_J250_{Visual Communication}

SYLLABUS:

Monday/Wednesday 2-3:15pm, Manzanita Hall 130
Prof. Terri Thuente
terri.thuente@csun.edu

Office hours: MZ 337
MONDAY/WEDNESDAY 1:15-1:45pm

Special Zoom 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

COURSE FORMAT
Though this is likely to change depending on the topic being covered, most class meetings will follow this format:

Each week students will go into Canvas and take the weekly quiz on the topic of the week (students will be expected/encouraged to have studied the chapter in advance of the class). You will have sixty minutes to take the quiz between Wednesdays, starting at 4pm, and Sundays, ending at 11:59pm.
The instructor will make the presentation on the topic of the week the following Monday and Wednesday. This may include lectures, videos and other visual examples.

This format is designed to minimize the amount of out-of-class homework students are required to do, though for certain assignments, while they will begin during class, additional time may be given to complete the assignments.

Textbook: Perception: A Guide to Visual Communication (download here)

1 AI COVER PERCEPTION .jpg

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
Students who arrive late and leave early as part of a general habit should not expect to do well in this class. Final grades may be affected by poor attendance and participation.