Complete Listing of MS Courses

ANTH 23 PZ: China and Japan Through Film and Ethnography

This course will use feature films as ethnographic sources for exploring the cultures of China and Japan. It will juxtapose the examination of historical and anthropological material with films and recent film criticism. Includes weekly film screenings. Instructor: E. Cho [Elective]

ANTH 68 PZ: Life Online: Culture, Technology, Democracy

The main goals of this course are for students to get acquainted with the current state of social science research on cyberspace, to think about what an anthropological and ethnographic approach can gain for us and begin to carry such a project out, and to think critically and collectively about a series of questions about society in the cyber age. Instructor: J. Norvell [Theory]

ARHI 181 PZ: Modern into Contemporary: Art from 1945-1989

An overview of significant issues and movements in art from 1945 - 1989. Mainstream and alternative art movements are discussed in relation to the cultural politics of the post-World War Two era. Topics include Abstract Expressionism, Pop, Minimalism, Performance and Conceptual Art, Process Art, Land Art, Site-Specificity, Institutional Critique, Feminist Art, and the Culture Wars of the 1980s. Emphasis is on North America and Western Europe, with comparisons to emerging global art centers. Instructor: B. Anthes. [Art History/Elective]

ARHI 183 PZ: The Art World Since 1989

An examination of contemporary art in the context of economic and cultural globalization, taking travel, movement, and notions of place as key themes for understanding the art of the recent past. Topics include the impact of the end of the Cold War and the rise of economic neoliberialism on the arts; the emergence of new global art centers in the wake of major political transformations such as the fall of South African apartheid; contemporary Native American and Australian Aboriginal artists in the global marketplace; and artists’ response to issues of nationalism, ethnic violence, terrorism, and war. Instructor: B. Anthes. [Art History]

ART 55 PZ: Contemporary Art Practice & Public Art in Los Angeles

This course will introduce students to the diversity of practices, positions, and current issues dealt with by contemporary artists living in Southern California. A major component of the class will involve visiting artists in their studios, critiquing major museum exhibitions and viewing public art works in Los Angeles. The students will develop a public art work or monument for the Los Angeles area. This is not an exercise in city planning or city bureaucracy but an opportunity to explore your creative potential. Instructor: C. Ennis [Elective]

ART 120 PZ: Photography Multi-Level (formerly Photography Studio)

Black and white and color photography will be explored through studio and fieldwork with the camera, darkroom exercises and critiques. Field trips and gallery visits. Equipment needed: 35 mm camera with lightmeter. Enrollment is limited. Program fee: $40. Additional student expenses around $100. Instructor: M. Schiff [Production/Intermediate Production]

CREA 77 PZ: Portraits of Filmmakers

The course will engage itself with the visual styles of major film directors from different parts of the world. The creative process in the visual style of John Ford (U.S.) will be compared to that of Akira Kurosawa (Japan), that of Andrei Tarkovsky (Russia) to that of Theo Angelopoulos (Greece), that of Glauber Rocha (Brazil) to that of Jean-Luc Godard (Switzerland), and that of Tomas Gutierrez Alea (Cuba) to that of Ousmane Sembene (Senegal). How do these directors in their specific contexts represent national visual styles? Instuctor: N. Masilela [Elective]

CREA 101 PZ: Modern Cuban Literature and Film

The course will attempt to trace the development of the Cuban literary imagination from Jose Marti, in the context of the national liberation struggle for independence, to Roberto Fernandez Ratamar, in the context of the construction of socialism. The literary works (fiction and poetry) of Alejo Carpentier, Jose Lezama Lima, Severo Sarduy and Guillermo Cabrera Infante will form the centerpiece of the course. The films of Humberto Solas, Sara Gomez, Sergio Giral, and Gutierrez Alea will be part of this exploratory process. Instructor: N. Masilela [Elective]

ENGL 14 PZ: Introduction to African Literature and Film

One of the seriously debated issues concerning African literature today is whether that portion of it written in the European languages forms a constitutive or central part of it. This issue is interwoven with the relationship between oral literature and written literature within Africa’s cultural space. Diverse genres from the different corners of Africa will be read into each other as defining a particular discourse: for example, Ngugi wa Thiongo from Kenya, Wole Soyinka from Nigeria, Nadine Gordimer from South Africa. Instructor: N. Masilela [Elective]

ENGL 44 PZ: Introduction to Latin American Literature and Film

The course will attempt to define Latin America as a literary and historical construct. The survey will cover essential and classical works of Latin American literature. The literary lineages of these works will be uncovered in an attempt to trace their historicity. A series of Latin American films which grapple with the historical problems facing this continent will also be shown. Instructor: N. Masilela [Elective]

ENGL 92 PZ: Twentieth-Century Brazilian Literature and Film

Brazil is one of the Third World countries which possesses a great literary and cinematic tradition, including one of the most fascinating examples of modernism in the world. By comparing literature and film, this course will attempt to enter the Brazilian film and fictional imagination of the 20th century. Instructor: N. Masilela [Elective]

ENGL 93 PZ: Modern Polish Literature and Film

Poland is one of the exhilarating enigmas of Central Europe, a country tragically overflowing with romantic spirit in a geopolitical region where perhaps sober realism should be the order of the day. Despite this complicating factor, Poland has produced both great literature and outstanding film. The course will attempt to unravel the gushing romanticism of the 20th-century Polish literary and cinematic imagination. Instructor: N. Masilela [Elective]

ENGL 101 PZ: Modern Cuban Literature and Film

The course will attempt to trace the development of the Cuban literary imagination from Jose Marti, in the context of the national liberation struggle for independence, to Roberto Fernandez Ratamar, in the context of the construction of socialism. The literary works (fiction and poetry) of Alejo Carpentier, Jose Lezema Lima, Severo Sarduy and Infant will form the centerpiece of the course. The films of Humberto Solas, Sara Gomez, Sergio Giral, and Gutierrez Alea will be part of this exploratory process. Instructor: N. Masilela [Elective]

ENGL 105 PZ: Indo-British Literature & Indian Film

This course will survey the literary structure of Indian literature in the English language from Sri Aurobindo and Rabindranath Tagore to Salman Rushdie. Its positioning in relation to other Indian Literatures from Vedic and Sanskrit Literatures to Urdu Literature will be examined. The films of the late great Satyajit Ray will be shown. Instructor: N. Masilela [Elective]

ENGL 110 PZ: Novel on Screen

This class explores the intersections of film and literature to discover how the dialogue between the two media enhances our reading experience of the printed word while developing new kinds of visual literacy. The class will focus on a selection of British novels that have been adapted for film. Instructor: S. Bhattacharya [Elective]

ENGL/BK 132 PZ: Black Queer Narratives and Theories

This course examines African American writers and film and video-makers whose focus on race and sexuality shapes the content and form of black queer narratives. The class will explore relationships between black queer artists and black feminist and queer theories. Instructor: L. Harris [Prereq: IDBS 10 or written permission. Theory]

ENVS 152 PZ: Nature through Film

We examine ideas of nature and the environment and how they have been explored in film. From wildlife documentaries, to popular dramas of environmental struggles, to cult classics and Disney’s animated visions of nature, the human-nature relationship has been depicted through film to transmit particular views of the world. We view and study films, read relevant theory, and actively critique ways in which our worldview has been shaped and impacted by cinema. Instructor: P. Faulstich/M. Herrold-Menzies [Elective]

HIST 50 PZ: Journalism in America, 1787-Present

This course traces changes in the communication of "news" in the United States, from courthouse oratory in the early republic to network television in the late 20th century. Topics of study include the invention of "news" itself in the early 19th century, the development of journalism as a profession, the rise and fall of objectivity as a professional goal since 1900, and the ways in which changes in technology have affected the transmission of information. Formerly listed as HIST 150. Instructor: S. McConnell [Elective]

IIS/GFS 110 PZ: (Mis)Representations of Near East and Far East

An examination of Zen Buddhism, not as a mystical cult but as a mainstream intellectual and cultural movement in China, Japan, and also the modern West. Issues to be addressed include: How do iconoclastic religious reform movements develop wealthy institutions and diverse textual and artistic traditions? What is religious meaning for nuns and monks who hold that there is nothing to know? What can this mean in the modern world? Instructor: J. Parker [Prereq: any one of Religious Studies 10, 100, 103, or 117 or permission of instructor. Elective]

MS 42 PZ: Transnational Crime Cinema

This course examines the ways in which crime and criminality have been represented in narrative cinema across cultures and nationalities. On the one hand, we will look at how “crime” and “the law” are construed, how violence is depicted, how criminals and the police are portrayed, and how “justice” is imagined in different national cinemas during different periods. On the other hand, we will look films that deal with specifically “transnational crimes” that involve border-crossing, including drug trafficking, human trafficking, and illegal immigration. We will also be putting these films in dialogue with readings about nationalism, transnationalism, globalization, and legal systems in different parts of the world. Moreover, questions of urban space, gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, community, and identity will be central to our discussions. The goal of the course is, through the examination of a wide range of films, to shed insight on what constitutes a “crime” and a “criminal” and, therefore, “justice” and “injustice” in our contemporary transnational, globalized society. Instructor: J. Baron [Media History]

MS 45 PZ: Documentary Media

This course involves production, a historical survey of documentary practices in photography, film and video, and a discussion of the ethical and ideological issues raised by the genre. Students will be expected to produce two short documentary projects in any media. Instructor: J. Lerner, R. Talmor [Media History/Intermediate Production]

MS 46 PZ: Feminist Documentary Production and Theory

Women have made politicized documentaries since the invention of the motion picture camera. Students will learn this complex theoretical, historical and political tradition while producing their own feminist documentary. Enrollment is limited. Course fee: $150. Instructor: A. Juhasz [Prereq: MS 49, 50, 51 or equivalent, or MS 82. Theory/Film Theory; G/U]

MS 48 PZ: Media Ethnography/Autobiography

This integrated production/theory course will survey the rich traditions of autobiographical and ethnographic media production while also reading theories and histories of these practices to consider the diverse ethics, strategies, contradictions, and motives of using a camera for knowledge of self and other. Students will produce media ethnographies and autobiographies, as well as written analyses of these practices. Course fee: $150. Instructor: A. Juhasz [Prereq: MS 82. Theory or Intermediate/Advanced Production; G/U]

MS 49 PZ: Introduction to Media Studies

Presents a comprehensive view of the issues important to media studies, including the development of new technologies, visual literacy, ideological analysis, and the construction of content. Students read theory, history and fiction; view films and television programs; and write research and opinion papers. Instructor: E. Affuso[Introductory]

MS 50 PZ: Intro to Film

Film and video are often considered to be a distinct semiotic system or art form with their own “language.” This course surveys the variety of structures which can organize moving pictures: from Hollywood continuity editing, Soviet montage and cinema verité to voice-over documentary, talking-heads and postmodern voices with no center at all. The course includes silent film, classic Hollywood narrative, avant-garde film and video, documentary and activist video. Instructor: M. Ma [Introductory]

MS 51 PZ: Introduction to Digital Media Studies

An interdisciplinary introduction to digital and electronic media, exploring the relationships between "old" and "new" media forms, the historical development of computer-based communication and the ways that new technologies are reshaping literature, art, journalism and the social world. Instructor: G. Lamb [Introductory]

PZ MS 53: Science Fiction Film

One of the main icons of the science fiction film is the alien, an extraterrestrial visitor - friendly or hostile - who is markedly different from the human population.  That difference takes on various manifestations (sometimes even through similarity!), and in this class we will examine the ways the figure of the alien represents socially and politically charged differences related to racial and gender identity.  We will gain an understanding not only of the various ways the alien functions in science fiction texts, but also how we can read representations of the alien in light of different historical contexts.  We will examine science fiction texts from both film and television and engage the work of scholars in media studies, gender studies, and Critical Race Theory, attempting to answer this question: how does the figure of the alien in science fiction help us understand representations of difference in visual media and experiences of difference in society? Instructor: J. Subramanian [Media History]

MS 54 PZ: If the Buddha Made Movies

The teachings of the historical Buddha (6th century BCE) spread from India to China and from there to all of Asia. With the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1951, prominent Tibetan Buddhist teachers fled to the West bringing “the dharma” with them. Slowly but surely, the Buddhist perspective is influencing American contemporary culture. What does Buddhism offer the occidental world? Through cinema, autobiography, and the writings of contemporary teachers, and by practicing basic sitting meditation, we will examine the basic premises of Buddhist thought, and enhance our capacities for kindness, compassion and wisdom. Instructor: V. Mudd [Elective]

MS 55 PZ: Shooting the Truth: The Rise of Political Documentary

This course will explore the evolution of the documentary genre with a particular emphasis on political films. From the simple ethnographic beginnings, to the complex creative expression of political truths that we see today, we will research the historical conditions and events that gave rise to some of the most influential American political films. The styles, ethics, choices and techniques employed by important filmmakers will be explored. Instructor: V. Mudd [Media History]

MS 61 PZ: Pan-American Vanguards

An introduction to a range of modernist vanguard movements from 20th century South, Central and North America, this course surveys the literary, cinematic and fine arts production of these groups. Emphasis is placed on the close analysis of primary texts and comparative studies across genres, media and national boundaries. Instructor: J. Lerner. [Media History]

MS 69 PZ: Media Praxis Ontario

Working in groups, students will plan and implement collaborative media projects with Ontario community sites that promote civic discourse around regional social issues. Areas to be covered in class include introductory video production techniques, ethical community media praxis, and examination the social efficacy of a wide range of media justice and activist projects. This is an introductory level media production course designed for (but not limited to) students that have taken or are currently enrolled in the Ontario Program coursework. Instructor: G. Lamb [Production]

MS 70 PZ: Media and Social Change

This course presents an overview of movements, theories, and methods employed by media makers committed to social change. From the early Soviet film collectives, through the Third Cinema movement of 60s in Latin America, and continuing on to feminist, queer, and youth video activist movements in the U.S. that have laid the groundwork for the rise of socially driven media collectives and campaigns today. In response readings and film screenings, students will be asked to critique both the ethical means and efficacy of media documents as organizing tools for raising consciousness and critical dialogue. They will also be encouraged to develop their own theories of media as a conduit for social change based on the creation of participatory production projects that strive to incite civic discourse. Instructor: G. Lamb [Media History/Theory]

MS 72 PZ: Women and Film

An investigation of both the oppressive and oppositional potential of the fiction film as it either captures or constructs cultural understandings of women’s sexuality, agency and identity. This introduction to feminist film theory and scholarship will consider the representation of women in a variety of classic Hollywood and avant-garde film and video. Instructor: A. Juhasz [Prereq: MS 49, 50, 51 or equivalent. Theory/Film Theory; G/U]

MS 73 PZ: Race, Theory, and Media

This course makes race central to critical media studies. Theoretical concerns about race and nation, difference, aesthetics, cultural production and consumption remain central to investigations of critical junctures in history including colonialism and European empire, US Civil Rights era, the Cultural Wars, and the 2001 World Conference on Racism. Instructor: Staff [Elective]

MS 76 PZ: Gender and Genre

Generic coding allows for the telling and re-telling of narratives which revel in (white, male, heterosexist) society’s “hidden” fears, desires and beliefs. But what happens when the demons, seductresses, whores and monsters of such tales revision genre for their own ends? We will consider how horror, melodrama and film noir speak to/for/about women. Instructor: A. Juhasz [Theory or Film Theory; G/U]

MS 78 PZ: Intermediate Media Projects

This is a topic-driven, intermediate-level production course. Topics are chosen in response to student interest in particular areas of media theory, or to enable them to adapt to ever-changing platforms of media technology. Students in the class will develop specialized technical skills based on their training in introductory production courses, and focus on specific fields of knowledge within Media Studies. Instructor: M-Y. Ma [Prereq: MS 49, 50, 51 or equivalent. Intermediate/Advanced Production]

MS 79 PZ: Silent Film

How does the invention of cinema fit within the emerging order of modernism? This class will examine early cinema in the context of the turn-of-the-century project of extending the field of human vision, examining topics such as ethnography, science, journalism, travel, representations of the city and architecture, and the construction of racial difference. Instructor: J. Lerner [Prereq: MS 49, 50, 51 or equivalent. Media History]

MS 80 PZ: Video and Diversity

An introductory-level course exploring video as a medium, particularly as it is utilized by women, people of color, lesbians and gays, and grassroots activists, as well as other people who are under- and/or mis-represented by mainstream media. Students will learn about the history of video technology, and how certain developments within it made video an accessible and powerful tool for self-expression and political intervention. Class activities include screening of independent videos, writing assignments, and group discussion. Instructor: M. Ma [Elective]

MS 82 PZ: Intro to Video Art

This workshop is an introduction to all aspects of digital video production—camera, lights, tripods, sound and non-linear editing. Hands-on assignments will be organized around the formal properties and power of video. The workshop will allow students to evaluate each other’s work as well as that produced by media professionals and to create a final video of their own. This class has a required lab. Students in this course must also register for MS 82L PZ. Instructors: A. Juhasz, M. Ma, S. Hutin, R. Talmor [Prereq: MS 49, 50, 51 or equivalent. Enrollment is limited. Fee: $150. Production]

MS 83 PZ: Contemporary Practices in Media

Contemporary Practices in Media is a class developed around visiting media artists’ presentations through the Pitzer Cinematheque Series and field trips to media exhibits in Los Angeles. Students will be provided with related readings in order to shape and lead discussions on how these artists and exhibitions relate to larger media studies histories. Instructor: Staff [Media History]

MS 84 PZ: Handmade Film

Rejecting the prevailing Hollywood wisdom that one needs millions of dollars to make a movie, this class explores different models for creating moving images with the most modest of resources. Options to be considered include hand processing, camera-less films, PXL video, super-8 film, recycling and appropriation. Students will be expected to create several short exercises in order to familiarize themselves with these different techniques, as well as a final project. Course fee: $150. Instructor: J. Lerner [Intermediate/Advanced Production]

MS 86 PZ: History of Ethnographic Film

This course offers a historical survey of ethnographic film, beginning in the silent era with the early efforts of Robert Flaherty and with Curtis, and continuing to recent works by Manthia Diawara, Marlon Fuentes and Trinh T. Minh-ha. Instructor: J. Lerner [Media History]

MS 87 PZ: Media Sketchbook

This is an intermediate-level video production class. Students are required to complete short (one to two minute) assignments every other week. The objectives of the class are to further refine the skills of shooting, editing, etc., and to develop a critical vocabulary to talk about your work and the work of others. Course fee: $150. Instructor: J. Lerner [Prereq: MS 82 or equivalent. Intermediate/Advanced Production]

MS 88 PZ: Mexican Visual Cultures

A survey of both popular and elite visual arts in Mexico from the time of Independence to today, including painting, prints, murals, sculpture and, more recently, film and video. Emphasis will be placed on the interchanges between media and the understanding of visual culture as a reflection of social changes. Instructor: J. Lerner [Media History]

MS 89 PZ: Mexican Film History

This survey of the evolution of Mexican media extends from the first Edison to contemporary video art. Special attention will be paid to the avant-garde and other marginalized cinemas in relation to other art forms, experimental filmmakers from other countries working in Mexico and the Mexican film industry. Instructor: J. Lerner [Media History]

MS 91 PZ: History of American Broadcasting

Studies the history of American broadcasting from the diffusion of radio as a mass media through the transition to television, up to the development of television as the dominant broadcasting form. Students will begin to understand the impact of U.S. broadcasting by familiarizing themselves with key programs and trends. Instructor: T. MacLean [Media History]

MS 93 PZ: Media Off Screen

An intermediate production course that engages with media practices outside of the traditional single-channel film or videotapes made for broadcast or screening in a theatre. New genres and hybrid media forms including installation, performance, and tactical media are explored through a series of readings, lectures, presentations, and creative assignments in both individual and group projects. Instructor: M-Y. Ma [Prerequisite: Intro-level media production course or relevant intro-level art courses such as installation and photography. Intermediate/Advanced Production]

MS 94 PZ: Collaborative Art of Filmmaking

In this course, students from the visual, performing, and literary arts will come together for creative experimentation and project development through the production of a digital media based installation, performance piece or a film/media project. The course will acquaint students with the characteristics and challenges of collaboration, to teach them the intellectual and behavioral skills of handling a collaborative space, and the communicative tools set forth by exchange of ideas. During the semester students will conceive, develop, write, produce, direct and edit three short digital media projects in a workshop environment.  The course will include a series of practical exercises focusing on story development, creating character, use of locations, actions, situations, and themes. Instructor: C. Dunye [Intermediate/Advanced Production]

MS 99 PZ: Advanced Editing

This course integrates the theory and history of editing with instruction in on-line non-linear video editing. Reading and viewing assignments will complement hands-on editing exercises. Instructor: G: Lamb [Prereq: MS 82. Course fee: $150. Intermediate/Advanced Production]

MS 100 PZ: Asian Americans in Media

This is an historical survey of Asian American involvement in media production, beginning with the Silent Film Era and ending with contemporary projects in film, video, and new media. In this course, we will focus on the shifting yet continuous participation of Asians in the production of media in North America, and look at how changing political, social, and cultural discourses have shaped media representations of Asians throughout this period. Instructor: M. Ma [Prereq: MS 49, 50, 51 or equivalent, or PI AA 90 or PI AA 101 or CMC HIST 125. Media History]

MS 105 PZ: Transnational Media Theory

This course reviews a wide range of scholarship on national cinema and electronic media practices, as well as how visual media production and consumption connect to developing ideas of nation, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and a public sphere in diasporic and immigrant communities. Instructor: Eve Oishi [Theory]

MS 106 PZ: Power/Knowledge

In this course we examine Michel Foucault's work on modern forms of power and its connection to the production of knowledge.  In "Discipline and Punish," Foucault argues that modern panoptic techniques of surveillance have produced a universal normative gaze that each of us internalizes, and though which we become, as he puts it, "docile bodies."   In his later work he complicates this argument by contending that the confessional operates as a blueprint for the operation of what he calls "bio-power," which, through the scientific "liberation" of bodies, shapes them at both an individual and social level. Instructor: Henry Krips [Theory]

MS 110 PZ: Media & Sexuality

This course is an intermediate/advanced-level course examining the intersections between media theory and the study of sexuality. In exploring issues including transgenderism, pornography, censorship, feminism, queer cinema, and representations of race and sexuality, this course focuses on compelling case studies that provide students with specific understanding of the prevailing debates and defining theories of sexuality within media studies. Please note: Students must be aged 18 and above to enroll in this course. Instructors: A. Juhasz/M-Y. Ma [Prereq: MS 49, 50, 51 or equivalent. Theory; G/U]

MS 111 PZ: Anthropology of Photography

This course critically examines the photograph as artifact, art, evidence, and weapon. Section 1 looks at photographs through the works of key theorists. Section 2 introduces the anthropology of photography as a social practice, including its relation to colonialism, race, and the global circulation of representations. Section 3 hones in on African photography. Section 4 analyzes current trends, including the role of the photograph in journalism, art, indigenous activism, and the digital era. Instructor: R. Talmor [Prereq: one previous Media Studies or Anthropology course. Media History]

MS 112 PZ: Anthropology of Media

Life today is saturated by various kinds of media. In the last two decades, a new field—the ethnography of media—brings anthropology's cross-cultural perspective and attention to everyday reality to studies of media and theorizes media as constituting new spaces of community and self-making in a globalized world. Instructor: R. Talmor [Theory]

MS 113 PZ: African Masculinities in Film

This course explores issues that shape African masculinities as these are expressed in film. Beginning with the premise that masculinities are plural, processual, and dialogic, we will investigate the ways African men enact and experience their masculinity in contexts of colonialism, national liberation, and neoliberalism, in relations between youth and elders, between men and men, between men and women, and between Africans and foreigners. Instructor: R. Talmor [Theory]

MS 114 PZ: Film Sound

An intermediate level media history and theory course exploring how sound functions in cinema. Topics covered by the course include the history of sound technologies, film sound theories, voice in cinema, film music, sound recording and reproduction in film. Instructor: M. Ma [Prereq: MS 49, 50, 51; or some introductory level music theory courses. Theory/Media History, G/U]

MS 115 PZ: Topics in Sound Culture: Soundscape

This course will explore different aspects in the emergent discourse on aural culture. The current topic, soundscape, examines spatial approaches to the study of sound, including aural architecture, noise, sonic ecology, and other related subjects. Instructor: M. Ma [Prereq: MS 49, 50, 51; or some introductory level music theory courses. Theory]

MS 116 PZ: Screen Culture

Our world has become increasingly screen-dependent. This course will examine screen culture in a multitude of formats, from movie screen to mobile phones and everything in between.  It is particularly focused on the relationship of technological development to evolving modes of spectatorship in a historical and theoretical context. Instructor: E. Affuso [Prereq: one intro media studies course such as MS 49, 50, or 51. Media History]

MS 117 PZ: Fan Culture & Celebrity

New media forms have changed the face of the celebrity/fan relationship in the last decade providing a level of interactivity previously unavailable. This course will situate this shift within a historical and theoretical survey of fandom and celebrity from the birth of the Hollywood Studio System until the present day. Instructor: E. Affuso [Media History]

MS 118 PZ: Visual Culture & Politics in the African Diaspora

The world has been interconnected for centuries. A great way to see this is through visual culture as a sphere of political action and critique. Centering Africa and the African diaspora, we look at art, film and other forms that comment upon identity, experience, intercultural contact, and the politics of representation. Instructor: R. Talmor

MS 133 PZ: Media Arts and the World Wide Web

Production and theory course exploring the use of web for micro distribution, video exchange projects, and innovative communication/activism projects online. Students will work together to establish a video web site with discussion board and carry out an exchange/distribution project with LA youth inner-city groups and possibly international student/youth partners. Making direct contact with exchange partners is key. There will be regular readings and web presentations on developments in new media arts. Students will learn to compress video for web and basic web design. Emphasis will be on how media communication forms are changing and how we can utilize personal media and online exchange to learn more about ourselves and others. Working in groups or individually, students will implement hands-on media production projects with local non-profit and social service agencies. Students will culminate projects with an end of semester event for all participating groups. Instructor: G. Lamb [Fee: $150. Intermediate/Advanced Production]

MS 134 PZ: Feminist Dialogues on Technology

A massively distributed collaborative learning forum and archive on the topic of feminism and technology taught by 28 international scholars, taken by students all over the world, and co-sponsored by Pitzer College and USC. Instructor: A. Juhasz [Theory]

MS 135 PZ: Learning from YouTube

What can YouTube teach us, and is this how, what, and all we'd like to learn? Over its hundred year history, radical media theorists have looked with utopian zeal to a moment in the media future which turns out to be upon us: a time where access to the production and distribution of media is democratically available outside channels organized by capital. So why is the technology being used primarily to spoof mainstream media forms, and what does this tells us about the media, our society, and political possibility? Instructor: A. Juhasz [Media History]

MS 136 PZ: Online Feminist Spaces

This hyper/in/visibility of the feminist in digital spaces is the (non)place, and yet somehow also the very real location, of a course that will consider—by reading, using, and making—the nowhere and everywhere of feminism in on-line, user-generated, social networked spaces of web 2.0. Instructor: A. Juhasz [Theory]

MS 137 PZ: Media Archives

We will consider the making, saving, sharing, using, and re-purposing of collections of media documents. The camera documents. Once archived, these images and sounds are used as testimony and evidence, to make history. The internet, a meta media archive, holds many traditional archives as well as the new people-made archives-of-ourselves constructed thrugh the networked holdings of blogs, Facebook, YouTube, and the like. Instructor: A. Juhasz [Media History/Theory; G/U]

MS 151 PZ: Television Genres

The course is based on the premise that television has been discussed as a monolithic presence in its cultural setting far more frequently than cinema or literary forms. In response, we will consider how television is made up of distinct modes—some historically sequential, some simultaneous. Key genres that will be discussed include: live drama, mini-series, sitcom, soap opera, sketch comedy, game show, science fiction, variety, news & reality. We will also engage with intermedia studies—developing close and critical readings of how television engages with radio and film in its use of genre. We will draw on theoretical approaches to television as well as close readings of texts. Instructor: T. MacLean [Prereq: MS 49, 50, 51, equivalent or permission from instructor. Media History or Theory; G/U]

MS 170 PZ: Digital Cinema: Intro to Experimental Animation

Digital Cinema is an intermediate/advanced video course, exploring the creative potential of digital video techniques, such as compositing, animation, and motion graphics. Students develop digital projects and participate in critiques. Lectures, discussions, and screenings enhance students' exposure to art and cinema. Instructor: S. Hutin [Intermediate/Advanced Production]

MS 175 PZ: Contemporary Animation Practice

This course will focus on performative animation techniques, or post-animative thought. Through screenings and hands-on in-class experiments, student will look at animation as it exists outside of cartoon culture and gaming to create a variety of tests that challenge the way we look at frame by frame filmmaking. Instructor: S. Hutin [Intermediate/Advanced Production]

MS 193 PZ: Directed Reading or Study in Media

Student designed media studies project involving advanced readings in theory, history or aesthetics with written analysis. May be taken twice for credit. Instructor: Staff [Designation dependent on topic]

MS 194 PZ: Media Arts for Social Justice

Working in groups or individually, students will implement hands-on media production projects with local non-profit and social service agencies. Students will culminate projects with an end of semester event for all participating groups. Collaboration will be a key component with Pitzer Ontario Project, CORE Partners of CCCSI including Kaos Network and the Women's Multimedia Center. Course fee: $150. Instructor: Fall, G. Lamb [Prereq: MS 82, or Art 120 (PZ) or Art 141 (SC) or by permission. Intermediate/Advanced Production]

MS 196 PZ: Media Internship

Internship in media related industry or institution integrated with significant and clear connection to academic curriculum through independent written or production project. May be taken twice for credit. Pass/NC only. Instructor: Staff. [Elective]

MS 197 PZ: Media Praxis in Ontario

Political people and communities have often used the media to contribute to social change within the context of and in dialogue with theoretical and political traditions. As we study these moments in media history (e.g., Soviet montage, Third Cinema, feminist film, queer cinema, hip hop), we will ourselves be engaged in something similar: a semester-long community-based media project in Ontario. We will look at moments in film history where artists created socially conscious art while also attempting to theorize this practice. We will read this writing and view its associated work, and we will discuss what we can gain for our own practices in Ontario from their experiences, ideas, and images. Then, we will make and theorize our own media praxis. Instructor: A. Juhasz [Prereq: MS 49, 50, 51 or equivalent, and 82. Theory or Intermediate/Advanced Production; G/U]

MS 198 PZ: Advanced Media Project (formerly MS 192 PZ)

Student-designed media production project involving advanced production and post-production skills, adequate pre-production research, and writing component. Instructor: Staff [Prerequisite: MS 82. Intermediate/Advanced Production]

POST 133 PZ: Film, Politics and The Cold War

For nearly 50 years, the Cold War influenced nearly all aspects of American political and cultural life. This course examines Cold War genre films in an effort to understand how Americans perceived the Soviet threat and how these popular perceptions influenced international and domestic politics. The films of the Cold War represent important historical artifacts because they provide a window into the American mind by capturing the anxieties, optimism and ambivalence of the American public. It is the aim of this course for students to develop an understanding of the nexus between art and politics and in the process become familiar with key international and domestic political events of the Cold War era. Instructor: Adrian D. Pantoja [Media History]

POST 189 PZ: Political Communication in a Global Context

This course will investigate the influences and impacts of political communication across the globe. It will examine political communication strategies, and the shifts in technology, media, and tactics giving voice to new political actors. The course will also endeavor to uncover how information and communications technology impact political change, social protest, and collective action. Instructor: J. Busacca [Elective]

SOC 51 PZ: Class, Caste and Colonialism in Film and Documentaries

This course will explore the narratives, politics and representations of inequality across a number of key sociological variables that include social class distinctions, caste, colonialism, neo-colonialism and imperialism, and their intersections with race, ethnicity, nationalism, war, sexuality, freedom, and political repression in their historical, economic, and social context. Instructor: D. Basu [Elective]

SOC 71 PZ: Sociology of Popular Music

This course explores popular music and society with an emphasis on audio visual media. It emphasizes the societal conditions in which particular genres of popular music emerge; the role of the visual in music consumption and production; issues of authenticity and appropriation; the production and consumption of popular music globally; and the political and social implications of popular music as it affects, and is affected by, class, gender, race, sexuality, diasporic movements and local-global tensions. Instructor: D. Basu [Elective]

SOC 124 PZ: Race, Place, and Space

This course offers an introduction to the processes underlying social and spatial differentiation, with particular reference to race, gender, sexuality and class. We examine how social difference and social inequalities are constituted through space, not just expressed spatially. Cross-listed with Africana Studies. Instructor: D. Basu [Elective]

SOC 136 PZ: Framing 'Urban' Life

The course draws upon a wide range of disciplinary orientations that examine the theories of urban life and representations of urban places and their cultures through literature, websites, maps, architecture, photography, documentary, film, popular art, music and advertising in local and international cities. It synthesizes visual and literary analysis of urban history and culture with the political economy of urbanization to: introduce you to influential works on the city, city cultures and representations or urban life; provide research skills in visual sociology and its application to city life and cultures; and simulate and act as a foundation for those going to/returning from the external studies site for Darjeeling/Nepal. Instructor: D. Basu [Elective]

WRIT 20 PZ: Creative Nonfiction

An introductory writing class that emphasizes the use of narrative techniques in the production of literary nonfiction. Students write frequent sketchbook entries and at least five major projects including the memoir, personal essay and literary journalism pieces. Writing workshops give them the opportunity to benefit from the constructive feedback of their professor and classmates before rewriting drafts. Readings for the course encourage creative generation of ideas, suggest strategies for crafting and polishing story structure and style and provide a wide range of models by professional writers. Instructor: J. Sullivan [Elective]

WRIT 28 PZ: Workshop in Journalistic Writing

The course provides students the opportunity to experiment with a variety of journalistic subjects, voices, and styles in forms that include news, feature, profile, and opinion writing. In addition to studying excellent models and reviewing media ethics, students will explore strategies for developing and researching topics and building effective stories for diverse audiences. Workshops will provide them with extensive and constructive critiques of their drafts. Students interested in writing for campus publications are encouraged to enroll. Instructor: L. Peterson [Elective]