J250 Visual Communication Spring 2023

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Welcome to the Age of Artificial Intelligence (images created by David Blumenkrantz using Midjourney)

SYLLABUS: J250_SP2023.pdf

MONDAY, 4:00-6:45pm, Online
Prof. David Blumenkrantz
818 677-2855
david.blumenkrantz@csun.edu

This is a completely online class, taught on Zoom:

https://csun.zoom.us/j/81343511764?pwd=SDBpSUpRbDFTYUN0Z3ROOC9GN3lTUT09

Meeting ID: 813 4351 1764

Passcode: 094897

Tips on how to teach a large class on Zoom

Office hours on Zoom: https://csun.zoom.us/j/86987815733)
Monday 11-1,Tuesday 12-2
In-person meetings can be arranged upon request, MZ326

Special in-person meetings can be arranged upon request

Visual Communication is interwoven with Visual Literacy, defined as the ability to find meaning in imagery, and Visual Culture, which focuses on aspects of culture that rely on visual images. Both are indispensible components of contemporary life, essential to a wide range of disciplines, sciences and enterprises including anthropology, sociology, psychology and engineering, as well as governmental and commercial interests.

COURSE OBJECTIVES
By the end of this course students should be able to:

Describe how images are processed physiologically by the eye and brain
Explain how key theories of perception and communication relate to visual literacy
Explain the role that Semiotics, Gestalt and other psychology-based cognitive processes play in perception, and the relationship of images to meaning
Analyze visual messages through the application of various perspectives
Compare the personal, social and political impact that various types of visual messages have on consumers
Compare and contrast the intent and effectiveness of design principles
Explain the significance of persuasion, and identify uses of distortion, stereotyping and propaganda in visual messages
Evaluate the ethical considerations inherent in visual communication, and the tremendous responsibility that goes with the creation and dissemination of visual messages in the mass media

eTextbook
Perception: A Guide to Visual Communication
(students who are re-taking the class must use this new, latest edition of the Book)

Available now to download here

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There are several good apps to choose from for running the eBook. The simplest and completely sufficient is AdobeReader, but students using tablets are free to use whichever app they are comfortable with. GoodReader, for one, allows more student interaction with the PDF document than even Adobe's own app.

Attendance and participation
This is a completely online class, taught on Zoom. This will involve weekly breakout sessions, and every student will be assigned to a group the first week of class. Students will be required to have their video cameras on at all times. Students who turn their video cameras off will be removed from the class for that day and marked absent.