Media Studies Concentration

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contact: Michael Sosulski (Director)

The Media Studies concentration at Kalamazoo College offers an interdisciplinary, liberal arts approach to the study of various kinds of media, including film, television, video, theatre arts and technologies, print and broadcast journalism, photography, popular music, and digital art. The concentration, when catered to students’ specific needs and interests, provides an excellent background for media-related pursuits, including graduate school, film school, and a wide variety of production-related jobs.


Requirements for the Concentration in Media Studies
Number of Units: Six are required.

Required Course:
ENGL 130 Reading Film (offered twice yearly, cap of 25)

Five Additional Courses, with at least One from each Category:

History/Theory/Criticism
ARTX 215 History of Photography
ARTX 224 20th Century Art
ENGL 195 American Media and Visual Culture
ENGL 260 Studies in film (various topics, year by year)
ENGL 436 Critical Theory
JAPN240 Japanese Culture through Film (taught in English)
GERM136 Weimar German Cinema (taught in English)
GERM420 Introduction to German Cinema (taught in German)
GERM421 Classic German Cinema (taught in German)
GERM422 The Films of Fritz Lang (taught in German)
MUSC 335 Western Music in 20th Century
PHIL 109 Existentialism and Film
SPAN 401 Topics in Hispanic Culture (when the topic is film)
THEA 270 Theatre of Illusionism: Western Theatre History from the Renaissance to Early Film

*Possible other media-based courses, as they are added to the curriculum

Applied
ARTX 116 Photography I
ARTX 216 Photography II
ARTX 316 Photography III
ARTX 110 Digital Art
ARTX 101 Introduction to Documentary Video Production
ARTX 201 Advanced Documentary Video Production
ENGL 105 Journalism I
ENGL 439 Narrative Journalism
ENGL 207 Arts Journalism
ENGL 216 Screenwriting
THEA 120 Fundamentals of Acting
THEA/ENGL 255 Playwrighting
THEA 210 Stage Lighting
THEA 380 Directing

*Possible other media-based courses, as they are added to the curriculum

The core course of the concentration, Reading Film (ENGL 130), introduces students to methods of critique.

  • Reading Film (ENGL 130) is central because it teaches students to read visual and aural language, to see how beliefs and values (ideology) are implicated in aesthetic decisions, and to realize that Hollywood has given us a way of seeing that is merely one way among many other possibilities.

The remaining five units of the Concentration must be chosen from two categories, with at least one course in each category.

  • Category 1, "History/Theory/Criticism," promotes critical analysis of the production and consumption of media products, whereas Category 2, "Applied," teaches students to produce their own media products. The Concentration is designed to emphasize the importance of both the consumption and production aspects of Media Studies, while allowing individual students to cater the program to their own needs and interests.

*It is likely that media-based courses will be added to the curriculum. These courses, when approved by the director in consultation with the student and instructor,
will be added to the choices in Category 1 and 2.

 

Below is a list of Kalamazoo College faculty who teach or have research interests in media:
Karen Berthel, Theatre Arts Dept.
Kevin Brady, Art Dept.
Rose Bundy, Japanese Language Dept.
Gary Gregg, Psychology Dept.
Marin Heinritz, English Dept.
Richard Koenig, Art Dept.
Christopher Latiolais, Philosophy Dept.
Emily Lenning, Anthropology/Sociology Dept.
Ed Menta, Theatre Arts Dept.
Andy Mozina, English Dept.
Michael Sosulski, German Language Dept.
Dhera Strauss, Information Services/Art Dept.
Siu-Lan Tan, Psychology Dept.
Les Tung, Music Dept.
Greg Wright, English Dept.