About the Major
The Communication Arts Major prepares students for
a richly interdisciplinary field that exists at the intersection of
media and culture. One of the important newer disciplines to emerge
in the 20th century, Communication Arts has its origins in speech,
rhetoric, publishing and journalism, but has been greatly expanded
by the technologies of photography, telegraphy, film, broadcasting,
recording, television, cable, digital media and the Internet. The
field also draws from the disciplines of history, psychology, sociology,
business and environmental studies. It brings together the traditional
disciplines as well as the newer informational media. The communication
arts are also on the cutting edge of the rapid developments in new
technologies, digital media and the Internet –the newest mass
medium.
The Communication Arts Major reflects and supports the mission of
the college by integrating global, multicultural, and diaspora perspectives
into the curriculum; by providing interdisciplinarity and experiential
learning; and by assuring that emerging multimedia, digital video,
and computer technologies are a vital part of our curriculum.
With the goal of preparing students to meet the communication needs
of an increasingly complex and interdependent global and technological
world, the Communication Arts will introduce a revised curriculum
for students entering the program in Fall 2002. A major renovation
and expansion of facilities has been undertaken to integrate new digital
technologies across the curriculum.
The Communication Arts Major is based on two important principles:
(1) that the core of the major includes both a strong liberal arts
foundation and a deep understanding of digital theory and of the social
and cultural impact of digital technologies in transforming the discipline
of the Communication Arts; and
(2) that the major prepares students to bring their creative ideas
to maturity. Graduates must demonstrate their ability to conceptualize
and execute meaningful work, using such technological tools as video,
multimedia, television, graphic design, journalism, radio, and writing.
We recognize that in order to produce outstanding creative work, our
students must be both grounded in the liberal arts and educated in
the principles, aesthetics, techniques and tools of the discipline.
The Communication Arts Major is housed in recently renovated facilities
that include computer labs for writing and digital imaging, a Final
Cut Pro editing lab, a field production classroom, private editing
suites, a TV studio, an audio studio, and radio studios. Students
completing this program will receive a B.A. degree. A minor is not
available. |
