Non Departmental
Speech (required)
1 semester - 1/2 credit
The Speech Course is designed to foster confidence, poise, and eloquence by employing several modes of public address, including impromptu, informational, persuasive, and pro-con speeches, as well as business interviews, Lincoln-Douglas debates, and dramatic soliloquies. The class also reinforces research techniques, critical thinking, and writing skills. Through consistent, constructive feedback from both instructor and peers, each student will find their own voice and gain the confidence to make it heard.
Film History and Criticism (10-12)
Spring semester - 1/2 credit
A survey of some of the major works of American and world cinema, the course exposes students to a diverse catalogue of film genres and styles from the medium’s origins in the late nineteenth century to roughly the present day. The course may best be understood as a synthesis of the textual analysis of a literature course and the broader contextualization of a history course. Students will write critical essays, write two screenplays, take exams on major film movements/genres/styles, and produce at least one short film on video during the semester. Film texts include The Birth of a Nation, The Battleship Potemkin, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Modern Times, Bringing up Baby, Double Indemnity, North by Northwest, Dr. Strangelove, The Bicycle Thief, Breathless, The Graduate, Bonnie and Clyde, Annie Hall, Wall Street, Fargo, and a few others.
Media Literacy (10-12)
Fall semester - 1/2 credit
The goal of the course is to teach students strategies to engage with popular culture more consciously and deliberately so that they can be more effective media users. This course is especially important in a media-driven age, and to neglect it is, as David Shaw cautions, to “risk raising a generation of civic illiterates, political ignoramuses and un-critical consumers, vulnerable not only to crackpot ideas, faulty reasoning and putative despots, but fraudulent sales pitches and misleading advertising claims.” Central to our study will be the ways media constructs race, gender, body image, politics and consumer trends through analysis of film, television programs, news broadcasts, and print and television advertisement. Students write critical essays throughout the course on both the readings and screenings, and contribute to course content by providing recordings of material germane to our study.
Independent Study (11-12)
Credits vary. Prerequisite: Curriculum Committee Approval
Independent study opportunities are limited to juniors and seniors who have demonstrated the ability to work independently. Students can design appropriate courses of study providing that the independent study does not duplicate courses already offered. Students must make a formal proposal to the Curriculum Committee. The committee will accept of reject the proposal and assign the appropriate credit. Independent studies will be designated honors of regular and will be graded Pass/Fail. Credit will be earned, but the grade will not be included in the GPA.