The Virgin Mary is not Catholic. When, in 431, the Council of Ephesus declared the Virgin Mary to be Theotokos or God-Bearer, she had already been venerated in Egypt since the third century as a re-instantiation of Isis. The syncretism of her cult explains her ubiquitous popularity in medieval Byzantium and the Latin West, but also early Islamic Syria, Ethiopia, and colonial Latin America. Her frequent depiction on moveable wooden panels (icons) and mosaics accompanied her early rise to liturgical prominence.

Considered the greatest graphic novel in the history of the medium, Watchmen "presents a world where the mere presence of American superheroes changed history-the U.S. won the Vietnam War, Nixon is still president, and the Cold War is in full effect." Damon Lindelof's adaptation/remix/continuation of the 1986 graphic novel updates its themes of Cold War and nuclear annihilation to center race and white supremacy. This course will closely examine both treatments, along with interstitial materials that act as supplementary documents and a crucial part of each narrative's structure.

Translation is inherently an ethical and political act, involving inevitable misunderstandings and ambiguity. Things that can be said in one language cannot be neatly transferred into another. The translator works on the border of cultures as well as languages. This gap becomes even more difficult when translating across cultures that do not share the same basic concepts. The idea of translation as treachery is an old one. In this class we will read theoretical and practical works about translation, as well as fictional texts that foreground the task of the translator, such as R.F.

In this class, students will begin by studying fibers and textile practices that are engaged in political action, liberation and social crs change while learning and practicing a range of fiber arts techniques through a series of small projects. In the second half of the class, students will propose and execute their own personal or collaborative activist project.

In this course, students will develop their 3-Dimensional composition skills using materials like paper, foamcore, wire and non-ceramic clay with a focus on non-objective (nonrepresentational) forms. Alongside development of formal language, the class will reflect on ways in which ideas about composition, form and beauty are culturally constructed. Texts will include readings from The Black Design Experience, A Companion to Contemporary Art in a Global Context and Elements of Design.

This course will involve a detailed study of the Japanese cinema. It will highlight works in the dramatic narrative, documentary, and experimental traditions. The films screened will use the past to explore the meaning of the present, examine the relationships within families, investigate formal issues in cinematic construction, and attempt to articulate broader social issues within Japanese society. Class will meet once a week for two hours and fifty minutes plus additional time for second screenings.

This studio course will cover a breadth of stop motion animation techniques, with a focus on experimental and nontraditional methods and ideas. Students will experiment with a variety of materials and techniques, including claymation, puppet animation, collage, charcoal, pixilation, and object animation. Students will have the opportunity to work on a long form project in this course and will learn to make a stop motion film from start to finish. Stop motion animation is a time-consuming art form. Keywords:stop motion, animation

This course is designed for intermediate and advanced photography students to explore the art of photography and bookmaking. Students will learn the principles of book binding, design, and image sequencing, all aimed at developing their personal photographic projects. Beyond obtaining technical skills, this course will foster a space for constructive critiques and lectures that encourage students to recognize photobooks not just as collections of images, but as profound tools for intellectual exploration and complex storytelling. Keywords:Photography, Photobooks, Bookmaking.

This course proceeds from the premise that the ideas behind a successful artwork should be intimately related to its media, conventions and platforms-and that those in turn shape which ideas we even think. We will investigate the underlying assumptions of digital media, through the process of making. Students will work with a wide variety of tools that allow for the creation and manipulation of various media, including bitmap and vector images, 2D animation, and sound.

Handmade Pictures: Explorations in Historic Photographic Print Processes: This course will explore handmade photographic techniques such as cyanotype, platinum/palladium, wetplate, gravure, and carbon printing. We will examine photographic imagery made using these techniques by historic and contemporary figures in photography. Workshops, readings, and critique will be integrated into the technical aspects of this course.