6. DEPARTMENT OF CRITICAL MEDIA PRACTICES (DCMP)

Transcription

1 6. DEPARTMENT OF CRITICAL MEDIA PRACTICES (DCMP) Mission Statement The Department of Critical Media Practices (DCMP) is dedicated to a deep understanding of the historical and contemporary context of human communication and expression. The increased flows and interactions between people and new technologies are transforming the world of cultural production and consumption. This process of cultural globalization requires local, regional, national and global connectivity. Although the Internet has provided an important means of connection and exchange other connections are made possible through the collaborative potential of people working with computers in virtual environments across great distances. The workflow for many media producers now includes file sharing with editors and artists from around the world. The multimedia capabilities of a new generation of computers such as laptops, tablets, and digital cameras have placed powerful tools within the reach of artist media makers. New technologies generate hybrid forms of art and interdisciplinary ways for artists to work. As such, we need a clear understanding of the significance of these developments placed within the broader background of cultural and historical understanding. DCMP addresses the changing landscape of electronic media making by developing both analytical and production skills across a wide range of platforms, practices and technologies while simultaneously placing them within the broader perspective of culture and history. The department explores cross-platform media production, computational media and creative ethnography, as well as other time-based media arts practices such as locative media and performance art. Our convergent approach to media spans a variety of media tools including digital photography, audio/video editing and single camera video production, open source programming, and digital single lens reflex cameras, as well as emergent tools under development. With an emphasis on the interaction between critical theory and media production practices, students are encouraged to not only thoughtfully engage with the diversity of media cultures but to also become active entrepreneurial media producers, directors, writers, editors and scholars at the forefront of emerging cultural industries. Critical Media Practices prepares students to make productive use of the tools to engage creatively with the future trajectories of media, wherever they may lead. The department values collaboration, cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary teaching, creative work, research and teaching. The Department fosters outreach to and student and faculty participation from other schools, colleges, centers, and facilities throughout CU Boulder and the wider Colorado community. Educational Goals Students of Critical Media Practices will be exposed to a variety of approaches concerning the study of media, information and communication through core CMCI classes. The undergraduate program is designed to provide basic hands-on grounding in production theory, aesthetics, techniques and approaches emphasizing innovative

2 approaches to media making. As such, the department provides a rich and varied resource for cross-pollination and collaboration. At the graduate level, the program features a terminal MFA as well as graduate certificates. The department also supports a practicebased PhD in Emergent Technologies and Art Practices. This innovative merger of theory and praxis, spanning undergraduate through graduate education, places CU on the cutting edge of institutions exploring innovative models for educating twenty-first-century students as well as publishing and disseminating scholarship. Degree Programs Bachelor of Arts in Media Production Students complete the foundational courses in theory and practice before proceeding to advanced courses in media production and critical studies. Once the basic requirements are completed, students in this major may elect to focus on a specific area of concentration. Students may also elect to follow a comprehensive approach to media production provided by a 9-credit-hour elective structure. Students from within or outside CMCI can pursue course work within DCMP, provided they meet course prerequisites, though seating priority is given to declared majors. With advisor and faculty guidance, DCMP majors may elect to design a 12-credit-hour concentration derived from areas within the CMCI. Bachelor of Arts, Digital Media Cultures concentration Students follow the basic major requirements described above, but instead of taking electives they complete the 12-credit-hour certificate offered through the ATLAS Technology, Art and Media program. This provides students with an opportunity for an in-depth exploration of contemporary digital media cultures. Bachelor of Arts, Documentary Practices concentration Students follow the basic major requirements described above, but instead of taking electives they complete 12 hours of prescribed course work within DCMP focusing on documentary storytelling. Bachelor of Arts, Music Technology concentration Students follow the basic major requirements described above, but instead of taking electives they complete the comprehensive course work in the Music Technology Certificate offered through the College of Music. Bachelor of Arts, Performance Media concentration Students follow the basic major requirements described above, but instead of taking electives they complete courses that develop a performance vocabulary and explore the historical and cultural contexts of performance through project-based courses exploring the design and implementation of media installations. The capstone project will be a large-scale performance or installation. Required Courses and Semester Credit Hours

3 Students will take the foundational courses in theory and practice (DCMP 1400: Introduction to Media Screen Cultures (3 hours) and DCMP 2500: Introduction to Media Practices (4 hours) before proceeding to advanced courses in media production. Critical studies courses require that students take DCMP 1400: Introduction to Media Screen Cultures (3 hours). In addition to the basic requirements, students in this major may elect to focus on a specific area of concentration. Students may also elect to follow a comprehensive approach to media production provided by a nine credit hour elective structure. Students from within or outside the college may pursue course work within DCMP, provided they meet course prerequisites, though seating priority is given to declared majors. With advisor and faculty guidance, DCMP majors may elect to design a 12 credit hour concentration derived from areas within the college. All students will be required to take the capstone course DCMP 4900: Concepts and Practices of New Media (3 hours) in their final year. Credit distribution for BA in Media Production: Critical Media Practices courses (12 credit hours); Interdisciplinary Media Production requirements (13 credit hours); and Production electives (9 credit hours) or a DCMP concentration (12 18 credit hours). Required Studio Courses (13 credit hours): DCMP 2500: Introduction to Media Practices (4 hours) DCMP 2600: Creative Media Making (3 hours) DCMP 3500: Digital Photographic Practices (3 hours) DCMP 4900: Concepts and Practices of New Media (3 hours) Studio Electives Courses (Rotating Electives): DCMP 2710: Media Production Methods and Ideas (3 hours) DCMP 2720: Animation (3 hours) DCMP 2810: Documentary Media Poetics (3 hours) DCMP 3610: Contemporary Image Making Practices (3 hours) DCMP 3620: Images and Stories (3 hours) DCMP 3710/ ATLS 3030: Fundamentals of Digital Design (3 hours) DCMP 3720 / ENGL 3856 / ATLAS 3519: Multimedia Composition (3 hours) DCMP 3810: Engaged Documentary Media Practices (3 hours) DCMP 3820: Introduction to Performance Media (3 hours) DCMP 3830: Performance Design for Media (3 hours) DCMP 3840: Sound Practices (3 hours) DCMP 3910: Media Production Topics (3 hours) DCMP 3990: Media Professional Seminar (2 hours) DCMP 4610: Small Screen Storytelling (3 hours) DCMP 4620: Media Installations and Environments (3 hours) DCMP 4630: Fundamentals of Computational Media (3 hours) DCMP 4710 / THTR 4095: Projection Design (3 hours) DCMP 4720/ ARTS 4104: Performance/Installation (3 hours) DCMP 4730 / ARTS 4176: New Directions in Digital Art (3 hours)

4 DCMP 4810: Advanced Documentary Media Practices (3 hours) DCMP 4820: Ethnographic Media (3 hours) DCMP 4910: Independent Study (3 hours) DCMP 4920: Media Production Internships (3 hours) Required Media Production Critical Studies Courses (9 credit hours): DCMP 1400: Introduction to Media Screen Cultures (3 hours) DCMP 2100: Approaches to Historical Media Practices (3 hours) DCMP 2400: Media Aesthetics (3 hours) Media Production Critical Studies Electives DCMP 2010/ATLS 2000: The Meaning of Information Technology (3 credit hours) DCMP 3110/ARTS 3236: Electronic Arts Survey (3 hours) DCMP 3210: Interactive Digital Cultures (3 hours) DCMP 3350: Modes of Documentary Media History (3 hours) DCMP 3410: Topics in Media Studies (3 hours) DCMP 3450: Critical Perspectives in Media Practices (3 hours) DCMP 4110: Cultures of Digital Sound (3 hours) DCMP 4220: Digital Archives in Media Practices (3 hours) DCMP 4310: Screen Culture and Globalization (3 hours) DCMP 4320: Media Engagement in Digital Diasporas (3 hours) DCMP 4410: Topics in Contemporary Screen Technologies (3 hours) DCMP 4450: Contemporary Issues in Documentary Media (3 hours) Master of Fine Arts in Interdisciplinary Documentary This terminal degree taps into the Front Range s burgeoning documentary community and provides graduate students with an immersive experience in documentary storytelling from a variety of philosophical and cross-disciplinary perspectives across both established and emerging platforms. Disciplines such as anthropology, geography and art will be among those engaged with this program. The analysis and production of nonfiction media is likewise an important theme within the CMCI with connections to reportage and television. Required Courses and Semester Credit Hours The MFA is a three-year degree program requiring 60 hours of course work, and a firstyear, second-year, and thesis review (with public presentations of work each year). All students must complete the following: Three studio courses Seven seminars: one in Research and Methodologies, four in Documentary Lab, and two for the MFA Thesis One documentary production methods course One production workshop One media/culture studies elective

5 Contemporary Issues in Documentary Media Three self-directed research projects (faculty supervision required) Four electives Each student s thesis project will be presented in a third-year Spring MFA Exhibition. A written thesis reflecting on the project will be required. Program Outline: Year 1 Fall: DCMP 5100: Research and Methodologies Seminar (3 hours) DCMP 5500: Documentary Production Workshops (3 hours) DCMP 5900: Documentary Production Topic (3 hours) Year 1 Spring: DCMP 5600: Documentary Lab Seminar (3 hours) DCMP 5650: Documentary Field Work (3 hours) DCMP 5200: Contemporary Issues in Documentary Media (3 hours) Summer: Individual Thesis Research Year 2 Fall: DCMP 5600: Documentary Lab Seminar (3 hours) DCMP 5910: Individual Project Study (3 hours) Media/Culture Studies course elective (3 hours) Year 2 Spring: DCMP 5600: Documentary Lab Seminar (3 hours) DCMP 6500: Producing Practicum (5 hours) DCMP 5910: Individual Project Study (3 hours) Year 2 Summer: Individual Thesis Research Year 3 Fall: DCMP 5600: Documentary Lab Seminar (3 hours) DCMP 6600: Documentary MFA Thesis Seminar I (5 hours) DCMP 5910: Individual Project Study (3 hours) Year 3 Spring: DCMP 6650: Documentary MFA Thesis Seminar II (5 hours) DCMP 5910: Individual Project Study (3 hours) PhD in Emergent Technologies and Media Art Practices Successful art and technology leadership and innovation is predicated on the preparation of people who are able to flexibly navigate the theory and practice of art and technology

6 from an interdisciplinary perspective. This innovative program is designed for scholars and practitioners from a wide variety of backgrounds interested in exploring and navigating the relationship between theory and practice in cinema, digital media, visual and performing arts and intermedia activities including text-based practices. Scholars produce traditional academic work, creative work informed by theory-based explorations, or some combination of the two. The DCMP PhD in Emergent Technology and Media Art Practices functions in similar ways to a traditional PhD, with an emphasis on scholarly research into media arts practices as a concrete academic outcome. Accordingly, students are expected to pursue research into the theoretical, philosophical, historical and cultural dimensions of emergent media arts production. The DCMP PhD seeks, through original research and scholarship, a clearer understanding of the significance of contemporary media arts developments against the broader background of cultural and historical understanding. The applied research component of this PhD, making it a practice-based research program, offers students the opportunity to use hands-on work in media production to investigate more deeply the relations between historical movements in art, theoretical scholarship and media arts practices across a broad canvas of cultural and global developments. Required Courses and Semester Credit Hours The PhD in ETMAP is a five-year degree program requiring 60 hours of course work, and first-year, second-year, third-year, and dissertation reviews, as well as written and oral comprehensive exams and the dissertation defense (with public presentations of work each year). A faculty advisor and committee for the comprehensive exams should be chosen by the end of the fall semester of the second year, and students should choose their dissertation committees by the first semester of year three. The credit breakdown is as follows: Total MA Coursework (first two years): 36 hours Additional Coursework: 24 credit hours Electives (6 hours) Topics and Independent Study (6 hours) Collaborative Practice I and II (6 hours) Dissertation Development Seminar (3 hours) Independent Studio Critique (1-6 hours) Dissertation: 30 hours Total: 90 hours Before advancing to candidacy, all students in the ETMAP program must pass the comprehensive examination and must demonstrate their proficiency and understanding of the fundamental historical and theoretical concepts explored and developed in prior coursework. The comprehensive examination will consist of a written component in research and methodologies, production methods, theories of the avant-garde, and the history and theory of emergent technologies and media arts practices as well as an oral

7 examination focused on the student's major area of research and practice. If passed, students will be awarded an MA degree. Each student s dissertation work will be presented publicly during the fifth year. Dissertations will include both a practice-based and theoretical component. Year 1 Fall: DCMP 7100: Historical Overview of Technology and Art (3 hours) DCMP 7500: Production Methods I (3 hours) DCMP 7200: Research and Methodologies I (3 hours) Year 1 Spring: DCMP 7150: Theoretical Overview of Technology and Art (3 hours) DCMP 7550: Production Methods II (3 hours) DCMP 7350: Research and Methodologies II (3 hours) This semester culminates in the first-year review and public presentation of research. Year 2 Fall: DCMP 7300: Theories of the Avant-Garde (3 hours) DCMP 7410: Cultures of Art and Technology Topics (3 hours) DCMP 7400: Contemporary Practices (3 hours) Faculty advisor and committee for comprehensive exam chosen by the end of this semester. Year 2 Spring: DCMP 7600: Emergent Technologies: Theory and Practice (3 hours) DCMP 7910: Art and Technology: Methods and Ideas Topics (3 hours) DCMP 7450: Comprehensive Exam Seminar (3 hours) This semester culminates in the second-year review and public presentation which shares research or creative work as well as the comprehensive examination (written and oral), which if passed awards students with an MA. Year 3 Fall: Guided Elective within or outside the Department of Critical Media Practices (3 hours) DCMP 7920: Independent Study (3 hours) DCMP 8500: Collaborative Studio Practice I (3 hours) The dissertation committee should be finalized by the end of this semester. Year 3 Spring: Guided Elective within or outside the Department of Critical Media Practices (3 hours) DCMP 7410: Cultures of Art and Technology Topics (3 hours) DCMP 8550: Collaborative Studio Practice II (3 hours) This year culminates in a completed collaborative project (NOT a work-in-progress) and research paper that tracks and reflects their practice as co-investigators, includes a working model of the collaboration.

8 Year 4 Fall (dissertation abstract due): DCMP 8100: Dissertation Development Seminar (Critical Studies) (3 hours) DCMP 8600: Independent Studio Critique (Practice) (1 6 hours) Students should complete a prospectus for an approved program of study and dissertation topic. Year 4 Spring: DCMP 8999: Dissertation and Project Guidance (1 10 hours) Year 5 Fall: DCMP 8999: Dissertation and Project Guidance (1 10 hours) Year 5 Spring: DCMP 8999: Dissertation and Project Guidance (1 10 hours) Students present and defend their dissertations. Updated 3/27/14