Graduate Courses

Analyzes the global flow of media products, in particular the circulation of television and film in transnational contexts, at the intersection of political economy (economic, business, and institutional frameworks) with cultural economy (the cultural meanings of these television and film products). Focuses on case studies of the supranational regional players in some of the most important geo-linguistic world markets, where the tensions between global/transnational media flows and local interests are most evident, engaging with theoretical positions ranging from critiques of the homogenizing effects of globalization to those that affirm the changing power relations of counter-flows based on audience preferences.

Study of the human response to trauma with emphasis on the biologic, psychodynamic & social consequences. Child sexual abuse, terrorism, rape, war & disasters are some examples of the traumas considered. Consideration of theories, dilemmas, & clinical perspectives. Specific attention to legal issue, reporting, identification, assessment, techniques for interviewing & evidence gathering, non-traumatic & traumatic memory, issues & techniques in treatment, & prevention.

This course will examine the theoretical & practical underpinnings of advising on a
college campus. Materials covered will include best practices in academic, career, & student program advising.

Examines the interplay between social systems & individual functioning & well-being through the study of theoretical & measurement issues in the study of human environments. Provide an overview of different conceptualizations of the environment proposed by ecological theorists such an Bronfenbrenner, Barker, Lewin, & Moos & covers conceptual/analytic issues such as levels of analysis & utilization of various world views & perspectives.

This course explores the possibilities and challenges educational theatre practitioners, and teachers in general, face as they explore such issues as ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, socioeconomic class ability, nationality, and linguistic diversity with their students. One of the primary course objectives is to equip teachers with effective instructional strategies and sufficient knowledge regarding the education of culturally and linguistically diverse learners to accommodate such learners. Equal time will be spent in the course on theoretical frameworks, practical techniques, and dramatic activities.

This course focuses on critical works in the field of food studies that rely on oral
history to analyze food within larger socio-cultural and political experiences. As an
interdisciplinary field of research inherently centered on sensory and cultural experiences, oral histories open up different pathways to understand food. In addition to mastering the existing body of knowledge using oral histories, students will conduct oral history interviews that will expand our academic understanding of foodways through the work of oral history.

Inquiry into the role of the arts in city growth and development. The role of public art, arts programming, city planning for aesthetic, cultural, and historic reasons, and amenities for artists in promoting community well-being are examined. Required site visits.

In Urban Ecology, students will explore ecological concepts and processes in the urban environment. Through lecture and field work, students will learn about the dynamics of urban ecology and the impacts of land use and pollution on wildlife and local habitats. Topics will include population ecology, ecosystem services, and human impacts. Specifically we will study exotic and invasive plants and birds in local wetlands and woodlands, the migration of Neotropical songbirds, and population fluctuations of birds and plants as indicators of environmental change while examining the interface between natural and built environments in the urban landscape.

In this course, students have hands-on experience with human-centered design methods for designing learning experiences and educational tools. Students apply human-centered design methods, UX, and HCI principles, including conducting user research, synthesizing findings into insights, ideating, sketching, prototyping, and iterating based on user feedback. Students study these methods through group work, critical examination and evaluation of examples, in discussions, and individual assignments.

Introduction to user research methods, using simulations, games, and other digital tools as products. Learn to choose the appropriate approach (user research, evaluation, or efficacy research) and methods (surveys, interviews, think-aloud protocols, video research, biometrics, user analytics, or A/B testing). Assignments, class discussions, and case studies are used to discuss the purpose, design, and setup of these methods and to prepare students to design and execute their own user research for a product of their choice.

This course prepares students for their culminating experience, ARVA-GE 2301 Final Project. In this course, students explore key issues that influence art and institutions, examining global approaches based on a theme selected by the instructor. Students deepen their understanding of the research topic through various assignments such as essays, presentations, and audio-visual projects. Course concludes with a proposal for a final, capstone project that is produced during spring semester.

This course reviews artists' responses during times of crisis. Whether floods, war, racial, ethnic and gender violence or pandemics of catastrophic dimensions, artists respond in thoughtful and powerful ways, creating work that emblematizes the horrors, and provides places of mourning, memory and healing. This course overviews contemporary art of the past several decades, showing critical turning points when such crises resulted in major cultural change. The ideas and aesthetics of the artists’ work selected for study show persistent social conscience and humanism.

An introduction to understanding the investment potential of art & the art market. The course starts with a brief history of art as an asset class, then moves to exploring the various ways to construct viable art investment strategies as well as to track performance & return on investment. The importance of trend & opportunity identification is examined.

This course follows an arc from public funding of art through the artistic design of
public policy. The core aim of the class is to ask, in the U.S. and within a comparative global context, whether creative policy design is possible, and whether models in the arts—including resale royalties, fractional equity in art, and collaborative solidarity economies—can offer unexpected tools for the reimagination of reparations, redistribution, and revitalization of the democratic project in an age of, as Will Davies writes, the “disenchantment of politics by economics.

Traditional community planning and development has not always created equitable, healthy and sustainable communities. Arts and culture bring new tools and strategies to place-based community development. The emerging field of creative placemaking utilizes arts and culture to approach community planning and development. This course will focus on arts and culture in community planning and development across the United States – in both rural and urban communities. It will explore questions around the what, why, how, when and who of creative placemaking practice.

The goal of the course is to develop entrepreneurial thinking that can be applied in the development of new ventures. Because art businesses are often not purely profit-seeking, we engage explicitly with conflicting political and economic ideologies of growth including scalable technology platforms, socially engaged business practice, grass-roots activism, and collaborative social practice. The overarching method of the course is design thinking including industry mapping, interviews, and prototyping. The course will focus tools thematically on the area of cultural heritage.

This course explores the increasingly blurred boundaries between for-profit and non-profit structures in the arts. In the past ten years, an art museum has started an incubator. A for-profit gallery has started a research institute. Kickstarter has become a benefit corporation. Upstart Co-Labs has launched a creative-economy fund. ArtBuilt has used the tools of real estate investment to build artist support and anti-gentrification structures. Students explore this area of hybrid practice at the intersection of legal form, financial structure, and mission.

This course will examine the history of the art biennial in the context of

contemporary art from 1972 to the present, situating the work in its historical

& social context. It will explore how the format of the international biennial has

become, over the past four decades, the main outlet for the production and

presentation of contemporary visual art & performance, & the curatorial

strategies that have shaped public understanding of this material.

Description: Strategic communications encompasses the distinct but interrelated fields of public relations, advertising, marketing, and social media. It plays an essential role in the operations of both nonprofit and for profit entities, serving as the primary connection between an organization and its desired and existing audiences. This course seeks first to create a common understanding of the practical definitions of public relations, advertising, marketing, and social media, and then provides students with the basic tools to create a diversified and holistic communications strategy.