ARTE 222. Rethinking Popular, Visual and Media Culture
3 credits. Learning to rethink consumption and production of popular, visual and media texts. This course provokes investigations of cultural texts (visual art, digital media, performance and sites of popular culture) and their relationship to constructions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, ability, class, etc., as well as the intersections of privilege and oppression in contemporary life.
ARTH 103 Survey of Art I
3 credits. Introductory survey of art from the prehistoric era through the 13th century, including examples from selected regions of Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. Illustrated lectures demonstrate visual analysis and other art historical methods while also identifying key monuments and artists’ work in relationship to historical contexts.
ARTH 104 Survey of Art II
3 credits. Introductory survey of art from the 14th century through 21st century, including examples from selected regions of Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. Illustrated lectures demonstrate visual analysis and other art historical methods while also identifying key monuments and artists’ work in relationship to historical contexts.
ARTH 270 History of Motion Picture
3 credits. The history of development of the motion picture from the early 1800s to the mid-20th century, with both technical and aesthetic consideration. Students engage in analysis and discussion after viewing selected films.
ARTH 271 History of Motion Picture II
3 credits. The history of development of the motion picture from post-WWII to the present, with both technical and aesthetic consideration. Students engage in analysis and discussion after viewing selected films.
ARTH 366 Contemporary Art
3 credits. An in-depth examination of art, theory and criticism from 1950 to the present.
ARTH 374 Vampire in Film
3 credits. May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of six credits. An in-depth examination of selected topics in film.
COAR 391 Topics: Batman in Media
3 credits. Explore Batman's development and influence through media. Film studies include not only Batman, but also Taxi Driver, King of Comedy, Birdman, and Joker.
CRAF 391: Pulp & Sculpt--Explorations in Papermaking
3 credits. This class will provide students with a foundation in western style papermaking with an emphasis on the unique nature of paper as a casting medium and transformative material. We will cover the essential process of turning fiber into pulp and pulp into sheets of paper. Students are encouraged to bring old prints and drawings to recycle into pulp! After forming basic sheets with a mould and deckle, students will explore texture, pulp casting in plaster, and layering paper to create sculptural pieces or installations. The class will culminate in a large scale communal paper pour using excess pulp. Over the course of the class you will gain an understanding of papermaking techniques, terminology, history, and use in contemporary work. Students will leave with a collection of handmade paper and the skills to incorporate this material into their own practice.
CRAF 491: Introduction to Hot Glass
3 credits. This three week concentrated Glass Fabrication class will introduce students to a myriad of ways to realize and articulate their ideas. An open ended and free flowing facilitation of each individual student's path towards acquiring the visual vocabulary they need to express coherent fluency with glass is its goal. The visual language explored will focus mainly on hot-glass-fabrication processes that range from ancient historical techniques to the re-invention-of-the-wheel, in terms of applying pixelated-imagery to the surfaces of our materials.
CRAF 211 Beginning Jewelry
4 credits. Investigation of basic jewelry making processes such as construction, chasing, surface embellishment and basic stone setting. Research in contemporary and historical jewelry forms.
CRAF 221 Woodworking Techniques
4 credits. Introduction to techniques of woodworking. Includes the use of hand tools; hand and machine joinery; shaping and carving; finishing; and techniques involving jigs and fixtures. Students participate in studio work.
DANC 254 Yoga
3 credits. Students engage in a physical practice based on yoga, taught from an experiential, philosophical and anatomic perspective, with an emphasis on dynamic flow that links breath and movement.
FASH 120 Intro to Fashion Industry
3 credits. This is a survey of the apparel industry to guide students to an understanding of the factor contributing to, forming and shaping the fashion industry. Additionally, students are introduced to the art, business and craft in developing and marketing fashion products emphasizing the role of the designer and the various stages of production.
FASH 201: Construction Techniques
3 credits. The basic principles involved in garment construction with emphasis on professional design-room practices in sewing, pressing and finishing of garments. Knowledge of basic sewing is advisable, but not necessary. Open to all ARTS majors.
FASH 250: Concepts of the Fashion Merchandising Environment
3 credits. Basic research techniques and analysis skills for evaluating contemporary fashion and apparel topics. This course is designed to give the student an overview of economic and business reasoning in their fashion pursuits, to apply these concepts to their own decision-making, and to evaluate opinions and news reports critically. Enrollment is open to non-majors.
FASH 319 Contemporary Fashion
3 credits. Prerequisite: UNIV 200 or HONR 200. An in-depth study of fashion beginning at the Industrial Revolution and continuing to the present from a historical and socio economic point of view. Hands-on examination of vintage garments and field trips to museum collections. Enrollment is open to non-majors.
FASH 320 Twenty-First Century Fashion
3 credits. Prerequisite: UNIV 200. Enrollment is restricted to fashion students or those in the School of the Arts. This course explores the history of fashion starting in the 1980s and continues into the New Millennium. It explores trends, designers and movements that affect fashion.
FASH 380 Fashion Branding
3 credits. This course includes all elements of the required fashion branding class, but from a luxury perspective. Students will understand the concept of fashion branding and the processes necessary to successfully develop or redevelop a fashion brand. Enrollment is open to non-majors.
FASH 391 Merchandising Luxury Fashion
3 credits. Merchandising Luxury Fashion is an exploration of the merchandising of luxury fashion. The class includes the forecasting, development, marketing, buying, selling, and counterfeiting of luxury products. Students explore the fashion luxury industry through lectures, assignments, and guest speakers from luxury brands. Fashion elective requirement or open elective requirement. Fashion elective requirement or open elective requirement. Enrollment is open to non-majors.
FASH 391 Fashion & Sustainability
3 credits. This course will delve into and examine the fashion industry’s role in addressing sustainability challenges. The class will provide a creative and unique platform for students who are concerned and curious about the future of the fashion industry to inquire, engage and respond in different ways and media. This topics based course will empower students to make a difference beyond the course timeframe through a vast compilation of interactive resources and tools provided. Enrollment is open to non-majors.
FASH 402 Design II Studio: CLO
3 credits. This course introduces the student to CLO which is a 3-D simulation technology that develops true-to-life garments to improve product quality, increase turnaround, and reduce wasteful sampling in the fashion industry. An online course with a virtual fashion outcome provides students with alternative methods of creation and communication. Enrollment limit 15. Open to fashion majors; open to other arts majors with permission. Complete FASH override request form to seek approval.
GDES 491 section 001 Topics: Handmade Web
The hand has become increasingly less present in the web as we know it today. Websites are automated or built from templates, and the knowledge of how to make a website is relegated to a select few. It has only gotten easier to learn and make on the web, but the idea and perceived requirements for a website have become so convoluted and arcane that most avoid the subject. Handmade web seeks to dispel these ideas. The course will emphasize the hand-quality of websites by developing an understanding of the essential tools, techniques, and language of the web. We will examine the space of the web at large and explore and challenge what a website is and can be with the hopes of reclaiming an important creative space.
KINE 234: ANIMATION I FOR NON-MAJORS
3 credits. An introduction to the techniques and principles of animation as frame-by-frame sequential media, covering pre-production methods particular to animation, and a survey of historical techniques with an emphasis on viewing and responding to animated work.
Open to all majors! No previous experience required!
MHIS 243 Music Appreciation
3 credits. Not open to music majors. Designed to encourage understanding of music from selected periods. Development of active cognitive listening skills through guided listening to selected recorded music.
MUSC 210 Digital Music Production
3 credits. This course will cover contemporary music production techniques applied to music creation using digital audio workstations. Students will learn about virtual instruments, loops, recording and manipulating audio and MIDI, signal processing, plug-ins, and mixing in a DAW environment. It is highly recommended that students have a basic understanding of music principles and concepts similar to those presented in MHIS 115; however, MHIS 115 is not a prerequisite for this class.
MHIS 322 Music History II
2 credits. Prerequisite: UNIV 200 or HONR 200. A study of classical music from the Romantic Era through present day. Students will learn correlations between musical works, composers and the cultures/societies in which the works were composed. Students will read about, listen to, review and write about a diverse and inclusive variety of works by a similarly diverse and inclusive pool of compositional and performing artists, including under-represented artists of African descent and figures in the LGBTQ+ community. Students will learn a diverse array of musical terminology including, but not limited to, genres, terms, forms and directives, and will discover ways to apply such terminology in their current music-making activities.
PHTO 289 Filmmaking for Non-Majors
3 credits. Digital motion picture camera is required--a DSLR or mirrorless camera prefered, but HD video-capable smartphones are allowed. Study of fundamental techniques and processes of digital filmmaking, including image and audio recording, editing and exporting digital media. Emphasizes media as a tool of artistic expression and social inquiry, as well as strategically utilizing ubiquitous media technologies such as smartphones and social media, and employing DIY household solutions for increased production value. Required: VCU Adobe Cloud student subscription, $30.
PHTO 290 Photography for Non-Majors: Digital
Digital still image cameras are required, a DSLR or mirrorless camera with interchangeable lenses prefered. Study of fundamental techniques and processes of digital image-making, including image capture, manipulation and digital printing. Emphasizes professional standards, technical proficiency and individual artistic expression. Required: VCU Adobe Cloud student subscription, $30
PHTO 290 Photography for Non-Majors: DIY DARKROOM
3 credits. You don’t need a darkroom to create analogue photographs! DIY Darkroom is suitable for those both familiar and completely unfamiliar with analogue photography. This course will provide students with a foundational technical understanding of a variety of pre-digital photographic techniques, while encouraging experimentation with hybrid image-making technologies.
PHTO 491 TOP: Intermediate Photoshop
3 credits. This course will focus on the technical aspects of Photoshop beyond the fundamentals taught in introductory classes, expanding to include such techniques as layer masking, production for external printed media (i.e., books, posters), advanced color profiling, seamless complex photo montage, and editing specific locations of images as opposed to global changes. Included in this course would also be light, theoretical client-based design work steeped in image making, such as creating logos from source material or the creation of visuals to be used on websites. Students taking this class will already understand the fundamentals of file formats, translating from RAW to a printable image, and the general uses of Photoshop tools and adjustment layers. Required: VCU Adobe Cloud student subscription, $30
PHTO 491 TOP: Self Portrait Sequence
Adapting with complex layers of solitude heightened in quarantine, turn the camera back onto oneself to evaluate, elevate, and celebrate the self in constructed image sequences. Expanding on what selfie culture has in some ways condensed, explore and practice the form of conceptual portraiture as examined through photographic history.
PHTO 491 TOP: Photography, Art & Technology
3 credits. This lecture course will explore the decentralized nature of photography and its many entangled histories. This course aims to build a context for understanding photography; structurally, socially, culturally, and historically with the intention of understanding the complexity of photography as a method and practice. Course content includes monographs, films, and virtual gallery walkthroughs.
SCPT 491 Digi Fab
This class is an introduction to computer modeling, 3D data acquisition, and various forms 3D Printing and CNC processes. Specifically, students will use Rhinoceros 3D to digitally model virtual forms. Various methods will be used to digitally capture 3D data including stationary laser scanning, handheld structured light scanning, and photogrammetry. The Sculpture Department’s Fortus 250, along with Makerbot, FormLabs, and Lulzbot printers in the Library’s Workshop will be used to physically realize models and designs. The second half of the class will focus on cutting a wide variety of materials with the Shopbot 5-Axis CNC milling machine and the TorchMate CNC plasma cutter. Assignments will be hands-on in nature, with students modeling and/or capturing data to use in fabrication. Personal research, lectures, media, readings and discussions will supplement hands-on demonstrations during the course.
SPCH 121 Effective Speech
3 credits. Structured speaking and critical listening experiences within the basic forms of speech communication: interpersonal, small group and public.
SPCH 321 Speech for Business and the Professions
3 credits. Theory and practice in the oral communication process. Organization and presentation of informative and persuasive subject matter in professional contexts related to the student's major area of interest.