 200-level 3D course

Prerequisite: 3 Credits of 200 Level 3D Coursework

This course is a direct continuation in the development of figurative modeling using all applied principles from both Intro. to Figure and Figurative Reflections classes. Advanced students will be encouraged and instructed to model a life-size figure over the entire semester. Options for intermediate students will focus on two, three and four week lessons of portrait and half life-size figure studies. Prerequisite: grade of B or better in IS 272.

Prerequisite: Grade of B or better in IS 272 Introduction to Figure Sculpture

Allows students to develop work that engages in the temporal, spatial, and contextual parameters of sculpture. Expanding on traditional sculptural practices and embracing new techniques and media, this class builds upon traditional foundations to evolve each student’s independent work into contemporary site specific and site responsive work. Prerequisite: FF 101 and 3 credits of 200-level 3D. May not be repeated for credit.

Prerequisite: FF101 (Sculptural Forms) and 3 credits of 200 level 3D coursework or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

This course locates itself at the intersection of performance and the visual arts, where the boundary between gesture, action, and object is often indistinguishable. Performance emphasizes the body as material and medium, extending the formal boundaries of visual art into time, space, and movement. Performance also relies on the performer/audience relationship. Through a combination of survey, workshops, and projects, students follow the trail of performance art in an effort to develop a visual vocabulary that engages both artist and spectator in the active creation of a work of art. Prerequisite: 3 credits of 200-level 3D coursework. May not be repeated for credit.

Prerequisite: 3 Credits of 200 Level 3D Coursework

By working from either a researched-based practice, or by deepening a material investigation, this course will allow students to evolve their own independent work. Expanding on traditional sculptural practices students will embrace new techniques, media and the performative aspects of making “sculpture” to develop unpredicted perspectives on the temporal, spatial and contextual parameters of sculpture. This course will also utilize site-specificity and site-responsiveness as generators for subverting preconceived ideas of how sculpture can function.

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms)

For students wishing to work with a particular instructor on subject matter not covered by regularly scheduled classes, a special independent study class may be taken. A contract is required, including signatures of the instructor and the student's department chair. This class may not be used to substitute for a department's core requirement or senior thesis / senior independent. A learning contract is required before registration. Minimum of junior class standing and a 3.0 GPA is required.

Prerequisite: students at the Junior/Senior level with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of at least 3.000

Each semester, one or more visiting artists of recognition are invited to the MICA campus to work with a small group of seniors in their final semester of study. Students work with the artist(s) via studio critiques and informal discussions both individually and as a group. This course is intended to offer juniors and seniors contact with independent artists, to exchange views and opinions, as well as the opportunity to further their familiarity with the issues and strategies facing artists today. Prerequisite: Juniors and Seniors only.

Juniors and Seniors only.

The urban environment is a complex blend of structures: physical, political, economic and cultural to name a few. The city’s smells, sounds, textures, and shapes; its development and decay; its architecture, surfaces, and interfaces; its spaces, places, and non-places; its economies and racial divisions all compose a complex text that is read through cultural/historical context, personal experience and materiality. Readings, films, lectures and discussions will augment students’ inquiries into the ways in which the urban fabric becomes site, inspiration and material for individual studio projects that may traverse many genres from site-specific to object-based works. Students will learn technical proficiency in the three major methods of working with concrete but will also be encouraged to alternative materials and methods in producing work in the urban context including examining the methods of the media and consumerist strategies in the urban environment. Prerequisite: 3 credits of 200-level IS

Prerequisite: 3 credits of 200-level IS

The notion of the “double” or “doppelganger” is a familiar literary and cinematic device that suggests a polyvalent two-foldness. This one-that-is-two possibly reveals hidden deeper realities and states of mind.In this course, students explore through their visual artwork the concepts of the surrogate self: alter-ego, replicant, clone, doppelganger, twin, shadow,missing identity, automatons, cyborgs, and post-humans. This theory/practice course includes studio work, reading, writing, and films. Students invent through visual and material means an other self, or fictional character, and are guided through a series of projects to examine their cultural attitudes towards perception, belief, desire, and transformation. The class follows in the footsteps of other artists who have created alter-egos: Sophie Calle, Marcel Duchamp, Eleanor Antin, James Lee Byars, Richard Prince and others. Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms) or Graduate/ Post-Baccalaureate Standing.

Prerequisite: FF 101 (Sculptural Forms) or Graduate/ Post-Baccalaureate Standing.

Reality is in a constant state of contention. Plato maintained that man lived in a world of shadows unable to see the mechanizations from which they emanated. Contemporary theorist Jean Baudrillard has proposed that reality is in a phase of displacement where it is constantly being reconstituted by simulations of what is real. In either case, our concept of reality is in part shaped through media. In this course we will focus on reality(and it’s contrapositive: fantasy, fiction and dreams) and how this has been explored in the traditions of documentary, video art , reality television and the web. We will examine the construction and phenomena of reality, identity and desire in the 21st century specifically related to time-based mediums such as video, sound and the internet. Through readings, lectures, films and discussion students will explore the methods of mass media as well as a critique of the media in the development of studio works. Historical and theoretical contexts will be examined including (but not limited to), the Situationists; pioneers in video work; and the advent of digital and web technologies. Emphasis will be placed on video installation, video and digital sculpture and web-based works. Introductory instruction in Final Cut Pro and Flash will be included as well as utilizing/exploring web-based media such as YouTube, blogs and so forth. Open to graduate and undergraduate, students in all majors. Pre: IS 200 or IS 266 or permission of the instructor

Prerequisite: IS 200 (Intro to Sculpture) or IS 266 (Intro to Newer Genres).

Encourages students to collect and develop a library of physical materials, sound, video, or other forms of documentation. Expanding on the idea of an artist’s palette, a material library focuses on organized objects, parts, samples, documentation, and concepts. The class will consider structures such as archives, libraries, catalogs, and palettes as ways to more thoroughly develop the students’ artistic research. The semester will begin with lectures, visiting artists, and field trips that present a variety of different types of categorizations. Students will individually or collectively develop their own material libraries leading up to an end-of-semester exhibition. For the final project students will resource their collections to create a visual, spatial, or multimedia project that applies their research in strategic and innovative ways.

Students must be an Undergraduate at the Sophomore level or higher, or be a Graduate or Post-Bac student.

Reliquaries form a bond between heaven and earth, linking humankind to ritual and devotional practices. Historically, artists used earthly materials to reconstruct the heavenly power of sacred objects, as well as tombs, shrines and places of worship. Relationships toward art and holiness will be explored as a means to understand art objects, which were fashioned in direct response to human needs, beliefs, and values. Students will develop ideas for their artwork after researching shrines and relics, both historical and contemporary. Work may be two or three- dimensional, site-specific, community based, a performance, pilgrimage, or other form of art intervention. One may consider working collaboratively or alone.

Prerequisite: 3 Credits of 200 Level 3D Coursework

This studio/research class focuses on flying objects and unidentified flying objects that have been aspects of art, visual culture, science, and pseudo-science for centuries. Early Asian pyrotechnic displays, Leonardo's Renaissance flying machines, kites, hot-air balloons, gliders, airplanes, skywriting, space travel and exploration, deep-space imaging systems, and the ubiquitous UFOs of post-WWII science fiction, can all be traced through a historical trajectory to the 5th century BCE, when the Greek philosopher Anaxagora first proposed the theories of panspermia and exogenesis. Studio work, readings, discussions, film viewings, and fieldwork support the creative studio practice of individual student artists or artist teams. Visual artists we discuss include Panamarenko, Vik Muniz, Tony Oursler, Mariko Mori, Cai Guo-Qiang, Luca Buvoli, Carolee Schneemann, Mel Chin, Stelarc, Rebecca Horn, among others. Prerequisite: FF101 (Sculptural Forms) + 3 Credits of 200 Level 3D Coursework

Prerequisite: FF101 (Sculptural Forms) + 3 Credits of 200 Level 3D Coursework

Students will develop a coherent body of work completed during the senior year for final presentation to a jury selected from the sculptural studies faculty. Periodic critiques to discuss progress, content, and process are conducted by faculty and invited critics.

Prerequisite: SS 300 (Junior Seminar)

This course is a continuation of IS 400 leading to the final senior show. Periodic critiques. Open to Sculpture and General Sculpture majors only.

Prerequisite: SS 300 (Junior Seminar)

This course invites the student to practice reading and analyzing text as a way of developing cognition speed and creative flexibility. It utilizes a strategy of developing cultural literacy in tandem with reviewing literary structural devices and theoretical approaches to doing text analysis on a broad range of work. The readings will be selected from a range of classical work such as MONKEY, Sundiata, The Book of the Dead, Klytemestra Stayed Home, The Gospel of Mary, and Gilgamesh to contemporary works by Dan Moore, Leslie Marmon Silko, Madison Smartt Bell, Terry McMillan, Rita Mae Brown and Ishmael Reed. Requirements include an oral panel presentation, one analytical research essay, one take-home review of the reading and other minor assignments related to class participation.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Staff. Offered occasionally. Serves as an introduction to Colonial literature in the canonized male and the lesser-mapped female traditions. While works such as Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island, and A Passage to India have been linked with the Imperialist project of empire, works like Jane Eyre and Orlando have only recently come under similar critical scrutiny. The female Colonial legacy —in which women have traditionally held a more precarious position with respect to nationbuilding— has perhaps been less charted because women were located on a continuum of simultaneous oppression and domination within empire-building. This course serves as an overview and introduction to Colonial texts by juxtaposing men’s and women’s Colonial writing to study how the writers represented (or omitted) Colonialism, and how the ideologies of Empire surface or are critiqued in their works. Students read and analyze the literature in its socio-political context and focus particularly on the contradictions and paradoxes of nation-building and gendered and racialized involvement in the projects of Colonialism. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

This introductory course surveys Caribbean writers in English across genre as a study of New World civilization and language. The original and translated works represent the various island cultures including Haiti, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, Guyana, Cuba, and Barbados. The required readings will be selected from a range of writers including Derek Walcott, Miss Louise, Earl Lovelace, Jean Rhys, Jacques Romaine, Cecily Waite-Smith, Anson Gonzales, Wilson Harris, Kamau Edward Braithwaite, Mervyn Morris, Aime Cesaire, Pearl Entou Springer, Renee Depestre and others. Requirements include an oral panel presentation, one analytical research essay, one take-home review of the reading and other minor assignments related to class participation.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Shakespearean drama – including history, comedy, and tragedy – serves as the anchoring focus of this course. We will read and discuss Shakespeare’s playwriting alongside contemporaries such as Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson, with particular attention to the historical and cultural conditions informing their work. We will explore topics like social class, familial relations, human sexuality and selfhood, as depicted in early modern literature. In turn, we will consider how those representations might inform our understanding of society today. Course readings will be supplemented by philosophical/theoretical texts including Marx, Freud, and others to be determined.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

The writers and artists of the Beat movement might be regarded as descendants of the American Transcendentalists. They resemble Thoreau in their distrust of technology and Whitman in their faith in America and individualism. Nonconformists, the Beats espoused pacifism and environmentalism, and were drawn to Buddhism and the expansion of consciousness. This course will examine the writing and music of their period and its influence on subsequent American writers. The work of Kerouac, Ginsberg, Ferlinghetti, Burroughs, di Prima, Corso, Rexroth and others will be studied.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Intellectual history involves the study of philosophers, intellectuals, artists, and traditions of thought in their cultural and social settings, with special attention to understanding the causes of intellectual change, the statics of intellectual traditions, and the dynamics of intellectual movements. Chaucer is often regarded as a pivotal figure in the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. He was associated with all of the major writers of his age—Machaut in France to Boccaccio in Italy. His age includes revolts among peasants against monarchy, the early Protestant reformers, the Crusades and the culture of Islam brought back into Europe, and the beginnings of modern science. The course looks back to the Medieval roots of the so-called High Middle Ages as well as forward to the Renaissance. Using the work of a single writer like Chaucer as a pivot point for investigating the whole world offers a unique and worthwhile experience. Prerequisite: HMST101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

In this course we will enter the ongoing conversation among professional and casual literary critics about the virtues and vices of contemporary fiction (with an emphasis on American, Canadian and British writers). Because many of the works we read will comment upon events and cultural phenomena we are living with today, this seminar will examaine the varying ways artists interact with and are influenced by history. We'll read some of the latest works to seize the critical spotlight, as well as books from the distant past -- the 1980s and 1990s.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Myers. Offered occasionally. Why do cunning and guileful characters figure so prominently in Greek myth and epic? Does Greek philosophy begin with ruse? The purpose of this course is to explore the ancient Greek fascination with cunning and to discover its place in Greek literary and intellectual culture. Readings include myth, Homer's works, Pre-Socratic philosophy, PLato, Greek tragedy, as well as Aesop's fables.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Thompson. Offered occasionally. Initiation and assimilation (as cultural devices to both maintain and change society), offer a reader a window into understanding precepts that control 21st century life in African, African American, African Caribbean, and African Latino societies. The African American is a historic amalgam of these precepts and the politics around them for more than 500 years. This course uses writings based on the Seven Hermetic Laws of Ancient Egypt, traditional African society, the Harlem Renaissance, contemporary rap music, the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa, and a comprehensive time-line anthology of writing on the 500 year sojourn of African Americans specifically. This course also asks the student to exercise primary critical thinking concepts and tools in consideration of the meaning (of both the readings and the historic experiences), to the self that the student is building to function in the 21st century. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Intellectual history involves the study of philosophers, intellectuals, artists and traditions of thought in their cultural and societal settings, with special attention to understanding the causes of intellectual change, the statics of intellectual traditions, and the dynamics of intellectual movements. This course focuses on the literature and history of the Victorian period and its importance in the modern Western intellectual tradition. In addition to poetry and literature, the class studies social and historical texts from the period, both "official" and demotic, including crime statistics, and looks at the origins of photography, the flourishing Victorian underworld, political and religious influences, and the vicissitudes of Colonialism and the power of the British Empire. Prerequisite: HMST 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

This fun course focuses on reading and telling stories of all kinds by Africana writers. It begins with the first fairytale in human existence, the Egyptian Tale of the Two Brothers from the Papyrus D’Orbiney and the Persian Conference of the Birds by Attar and continues with Africana connections to American Indian Myths & Legends, Pow Wow: Charting the Lines in the American Experience and a anthology of African Tales. Grade requirements include exercises and “telling” assignments using your body and voice and doing writing that develops the student’s ability to compose and tell both stories adapted from the assigned reading and original stories from the storyteller’s life. It is be noted that the course is primarily centered on understanding the worldview of Africana people globally. Two public readings and two analytical peer reviews are also required.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Surveys African American literature written during the Harlem Renaissance as a way of examining confluence of forces that created the New Negro at the beginning of the 20th century. The literature of the Harlem Renaissance represents several major artistic movements that created the contemporary African American persona and fueled subsequent artistic movements worldwide. Discussion of work by Jean Toomer, Zora Neale Hurston, James Weldon Johnson, Countee Cullen, W. E. B. Dubois, and Langston Hughes will be central to the course. Prerequisite: One 200-level course in literature.

Prerequisite: HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry) or Permission of Instructor.

From the complexity of re-created Egyptian Love Spells and Rituals and the search for the Buddha in Monkey-Folk Novel of China, to the complexity of modern mating, marriage, divorce and love forever after in Memoirs of a Geisha, Jagua Nana’s Daughter, Love in the Time of Cholera, Reservation Blues, and The Dragon Can’t Dance this course uses the Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking: Concepts & Tools to examine what we think about the culturally bound relationships and the implications that they have for 21st century global ethics. Grade Requirements include One Analytical Research Paper, One 10-Question Take Home Review of assigned reading and a number of Minor in-class assignments.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Myers. Offered occasionally. Provides a survey of literature about the hero’s trip to the underworld, and what the hero learns from the dead that he needs to take back with him to the realm of the living. The course begins with the myths of Orpheus, Herakles, Odysseus, and other heroes who make it, alive, to the underworld and back, and follows with Book VI of Virgil’s Aeneid, and then Dante’s Inferno. The second half of the course examines variations of this theme in poetry, novels, drama, and film, including the work of Rimbaud, G.B. Shaw, Sartre, Pound, Broch, Monteverdi, Henze, and Birtwistle. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

This course surveys narratives in the modern Judaic tradition. We will begin the course with the classic nineteenth-century Yiddish writers. We will discuss topics such as exile, hasidism, humor, rhetoric, satire, existentialism, self-referential and women's writing. We will read Hebrew fiction by the Nobel-Prize winner S. Y. Agnon and by other important Israeli, European, and American Jewish writers.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Today’s folklore is not restricted to rural communities but may commonly be found in cities, and, rather than dying out, it is still part of the learning of all groups from family units to nations, albeit changing in form and function. Folklore as a creative activity and as a body of unscrutinized or unverifiable assertions and beliefs has not vanished. Folklore has come to be regarded as part of the human learning process and an important source of information about the history of human life. It is a complex and subtle social phenomenon having to do with the production and transmission of narratives. In this course, we will study contemporary ideas and beliefs, traditions, narratives, legends and anecdotes from the perspectives of anthropology, sociology, psychology, linguistics, and literature.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

In this course, using Sigmund Freud's famous essay as a springboard, we will explore various manifestations of the Uncanny as it appears in fiction, aesthetics, architecture, poetry and film, with particular attention to the inflection of the Uncanny in the literary arts. In an attempt to get to the root of the question posed by the Uncanny - how can something be both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time? --we will consider phenomena that are marginal, liminal, obscure, threatening and subversive - all characteristics can be also found in familiar and apparently harmless everyday phenomena.

Prerequisite: HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry) or Permission of Instructor.

Students will study the drama of the immediate contemporary theater through close reading and the staging of scenes of plays drawn from the Broadway, off-Broadway, Regional and International stages. Students will be asked to act, direct, and set scenes from the plays we read and discuss and to write about their experiences working with the plays.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 200 level or higher.

Examines how artists, critics, and theorists have understood the book—in both print and electronic formats—in the second half of the 20th century. Whether it is viewed as aesthetic object, disposable commodity, intellectual machine, or instrument for socio-political change, the book has been a focal point for many of today’s most prominent thinkers. Study and discussion lead to questions about the natures of language and reading, literary property, authorship, aesthetics, literacy, orality, interactivity, and textual materiality. Readings include the work of Jacques Derrida, Jean-Paul Sartre, Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, Elizabeth Eisenstein, Keith A. Smith, Georges Poulet, and Stuart Moulthrop. Prerequisite: One 200-level course in literature or one IH1 or IH2 course.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

This course will use psychoanalytic and reader-reception theory to navigate through the complex work of the twentieth century Russian/American author, Vladimir Nabokov. Each novel will be read in the context of contemporary critical theory, with particular emphasis on Nabokov's vexed and ambivalent relationship with Freud. Texts will include Nabokov's own critical and cultural essays, early and later short stories (in translation), and at least four of the following full-length works: "Lolita," "Despair", "Pnin", "Speak, Memory" "Pale Fire," "Ada," "Laughter in the Dark" and "Invitation to a Beheading".

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 200 level or higher.

Uses literary texts to explore the process of memory and the ways in which humans make sense of the past in personal, collective, and family histories. Authors will include Chekov, Ibsen, Faulkner, Proust, Woolf, Morrison, Kundera, Nietzsche, Baudelaire, and Benjamin. Students are encouraged not only to think critically about the readings but also to explore their own habitual modes of remembering and connecting to the past. Prerequisite: One 200-level course in literature or one IH1 or IH2 course.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

3 credits. Staff. Offered occasionally. Whether we experience our bodies as the site and center of our being, or we feel we are the proprietors of a shell called “the body,” whether we are at one with it or feel alienated from it, our body is always with us, we are in our body, and we desire to know it. To understand and define it, fix it, liberate it, expose it, invent and imagine “truths” that are inscribed in the flesh, however, we turn, necessarily, to symbolization and language. When studying the body, we therefore recognizes the somatic players in the drama such as skin and bones, hair, organs, ova, semen, blood—but one can be amazed at the stories woven into intricate plots by theorists from a variety of disciplines that offer often strange, often profound, and often literal insights into the body. This course serves as an introduction to the complex and extensive field of body theory, exploring texts that narrate the sexed body, the gendered body, the orgasmic body, the ascetic body, the tortured body, the uncanny body, the raced body, the foreign body, the body in images and film, and the body and technology through a variety of discourses, ranging from religious to scientific discourses, discourses on aesthetics, political activism, cultural theory, and psychoanalysis. Prerequisites: One IH1 and one IH2 course.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

Semiotics is the study of signs and sign systems. Language is the most elaborate and pervasive of sign systems, but it is far from the only one—images, clothes, advertising, sports, social behavior, in fact almost all cultural expression may be considered to be governed by an intricate network of signs out of which “meaning” and “significance” arise. This course explores a range of signs and sign systems in an attempt to understand the codes they embody and the principles that govern their creation and operation. Prerequisites: One IH1 and one IH2 course.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

Beginning with the anti-academic reactions of Beat poetry, contemporary American poetry has often been concerned with subverting the theories and criticisms of poetry in favor of philosophically and politically charged poetry that breaks down literary canons. Such subversion has created a schism between elitist and populist poets. In this course, students read, discuss, and write about contemporary American poetry after the Second World War, focusing largely on poets, formal and avant-garde, who are living and writing today. Course work consists of readings, criticism, discussions, short written analytical responses, imitative poems, formal essays, and group presentations. Poets covered may include Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, Sylvia Plath, Elizabeth Bishop, Charles Bukowski, Yusef Komunyakaa, Frank O’Hara, Adrienne Rich, Amiri Baraka, Carolyn Forché, Gary Soto, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Cathy Song, Sherman Alexie, and Lyn Hejinian, among others. Prerequisite: One 200-level course in literature.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 200 level or higher.

Topic-driven course. This course will be an opportunity for students to immerse themselves in the work of a seminal 20th century master. Prerequisite: One 200-level academic course.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 200 level or higher.

To get a sense of how our understanding of the world has been shaped by the histories and ideas of imperialist and colonial culture and knowledge production, and the kind of resistance that questioned, eroded and sometimes forcefully dislodged it, we will study some of the myriad voices that constitute the vibrant and evolving field of postcolonial and border literature, contact zone writing and subaltern studies. We will explore the tropes of hybridization, métissage and postcolonial and subaltern identities, pay close attention to the structures of border language and narration, look at the production of myths by nations vis-a-vis local and global experiences, expose ourselves to the ideas and critiques of various diasporas in critical writing, literature and films and discuss how these narratives imagine and re-imagine the legacies of the colonial impact and globalization.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

From the Troubadors to Tupac, words in song have mattered. Do songs differ from poetry in that they must be intelligible at first hearing? Students examine traditional lyrics from medieval ballads and songs in Shakespeare to the lyrics of Bob Dylan, Joan Armatrading, Richard Thompson, and Lucinda Williams. Students read Joyce, Yeats, Frost, and Michelle Shocked. Particular attention is devoted to lyric and poetic devices: alliteration, rhyme, wordplay, and “the hook.” Prerequisite: One 200-level course in literature.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 200 level or higher.

This course will focus on two definitive figures of Russian literature: Dostoevsky, the great explorer of resentment as a powerful and sometimes unaccountable motive in man, and Tolstoy, the supreme portrayer of the organicity of life, who engages his reader in “standing face to face with life.” The fundamental question--“What is the meaning of life?”--put by Tolstoy and intensely propounded in Dostoevsky’s novels, differs from the attitudes of the thinkers of the ancient times, while it remains modern today. This question will be examined in the context of the melancholic virulence of Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamotzov, and the organic expansiveness of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, which form the intellectual core of this course. Despite the tremendous difference in the literary and human atmosphere they create, the works by these writers point to a method of inquiry into being in the world--an intellectual overture to the Existentialism of the 20th century.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

Through readings, discussion, and student presentations, this seminar examines the history, theory, and practice of the following 20th century critical discourses: psychoanalysis, semiotics, structuralism, poststructuralism, Marxism, feminism, postmodernism, and cultural studies. The goal of the course is to put critical theory in context so students can read, understand, and discuss how it affects and has been affected by artists. Class is run as a seminar with no more than fifteen students, who lead the discussions. Prerequisites: One IH1 and one IH2 course.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

3 credits. Mattison. Offered occasionally. In the 20th century, humanity crossed a “certain threshold” according to Nobel laureate Czeslaw Milosz. “Things too atrocious to think of did not seem possible, but, beginning in 1914, they proved to be more and more possible. A discovery has been made, that civilizations are mortal.” Twentieth-century warfare claimed the lives of more than one hundred million people. In this course, students read the works of writers who suffered and survived the World Wars, the American War in Vietnam, and the wars of uprising and revolution in Latin America and Africa, including the “soldier poets” of the trenches, Ernest Hemingway, Mary Lee Settle, Marguerite Duras, Kurt Vonnegut, W. B. Sebald, Tim O’Brien, and others. The course concludes with works that address the implications of war in the 21st century. Prerequisite: One 200-level course in literature.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 200 level or higher.

3 credits. myers. Offered occasionally. The course is, first, a history of this 100-year war, giving due attention to the formation and internal complexity of the two nationalisms, Jewish and Palestinian. We will attempt to understand the conflict within the wider contexts of Middle Eastern and international politics, and to highlight the role of the United States. The second half of the course focuses on diplomatic attempts to reach a settlement after the failure of Oslo and on problems that stand in the way of such a settlement. Taking account of the most recent developments, students consider competing proposals for a solution and devise their own plan for Middle East peace.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 200 level or higher.

Examines the social history of masculinity, beginning with a survey of the goals, methods, and controversies in the growing field of gender studies and men’s studies. Students use theoretical and literary texts to analyze the construction of masculinity as a concept in relation to race, class, and sexual orientation. Prerequisites: One IH1 and one IH2 course.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

3 credits. Wallace. Offered minimester. This course uses litterary documentary to explore how one’s point of view is influenced by individual frames of reference, social, and educational backgrounds, personal morals and political beliefs. Through documentary research (oral histories, archival sources, etc.) and writing, students explore the relationship between “reality” and the narratives we construct to represent and interpret it. Texts will include literary documentary works such as George Orwell’s The Road to Wigan Pier, James Agee’s Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, Muriel Rukeyser's book-length poem about West Virginia coal miners, The Book of the Dead, and Gary Nabhan’s Gathering the Desert. Robert Cole’s Doing Documentary Work is a primary source for methodology.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 200 level or higher.

The great hero of the 20th and 21st centuries has been the Everyman, the Average Joe or Plain Jane whose boring, normal life gets somehow instilled with profound significance. This is not an accident, as modern life has been structured and homogenized while it has also cultivated individualism and self-consciousness. Historians and theorists such as Michel de Certeau and Henri Lefebvre have articulated the concept of the 'Everyday' to describe a fundamental category of human (especially modern) existence: the repeating, patterned, highly structured and anomic modern life. This course will study theories of the Everyday, important historical concepts of the analysis of Daily Life, and literature, art and media that revolve around the Everyday and employ it as a basis for normative existence. Readings will include de Certeau, Lefebvre, Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, Ionesco, Freud, Elias, studies of consumer politics and products, the feminist concept of the Personal is Political, still life paintings, the soap opera, and other materials. The final project will be an applied analysis of some aspect of Everyday life, read through the course materials. This course will provide students with a new way of looking at their everyday existence.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

Offers a chance for in-depth study of a seminal 20th-century thinker. Texts (sometimes excerpts and sometimes entire works) include: The Interpretation of Dreams, The Psychopathology of Everyday Life, Jokes and their Relation to the Unconscious, Moses and Monotheism, Totem and Taboo, and Beyond the Pleasure Principle. Prerequisites: One IH1 and one IH2 course.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

This course considers many facets of this seminal thinker’s career: from Sartre the founder of existentialism to Sartre the playwright, novelist, polemicist, and interpreter of his own and other artists’ lives. One main focus will be: how it is possible to understand a human life as freedom.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

Examines the theoretical controversies surrounding terms like “invert,” “heterosexual”/“homosexual” (invented in the 19th century), “gay,” “straight,” “bisexual,” “lesbian,” “queer,” “transgendered,” and “transsexual” and read so-called “non-normative” literatures and other “texts” across these theories. The readings vary each year but may include the works of such writers, theorists, artists, and philosophers as Oscar Wilde, Michel Foucault, Andre Gide, Freud, Jeannette Winterson, Henry James, Gertrude Stein, James Baldwin, Thomas Mann, Virginia Woolf, Kathy Acker, Jean Genet, Eve Sedgwick, Leslie Feinberg, Paul Monette, Dorothy Allison, Robert Glück, Audre Lorde, Plato, Kate Bornstein, David Sedaris, Judith Butler, and Andrew Holleran; poets including Whitman, Ginsberg, Hemphill, Hughes, and Rich, filmmakers including Marlon Riggs, and Michelle Parkerson; and artists including Deborah Bright and David Wojnarowicz. Assignments may include class presentations, reading papers, and quizzes. Prerequisites: One IH1 and one IH2 course.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

This course is a study of the intense period of literary production and social upheaval from about the time of Catherine the Great (d. 1796) to the Bolshevik revolution in 1917. Connections are made between literary works (novels, stories, plays, poems, journalism, philosophy) and the social history, especially with reference to the influence ideas from the west on Russian culture. Some authors covered are Pushkin, Herzen, Chernyshevsky, Dostoyevsky, Gogol, Tolsoty, Gorky, Chekov, Belinsky, Lenin, Trotsky, Bakunin, Goncharov, and others.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 200 level or higher.

Examines the contributions of feminist theories to the cultural understanding of power and oppression and to the struggle for social justice. Emphasis is on race, class, and gender as intersecting variables in a matrix of domination. Special attention is made to practical applications of theories for creative artists. Prerequisites: One IH1 and one IH2 course.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

3 credits. Mattison. Offered occasionally. Contemporary Latin American prose writers and poets have created a richly imagined literature—Magic Realism,” Surrealism, bardic epics, lyric love songs, and deeply committed “poetry of witness.” Students travel for one hundred years through Gabriel García Marquez’s magical village of Macondo in Cien Años de Soledad, fall in love with Pablo Neruda in Viente Poemas de Amor y Una Cancion Desesperada, wander through Jorge Luis Borges’s enchanting labyrinths of the mind, and become haunted by Juan Rulfo’s mysterious Pedro Paramo, and read poetry and fiction by Gabriel Infante, Miguel Angel Asturías, and Claribel Alegría. Native English speakers with a familiarity of the Spanish language are encouraged to take this course. Prerequisite: One 200-level course in literature. All texts are read in Spanish.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 200 level or higher.

This class will examine how important scenes, woodcuts, and tableaux vivants have been reimagined and represented from Dore and Mueller through Kent and Maxfield Parrish. Bourgeois and working class heroes in Balzac and Steinbeck and the graphic novels of the thirties by Lynd Ward. The course will conclude by exploring Barry Moser's Frankenstein and literary and graphic novels and 'zines, esp. the work of Alison Bechdel (FUN HOME) with visits from Brian Ralph and Dan Krall.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 200 level or higher.

In this course we will study salient works of American fiction published in the second half of the twentieth century (primarily in the fifties, sixties and seventies). Our discussion will consider the literature's relationship to cultural and historical currents of the era, such as the Cold War, America's imperialist projects abroad, the struggle for Civil Rights, "the sexual revolution", feminist thought, and the nation's growing affluence). The writers we read may include Saul Bellow, James Baldwin, John Cheever, Joan Didion, Ken Kesey, Toni Morrison, Vladimir Nabokov, Joyce Carol Oates, Thomas Pynchon, Philip Roth, John Updike, and Alice Walker. Students will prepare a twenty minute presenation and write weekly prep papers, a midterm take-home exam, and a final essay.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 200 level or higher.

This cass focuses on theories of what constitutes 'performance' in everyday life, ritual, art, and cyberspace interaction. As a new and interdisciplinary field, performance studies merges anthropology, sociology, theatre, art, and new media as a way to both blur and redefine the boundaries of what is considered performative. The theoretical framework of performativity, whether it is looking at the everyday presentation of the self or the performance of nations and states, is a tool that enables us to critically examine the canons which produce these constructed identities. The course will look at key writers of performance studies and cyber theory in order to understand the effects of performative actions, especially in the context of the global expansion of media culture.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

For students wishing to work with a particular instructor on subject matter not covered by regularly scheduled classes, a special independent study class may be taken. A contract is required, including signatures of the instructor and the student's department chair. A 398 class may not be used to substitute for a department's core requirement or senior thesis / senior independent. Learning contract required before registration. Minimum of junior class standing and 3.0 GPA required.

Prerequisite: students at the Junior/Senior level with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of at least 3.000

High modernism is often invoked but seldom read with comprehension. Virginia Woolf wryly declared, “In 1910, human character changed,” and if this was not to be, the ways of conveying character certainly had changed: the interior monologue, fragmentation, and a mythic method allowed these three writers to convey deeper and more ambiguous messages about a world that still exists—altered by WWI and II and technological change. The class reads the major poetry of Yeats, concentrating on his later work, along with Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Ulysses, Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse, and finally Between the Acts. Prerequisite: One 300-level course in literature.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 300 level or higher, or Grad/PostBac standing.

Writings by William Faulkner, Zora Neal Hurston, James Agee, Flannery O’Connor, James Dickey, Richard Wright and others. Are these writers regional or universal, radical or reactionary, experimental or traditional? Do they celebrate or criticize the South? What is the American South: geographic place, fictional setting, or state of mind? Seminar discussion, no lectures. Electronic submissions midterm and final exams, final paper required.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 300 level or higher, or Grad/PostBac standing.

In this course we will examine the ecological paradigm and its cognitive and aesthetic implications. The course seeks an interdisciplinary mixture of reading and writing. Topics will include: the many swings in scientific thinking (Western, Eastern and indigenous) about how the universe ?works.? We?ll take a historical and cross-cultural look at poetic and mythic structures as literary forms (oral and written) through which human beings have expressed their relationships with the natural world, with a specific focus on theoretical perspectives informing the critical discussions about ecopoetry. Each student will write and present original poems/stories expressing their own relationships with the natural world as well as analytical essays on topics covered in the course.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 300 level or higher, or Grad/PostBac standing.

“High Modernism” denotes a moment in Euro/American history between about 1900 and 1930 when the grounds of philosophical and artistic reality began to shift. These writers, committed to the notion of a high culture and generally opposed to the emerging avant gardes (Futurism, Surrealism, Dada, Cubism), reworked such fundamental questions as human existence, consciousness, time, language, history, and identity. They tended to produce “monumental” works encompassing a totality of human experience. The class covers both literature and philosophy but may include some readings in science and math, especially Einstein or Poincaré. Readings include some of the following authors: French writers Marcel Proust, Henri Bergson, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty; German authors Martin Heidegger, Edmund Husserl, Thomas Mann, and Ludwig Wittgenstein; American writers T. S. Eliot, Ernest Hemingway, Henry Adams, Henry James, William Faulkner, Gertrude Stein, and Ezra Pound; and British writers Virginia Woolf, Joseph Conrad, James Joyce, E. M. Forster, and Joseph Conrad. Prerequisite: One 200-level course in literature.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 300 level or higher, or Grad/PostBac standing.

The question of women writing in the Third World is linked to issues of difference, othering, colonization, subjugation, and religious fundamentalism, among others. This course introduces works that directly address the conditions of women under Islamic, patriarchal, and postcolonial rule. To gain better insight into the ntertwined nature of the "Orient" and "Occident" and to assess critically our own involvement in Third World issues, we will also explore notions such as "Orientalism" and the conditions of postcoloniality and religious fundamentalism in theoretical texts. Here we will concentrate on analyzing the intersections of nation, gender/sex/sexuality, class/caste, and race/ethnicity/religion and see how these are represented in our readings.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 300 level or higher, or Grad/PostBac standing.

Freak Literature will analyze poems, stories, novels, plays, memoirs, and films that in one way or another represent 'freaks'---persons whose bodies, historically, have reinforced normality by defying it. With aid of critics and theorists, students will learn about the social categories that such bodies transgressed, the various discourses and cultural rituals that made them human spectacles, the fallout stereotypes that continue to persist today, as well as the redefinition of the 'freak' as counter-cultural icon. Close examination of how literature's re-staging of 'freaks' serves often politically-loaded narratives will certainly complicate our understanding of exploitation while providing radical new ways of thinking about body and identity.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 300 level or higher, or Grad/PostBac standing.

3 credits. Cager. Offered fall. As an introductory course in Africana studies, the readings focus on developing a broadbased knowledge of the history and culture of African Americans from both an insider and an outsider perspective. While the course links literature and culture in Africa to literature and culture in the New World, it especially focuses on contemporary Africana writers and includes works by a range of classical and avant-garde writers. Some works covered include Catch A Fire: An Intergenerational Anthology, Van Sertima’s They Came before Columbus, Sundiata Lester’s To Be a Slave, Toomer’s Cane, King’s Why We Can’t Wait, and Shange’s For Colored Girls. At least one living writer studied by the class will visit to read and discuss his or her work. Prerequisite: One 300-level course in literature.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 300 level or higher, or Grad/PostBac standing.

Where does nature begin or end? What is the natural? What do eco-terrorism, global warming, and the poisoning of the oceans and the Earth have to do with art? Are they art? Engage with naturalists and other writers and thinkers from Aldo Leopold’s seminal work to contemporary authors like Annie Dillard, Tom Horton, Dianne Ackerman, and David Foster Wallace. Prerequisite: HMST 101.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 300 level or higher, or Grad/PostBac standing.

In the preface to Justine, the Marquis de Sade poses a question that seems to have preoccupied the culture of the late 19th century: Is it “possible to find in oneself physical sensations of a sufficiently voluptuous piquancy to extinguish all moral affections?” This class examines the second generation of Romantics, or negative Romanticism, in order to understand the retreat of the arts from the long-held commitment to political and moral ideals. Students examine the rise of aestheticism, symbolism, and art for art’s sake. The class reads literary works and also philosophy and history, including authors such as Byron, Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Nietzsche, Huysmans, Wilde, Keats, and Dostoyevsky. In them, students see the collapse of European culture begun in the Renaissance and the beginnings of the dystopia of the 20th century. Prerequisite: One 200-level course in literature

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 300 level or higher, or Grad/PostBac standing.

An intensive examination of several of Shakespeare plays, such as Hamlet, Othello, Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, and As You Like It—all of which have enjoyed recent critically acclaimed cinematic treatments. Students explore Shakespeare’s work on the page, on the stage, and in the movies, studying the play texts, the classically presented BBC productions, and the recent film versions of the plays. Acting, directing, discussion, and writing are all part of the coursework. Prerequisite: One 300-level course in literature.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 300 level or higher, or Grad/PostBac standing.

3 credits. Jaskunas. Offered occasionally. This seminar will survey the literary and intellectual history of America’s late nineteenth century. During this time, the abolitionist movement reached its apex, Lincoln emancipated the slaves, the North defeated the Confederacy, and Reconstruction came to the South. The country witnessed the rise of the women’s suffragist movement, the advent of Darwinian thought and great leaps in technology and industry. In short, the United States became modern in the late nineteenth century, and the nation’s writers played a vital role in advancing narratives, aesthetics and ideas that would change how Americans think. The reading list will likely include fiction by Herman Melville, Mark Twain, Kate Chopin, and Henry James. We will also sample recent works of intellectual history and writings by thinkers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, William James, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and W.E.B. Dubois.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 300 level or higher, or Grad/PostBac standing.

In April 1816 both Lord Byron and Percy Shelley were expelled from England and made their way to Geneva, Switzerland. Although they were the best known and most notorious poets and activists in the world at the time, they had never met until their summer together in Geneva. This summer of 1816 was perhaps the most important turning point in the intellectual history of the west. Western humanism that had been born in the Renaissance reached its end this summer. Byron and Shelley re-read Rousseau’s work “in situ” and argued over the implications of the final failure of the French Revolution. This class will study the unique history of Geneva, Rousseau and the intellectual climate of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and the work Byron and Shelley wrote in Geneva and the few years immediately following their summer there.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 300 level or higher, or Grad/PostBac standing.

Students in this seminar will consider The Wire, a "television novel" about crime in Baltimore, alongside the literary tradition of naturalism. Like the American naturalist writers of the early 20th century, The Wire suggests that individuals are captive to powerful social forces and political structures beyond their control. The program also shares with the naturalists an interest in the urban poor, abuses of power and social hierarchies. As we read from naturalists texts and view HBO's groundbreaking series, we will investigate the relationship between naturalism and political advocacy, representations of the poor by the privileged, and the intellectual underpinnings and consequences of naturalism. Possible readings include novels and stories by John Dos Passos, Richard Wright and Richard Price. (For a list of required books, visit the MICA store website shortly before the semester begins.) We will also view the first three of the five seasons of "The Wire".

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 200 level or higher.

In this course, students are introduced first to the fundamentals of astronomy, and building on that foundation, and through the wonders of NASA’s Hubble Telescope, to the wild, wonderful, absolutely beautiful and profoundly mysterious nature of the universe. We shall explore its strange realities as revealed through modern physics. Supernovas, the Big Bang, neutron stars, black holes, extrasolar planets, and even our own tiny solar system. In a lucid manner suitable for the non-specialist, we will explore the impact of quantum theory, elementary particle theory and relativity on our understanding of perhaps the deepest questions of modern science: What is the origin of the universe and where, if anywhere, is it headed? Does the universe have meaning? Is there life on other planets? What is the meaning of time and eternity? Who are we and how did we get here?

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

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Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

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Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Robinson. Offered fall. The focus of this course is to understand basic components of human anatomy, including gross and microscopic anatomy. It intends to discuss not only skin, muscle and skeletal systems, but also the nervous system, large organs, immunity and developmental anatomy. Related variations in human anatomy due to aging and certain illnesses will be discussed as well. This course overlaps somewhat with NSCI 220 General Biology, so students should take either one but not both.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

This 3-credit course examines the physics of phenomena that make up the world we live in: both the built environment and the natural environment. Visualization will be emphasized as a principal tool for understanding and cross-referencing concepts in Physics and Mathematics. Students will learn about the strength of materials, material behavior, the physics behind phenomena that are critical to the environment and to evaluate these important facts surrounding us. The course is intended to provide Artists and Designers a working knowledge of physical phenomena and their analysis, and to support interests such as those in built form whether in Sculpture or Architecture, and in environmental issues such as Sustainability and Climate Change.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

This course promotes a comprehensive understanding of humankind’s interactions (both positive and negative) with the local, regional, and global environment. The first portion of the course provides a tour of earth’s major environmental compartments, including the hydrosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere and biosphere. Emphasis is placed on the interconnected nature of each compartment. The second portion of the course highlights in greater depth environmental issues of current and emerging importance. Student-selected discussion topics will be key components of this course.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Looks at the major advances in science in the last 500 hundred years, focusing particularly on the 20th century. Newton’s laws, Einstein's theories, quantum mechanics, and string theory are explored. These ideas affect not only our understanding of the universe, but also our understanding of our cultures and ourselves. Fulfills natural science requirement.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Staff. Offered occasionally. An introduction to the science of biodiversity. We examine the history of biodiversity as well as current issues, with an emphasis on building the understanding needed to be advocates for the natural world. Topics of discussion include levels of biodiversity; measuring and mapping biodiversity; dispersal and succession; the fossil record and evolution of major groups; the scope of present-day biodiversity; the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem health; species concepts, speciation, and extinction; conservation biology; and restoration ecology.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

This course will cover a variety of topics in mathematics. The goal is to impart an understanding of the range of mathematical ideas, to be appreciated as a useful tool, as a language, and as a work of art in itself. We will cover the history and development of the subject through lectures, class discussion, and hands-on work. As learning can take place only through doing, students will be directed in actively solving problems. Topics will include the vocabulary of mathematics, the structure of numbers, the development of analytic rigor, concepts of infinity, abstraction, symmetry, and others.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Scientific theories and facts are the product of struggles between researchers and interested critics. By examining a series of controversies in science during the last two hundred years, this course will explore how science has been done and the relationship between science and culture. We will investigate controversies such as disagreements about plate tectonics in geology, the process by which the biological basis for the race concept was undermined, and arguments about the status of homosexuality as a mental illness and the events leading up to its removal from the primary diagnostic guide in psychology. A close examination of these episodes and others will reveal the myriad ways that scientists and clinicians have developed consensus and otherwise attempted to resolve conceptual and social disagreements in science. The case of global climate change, about which there is scientific consensus, but public skepticism, will help the class explore issues related to evidence, the notion of scientific community, the possibilities and limits of scientific research, and science and politics. Finally, by looking at ongoing controversies about the definition of life and when it begins, cases of ambiguous sex and sex determination, and the balance of biology and environment in producing intelligence, the class will encounter disagreements that are as much about values as they are about research methods.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Does “objectivity” have a history, or even multiple histories? Through close readings and case studies in the history of medicine and science, the course explores how things become known to the world, how consensus becomes fact, and how (often) knowledge is unmade. Topics include: the rise of statistical thinking; objectivity in physics; rational thought and monsters; the move from pathological anatomy to the clinic; and debates between philosophy and science about perception. The aim is for students to gain sophistication in their reading of individual texts, and to synthesize concepts between scientific domains and historical periods. Prerequisite: Credit earned or concurrent enrollment in LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Waddell. Offered occasionally. A course in science for non-practitioners. Starting from Newton’s description of gravitation, the course explores the role of mathematical models as the foundation of modern science. Students should achieve some degree of mathematical intuition and an understanding of the scope and limitations of the realm of science. Topics include light and color, harmonics, motion, higher-dimensional spaces, uncertainty, and the nature of scientific theories. A background in higher mathematics is not assumed or required.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Logic concerns the forms and criteria of correct reasoning. This course begins with an introduction to infomal fallacies and critical thinking, and proceeds toward the beginning of sentential and predicate logic. By its end, you will think more clearly, read more critically, and argue more effectively.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

3 credits. Staff. Offered Fall, Spring. This course focuses on career preparation and development for visual artists. It presents a wide variety of professional tools and business skills including subjects such as goal setting; professional ethics; portfolio basics and imaging strategies; writing cover letters, statements, and proposals; exhibitions in galleries, museums, and alternative spaces; self initiated projects and exhibitions; networking and public relations; applying for grants and residencies; applying for internships, jobs, and graduate schools; and locating helpful resources. The course includes and requires weekly lectures, practical exercises, guest speakers, field trips, studio visits and attendance at Career Development Workshops.

Performance/Theater Studies electives taken through BSEP. Courses under this prefix should be academic or performance based in nature; studio based courses such as costuming, set construction, or props should be listed under the FA prefix.

This course will introduce students to the discipline of theatre history, focusing attention upon some of the most notable events, performances, and artifacts of the Western tradition. Students will learn to undertake the labor and practices of the theatre historian and will be encouraged to consider live performance as the most important—yet most ephemeral—primary document to unearth and analyze. The course will consider theatre and performance from a variety of eras, including Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, Neo-Classical, Romantic, as well as styles such as Realist, Modernist and Absurdist theatre. In addition to written scholarly discourse, students will be asked to call upon their studio skills through a theatrical design project which challenges students’ historical knowledge and analytical abilities.

Prerequisite: HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry) or Permission of Instructor.

Entry by audition (cast) and application/interview (tech crew) only. The Play’s the Thing students will earn six credits, three academic and three studio, in Humanistic Studies Elective PERF303 (all students) and either studio elective FA303.01 Production (actors, stage managers, assistant director, assistant producer, costumers, publicists) or FA303.02 Technical Design (set, lighting, sound, prop designers, technicians and fabricators). Students selected for the cast and crew will become Spring 2013 members of The Rivals of the West, MICA’s theater company that stages ticketed dramatic performances for the public in BBOX each spring . The Play’s the Thing spring 2013 production is Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa. The play will run for eight performances: April 4, 5, 6, 7 and April 11, 12, 13, 14. Dancing at Lughnasa requires a cast of 8 (5 women, 3 men) and an extensive technical crew, including stage managers; assistant directors; assistant producers; set, lighting and sound designers, technicians and fabricators; costumer designers and fabricators; prop designers and fabricators; makeup artists; and publicists (designers and marketers) among others. Auditions and the application/interview process will take place this fall on November 12, 13 and 14, 9:30-11:30 p.m., in BBOX. Auditioning and applying students will be informed of their entry status on November 16, before online registration takes place for the spring semester. All students interested in auditioning and applying for The Play’s the Thing must contact Christopher Shipley, cshipley@mica.edu, as soon as possible for additional important information and to request audition/application materials and instructions.

Concurrent enrollment FA 303 required, totaling 6 credits. Enrollment by permission of Instructor.

This course is an introduction to the concepts of theatre arts as they function within selected African, Asian, Caribbean, and American societies. The plays selected introduce a varied number of styles, political orientations, structural concepts, and ideas about the human condition. The course is designed to encourage the recognition of the need to construct cultural perspectives within contemporary societies and not to assume that the logic of western cultures is either inherently correct or structurally superior to non-Western dramatic art forms. The class is conducted studio-style with dramatic readings, individual/group analyses, and performance requirements. Some original writing, a take home mid-term and a final are also required.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 200 level or higher.

This is an introductory course for students interested in continuing to develop their writing, acting, vocal/speech and performance/movement skills. The course uses a workshop format to do both body related exercises and cognitive exercises. The instructional goal is for students to develop their critical thinking skills and be more comfortable speaking to and performing in front of people in a way that represents the best version of their authentic selves.Multiple texts include From Totems to Hip Hop: A Multicultural Anthology of Poetry Across the Americas, 1900-2002. Requirements include writing and performing both original and published poems in the classroom and in more public spaces and writing 1 analytical essay and 1 analytical peer review essay.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

This studio course introduces the fundamentals of photographic practice. Emphasis is placed on the exposure, development of black and white film, and the silver print as well as the aesthetics of photographic vision. The format includes class demonstrations, lab work, field assignments and critiques.

An introductory level course that explores the conceptual and practical principles of digital photography through lectures, readings, hands-on assignments, and field trips. Discussion topics focus on camera operation, file formats, the impact of digital technology on contemporary photographic practice, as well as the aesthetic and ethical issues surrounding it. Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, and other software applications are used to explore creative and experimental possibilities for processing and manipulating photographs. Studio work emphasizes printed, still imagery, but students are encouraged to devise new uses for their digital materials. Introduction to input and output peripherals will include digital cameras, scanners, and printers. Prerequisites: FF 210.

Prerequisite: FF 210 (Electronic Media and Culture)

This course is an introduction to photojournalism – visual reporting. Through weekly assignments and critiques, students will explore the role of photography and journalism. Additionally the course will focus on the photographer as a reporter and recorder of specific events and society in general. Students will complete weekly assignments designed to refine technical and reporting skills as well as two longer self-generated documentary projects that require intimate understanding of the subject matter though research, writing and photo-editing abilities. Students will also learn about the profession of photojournalism and editorial photography. Prerequisite: PH 262 (Digital Photo I)

Prerequisite: PH 262 (Digital Photography I)

Offers a refinement of black and white film photography techniques and visual skills through lectures, assignments, darkroom work and critiques. Students should bring samples of work to the first class. Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White Film Photo I)

Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White Film Photography I)

This class explores controlled lighting for still photography in the studio. Students use continuous light sources, electronic studio flash equipment, and natural light to photograph, from small to large studio set ups, macro photography, and models on background paper, sweeps, and locations.

Prerequisites: PH 232 (Black & White I), PH 332 (Black & White II), & PH 262 (Digital Photo I).

This studio class explores the long tradition of the view camera in photography. The course emphasizes fundamental techniques of 4 x 5" and 8 x 10" cameras as they apply to landscape, architectural and portrait photography. Students learn to print from large format negatives in the darkroom and digital labs. Cameras are provided. PRIORITY PHOTO MAJORS Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I), PH 332 (Black & White II), PH 262 (Digital I) & PH 382 (Color Photography)

Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I), PH 332 (Black & White II), PH 262 (Digital I) and PH 382 (Color Photography)

This studio elective is devoted to mastering the principles and practices of classic black and white silver print production. Film developing variations, printing paper, developing combinations and archival processing controls are covered. Students are encouraged to work on a single series. Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) and PH 332 (Black & White II)

Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) and PH 332 (Black & White II)

This course will focus on Nature/nature, rural/agrarian, industrial, urban, and suburban landscapes with emphasis on how they can be interpreted photographically as genre, fact, the sublime, symbol, pure form, culture, and propaganda. There will be assignments, field trips and critiques. Students can work in film or digital photography. Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) or PH 262 (Digital Photo I)

Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) or PH 262 (Digital Photo I)

Whether a photographer is exploring an artistic vision, or creating imagery for commercial purposes, photographing at night can be both poetically inspiring and technically challenging. This seven week course will provide a survey of the technical, conceptual, and pragmatic skills necessary to successfully make high quality photographs in low-light environments. Topics covered will include proper light exposure, necessary and helpful equipment, reading ambient light, hand-held lighting, mixing light sources, and proper planning and safety. In addition to technical skills, students will explore the history and conceptual implications of photographing at night, through readings, lectures, and visiting artists. Students are welcome to work with any combination of digital or film cameras, as long as they have manual exposure controls available.

Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) or PH 262 (Digital Photo I)

How do we derive meaning from images? As artists, how can we ensure that our intended meanings are understood by our audiences? These are fundamental and difficult questions for almost all visual artists and their viewers. In the realm of photography, where subject matter usually includes “real things”, the conversation gets more complicated, as objects can simply be themselves, or can symbolize an infinite array of other meanings. In this seven-week course, students will develop and hone their skills and instincts in “reading” their surroundings; not only imagery, but sound, speech, gesture, humor, relationships, and everything else that informs our understanding of the world. This increased attention to nuance and salience will then be applied to photographs as they are made and interpreted by class members. Particulare attention will be paid to the effects of cropping, focus, motion blur, color cast, and other photographic phenomena upon the reading of images. Choosing appropriate and productive strategies for critique will be a cornerstone of all discussions. Students from all majors are encouraged to enroll. There is no technical prerequisite for the course, but each student should have a working knowledge of her/his camera.

Undergraduates at the Sophomore level or higher only.

A photographic examination of how the landscape has been altered by human incursion and the forces of nature. The course includes readings, research techniques, presentation forms, as well as group and individual projects. Students may work in black and white, color film, or digitally. Students produce a portfolio of personal work. Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) or PH 262 (Digital Photo I)

Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) or PH 262 (Digital Photo I)

This seminar course familiarizes students with concepts, aesthetic trends and practice in contemporary fine art photography. The first half of the course examines photography from the mid-1950’s to the present, using slide lectures, readings, presentations and field work to think about important practitioners of the medium. The second half of the coursel includes discussion of critical topics in contemporary photography, organized around themes such as memory, surveillance, text & image, and participatory culture. Students are expected to respond critically in both written and visual formats to the artwork discussed in class and to propose and execute a self-directed final project. Prerequisites: PH 232 (Black & White I), PH 332 (Black & White II), & PH 262 (Digital Photo I).

Prerequisites: PH 232 (Black & White I), PH 332 (Black & White II), & PH 262 (Digital Photo I).

This course emphasizes humanistic experience provided by photography through the use of the camera as a means of understanding people in relation to each other, to their environments, and to society. Students may work in film or digitally, depending on previous coursework. Each student will have the option to participate in a community outreach project. Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) or PH 262 (Digital Photo I)

Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) or PH 262 (Digital Photo I)

An artist’s book class that uses photographic imagery as its primary source. The photographic book extends the photographic series into time and space. Assignments focus on book structures and book binding, image sequencing, and page design. Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) or PH 262 (Digital Photo I)

Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) or PH 262 (Digital Photo I)

From photography’s inception to the present moment, the body has captivated, repelled, and engaged us. From the rarified to the sensual, the erotic to the embattled, the body in photography continues to intrigue. This course is designed to keep the human form at its center, with all openness to explore the many tributaries that flow from this subject. Students are encouraged to think broadly about the figure, and to consider how the long tradition of photographing the nude has shifted in the 21st century. Students respond to specific assignments, readings, and exhibitions. The latter part of the semester consists of a self-initiated project and the production of a portfolio of work based on a personal interpretation of issues surrounding the human figure in photography. Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White 1), PH 262 (Digital Photography 1), PH 332 (Intermediate Photo) and either PH 345 (Contemporary Directions) or PH 375 (Narrative Strategies)

Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White 1), PH 262 (Digital Photography 1), PH 332 (Intermediate Photo) and either PH 345 (Contemporary Directions) or PH 375 (Narrative Strategies)

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A critical seminar for the use of digital tools in artistic practice, building on skills and ideas learned in Digital Photography I. Work focuses on production and high quality output of still imagery. Specific topics are derived from readings, discussion, and critiques, and will emphasize narrative forms, such as sequencing, artist books, print-on-demand books, and/or interactive web presentations. Students complete a series of thematic assignments, leading to a written proposal for a substantial, self-directed final project. Prerequisite: PH 262 (Digital Photography I)

Prerequisite: PH 262 (Digital Photography I)

This course will explore the possibilities of representing the sculptural photographically and the photographic sculpturally. The photograph, which purports to extend reality to a fixed 2d position, can distort, complicate, and tease constructed materials and environments to great affect. Similarly, the photograph can quickly become considered as a 3D object with the ease of folding a printed image in half. First through a series of assignments aimed at establishing a toolbox for these possibilities, followed by a guided long-form project, students will be encouraged to think about their artistic process as engaged with these nebulous and broadening practices. The studio component of this course will be complimented by theoretical readings and engaged conversations about contemporary practitioners working at the intersection of sculpture and photography, such as Liz Deschenes, Brendan Fowler, Heidi Norton, Lucas Blalock, Jessica Eaton, and Charles Ray.

Prerequisite: PH 345 (Contemp Directions in Photo)

It is said that a photograph wears the aspect of fact but says nothing. This ambiguity has not prevented photographs from being use to construct visual stories such as the classic picture essay. This course explores how editing and sequencing create relationships between images. The role of text and the use of allegory in contemporary photographic practice are also considered. Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) & PH 262 (Digital Photo I)

Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) & PH 262 (Digital Photo I)

Proust said “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” We are taught our whole lives to think things through, be in control, and act with reason rather than intuition, but that approach limits our vision to see just what we expect, not what is actually in front of us. This course is about finding new ways to see rather than searching for a new subject, emphasizing the camera as a tool to intuitively explore our vision and the world around us. Through assignments, exercises, readings, and discussions, the students will explore the idea of "seeing with new eyes". By encouraging process over product and intuition over reason, students will develop a more intuitive visual approach to photography.

Prerequisites: PH 232 (Black & White I), PH 332 (Black & White II), & PH 262 (Digital Photo I).

This course emphasizes both the technical and aesthetic possibilities of color negative film photography. Theory, history, and contemporary directions of color photography are explored. Students produce a portfolio of color prints. Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) and PH 332 (Black & White II)

Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) and PH 332 (Black & White II)

This interdisciplinary studio course asks challenging questions about the concept of “landscape” and the nature of our changing world. Students are encouraged to develop new ways of approaching these ideas, as well as their perceptions of physical space and particular places. Topics range from the shifting urban/rural dichotomy to explorations of cyberspace and how it influences our existence in the physical world. Color is emphasized as a fundamental interpretive tool. This course is intended for juniors and seniors working in any medium, and students are encouraged to explore materials with which they are not familiar. Though offered through the Photography Department, this is an interdisciplinary section of this course. Students in all media are encouraged to enroll, regardless of their background in photography.

The use of a lens structures vision in a particular way. What does it mean to peep, stare, or survey a subject? The first part of the class deals with the ramifications of lens-based vision, the second half considers context. Whether the image is viewed on a wall or as part of an installation, in a book or on a computer screen, issues such as size, editing, and arrangement are important. Students may choose to work with video or digital technology as well as film photography. Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) or PH 262 (Digital Photo I)

Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) or PH 262 (Digital Photo I)

This is an experimental course which introduces students to historical techniques to augment their contemporary vision. Assignments in darkroom and digital negative making, cyanotype, van dyke, and pin hole photography lead the student to a broader understanding of the possibilities of photography. Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) and PH 332 (Black & White II)

Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) and PH 332 (Black & White II)

This studio class explores the photograph in contemporary art. Students extend the photograph through installation, projection, collage and montage, public art, collaboration, mixed media, computer, and other means. Projects, readings, and field trips are required. Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) & PH 262 (Digital Photo I)

Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) & PH 262 (Digital Photo I)

Under the direction of the faculty member, each student formulates and pursues a body of personal photographic work. Investigation of contemporary photographic theory and professional practices are key parts of the seminar. This course is open to junior photography majors only and may be taken in the fall or spring semester. Prerequisites: PH 232 (Black & White I), PH 332 (Black & White II), PH 262 (Digital I), and PH 345 (Contemporary Directions) or AH 332 (History of Photography)

Prerequisites: PH 232 (Black & White I), PH 332 (Black & White II), PH 262 (Digital I), and PH 345 (Contemporary Directions) or AH 332 (History of Photography)

Palladium printing is a 19th century photographic process that yields an archival print with a long and rich tonal range. In this class, students will use large format negatives and an ultraviolet light source to produce a final image of pure palladium. We will focus on making the appropriate negative, the subtleties of hand-coated emulsion and the importance of paper choice. Since this is a contact process, knowledge of large format will enhance your experience, although we will cover enlarging techniques for 35mm negatives as well. Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I), PH 332 (Black & White II), and PH 386 (Alt. Processes)

Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I), PH 332 (Black & White II), and PH 386 (Alt. Processes)

For students wishing to work with a particular instructor on subject matter not covered by regularly scheduled classes, a special independent study class may be taken. A contract is required, including signatures of the instructor and the student's department chair. A 398 class may not be used to substitute for a department's core requirement or senior thesis / senior independent. Learning contract required before registration. Minimum of junior class standing and 3.0 GPA required.

Prerequisite: students at the Junior/Senior level with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of at least 3.000

Technology is transforming the way lens based art is created and consumed. This seminar course serves as an introduction to the creation and appreciation of moving images for students with a still photography background. Through lectures, reading assignments and individual research presentations, students will examine the complex relationship between still photography, and the moving image. In class demonstrations will be given on the capture and editing of both digital video, and still photography. Students will also be required to conceptualize and execute visual media, culminating in a final project. Through looking critically at the shared history, creative goals and technologically driven future of these seemingly disparate mediums, we will open a discourse on their shared future.

Prerequisite: PH 345 (Contemp Directions in Photo)

The influence of conceptual art and artists from the late 1960's and 1970's resonates throughout contemporary photographic practice. The class will look at some of these artists and their projects and follow the threads through to the present time. A sequence of thematic explorations will examine different aspects of what it means to work conceptually. As Sol LeWitt famously said: “Conceptual artists are mystics rather than rationalists. They leap to conclusions that logic cannot reach”. Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) & PH 262 (Digital Photo I)

Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) & PH 262 (Digital Photo I)

The course explores advanced technique of digital printing. Students work on individual digital photo projects, researching the best papers, inks or other materials. Beyond the software settings and the hardware controls for making good prints, the students learn about color management, and how to effectively use it for making the exact image that they envision. Prerequisite: PH 262 (Digital Photography I)

Prerequisite: PH 262 (Digital Photography I)

While photographing disappearing Paris, Eugène Atget referred to himself not as a photographer, but as an archivist. The photograph holds an entangled relationship with collecting, and from the 1960’s onwards the artist-as-archivist phenomenon has accelerated. The creation and mining of institutional and personal collections of images, documents and objects has fueled the creativity of artists such as Boltanski, Calle, Richter, Warhol and Wilson. Advanced level photo students will explore local archives and museums to create work inspired by their holdings. Through their personal vision students will be encouraged to interpret, re-invent, define and examine the meaning of collecting. Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) & PH 262 (Digital Photo I)

Prerequisite: PH 232 (Black & White I) & PH 262 (Digital Photo I)

This is the first half of a two semester series of studio class which is required of all photography majors. In addition to creating a major thesis project, students write an accompanying proposal and artist’s statement. Students will research avenues of professional practice. Students will meet with visiting artists and critics in preparation for final critique with an external reviewer and senior thesis coordinators. It is advisable to schedule this for Fall and Spring semesters of the senior year.

Prerequisite: PH 390 (Junior Seminar) & Senior Photography Major

This is the second half of a two semester series of studio class which is required of all photography majors. In addition to creating a major thesis project, students write an accompanying proposal and artist’s statement. Students will research avenues of professional practice. Students will meet with visiting artists and critics in preparation for final critique with an external reviewer and senior thesis coordinators. It is advisable to schedule this for Fall and Spring semesters of the senior year.

Prerequisite: Students must have earned a grade of "Pass" in PH 490 (Photography Senior Thesis I).

Beginning with Plato, Western thought has reflected on the nature of music in order to address concerns that are not merely aesthetic. This course traces the history of philosophical thinking about music—polyphonic music in particular. Why is it that Western thinkers have constantly inquired about the enigma of music in order to answer questions concerning order in the universe, concerning harmony in the state, the “Dionysian” origins of tragedy, the nature of myth and eros, and more recently, the relation of language to meaning? This is not a history of music course, but a course in how seminal Western thinkers have focused on music in order to answer genuinely philosophical problems. No background in music is required, though students must be prepared to listen to a lot of music. The course covers Plato and the ancients on music; Renaissance thinkers on polyphony and harmony; parallels between Leibniz and the music of Bach; parallels between Hegel and Beethoven; Kierkegaard on Mozart and seduction; Schopenhauer and Nietzsche in relation to the music of Wagner; Schoenberg, Thomas Mann, and the philosophy of Adorno; Wittgenstein on music and language; and Levi-Strauss on music and myth. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

This course examines ancient and early medieval philosophy primarily through the major works of Plato and Aristotle, but with Augustine and Aquinas as well. Our focus will be primarily on Plato and Aristotle as they, in many ways, set the agenda for many of the questions still thought fundamental to philosophical inquiry though they approached these questions in a distinctive spirit from that of most modern philosophers. In particular, they thought of philosophy less as a conceptual exercise and more as a way of life indeed, as the best way. The main topics we will cover in our effort to make sense of Plato and Aristotle will be: ethical virtue and its relation to the good life (happiness), the soul and its relation to the body, and the objects and nature of knowledge. The main topics to be taken up with regard to Augustine and Aquinas, who are primarily concerned with the Fall and our possibility of salvation are: sex, death, time and free will. Throughout we will make an effort to flech out the nature of the social and political climate that set the stage for these philosophers and their ideas.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

The ancient Greek world, and the adoption and mutation of its intellectual traditions by the Romans, provide seminal ideas at the basis of Western civilization. This course will examine the roots and progression of that tradition through its heyday and demise, culminating with its early transformations by Christian thought. We will cover some of the well known writings of major philosophers of this period, including Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, Lucretius, and Augustine, and consider the historical, political, religious and literary trends to which they responded and which molded their thought in turn. This means we will also sample from texts of Homer, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Cicero, and Julius Caesar, among others.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Early Greek Philosophers posed the fundamental questions that have dominated philosophy for the past two millenia: What is the good? What is happiness? How can I attain happiness? What is the best political arrangement for humans? Is the human soul unique and immortal? What is justice, and why is the pursuit of real justice so often inimical to everyday society? We will explore these and other essential questions in reading from Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus among others, and some of the Greek tragedians.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

The topic of this course involves one of the most significant debates in Western philosophy—one that emerges in the period following the Renaissance, starts with the question of the origins of human knowledge, but blossoms into larger controversies concerning the makeup of the human mind, the essence of personal identity, the relations between body and soul, the limits of knowledge, and the possibility of religious faith. Various voices considered in this debate include those of Descartes, Spinoza, Pascal, Hume, and Berkeley. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

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Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Examines the development of Existentialism from its roots in the 19th century with thinkers such as Nietzsche and Dostoyevsky to its emergence as a major philosophical movement in the aftermath of the First World War. Students consider the basic elements of the philosophy, its aesthetic implications, and its applications in the fields of psychology and political science as a philosophy of moral freedom. Writers studied include Nietzsche, Dostoyevsky, Sartre, Camus, Hemingway, Kafka, Fanon, de Beauvoir, and others. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Covers the major influences, statements, and debates in Western moral thought from the end of the Renaissance through the 19th century. It explores the continuity and changes in various approaches to questions concerning the best way to live, the social duties we have, and the manner of ethical motivation. The course begins by examining the influence of Stoicism and the Reformation on the Christian moral paradigm of the Middle Ages, following with the emergence of Enlightenment ethical ideals, and concluding with the critique and rejection of the reigning moral paradigms and their religious, cultural, and philosophical foundations in the 19th century. Among the writers examined are Hobbes, Rousseau, Kant, Mill, and Nietzsche. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

The period since the Renaissance has known a remarkable rush of scientific advances culminating in unparalleled conveniences in human history. This course texts that chronicle the major advances of this period, with a view to the development of the scientific method that made these advances possible, the socio-political forces that encouraged particular innovations and areas of research, and of course, the effect and reception of these advances as they emerged. Prerequisite: LA 101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

The course explores this basic question and auxiliary questions concerning the relation of beauty to subjectivity, time and the timeless, purpose and purposelessness, the relative and the universal, desire, pleasure, artifice, cosmetics, and death. Classic philosophical treatments of the nature of beauty will be encountered in Plato, Plotinus, Kant,Schiller and contemporary re-considerations of beauty in the theories of Nehemas and Sartwell. Our reflections will be deepened and provoked by the writings of Keats, Baudelaire, Mann, Stevens, Ashbery, and by pertinent films.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

We live in a media-infested world; our whole lives are subjected to media transmission of some form or another: TV, film, advertisements, newspapers, the internet. In light of this fact about 21st century culture - and the significant role of artists and designers in shaping those media- it is necessary to consider the moral and political impact and influence of the various media. Do films incline us to violence? Do ads incline us to anorexia? Do newspapers incline us to Republicanism? Underlying these concerns is the larger one about the media's relation to truth and accuracy. Ought the media be objective? Can they be objective? What hidden agendas do the media betray, and how do they betray them? Also, how do the media persuade, compel ... control?

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

This is a course in the philosophy of language and interpretation (hermeneutics). We examine what it is to understand a language, and then go on to address fundamental problems in the understanding of oneself, others, and beings who are “wholly other” like gods, or devils as the case may be. Some of the questions addressed in the seminar are: Does the fact that we speak a particular language (that we are situated in a specific culture at a certain time) preclude us from understanding persons who express themselves in a different language, persons with “conceptual schemes” that seem radically different from ours? How does a community based upon an authoritative text, like the Bible or the U.S. Constitution, handle unbridgeable conflicts in interpretation? Why would a god speak to human beings in figures, in a concealed or riddling manner? And how are we to understand such veiled language? Are there certain times when we must be unintelligible to others and even to ourselves? Are there conditions of our humanity which by their nature resist understanding? The thinkers we read include: Heidegger, Heraclitus, Herodotus, Saint Augustine, Montaigne, Kierkegaard, Gadamer, Sartre, Davidson, Wittgenstein, Simmel, MacIntyre, Rorty, Levi-Strauss, Freud, Fricker, Nagel, and Justices of the Supreme Court. Literature includes selections from: Bible, Talmud, Shakespeare, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Tolstoy, Kafka, Proust, Handke, Delillo, Whitman, Dickinson, Celan.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

This class will be based around a series of short stories dealing with murder, madness, mystery and the supernatural, from the 19th century to the present day, with an emphasis on the contemporary era. We will address issues pertaining to the short story form (language, structure, style, tone) as well as content (why are dark and sinister themes so well suited to the short story format?). Subjects covered will include ghost stories, mysteries, tales of the occult, detective stories and first person fantasies. Texts will include stories by Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins, M.R. James, Sheridan Lafanu, Ambrose Bierce, Herman Melville, Vladimir Nabokov, Thomas Mann, Tennessee Williams, and Katherine Mansfield.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

This course will consider the relationship between psychology and the creative arts, with a focus on the aesthetics of personal taste and perception, dreams, fantasy, symbols, subjectivity, identity, sexuality and the unconscious. We will look at the psychodynamics of the creative process and consider the motives behind creation. We will also consider the domain of aesthetics and metaphysics experience, with particular attention to how psychoanalysis can help us understand the phenomenon of the personal aesthetic. Attention will also be paid to art therapy, the Rorshach test, and the relationship between creativity, personality characteristics and emotional functioning.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

Are we merely in nature, or intimately part of it? What do we owe the earth, and may we take any liberties with her? How can we figure nature and its members into our moral community, or extend moral thinking to include it? What have been the traditional obstacles of such a project, and what present challenges - practical and ideological - face it now? Students consider such questions among others in exploring literature of ecological consciousness and an emerging environmental ethic. The guides in this course include Thoreau, Lao Tzu, John Muir, Aldo Leopold, Arne Naess, and Peter Singer.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

This course will examine the fundamental themes and principles of Existential Philosophy and Buddhism with the intention of illustrating how philosophical themes can be expressed in the narrative of novels. Readings will include selections from Soren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche, the Dhammapada of Buddhism, Joan Didion’s Play It As It Lays, Graham Greene’s A Burnt Out Case, Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha, and Jack Kerouac’s The Dharma Bums.

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 200 level or higher.

The course introduces students to key ideas of Nietzsche: "God is dead," Dionysian art, eternal recurrence, beyond good and evil, nihilism, the will to power, the diagnosis and overcoming of resentment, the superman. Nietzsche's influence on artists, writers, and philosophers of the last century is considered as we ask what significance Nietzsche's thought may have for us in the 21st century.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

This course will consider some of the major so-called psychopathologies, addressing their psychodynamics, their developmental antecedents, and their cultural underpinnings. We will think about some of the ways in which creativity and psychological pain can illuminate each other, and how we can understand (and fail to understand) psychological suffering. We will consider some of the ethical questions that arise in these circumstances. We will discuss what the insights of creative artists can bring to the relationship between psychopathology and emotional experience. We will also address the insights that the reading and writing of case studies can give us into the human condition, suffering, and our responsibility to one another, particularly when such studies encourage us to develop and nurture observation, analysis, empathy, and self-reflection, to which language and narrative are fundamental.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

Explores the field of bioethics. Students examine basic moral theory in the writings of Aristotle, Aquinas, Kant, Mill, and others and review the principal philosophical concepts (autonomy, personhood, justice, beneficence) underpinning ethical considerations as they influence medical research and practice. Special attention is paid to medical ethics history, from Hippocrates to contemporary medical ethics policies and regulations. The course includes case studies and case presentations that identify ethical conflicts, present options, recommend resolutions, and defend/challenge decisions.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

This course will look at issues and authors prominent in 20th and 21st century political theory. Questions we will consider include: what is the role and place of religion in the modern liberal democracies? How shall liberal democracies negotiate multi-culturalism, and integrating not so liberal populations? What is the relationship of violence to the modern state? What roles should the government play in alleviating poverty and social ills, and what specific policies are most effective? Why does our democracy in particular suffer increasing apathy, and how does that compare to other regimes? Authors we read may include Charles Taylor, Michel Foucault, Hannah Arendt, Michael Oakeshott, Isaiah Berlin, Martha Nussbaum, among others.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

This is a junior theory course in which students will engage with the emerging field of animal studies. We will consider the role played by non-humans in the field of cultural studies, social theory, philosophy and literature. In particular, we will study the history of animal representations in the Western literary tradition, in film, and in popular culture. We will also consider the social and cultural implications of pet-keeping, dog shows, animal sacrifice, scientific experimentation, taxidermy, hunting, fur-wearing and meat-eating. We will study recent films, novels, and cultural events that reveal how our interaction with non-human animals shapes our understanding of the human.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

Proposes to study Gilles Deleuze’s philosophy by looking closely at his writings on the temporal art of cinema, and to a lesser extent, his writings on music. To understand Deleuze’s theory of these arts, the course examines his general concepts of movement, time, and the image. Since this aspect of Deleuze’s thinking is strongly influenced by his reception of Bergson, study also includes relevant texts by this somewhat neglected philosopher. Classwork includes the viewing of films. Prerequisites: One IH1 and one IH2 course. Open to qualified undergraduates as well as graduate students.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

Cross listed with AH 435. The poet, Rainer Maria Rilke, suggests “the artist’s task is to imprint the temporary earth into ourselves so deeply and passionately that it can rise again inside us”. Sculptor Jackie Bookner echoes Thomas Berry’s belief that our own actions are truly creative only when we surrender to the intimate experiencing of the primacy of the natural world and its spontaneous functioning in all we do (Art Journal, Vol. 51, No. 2, Summer 1992). Students in this interdisciplinary course will explore these ideas through ecological field studies at Baltimore’s herring Run Park. Their research into basic ecological principles (energy flow, cycling of matter, adaptations/ changes in form and interrelationships) will serve as the foundation for an inquiry into the relationships between self and the natural world and between close observation and the impulse to create. Lectures, field experience and notebook, independent project and written critique form the basis of this class. Prerequisites: AH 100 and 201, LA 101.

This is a 6 credit course. Concurrent enrollment in AH 435 required. Prerequisite: AH 201 and HMST 101.

This course introduces the methodologies and concepts of traditional printmaking processes. These processes include intaglio, relief, letterpress and monotype. It exposes students to an overview of the tools, methods and materials for making printed artworks with particular focus on how manual printing and traditional techniques relate to contemporary concepts and individual art practice. This study includes the creation and utilization of various print matrices, editioning processes, curatorial activity and how to work in a professional printshop environment. May not be repeated for credit.

This course introduces the methodologies and concepts of printmaking techniques that utilize photo-based processes and digital applications. These processes include screenprint, photo-etching, photo-lithography and digital printing. It exposes students to an overview of the tools, methods and materials for making prints with particular focus on how photo-processes and digital applications expand technical and conceptual possibilities. This study includes the creation and utilization of various print matrices, editioning processes, curatorial activity and how to work in a professional printshop environment.

Relief printing can be simple, direct, and inexpensive, resulting in images as bold as German Expressionism or as delicate as Japanese woodcuts. With this method, ink is transferred to paper from the surface of linoleum cuts, woodcuts, or found objects. The use of press is optional. Large and small-scale prints are produced. Black and white work is emphasized, but at least one project requires color.

Prerequisite: PR 200, PR 201, PR 213, PR 217, or PR 220.

This course is a concentrated overview of intaglio and relief printing for sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Working primarily in etching and relief, students will gain comprehensive skills in both processes. Some examples of intaglio methods include etching, aquatint, drypoint, engraving, and mezzotint. Relief processes will include muliple registration of complex linoleum and woodcut plates. This course cannot be repeated for credit.

Designed as a comprehensive course which looks at techniques of plate-making and intaglio printing, students will learn to prepare and render the surface of a metal plate. Students explore the development of their own ideas in this medium from both technical and personal points of view. Processes covered are drypoint, line etching, hard and soft ground, rosin aquatint, spit bite, and multiple plate color printing. Prerequisite: FF100 (Elements of Visual Thinking I) and FF198 (Drawing I)

Prerequisite: FF100 (Elements of Visual Thinking I) and FF198 (Drawing I)

Covers through demonstrations and lectures the major design and basic technical processes of image making in lithography, traditional and contemporary. The primary goal is the production of fine lithographic images. Beyond technique there is art. Focus is on fundamentals of drawing and design principles, as well as a concern for ideas and personal artistic growth. Technically, this course addresses registration of multi-color images, edition printing, presentation, curating, and the vocabulary used in a print studio setting. Prerequisite: FF100 (Elements of Visual Thinking I) and FF198 (Drawing I) May not be repeated for credit..

Prerequisite: FF100 (Elements of Visual Thinking I) and FF198 (Drawing I)

This course will cover a broad range of concepts, methods and materials related to the practice of monoprinting. A monoprint is a term used to describe a unique printed image created with the use of one or more repeatable, manipulated matrixes. The matrixes may include prints made from metal, wood, stone, plexiglass and transfer/copier processes. Concepts and methods related to stamping, stenciling, mixed-media, color printing, multiple-layer printing, and print curation will be addressed. The class will look at artists working in print as image, book, installation and moving picture, surveying historical concepts to contemporary trends.

Explores the different possibilities of water-based screen-printing in a professional print shop atmosphere. Students can gain a solid working knowledge of screenprinting, employing both traditional and contemporary methods of stencil making, film preparation and printing methods on various papers, as well as alternative surfaces and materials. Techniques such as digital film outputting, mixing gradations with ink, multi-color registration, and fourcolor process printing are demonstrated and employed. Through independent projects, demonstrations, and critiques, students are encouraged to create a cohesive body of work and utilize the medium for their own individual artistic needs. Prerequisites: FF 100 and FF 198. Suggested for all printmaking majors in their sophomore or junior year. May not be repeated for credit.

Prerequisite: FF100 (Elements of Visual Thinking I) and FF198 (Drawing I)

Discontinued

A good storyteller must exaggerate and simplify events to make the point clear and memorable. A good print often does the same visually. Working from poems, stories, or news articles, students create a series of images that communicate themes or ideas while developing their own style and learning the basics of relief printing. This relatively direct and simple print medium involves cutting into linoleum, plastic, or wood blocks, which are then printed by hand or press, generally in black and white. On a field trip to the Baltimore Museum of Art, students see examples of prints from Dürer to Blake and from Daumier to Coe, which inform and present messages important to the artist and the times. No prerequisites. This course may be repeated for credit.

For students who want to learn the basics of color printing. A collagraph plate may employ acrylic mediums, collage techniques, and linear engraving on plastic. Each plate is designed to carry a separate color (or colors). When printed, the information on the plates overlap to produce a richly multi-colored image. Both relief and intaglio inking methods are used to print the plates using oil-based inks and in etching press. Students develop a folio theme of their choosing. Color is emphasized as an expressive and compositional element. Suggested for printmaking majors in their sophomore year and concentrators wishing to work in relief and color. May not be repeated for credit.

This introductory course explores the current use of traditional letterpress production and is ideal for the artist, writer, poet, or designer who seeks to produce combinations of word with images in a professional, fine art, limited-edition format. The relationship between word and image may be pursued through fine arts prints, folios, and books printed with Dolphin Press & Print’s Vandercook letterpress. Hand-set lead type and polymer plates can be printed to produce ’zines, artist books, cards, and broadsides. Students are introduced to setting type, running the Vandercook letterpress, pilot presses, and proofing press. Suggested for printmaking majors and for book arts and printmaking concentrators. May not be repeated for credit.

This course will focus on the historical beginnings of the codex and handmade paper. Readings will be given weekly along with bench work demonstrations of both structural binding and hand papermaking. The textbook for this course is Papermaking: The History and Technique of an Ancient Craft and the course work will include readings from The Archeology of Medieval Bookbinding. Focusing on both Eastern and Western tradition in papermaking and bookbinding, this course familiarizes students with the practicality of the materials, tools, and techniques used in both processes. Students develop an understanding of basic elements for constructing books. Sophomores and Juniors Only May not be repeated for credit without permission from instructor.

Sophomores and Juniors Only

This advanced relief course will primarily focus on color and multiple plate registration. At this level students will adapt a wider and more complex variety of relief printing techniques. Focus will include registration, reduction printing, introducyion to unique substrates for printing and viscosity inking.

This course expands upon previous investigations in the lithographic medium. This includes stone, aluminum ball grain plate and positive working photo plate lithography. Advanced printing, curatorial, and collaborative techniques will be explored. You will learn the proper procedural aspects to making lithographic prints in a safe shop environment as well as gain a historical and contemporary understanding of the media through slides, books and originals. Emphasis will be placed on individual ideas and content in relation to the unique characteristics of the medium. Class time will include demonstrations, lectures, individual and group discussions/critique and personal work development. Prerequisite: PR 216 (Lithography I)

Prerequisite: PR 216 (Lithography I)

This class explores the latest techniques of screenprinting using water-based inks. Traditional methods of stencil making with hand drawing and painterly techniques will also be covered. The photo emulsion process will be used to transfer images to screens. Printing from digital images will be emphasized. Students will learn how to properly develop and prepare digital art for production as a fine art limited edition print. Students are encouraged to undertake individual projects that connect directly to their areas of interest. The combination of traditional and digital techniques can be utilized in unique and effective ways.

Prerequisite: PR 218 (Screenprinting), GD 422 (Poster Design), or GD 5360 (MFA Screenprinting)

Artists' book collaborations permit the artist/author to fully explore a subject, providing an opportunity for a depth of expression that is difficult to achieve in other ways .In this Dolphin Press studio class, students will publish an editioned book using letterpress,, papermaking and printing technologies available at Dolphin Press and the Printmaking Department. By exploring the many possibilities for juxtaposing text and image on the plane of the page and through the sequence of pages within the book form, students will create narrative inter-media works. The class will visit the Decker Library artists' book collection as well as review examples from the collection of the instructor. After completing this course, students will understand the market, publication and distribution of the book. Students must have completed 6 credits of papermaking courses.

Students must have completed 6 credits of papermaking courses.

This course is open to students who are focusing on book arts as a concentration and are interested in the history, conservation and artistic applications of paper, including the historic and contemporary practice of hand papermaking. Understanding plant structure and chemistry is essential in understanding the development of paper historically. The primary focus of this course is the technical application and production of pulp fiber for paper as well as production of handmade paper for various applications. Held in the newly renovated paper lab the class will also meet in a classroom for lectures. Undergraduates at the Sophomore Level or Higher Only

Undergraduates at the Sophomore level or higher only.

Open to students who are interested in woodcuts and linoleum printing and broadsides. Large editions in several colors are possible when printing on the Vandercook proofing press. This course explores the history of the relief print and its use for political posters; for dissemination of information on botany, medicine, and agriculture; and for the publication of poetry and literature illustrations. With the advent of moveable type, the relief print was in demand for illustrating books. A field trip is scheduled to the Baltimore Museum of Art's print collection. Suggested for printmaking majors and for book arts and printmaking concentrators. May not be repeated for credit.

This course will cover in depth the use of paper in all aspects of print and press publications. The beginning of this course will focus on the development of handmade paper as an art form. Working in a professional paper mill, students will have the opportunity to make paper. This paper can then be used as a substrate for print projects, including press editions. Students will develop ideas using the combination of printmaking techniques and the Vandercook press. The concept of books as an art form and the publication of artist/author books will be represented. Examples of artists working currently in this format will be reviewed. This course is open to all students.

Creating prints is commonly a collaborative effort between artists, printers, publishers and project organizers. This course brings the history of Dolphin Press and the professional activity of print creation into the classroom and engages students in the full extent of this collaborative process. The course is centered around the creation of a print project(s) designed by a visiting artist in concert with the course instructor and students. Students will explore the relationship between printer and artist, develop printing skills in a variety of media, engage in problem solving activity associated with both technical execution and conceptual development, as well as learn about the collaborative workshop environment. Students will also work collaboratively with their classmates on the completion of a personal print project.

Prerequisite: PR 200 or PR 201 + one 200-Level Printmaking course

Introduces the book format for the presentation of ideas. Emphasis is on visual and conceptual structuring of the book and the sequencing of images generated through photography, printmaking, and other mediums. Slide lectures survey the various attitudes and approaches evident in contemporary artists' books. For advanced-level book arts students, preferably junior and seniors; priority is given to printmaking majors and book arts or printmaking concentrators. May not be repeated for credit without permission from instructor.

Designed to advance foundation knowledge in sewing book structure, this course is recommended for students who are interested in book conservation and museum studies regarding the book. Benchwork in sewing structures from basic to complex sets a solid foundation for traditional binding. Working through double raised bands— all variations of longstitch, chain stitch and combinations, students will be producing models of listed structures along with covers and board attachments.

This course is designed for printmaking majors and students who have taken at least three courses (9 credits) and are ready for substantial independent work. Each student is expected to complete one or two independently developed projects that form a body of work related in content by the end of the semester.Light instruction and regular, individual in-depth consultation with the instructor are the norm. Short group meetings are held every other week. Entry into the class requires permission of the instructor and is based on printmaking experience as well as a willingness to participate in a class environment while setting one's own goals. Professional execution and presentation are integral to achieving success in this course. Depending on instructor, photoprocesses, color techniques, or other alternative processes will be demonstrated.Recommended in conjunction with Junior Seminar year. Prerequisite: 9 Credits of Printmaking

Prerequisite: 9 Credits of Printmaking

This seminar for juniors working in printmaking will create an environment of dialogue, interaction and collaboration where they develop distinct aesthetic positions while investigating their individual themes and the media, forms, structures, processes, and procedures used. Students will critically interact with their artworks, documenting thematic aspects through still photos, video clips, etc. along with corresponding interactive writings. Next they'll collate correlated information, such as other artists' artworks plus anything else that contextualizes and elaborates on individual themes. Then they'll arrange it all within a distinct "construct" typifying their personal Visual Verbal Journey. The idea is to create a “place" where you, your artworks, correlative situations, and interactive writings can imaginatively coexist in constant renewal, continuously generating new thoughts and new possibilities for new ways of working with your themes. Weekly in-class teacher and student presentations will be "housed" at a student website using PmWiki with its collaborative authoring function providing us with an extensive collection of readings, writings and critiquing representative of the aesthetic diversity of the class.Required for junior majors in Printmaking. May not be repeated for credit.

Printmaking Majors, Concentrators, and Book Arts Concentrators only

3 credits. Staff. Offered fall, spring. For students wishing to work with a particular instructor on subject matter not covered by regularly scheduled classes, a special independent study class may be taken. A contract is required, including signatures of the instructor and the student's department chair. A 398 class may not be used to substitute for a department's core requirement or senior thesis / senior independent. Learning contract required before registration. Minimum of junior class standing and 3.0 GPA required.

Prerequisite: students at the Junior/Senior level with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of at least 3.000

Discover the knowledge that can only be communicated through travel along the open road. Searching for Utopia: Road Movies and Travelogues is constructed as a two part course that begins with the investigation of twentieth century's western expansion; as told through Woody Guthrie's ballads, Jack Kerouac's Beat journey's, and depictions of counter culture history portrayed cinematically as the Road Movie. In addition, a portion of this class will be spent traveling and exploring the open road. Students will focus on specific thematic quests while documenting their trip. This experience will culminate as a film festival/gallery opening where work created during the journey will be publicly exhibited at a partnering institution. Course fee: $250, for road trip expenses

This course provides the framework for students to complete a coherent body of work based on personal concepts. Students are provided shared personal studios in the Dolphin Building and full print studio access in order to develop their independent work. Critiques from course faculty and visiting artists will be held periodically throughout the semester as well as a formal review with a guest critic. The course also has a significant professional practice component. Topics considered include exhibition preparations, presentation skills, artist statement development, professional material creation, work documentation, and career networking.

Senior Printmaking Majors Only

This course provides the framework for students to complete a coherent body of work based on personal concepts. Students are provided shared personal studios in the Dolphin Building and full print studio access in order to develop their independent work. Critiques from course faculty and visiting artists will be held periodically throughout the semester as well as a formal review with a guest critic. The course also has a significant professional practice component. Topics considered include exhibition preparations, presentation skills, artist statement development, professional material creation, work documentation, and career networking. This course is a continuation of the Senior Thesis I and will culminate with an exhibition in which students will present their final thesis work.

Senior Printmaking Majors Only

Consolidates concepts and methods from FF 150 Painting I and leads students to expanded perceptual awareness. Projects may include still life, landscape, and the figure, as well as abstract and conceptual concerns to enhance each student's formal and personal development. There is ongoing concern with painting materials and techniques. Prerequisite: FF 150. May not be repeated for credit.

Prerequisite: FF 150 (Painting I) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting)

The threshold between drawing and painting is a dynamic and fertile ground for exploration and for discovering new possibilities within the two disciplines. This course aims to encourage that exploration and to facilitate a dialogue between contemporary drawing and painting. Process, figure/ground, line, edge, value, color, and the history of these two related though distinct specialties will be comprehensively investigated in the course and extended by way of in-class and home assignments. Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II)

Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting II)

The physical and metaphoric dimensions of materials are examined in this class. The process of how artists interact with materials can be parallel to the experience of thinking. This class is for students who are linked to materials and are process-oriented in the way they work. The use of traditional two-dimensional materials, natural materials in their raw and processed states, as well as found and collected materials is explored as students develop independent projects. Prerequisite: PT 200.

Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting II)

The class will explore some of the possibilities in painting the portrait. In class we will be working from models each week, building skills that are important to understanding the portrait. Starting with a focus on the head to half portraits, then full portraits and finally portraits in interiors. Slide lectures will be given on painters working with the portrait past and present throughout the semester. The class requires 4 hours of homework each week. Most are due the following week, several are two weeks with a final assignment to be completed over three weeks. Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II)

Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting II)

This course offers an opportunity to pursue individual concerns, to interrelate drawing and painting approaches, to experiment with a wide variety of media. Emphasis is on individual development. Time in class is spent on critiques, sometimes ranging into the philosophical, sometimes becoming technological, in which the class participates in a lively fashion. There is no final authority, and diverse or contradictory opinions are encouraged. Prerequisite: PT 200.

Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting II)

Working with, but moving beyond traditional practices of “rendering,” this course will explore what it means to work from life.” “Observation” will be considered a direct experiential practice that taps all the senses. Students will question and challenge their ideas about their artistic practice (materials, physical dimensions and environment) and to actively engage in cooperative dialogues and art production with and alongside their peers. Classes will be conducted in the studio and in the field.

Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting II)

This course provides a venue in which students investigate notions of painting that challenge its boundaries and question its method and materials. Working independently, students are encouraged to develop personal direction and to experiment with novel approaches to problem solving. Scheduled slide talks address such topics as conceptual painting, kinetic painting, sculptural painting, electronic painting, performance painting, process painting, etc. There are regularly scheduled individual and group critiques. Prerequisite: PT 200.

Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting II)

This course emphasizes experimentation with automatic processes and responses as stimulus for painting. The intuitive connection to peripheral, marginal and compulsive “triggers” reveals surprising directions for painting and initiates a dialogue surrounding intention, accident, form and content. Personal research and investigation of contemporary/historical contexts lead to an independent series.

A studio class designed for the student with an abiding interest in realism, this course actively uses both the history of painting and the presence of contemporary painting to facilitate an investigation of procedure in narrative figure painting. Specific mechanical procedures are covered through demonstrations and contemporary examples and include surface preparation, glazing, old master procedures, ala prima procedures, observational painting procedures, photo referencing, and many others. Over the course of the semester each student produces two major figurative paintings and five smaller works. Prerequisite: PT 200

Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting II)

Students are encouraged to develop their own representational or abstract painting direction. A significant feature of this class is the opportunity for individual student advisement. Slide presentations and occasional group critiques accompany regularly scheduled individual critiques. This course is not required for painting majors but is strongly recommended. Prerequisite: PT 200; sophomore painting majors only.

Pre: PT 200 (Painting II) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting II); Painting Majors Only

Discontinued

Creating on the brink of one’s expression yields complex possibilities that reveal deep connections of content and medium often through accidents or failures. An artist's voice can be tied deeply to refined skill, historically embedded processes, or experimental ‘avant-garde’ approaches. Painting is a vital act with specific unrelenting qualities that can be acknowledged through pushing thresholds and ideas about value. We will investigate the role of the artist and examine stylistic developments throughout the history of art and human existence, often tying catastrophe to invention. If painting is on the brink of extinction, the artist’s role is to express on the brink of our knowledge, re-actualizing our oldest form of communication. This course will develop a professional studio rigor, and surface an artistic voice.

Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting II)

This course is about painting (from) one's inner world, painting what attracts us as individuals and holds our interest. In our collected objects and in the postcards and reproductions with which we surround ourselves, we see certain threads of meaning. We see this in the books we read, the music we listen to, the films we watch, those things that we continually look at in paintings when we go to museums. We choose the items that we have in our studios and, in turn, they define us as artists. They play a key role in our painting. We will work on finding this direction, this interest, this passion that for each one of us is different. We will paint in class, and we will discuss these ideas within individual and group critiques. Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II) Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting II)

Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting II)

Students actively participate in a variety of community-based mural projects that involve close collaboration with community residents and organizations, public schools, and/or senior citizen centers. During the semester, students design and execute—upon approval by the community host—interior murals for a community program site. Additionally, students submit proposals for a site-specific, large-scale outdoor mural for a community in Baltimore (to be executed during the May minimester Murals class). The range of topics discussed include the history of murals and the genesis and development of the community mural movement, technical aspects of mural making, and strategies for working with diverse communities. Mural materials are provided. Prerequisites: FF 150.

Prerequisite: FF 150 (Painting I) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting)

In this three-week course sponsored by Community Arts Partnerships (CAP) and the Mayor's Advisory Committee on Art and Culture (MACAC), students train in the technique of mural painting while assisting in the execution of a permanent, site-specific outdoor mural. The mural, to be designed by a MICA student (as part of the sited painting course offered in the spring catalog), is to be located in the Druid Hill corridor. In addition to gaining experience and technical information, mural assistants doing exterior painting are eligible for a stipend from MACAC for community service. The intent of this program is to bond artists and community through collaboration on a project. Transportation and mural materials will be supplied. Prerequisites: DR 298, PT 200, and permission of instructor. Enrollment limited to ten students.

Prerequisite: FF 199 (Drawing II) and FF 150 (Painting I)

A series of Three or Four 2D explorations in which Artist-in-Residence, Mequitta Ahuja works collaboratively with students in a series of projects. We will develop our ideas in a range of formats, experimenting and collaborating, as well as working alone. Projects will likely include: A printmaking project in which both Ahuja and students produce posters for a fictional event, or to commemorate a moment now passed; A bookmaking project in which we use the format of an artist's book or folio to each create a visual sequence, and a painting project in which we collectively build surfaces and then individually develop them into finished paintings.

Prerequisite: FF 150 (Painting I) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting)

Various approaches to the phenomenon of color have played an important role in the development of abstract painting in this century. From the earliest experiments in abstraction to the most recent developments, painters have freed color and form from the object and the figure in order to explore openly potential meanings inherent in pure color expression. In this course, we investigate the nature of abstraction and its relation to color theory. Students are encouraged-through structured and free problems, readings, slide presentations, and museum/gallery visits-to develop their own personal approach to abstract painting. There is discussion of color theories of Kandinsky, Itten, Hoffman, and Albers. Form issues are emphasized, including alternative painting methods, surface qualities, and effective composition. Prerequisite: PT 200.

Prerequisite: PT200 (Painting II) or FF175 (Foundation Painting II) or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

Throughout time, artists have explored themes in their work through various personal filters. The deeply human context behind such imagery makes these images universal and timeless. It is also incredibly educational to see how artists have developed their personal visions over a range of themes and processes. Students in this course will use personal history and art history as catalysts for imagery in their work. A “stream of consciousness” attitude will be used to gear the development of the imagery to see how a theme can develop in predictable as well as unexpected ways when one or multiple aspects of the visual equation is altered. The idea of working in a “series” alongside individual works will also be encouraged. Slide talks and discussions will supplement course content. In addition, contemporary film, literature, and other media will be discussed. Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II).

Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting II)

Introduces the traditions and techniques of the Northern School of Asian Painting, which is characterized by rich colorization effects achieved through the application of many thin layers of natural materials. Students experience and understand how to apply the principles of brushwork, ink, and coloration to painting on rice paper and silk-and make pigments from natural materials, such as animal skin glue, egg, natural mineral powder, and pigment. By adding glue, egg, natural powder, and pigment in sequences or regularly to a painting, the pigment becomes multi-layered with the superimposition of the colors. Although the colors infiltrate deeply into the paper or silk surface, the surface remains clear and translucent. This method allows the artists to apply and achieve interesting coloring to include all sorts of colors with rich colorization effects. Prerequisite: PT 200. May be repeated for up to 6 credits.

Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting II)

Explores the possibilities of creating original images through a combination of imaging programs, such as Adobe Photoshop, with painting. The course is both highly creative and technical, and will encourage innovation in work employing vocabulary of both the manual and digital artist. Students modify work their handmade work (including photographs) by scanning, adjusting, and preparing for printouts on canvas, paper, or other supports. The resulting digital prints are then painted by hand until the desired effects are achieved. Using their own unique markmaking in conjunction with sophisticated digital technique, students build a bridge between traditional and contemporary media. This course is designed for students with a background in fine art and a basic knowledge of imaging software. Prerequisite: PT 200. May be repeated for up to 6 credits.

Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting II)

This class will focus on the study of Old Master techniques. We will define and put to use the concepts of Glazing, Scumbling, Imprimatura, Grisaille, the Rule of “Fat Over Lean.” We will work primarily from the still life and figure, and may produce a copy in a local museum. We will explore 3 styles of traditional painting techniqu3s in an effort to deepen our understanding of the qualities of painting at its highest level.

Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting II)

This course is geared to intermediate/advanced-level students who have a sense of commitment to painting and seek a personal direction that fulfills their identity as painters. Focusing on developing each student's artistic identity, this course has no in-class studio experiences; rather, it focuses on group and individual critiques. Work is done outside of class. There are no restrictions on medium, form or subject (abstract or representational). Class size is limited. Prerequisites: PT 200 (Painting II)

Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting II)

The term Call and Response corresponds to a pattern in human communication or a type of musical phrasing or structure. In this manner, information is imparted via some medium, from sender to receiver. The receiver then decodes the message and gives the sender a feedback. All forms of communication require a sender, a message, and a receiver. Using this structure, the class will explore painting as a language, a form of communication with which to engage in a larger worldly dialogue. Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II)

Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting II)

Storytelling is a human instinct as old as language itself and one could say the same of painting. This course takes a contemporary approach to “the painter as storyteller” or painting as evidence of story. Addresses the idea of visual narratives with and without character-subjects, and the idea of the abstract narrative. Explores the notions of invented personal mythology, existing archetypal mythology and the role of ritual. Students primarily paint independently while group and individual critiques are held during class. Class time is also devoted to looking at the work of contemporary and historical narrative painters; investigating the relationship between painting and writing, spoken word and performance; and discussing folklore (the old and the need for new), the movement of lore through cultures, and the role of theatrics in painting. Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II). May be repeated for up to 6 credits.

Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting II)

Through discussions and slide lectures, this course explores how artists use color in contemporary figurative and abstract painting across a wide spectrum of styles and methods. In studio work made for this class, students discover how color—the most challenging of the visual elements—can be an exhilarating, sensuous, creative, and expressive force in painting. Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II).

Prerequisite: PT200 (Painting II) or FF175 (Foundation Painting II) or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

This multi-discipline studio is specifically designed for students interested in working, energetically, with a wide range of ideas, materials, approaches, and content. The sharing and fusing of global cultural experiences will inform the course and set the tone for what we learn. This course will encourage developing work across all media and methodologies, including installation, performance, collaboration, and bricolage, and making work outside the institution’s environs, with an emphasis on the role of the audience, will be addressed and supported. Along with scheduled presentations of their own work and research, students will have an opportunity to take the lead role in sharing their interests with the class as a whole. All documentation of ideas, research, and works of art developed in the class by both individual and the collective will represent a resource that will be made available to succeeding StudioMixx classes.

Prerequisite: FF 150 (Painting I) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting)

Is art-making a socially condoned obsession? Laced throughout the art world, obsession parades: Morandi’s vessels, Agnes Martin’s grids, Paul Noble’s invented other-worlds, Vija Celmins’ waves and webs, Henry Darger’s 15,145-page illustrated manuscript or James Hampton’s Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations’ Millenium General Assembly—artists and projects conceived with no “off” button. And aren’t we grateful, as we are the beneficiaries? This course will address the artist’s incessant pursuit of an idea, subject, motif, or material. Class time will be devoted to painting together, and both group and individual discussions and critiques. Home assignments will lead to students’ individually proposed series. Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II)

Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting II)

Why continue to make paintings? In this course—part seminar, part studio—we will consider why paintings continue to matter many years after critics have advised artists to “pull the plug” on the medium. By regarding the works, and pondering the words, of many contemporary painters, we hope to arrive at a better philosophical understanding of why the enterprise of painting continues to play a significant role in artmaking in the 21st Century—a time when more creative choices exist for the painter than at any other era in history. The work students make for the course will underscore how painting is still a vital medium for artistic exploration and human expression. Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II)

Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting II)

Moore. Offered occasionally. This six-credit multidisciplinary course (listed jointly with Art History) fuses technical art history and studio painting. Students explore materials and techniques used in painting from the 13th century to the present, including egg tempera with gilding, specific applications of oil, and various synthetic media. Students prepare surfaces and make paint and mediums using historic materials and sources in the reconstruction of masterworks, and in the application of historic methods to original compositions. Individual projects may include encaustic or fresco. The basic principles of art conservation are introduced, and trips include a visit to the National Gallery conservation studio. Many topics covered are applicable to disciplines other than painting.

Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting II)

“Painting is alchemy. Its materials are worked without knowledge of their properties, by blind experiment, by the feel of the paint . . . and by the look of colored slurries on the palette.”—James Elkins, What Painting Is. What happens when a painting is made from observation, reproduced digitally, altered in Photoshop, printed, then used as a source image for a three-dimensional painting? In this course students will explore an alchemical approach to painting by actively integrating traditional techniques with alternative means of creating images (photography, digital imaging, three-dimensional construction, etc.) in an attempt to invigorate their individual working methods. Through a combination of controlled “blind” experiments and intensive critical analysis, students will decipher how perceptions of images can be altered through material manipulation.

Prerequisite: PT200 (Painting II) or FF175 (Foundation Painting II) or Post-Baccalaureate student standing

3 credits. Neill, Nemett. Offered fall, spring. Helps the student gain insight into his/her personal process and direction as an artist. Students work independently, receiving scheduled critiques from the coordinator and invited faculty. Faculty and fellow students conduct mid-term reviews. At the end of the term a jury made up of elected faculty, a visiting artist, and the coordinator will hear the individual student’s presentation on his/her term’s work and provide an in-depth response and interaction. Prerequisite: PT 200; painting majors only.

Pre: PT 200 (Painting II) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting II); Painting Majors Only

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Prerequisite: PT 200 (Painting II) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting II)

“In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep, to know our heritage—to know who we are and where we have come from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning. No matter what our attainments in life, there is still a vacuum, an emptiness, and the most disquieting loneliness.” Alex Haley All things Korean, past and present, will be explored as an inspirational source for making art. Korea’s history, traditional arts and craft, as well as contemporary Korean artists, music, films and popular culture will be introduced. The Korean Diaspora, the conflict between South and North Korea and the North Korean human rights crisis will be discussed. By finding the link to your Korean heritage, questions of cultural identity, new interpretations of traditional forms and contemporary Korea, in view of a global context will be discussed. Students will first start with research, then will work out ideas in drawing and painting. As projects develop, students will be encouraged to find the medium that best conveys their ideas. Final project will be open to all genres of art.

Prerequisite: FF 150 (Painting I) or FF 175 (Foundation Painting)

This course is a continuation of the themes and projects begun in PT 272 Personal Narrative. This course asks students to explore their personal history as the subject for multi-media works. It requires a high level of ability to work independently and to generate concepts. There are frequent critiques. Prerequisite: DR 252 (Life Drawing) and PT 200 (Painting II)

Prerequisite: PT 200/FF 175 (Painting II/Foundation Painting II) and DR 252 (Life Drawing)

This class is made up a two-hour seminar and a three-hour critique session. Various texts addressing historical and contemporary issues in art and culture will be studied and discussed in class. Lectures, films, and presentations will also serve as points of departure for discussion and debate. In addition to readings and critiques, the course concerns itself will formal and conceptual issues and skills and empathizes written and verbal competencies.

Prerequisite: PT 200 or FF 175, and Junior level or higher.

The first part of this studio and lecture course deals with the nude, and the second part deals with the portrait. Students paint directly from life each week. Paintings range from one to three days in length, and a minimum of 8 hours outside work is required each week. The lecture part of the class involves both critiques of work done in and out of class. Lectures are designed to put the work into an historical and contemporary perspective. The slide talks include particular painters and issues concerning the figure. The class may view films on Frank Auerbach, Antonio Lopez Garcia, and Lucien Freud. Prerequisite: DR 252 (Life Drawing) and PT 200 (Painting II)

Prerequisite: PT 200/FF 175 (Painting II/Foundation Painting II) and DR 252 (Life Drawing)

This combination studio/lecture course takes a naturalistic approach to the landscape and interior. The course moves between issues of drawing and painting throughout the semester. The first ten weeks focus on landscape, the last four weeks on interior. Most of the landscape work is done at two beautiful properties fifteen minutes north of the city, as well as other sites. The interiors, at various sites around the city. Slide lectures focus on particular painters and issues involved with the landscape and interior, including painters and schools ranging from the 16th century to the present. Part of class time is also devoted to critiques of student work. Attendance to all classes is mandatory, and 6 to 8 hours of outside work are required each week. Transportation to and from sites is provided in school vans.

Prerequisite: PT 200/FF 175 (Painting II/Foundation Painting II) and DR 252 (Life Drawing)

Can you imagine The Arnolfini Wedding and Las Meninas switching sizes? How about a scene from the Brancacci chapel and a Persian Miniature? In this course, we will learn how the physical size and relative proportion of parts in a painted whole are as crucial as the painted surface. The work done in class will involve a renegotiation of painted space, which will be continuously challenged by moving from "body size" and larger works to hand held sizes and ideas of "miniature". The studio work will constitute half the day, while the second half will be used for critiques and slides. At least two trips to museums in New York and Philadelphia will also be part of the course. A love for the complexity of seeing, and an openness to exploration are the primary requirements of this course.

Prerequisite: PT 200/FF 175 (Painting II/Foundation Painting II) and DR 252 (Life Drawing)

This course will explore some of the creative options available to the artist interested in painting and drawing the portrait. In this class we will be working from models each week to build the skills that are important to realizing the portrait. In this six-credit class, half the time will be spent drawing, and half painting, the portrait. Focusing on the head, we will start with half-portraits, then graduate to full-portraits, and finally move on to portraits in interiors. Slide lectures will be presented throughout the semester on painters who have dealt with the portrait, past and present. The class requires eight hours of homework each week. Most assignments are due in one week, several will last two weeks, with a final sustained assignment to be completed over three weeks time.

Prerequisite: PT 200/FF 175 (Painting II/Foundation Painting II) and DR 252 (Life Drawing)

This course is an introduction to the language and tradition of narrative figurative composition. Students work from drawings of the figure that they then translate into compositions that manipulate space using foreshortening, perspective, and combinations of indoor and outdoor space. Students are introduced to historic narrative tradition of Piero della Francesca through Tintoretto to Thomas Hart Benton. Students are encouraged to create their own narrative themes.

Prerequisite: PT 200/FF 175 (Painting II/Foundation Painting II) and DR 252 (Life Drawing)

Examines classical texts and writings of the major thinkers of ancient India and China, with a view to understanding the intellectual foundations and development of these respective cultures. Readings include, among others, students read the Upanishads and the Bhagavad-Gita, the Buddha’s Sermons and biography, Confucius’ Analects, and the Tao te Ching. The class examines the centuries-long discussion between these thinkers regarding such fundamental philosophical topics as the structure of reality, the nature of the human self, the religious issues of destiny of the soul and the existence and nature of God, and the moral and political concerns of human social duties and proper techniques of ruling. In surveying this long exchange of ideas, students consider the historical forces that shaped and prompted these ideas, and the historical influences that they in turn imparted. Prerequisite: HMST101.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

This course will examine the fundamental themes and principles of Buddhist philosophy, beginning with the early life experiences of Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha), continuing through the development of the Hinayana and Mahayana schools of Buddhism, and culminating in the philosophy and way-of-life of Zen Buddhism. Texts will include: The Dhammapada, The Heart of the Buddha, and Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

This course will examine how stories and storytelling combine entertainment and instruction to create, reflect, transform and sustain different religious contexts and the beings that inhabit them. We will use stories from various religions and cultures as opportunities to learn about diverse ways of experiencing, imagining and understanding existence in the world. Through specific examples from Native American, South Asian and European-American storytelling traditions, student will encounter Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim and indigenous religious traditions. We will also focus upon the act of storytelling, and study how different modes of human communication and relationship affect religious experience. Concepts for inquiry will include truth, belief, religion, and culture. As we encounter the content of stories and the role of storytellers we will also think about creation, healing, gender roles, resistance, empowerment, and socialization.

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

This course explores religion and ways of being religious through juxtaposing locative and utopian ways of inhabiting material worlds. Discussions consider the cultural distances between western and indigenous ways of life, and how religious ideas inform and shape cross-cultural modes of consumption. Readings focus on Mesoamerican religious rituals, Guatemalan woman's life, development of consumerism and its spaces in America, an economic hitman's confessions, and commodification of religion through popular culture. The course encourages students to think creatively about religion and to challenge themselves to think critically as well as self-reflectively about their own culture. Is consumerism a way of life? What does consumerism reveal about Western culture and its core values?

Prerequisite: 3 credits of IH1 and 3 credits of IH2

This course will investigate the nature of human consciousness and the creative imagination from the viewpoint of Raja Yoga (the practice of meditation and self knowledge), the spiritual vision of Wassily Kandinsky and the place of the artist in that vision, and the Japanese aesthetic sensibility of Wabi Sabi. Readings will include The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (Swami Satchidananda commentary), Concerning the Spiritual in Art (Wassily Kandinsky), and Wabi Sabi: The Japanese Art of Impermanence (Andrew Juniper).

Prerequisite: One Academic course at the 300 level or higher, or Grad/PostBac standing.

This seminar for juniors working in IS, FIB, CE will create an environment of dialogue, interaction and collaboration where they develop distinct aesthetic positions while investigating their individual themes and the media, forms, structures, processes and procedures used. Students will critically interact with their artworks, documenting thematic aspects through still photos, video clips, etc. along with corresponding interactive writings. Next they’ll collate correlated information, such as other artists’ artworks plus anything else that contextualizes and elaborates on individual themes. Then they’ll arrange it all within a distinct “construct” typifying their personal “Visual Verbal Journey”. The idea is to create a “place” where you, your artworks, correlative situations, and interactive writings can imaginatively coexist in constant renewal, continuously generating new thoughts and new possibilities for new ways of working with your themes. Weekly in-class teacher and student presentations will be “housed” at a student website using PmWiki with its collaborative authoring function providing us with an extensive collection of readings, writings and critiquing representative of the aesthetic diversity of the class.

Juniors and Seniors only.

Surveys personality theories, various concepts of psychological adjustment, and models of mental health. Specifically, the students examine bio-psycho-social foundations of human personality theories, and normal and deviant human behaviors. The class format includes lectures, discussions, and case studies. Fulfills social science requirement.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Investigates contemporary cultural scenes through the study of newspapers, periodicals, tests, media, and guest speakers. Students concentrate on the important cultural markers of postmodern society: violence, ethnic relations, gender roles, ecology, and alternate belief and healing systems. Formerly titled Anthropology of Postmodernism. Fulfills social science requirement.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

This course is an introduction to the basic concepts, methods and perspectives of the social sciences with special attention to cultural anthropology and the study of cultural groups, including native peoples of South and Central America and Native Americans and indigenous peoples of the North. No prerequisite. Fulfills social science requirement.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

This course answers the questions who, what and the how’s regarding the board discipline of Anthropology. It differs greatly in its scope from the rest of Humanities due to its “Holistic Approach” stressing Culture and its influence on all human behavior. Although the sub-groups are specialized, Anthropology is about “The People”. Join the journey as archeologists, primatologists , physical and cultural anthropologists enter unknown locations around the world. We will investigate numerous indigenous cultures with pathfinders as they unravel and collect data and build theories regarding humankind. After collecting fieldwork information and living with numerous societies searching for different cultural traits and behavior, we will discover how Anthropology has evolved and presently identifies the universality of being human.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Several books appeared, and became NY Times bestsellers, in recent years that attempted to examine human potential and societal issues, such as Blink and What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell and Hidden Brain by Shankar Vedantam. They discuss contemporary issues that confront us, including implicit racial bias, bystander apathy, the myth of innate ability, to mention a few. These are fascinating topics and a nontraditional psychological analysis often reveals issues that are often not obvious by rational analysis. Other issues that may be addressed include crimes and criminal personality, subliminal influences, and even alien abduction and past life regression from a scientific standpoint.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

This course will examine the shifting history and politics of women's sexuality in the United States. We will explore how sexual behavior and the meanings of sexuality have changed over time and how they have varied depending on race and class. We also analyze how second-wave feminism has altered how our society views and contests female sexuality. This course places female sexuality in the context of broader shifts in American history and culture.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

An anthropological journey exploring the realm of indigenous cultures around the world. Taking a holistic approach, students weave the paths of adaptation that form these cultures by investigating their environment, values, beliefs, rituals, and socio-economic systems. It is important to be aware of these cultures to attain a view of our past and understand the multitude of problems of contemporary tribal peoples.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Perception is the process through which sensations are interpreted, using knowledge and understanding of the world, so that they become meaningful experiences. Thus, perception is not a passive process or simply absorbing and decoding incoming sensations. People fill in missing information and draw on past experience to give meaning to what they see, hear, touch, smell, or taste. No prerequisite. Fulfills social science requirement.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

This course investigates the world views, practices, issues and concerns of pre-literate cultures regarding the age-old question--Is humankind innately aggressive or peaceful? The emphasis of the data will reflect a holistic/systemic view of several well-researched tribal societies such as the Warani, Basami, Yanamamo, Pygmies, Tunga, Arunta and the !Kung Bushmen.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

The course explores the history of thinking about the origin and nature of mind, consciousness, and cognition, as well as the history of the science of psychology and the study of abnormal behavior. After a brief introduction to the science of mind that includes the thoughts of ancient and 17th and 18th century philosophers, we will focus on the modern history of psychology as seen though its major systems or schools of thought, such as functionalism, structuralism, behaviorism, psychoanalysis, Gestalt, and existentialism. We will examine the changing attitudes about the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness in the United States as well as look at the depiction of psychology in modern cultural artifacts (including print and screen). We will look at the future of psychology in terms of the focus today on the brain as the origin of mental disorder and drugs as the cure for almost every psychological ill.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)

Humankind has always been in wonder of the mysteries of death and the possibilities of an after-life. Dying and death is an inevitable part of the sacred circle of life. This topic is of particular interest and often an obsession for the imaginative and creative art student. This class will examine this topic taking a multi-media cross-cultural comparative approach stressing ritual, spiritual practices and world views. Our classroom will reflect "common-unity" within a sacred space; an environment of enlightenment on a multiplicity of levels. The goal of this revived course is to gain a greater understanding and awareness of this rite of passage theat we must all face and it's impact on society, familty, and friends, and the "star" of the drama, the individual. Come share and experience the journey.

Prerequisite: Earned credit or concurrent enrollment in HMST 101 (Critical Inquiry)