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Individually Designed Major (IDM) - Photography and Media Arts

Moravian College allows students to design their own majors by submitting a proposal listing the courses to be included, their rationale and the program goal. Many students take advantage of Moravian's wealth of courses in digital, traditional and historic photography, digital video, and other media classes to propose an individually designed major. Students often include courses from other art tracks, such as graphic design or studio, or from other disciplines, such as journalism or creative writing. In recent years, Photography and Media Arts-related IDM proposals have included Photojournalism, Photo-Design, Media Arts and Creative Writing, and many others.

Courses in Photography and Media Arts:

220. History of Photography.

This course explores the social, cultural, political, scientific, and artistic contexts surrounding the history of photography, from its invention to the present day. The course will emphasize how the medium has influenced the way we interpret images and the impact that photography has had on visual culture. Through discussions, readings, hands-on activities, and museum visits, students will become familiar with photography's rich and diverse history. Fall, alternate years.

 

166. Photojournalism.

Introduction to aesthetics and practice of photography as a means of communication. Emphasis upon learning through critiques and historical reviews. Subjective and objective characteristics of photojournalism. Students must have a fully adjustable 35mm or larger-format camera and meter. Fall.

 

167. Photography I.

Fundamentals of photography, with attention to camera operation, film processing, printing. Through discussion and critiques, students discover how we see the world. Students must have a fully adjustable 35mm or larger-format camera and meter.

 

168.2. Introduction to Photo Media.

This half-unit course teaches foundational skills in traditional black-and-white and digital photography, with emphasis on the medium as a mode of description, reflection and personal expression. Learning strategies include, but are not limited to, projects, lab exercises, assigned readings, writing assignments, discussions, and critiques.  Fall.

 

254. Digital Video.

Focuses on the study of moving imagery and its use as an artistic tool for creative expression and social inquiry. Starting with problem solving and idea generation, students move into the traditional language of film, and the theories, disciplines, and procedures used to plan and produce works in video. Through classroom lectures, demonstrations, discussion, and hands-on experience, students learn the basic technical and operational skills involved in video making as well as creative strategies for producing their own individual works. Spring.

 

262. Art of the Lens: An Early History of Optical Devices and Art and Society and their Application in Image Making.

This course will trace the evolution of the lens as it was used in optical devices producing images formed by light. The basic principles of photographic optics from the period of the camera obscura through the invention of photography in the mid-19th century. Emphasis will be placed on the design and application of lenses in optical devices that altered society's common experience of seeing.

 

263. Historic Photographic Processes.

An exploratory approach to the earliest photographic processes in use from the mid- to late-19th century within the context of modern aesthetics and contemporary image-making. Slides, lectures, and critiques, along with the freedom and encouragement to experiment, will commingle historic and contemporary examples of photography-based art. Combined with an introduction to the basic principles of chemistry and light, the student will learn to apply the new possibilities of old processes to original concept-based personal imagery. Fall and Spring.

 

267. Photography II.

This course will introduce advanced darkroom and camera techniques.  Emphasis will be placed on the formation of a personal point of view.  Historic precedents and contemporary examples will be explored as well as issues pertaining to form, content, and craftsmanship.  Spring.

 

268. Digital Photography.

A critical seminar for the production and study of digital image making. Students learn the basic technical and operational skills involved in creating photographic work electronically. Discussions and readings investigate issues pertaining to art and media culture, as well as similarities and differences between the objective nature of traditional photography and the inherent subjective quality of digital imagery. The class will build a critical, theoretical, and artistic framework to help students develop their own unique vision in the context of digital art making.

 

367. Photography III.

For advanced students who have developed a personal direction and wish to expand it through technical and expressive potentialities of the medium. Properties of 35mm, 2¼, Diana, and large-format cameras as well as camera-less images. Advanced black-and-white and non-silver large-format processes. Prerequisite: Art 267 or permission of instructor. Spring.

 

Advanced Special Topics

Courses are regularly offered in Digital Photography, Digital Video, Historic Photo Processes, and other Photography/Media areas.