Photography
and New Media Concentration
Studies
in Photography provide a foundation
in photographic techniques,
processes, history and theory. The
curriculum stresses the role of the
medium as a value and an idea that
has impacted societal trends and
shaped modern visual culture. As
both practicing photographers and
consumers of images, students gain
the knowledge to think critically
about photographs and visuality in a
range of contexts, including art,
advertising, fashion, journalism,
documentation, and propaganda, and
to explore the social, political,
and ethical dimensions of visual
media as part of mass culture.
Students apply the ability to “read”
photographic images critically and
within a range of contexts and to
distinguish the differences between,
and motivating factors behind, the
various uses to which photography
has been used, prioritizing specific
social, cultural, economic, and
political concerns.
The
program focuses upon photography as
a tool for documentation, research,
and preservation as well as a medium
for self-expression. Laboratory
based coursework provides students
with the skills to produce
high-quality photographs, using both
traditional and digital processes,
to apply a documentary methodology
to thematic explorations of subject
matter, to research and document
architecture through photographs
that meet the standards of the
Historic American Buildings Survey
(HABS), and to correlate
photographic framing and narrative
with sequential movement and
wayfinding in the design of
exhibition spaces. Courses explore
interdisciplinary relationships
between photography and
architecture, design, fashion,
preservation, science, and the
humanities. Academic training is
complemented by recommended Study
Abroad in Rome and professional
internships.
This intensive
course of study prepares graduates
for careers in architectural
photography, historic preservation,
fashion photography,
digital-imaging, gallery/museum
exhibition design and documentation,
photographic archives, commercial
photo illustration, magazine photo
editing, photojournalism,
medical/forensic, and free-lance. This
concentration can provide the basis
for pursuing graduate studies in
Photography, Historic Preservation,
Museum Studies, Design, Imaging
Science, and Photographic
Conservation.
The learning
goals of this concentration enable
students to:
• Demonstrate knowledge of photographic history, theory and criticism and articulate the role the medium has played in 19th and 20th century visual culture as well as aesthetic, technical and cultural issues in contemporary photography.
• Demonstrate technical proficiency in camera manipulation, darkroom skills and studio methods for the production of photographic imagery in the following formats: film, digital, and 4x5 view camera.
• Apply a documentary methodology to thematic explorations of a variety of motifs and subjects, including architecture and landscape, current events, fashion, still-life, portraiture, etc.
• Acquire knowledge of the professional practice of photography, including career opportunities, business aspects, professional ethics, photographic law, intellectual property in the age of digital duplication and personal objectives.
Required Courses: 39 credits
PHOTO-101
Introduction to Photography: Black
and White
PHOTO-102
Introduction to Photography: Digital
PHOTO-201
Studio Photography
PHOTO-302
Architectural Photography
PHOTO-303
Introduction to the View Camera: A
Survey of Historical and
Contemporary Techniques
PHOTO-307
History of Photography
PHOTO-3xx
Issues in Contemporary Photography
PHOTO-436
Historic Preservation Documentation:
Photography (HABS)
PHOTO-4xx
Theories of Photography Seminar
PHOTO-4xx
Photography Capstone
PHOTO-4xx
Documentary Photography
PHOTO-4xx
Professional Practice: Photography
ARCST-301
Exhibition Design and Planning
Recommended free electives: 18
credits
Option
A—Environmental Art and Gaming
Option
B—Exhibition Design and Interactive
Media