Course Descriptions

MECM 101 Introduction to Media & Communication
Fall (4), Spring (4)

Introduces students to the critical study of visual culture and the spectrum of media. Provides a basic grounding in the critical analysis of film, broadcast media, and new media, introducing techniques of formal, semiotic, and feminist analysis, etc., and approaches such as reception theory.

Prerequisite: Freshman or Sophomore standing, or with instructor consent.

MECM 111 Introduction to Art and Film
Fall (4), Spring (4)

This course introduces students to the primary visual, aural, and narrative conventions used in the creation of film, including editing, mise-en-scène, sound, cinematography, and digital effects. By developing a core set of analytical skills around observation, students will learn some of the ways that films become meaningful for their audiences.

Offered as needed.

MECM 202 Visual Storytelling
Spring (4)
Explores the means of creating narrative through media with a central visual component, chiefly still photography and digital filmmaking. Students will analyze effective visual storytelling and will devise, make, and edit a series of exploratory exercises, developing awareness of techniques proper to the medium.
MECM 211 Screen Genres
Fall (4), Spring (4), May Term (3)

introduces the concept of genre and how it has been understood in film and media studies, exploring the basis for generic categorization, engaging with debates over contested categories (such as film noir, women’s film, and melodrama), and examining specific instances of one or more genres. May be repeated for degree credit.

Offered as needed.

MECM 213 Sports, Media & Culture
Fall (4), Spring (4)

Analyzes the relationship between sport and its coverage and representation in print, radio, film, television, and now the Internet, and how that convergence has influenced various cultural dynamics.

Offered as needed.

MECM 261 Critical Approaches to Media (Topics)
Fall (4), Spring (4)

This course is designed to help students to hone their ability to think and write critically about film, television, and other media, develop research skills, and practice writing and revising a sustained research paper with a topic of their devising. Course topics vary. May be repeated for degree credit.

Prerequisite: MECM 101 or permission.

MECM 395 Media Theories
Fall (4), Spring (4)

Addresses critical and theoretical concerns that define critical film, media, and visual studies: specific focus will vary.

Offered as needed.

MECM 396 Praxis/Method
Spring (4)

Students prepare for the capstone through deepening engagement with a media-related research topic or pre-professional experience, drawing on prior work in the major and in the wider liberal-arts context of the College.

Prerequisite: Junior standing.

MECM 461 Advanced Seminar in Media and Visual Culture (Topics)
Fall (4), Spring (4)

An advanced and in-depth examination of media forms, history, organizations, etc., which requires the completion of a major writing assignment. Topics vary. May be repeated for degree credit.

Prerequisites: MECM 211 or 261 and junior or senior standing.

MECM 495 Senior Seminar
Spring (4)

A research-based project, in which students integrate and extend skills and knowledge previously developed in the major. Preparatory reading and development of a project plan, breakdown, and investigation of relevant literature culminate in drafting and subsequent revision of a thesis (or another project approved by the instructor).

Prerequisites: MECM 261, MECM 396, and senior standing.

CROSS-LISTED COURSES

Descriptions of these courses can be found in Catalog listings for the relevant department. Check these also for prerequisites, if any. These courses concentrate entirely or significantly on issues pertaining to media and visual culture. They may be counted automatically toward the major or minor.

ART 159 Digital Imaging (4)

ART 235 Introduction to Photography (4)

ART 252 Introduction to Graphic Design (4)

ARTH 222 Renaissance Artists and their Clients (4)

ARTH 226 Modernism and Modernity (4)

ARTH 228 After the Modern (4)

ARTH 323 Gender and Sexuality in Renaissance Art (4)

ARTH 327 Modern Art and Politics (4)

ARTH 329 The City in Modern Art and Film (4)

AST 211 Contemporary Chinese Film (4)

AST 240 Japanese Popular Culture (4)

CS 103 Introduction to Multimedia (4)

ENGL 114 War in Literature and Film (4)

ENGL 250 Theories of Popular Culture (4)

ENGL 311 Film and Literature (4)

HIST 216 Global Cinemas (3-4)

HIST 223 Anxiety/Race/Empire (4)

HIST 229 U.S. History on Film (4)

HIST 265 Europe on Film (3-4)

HIST 324 Cold War America (4)

HIST 328 Gender, Media, and U.S. Culture (4)

REST 232 Representing Race and Ethnicity in Film (4)

SOAN 206 Popular Culture (4)

WGS 249 Women Filmmakers (4)

WGS 340 Film Feminisms (4)

WGS 341 Gender and Nation (4)