ART 101 Drawing I (3)
This is a broad foundation course that introduces a variety of drawing techniques, approaches and subject matter. A focus on observational drawing improves the student's ability to "see" (visual perception) and develops technical drawing skills. Projects are designed to enhance the understanding and use of formal elements, principles and composition while exploring drawing's creative and expressive potential. subject matter includes still life, landscape, interiors, and the figure. Studio projects are augmented by critiques, visual presentations and discussion. Sketchbook/journal required.
ART 103 Design Lab (3)
The main goal of Design Lab I is to solve design (world?) problems through creative design solutions. In learning how to visually communicate in imaginative ways, you’re seeking to radically alter how people look at and perceive the world around them. You will become an effective and imaginative cultural producer. For this course, students will use some of the digital creative software found in the Adobe Creative Suite, as well as other digital software. Other techniques include collage, drawing, photography, printmaking, and videography.
As a Critical Thinking Seminar-designated course (or CTS), students will critically analyze and discuss the power of design solutions (images, objects, interactivity) in light of design components (form, composition, balance, shape, space, color, for example). This course foregrounds the process of design in a variety of ways, namely through creative projects. You’ll create your design solutions through a combination of form and content, and in a variety of contexts. In other words, you will integrate visual information with meaning or message, in a presentation method. Your creative work will always be discussed in light of, and at times be presented to, the general public or an audience. What can your audience learn about the world through your design work? How do they learn it? What can (or will) they do as a result of what they’re learning? This course also satisfies the LO2 Critical Thinking Seminar.
ART 125 Silkscreen (3)
An exploration into photographic and hand generated screen printing. Students create stencils using various techniques and employ these stencils in printing multi-colored designs. The course assists students in developing their knowledge of color and its application within varied disciplines. This course also satisfies an LO2 Women’s Voices.
ART 211W Living Through Clay (3.5) FIRST YEAR SEMINAR COURSE
A unit of the tandem The Art of Living, taken in conjunction with PHIL 110W Finding Meaning in the Madness (CRN 72113). Both ceramics and philosophy are arts. The ceramicist, as artist, reaches for a deeper understanding of her medium. Her aim is to realize the potentials in clay through the creation of artifacts that—perhaps more frequently than those produced in any other of the fine arts—can be integrated and actually used as part of daily life, making that life a richer, more meaningful whole. The philosopher, likewise, reaches for a deeper understanding of her medium, in this case, life itself, exploring what it might mean to live a life that is a rich and meaningful whole.
In this tandem we will read our way in historical order through some highlights of western philosophical attempts to discover, by deploying our capacity for abstract thought, what goes into fashioning a meaningful life in the face of what can sometimes seem to be a mad, mad world. Along the way, we will discuss the nature of beauty and creativity, learning what we can from the very concrete activity of bringing aesthetically satisfying meaning forth in the studio through both hand building and throwing on the wheel. Assignments in one class will in many cases connect directly to those in the other, allowing us plenty of opportunity for exploring the connections between these two challenging and engaging disciplines.
This is an introductory course in basic ceramic techniques and creative processes that use clay as an expressive medium. The semester is divided into two major sections. Section one: hand building and section two: throwing on the potter’s wheel and glazing/finishing. This course also provides students the opportunity to earn the W.
ART 216 Introduction to Furniture Design (3)
Introduction to Furniture Design focuses on the design and construction of furniture and functional objects within the context of contemporary culture. It integrates creative problem solving with technical and material processes in order to build objects that are ergonomic and interactive. Students will learn a process of design that evolves from sketch, to model -or- prototype, and finally to a finished, usable object. Design for social good and sustainability will also be a departure point for creative projects. Creative projects and technical demonstrations will be augmented by lectures on the history of furniture design and contemporary approaches to functional object-making.
ART 224 Video Art (3)
This course introduces the medium of video as an art form and will explore, in theory and practice, issues of space, time and action. Proficiencies in camera use, storyboarding, lighting, digital editing and presentation will be developed. The use of video for artistic expression will be supported by readings and the viewing and discussion of works by video artists. This course also satisfies an LO2 Women’s Voices.
ART 236 Sustainable Textiles (3)
Due to use of pesticides and chemicals, land degradation, depletion of fossil fuels, release of harmful emissions, and production of wastewater, the global textile industry is said to be one of the most unsustainable. This course will investigate the environmental and ethical issues surrounding the textile and fashion industry and the positive contribution we can make as artists, designers and consumers. We will consider the innovative, multidisciplinary field of green design and the exciting work being done by contemporary artists, architects, designers, scientists and engineers to create sustainable solutions and bring the public’s attention to environmental concerns. Examples of studio projects can include handmade paper from local plants and discarded cloth, ecodyeing and printing, the repurposing and upcycling of salvaged materials, and/or the design of portable, textile shelters that incorporate renewable energy. This course also satisfies LO3 Social Responsibility.
ART 266 Introduction to New Media (3)
An introduction to the new visual technologies and basic concepts (mechanical, visual, and aesthetic) for their creative use in the visual arts. Those fields may include photography, film, video, computer imagery, holography and other contemporary media. Students will be introduced to these media through lectures, direct laboratory experience, discussion, and creative problem-solving projects.
COMM 103 Introduction to Communication (3)
Students develop an increased competency in communicating with precision and style, and also have the opportunity to think critically and creatively about the process of communication. Major topics in communication theory and practice are surveyed in addition to a focus on public speaking. Section 72006 also satisfies LO2 Critical Thinking Seminar; 72148 also satisfies an LO2 Women’s Voices and LO2 Critical Thinking Seminar; 72155 satisfies an LO2 Women’s Voices.
COMM 103W Introduction to Communication (4)
Essentially, students in COMM 103W Introduction to Communications explore one central question: What is human communication? While it is true that humans use verbal “message-and-response” interchanges, we will discover that communication is a sophisticated, ongoing process. This will lead us to other questions: When and where does human communication occur? How has it shaped centuries of human development? What makes us choose one form of communication — email, text messages, etc. — over another? What are the effects of each medium of communication on the quality of our messages? This course also provides students the opportunity to earn the W. Section 72205 also satisfies an LO2 Women’s Voices.
Multiple dance courses may be used to satisfy the Creative and Performing Arts requirement as long as they add up to at least three credit hours. Students receive two credits for technique courses taken for the first time and one credit for subsequent enrollment in the same level technique course.
DANC 145 Ballet Technique: Beginning (2)
An introduction to basic ballet technique and terminology. Designed for students with no previous movement training. May be repeated for one credit.
DANC 148 Jazz Technique: Beginning (2)
A practical course in contemporary jazz technique hip hop and lyrical styles. May be repeated for one credit.
DANC 245 Ballet Technique: Intermediate (2)
A technique course with an emphasis on correct alignment and proper execution of barre and center exercises. May be repeated for one credit.
DANC 345 Ballet Technique: Advanced (2)
A continuation of ballet technique with an emphasis on accuracy, style, intricate combinations, strength, endurance, and a more extensive vocabulary; may be repeated for one credit.
ENVS 232 DIY: The Sustainable City Project (3) FIRST YEAR SEMINAR COURSE
Most of the world’s population – 4.4 billion inhabitants – live in cities. And predictions are for the urban population to more than doubling its current size by 2050, at which point nearly 7 of 10 people will live in cities (World Bank, 2024). Rapid urban growth drives many challenges including unchecked urban sprawl, accelerated climate change, access to affordable housing and transportation, available jobs and basic services, and food production.
This course addresses the future of cities through the urban design and planning for sustainability and livability. The fundamentals of urban design are explored at varied
scales and within varied contexts of the built environment. Students are introduced to emerging trends in urban sustainability through an interdisciplinary lens in which they
explore solutions for sustainable cities in the context of a real-world project in the South Bend area.
Topics include public architecture, urban landscapes, open space and parks, multi-modal transportation, affordable housing and services, community health and safety, land use policy and regulations, real estate, and the impact of climate change. The process of urban design is explored including the role of multiple stakeholders - government, private sector, non-profit organizations, schools, neighborhoods, and the public. The neighborhood as human ecosystem is featured as a fundamental building block of cities and regions.
The course is conducted in a collaborative workshop environment in which students engage in the design of a solution to a real urbanization challenge. Students are given
tools, resources, and an opportunity to practice their group facilitation skills through teamwork, shared dialogue, asking questions, presenting scenarios, and challenging ideas in pursuit of solutions. At the end of the course, students present their final project ideas and work products to a panel of faculty and professionals. This course also satisfies LO3 Social Responsibility.
ENWR 202 Introduction to Creative Writing (3)
In Introduction to Creative Writing, you will learn to write poetry, literary short fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as to critically read works in all three genres. This will be accomplished through reading assignments, in-class writing assignments, full-class workshops, and class discussions of assigned readings and craft techniques. Class time will be split between discussion, in-class writing exercises, and full-class workshops.
ENWR 202W Introduction to Creative Writing (4)
This special section of Introduction to Creative Writing will teach you the basics of writing poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction, while also fulfilling the "W" requirement. Every student will write original, creative work in all three genres, and we'll use the fourth hour to write a series of thesis-driven papers related to creative writing that will help fulfill the requirements of the "W" portfolio. Class time will be split between reading published works of poetry, fiction and nonfiction, writing exercises designed to teach you the basics of creative writing, and full-class workshops. This class will help you strengthen your writing skills at large, learn about the arts, and practice creatively-focused, imaginative problem solving. This course provides students the opportunity to earn the W.
MUS 111–131 Applied Music: Private Lessons — Instrumental or Voice (1–2 credits)
Multiple courses may be used to satisfy the Creative and Performing Arts requirement as long as they add up to at least three credit hours. Lessons are offered for voice, piano, and all brass, string, woodwind and percussion instruments. Fees are $415 per semester for a half-hour lesson a week (one semester hour of credit), and $620 per semester for a 50-minute lesson a week (two semester hours of credit).
MUS 150 Voices in Time: A Critical Thinking Seminar (3)
This course will study the contributions women have made to the field of human knowledge and art by composing and performing music. We will consider the genesis and creation of a work, the historical/political climate in which it was created, the personal story of the composer or performing artist at the center of the work, the reception of the work and its influence on society; all facets of a critical understanding of an informed reading or performance. This course also satisfies LO2 Critical Thinking Seminar and an LO2 Women's Voices.
Students may enroll for ensemble courses that offer one hour of credit per semester. Auditions are required before acceptance into any of the choral ensembles. After you arrive on campus, sign up for an audition appointment in Moreau Hall, Room 309. If you are selected for one of the groups, you may add the course to your schedule through PRISM or at Student Academic Services (166 Le Mans Hall).
MUS 201 Collegiate Choir (1)
A treble choir that performs primarily on campus. Goals include developing excellent individual and group tone quality, working toward clear and proper diction, and strengthening aural and music reading abilities. Performs quality treble repertoire, both sacred and secular, in 2–4 parts. Membership by audition only. Auditions will take place during August orientation through the first week of classes.
MUS 203 Belles Voix (1)
This is the College’s select treble ensemble which performs music of all periods with an emphasis on new music. The choir regularly commissions and records new works, takes national concert tours every other year, and makes regular Carnegie Hall appearances. The ensemble performs biennially with the South Bend Symphony Orchestra and hosts the annual High School Treble Choir Festival. Membership is by audition only which will take place during August orientation through the first week of classes.
THTR 135 Introduction to Theatre (3)
This course is designed to introduce students to the art, practice, and enjoyment of theatre. Participants will learn through lecture, assigned readings, hands-on exercises, and demonstrations about the elements of a theatrical production. As often as possible, students will be invited to learn about the theatre by “doing” (i.e. acting in a scene rather than simply talking about it). The course structure assumes that while the student may never choose to participate in a play she will, hopefully, enjoy attending the theatre long after the course ends.
THTR 205 Introduction to Acting (3)
Exploration of the elements of a realistic acting technique using games, improvisations and exercises, culminating in two-character scenes later in the semester. This course also satisfies an LO2 Women’s Voices.
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