Communications
SOC and CAS Partner for an All New Photography Degree Program
The 猫咪社区app University听School of Communication听(SOC), College of Arts and Sciences听(CAS), and the Department of Art are excited to announce the听brand new听B.A in Photography degree program.
This program will begin enrollment in spring 2020. The program includes historical, theoretical, and practical approaches to the art of photography. These days we are a visual media saturated society [with a] highly developed visual language," said professorial lecturer Naoko听Wowsugi.听鈥淭his collaboration offers expanded sharing resources and a more specialized education.
Students who complete the program听understand photography's changing role in the greater art world; the why and how of photography's adoption by fine artists, commercial studios, and the general public.
For co-director of the program Leena听Jayaswal, she began to explore photography in third grade which coincided with her family鈥檚 migration to the United States 鈥淚 was viewing through the lens how U.S. culture was,鈥 she said.
Similarly,听Wowsugi听used photography to communicate before she learned English. 鈥淵ou can cultivate the community relationship and make it stronger鈥I was] sharing my feelings,鈥 she said. 鈥淸Photography is] very interpersonal, you share a very intense created moment in a way that you cannot connect before. It鈥檚 a moment that never existed.鈥澨
In the past, photography was offered as a concentration in SOC with a few classes offered in CAS. 鈥淸Former] students are working听New York Times, have won Time Magazine Photographer of the year,听and have been shown in galleries around the world, [so] imagine what we can do with a major,鈥 said听Jayaswal.听听
Before completion, through a final project and exhibition, students will delve into a relevant topic of their choice and analyze it through a specific socio-cultural lens. The program will allow students to relate technical developments in photography to aesthetic and conceptual听developments听and听follow听movements and trends that coincide with broader art history.
"Media can be manipulated; its history and theory and [so] you have to be critical," said听Jayaswal. "Students develop who they are as a photographer in their own eyes,鈥 which is truly what this new program is all about. Ten students each academic year will get the chance to experience all of this听in its fullest. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited for students to declare a photo major,鈥 she said. 鈥淭he sky鈥檚 the limit!鈥澨