College Colloquium

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Course Offerings

Exploring Visual Culture

Icons and media celebrities, advertising and news images, and a myriad of visual messages that we encounter in our daily lives all try to shape the way we think, feel and respond to the reality around us. They are designed to influence our beliefs and values, our sense of identity, our consumer preferences, as well as our social commitments and affiliations. In our intellectual journey, we will learn to critically “read” such artifacts of visual culture: visual literacy is the aim of this colloquium. We will begin by considering approaches to understanding examples of art, including selected works at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art and the Portland Art Museum. We will then discuss films that engage our contemporary urban experience, and art work that is found as much in television commercials as it is in museums. Finally we will consider examples of the converging “new media” that have developed with the digital revolution: the products of interactive yet anonymous communities on the Web. Students will conclude the semester by developing a project, such as a written analysis or short film, that critically explores a suitable visual context such as television commercials, video games or marketing practices in downtown Salem.

Course taught by

Aili Zheng