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This course explores research and documentation for all media formats including text, images, sound, and multimedia. Students will explore information issues, especially in terms of their relevance today: how information is produced and organized in both traditional and emerging media, how information access is affected by political, economic and cultural factors, and the ethics of information use. Students will also acquire the practical skills of locating information sources in a variety of media and formats, critical evaluation of sources, and documentation and citation of traditional and emerging media and technologies. Students will apply what they learn to create and present research and documentation projects.

This course explores research and documentation for all media formats including text, images, sound, and multimedia. Students will explore information issues, especially in terms of their relevance today: how information is produced and organized in both traditional and emerging media, how information access is affected by political, economic and cultural factors, and the ethics of information use. Students will also acquire the practical skills of locating information sources in a variety of media and formats, critical evaluation of sources, and documentation and citation of traditional and emerging media and technologies. Students will apply what they learn to create and present research and documentation projects.

This course will explore studio photography as a means to communicate ideas. Students will learn to use lighting to transform subject matter into metaphor, mood and meaning as well as how to develop visual coherence within a group of images. Students will develop portfolio level projects that display conceptual thinking and mastery of the craft of photography. Photos by Cynthia Xu.

This course will explore studio photography as a means to communicate ideas. Students will learn to use lighting to transform subject matter into metaphor, mood and meaning as well as how to develop visual coherence within a group of images. Students will develop portfolio level projects that display conceptual thinking and mastery of the craft of photography. Photos by Cynthia Xu.

Internship in Communication Design Assignment to field work/study situations of approximately eight to ten plus hours per week at a graphic arts-related internship site approved by the department internship director. Sites may be in areas such as advertising, printing, corporate communications or publishing. Students keep a log/journal to be shared in group seminars/discussions. Supervision is by faculty and by the job supervisor. Students will be required to keep a learning journal of their internship in the form of a blog using Openlab.

Internship in Communication Design Assignment to field work/study situations of approximately eight to ten plus hours per week at a graphic arts-related internship site approved by the department internship director. Sites may be in areas such as advertising, printing, corporate communications or publishing. Students keep a log/journal to be shared in group seminars/discussions. Supervision is by faculty and by the job supervisor. Students will be required to keep a learning journal of their internship in the form of a blog using Openlab.

Creative Writing

Creative Writing

Calling fiction the “soul of history,” Chimamamanda Ngozi Adichie argues that “Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign. But stories can also be used to empower, and to humanize.” In this course, we will read the work of the contemporary Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, exploring themes of race, class, gender and identity in both Nigeria and the United States. In doing so, we will also examine the concept of globalization both from above—i.e. the spread of American and European consumer culture and corporate interests from Big Oil and McDonalds to Hollywood and corporate publishing powerhouses—and below—i.e. the growth of resistance via social movements, social media and contributions of writers from diverse cultures. In reading Adichie’s work, we will consider her use of fiction to speak truth to power and challenge stereotypes in her depictions of Nigerian society both in in the present and historically, particularly during the era of the Biafran War; while also intervening in current debates about racism, sexism, class inequality, and immigration in the United States.

Calling fiction the “soul of history,” Chimamamanda Ngozi Adichie argues that “Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign. But stories can also be used to empower, and to humanize.” In this course, we will read the work of the contemporary Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, exploring themes of race, class, gender and identity in both Nigeria and the United States. In doing so, we will also examine the concept of globalization both from above—i.e. the spread of American and European consumer culture and corporate interests from Big Oil and McDonalds to Hollywood and corporate publishing powerhouses—and below—i.e. the growth of resistance via social movements, social media and contributions of writers from diverse cultures. In reading Adichie’s work, we will consider her use of fiction to speak truth to power and challenge stereotypes in her depictions of Nigerian society both in in the present and historically, particularly during the era of the Biafran War; while also intervening in current debates about racism, sexism, class inequality, and immigration in the United States.