Program of Study
The Art and Visual Culture Studies Minor offers students a program of integrated study in modern and contemporary visual culture, art history, and critical/cultural theory. The Art and Visual Culture Studies Minor expands the traditional notion of art history and allows students to approach all forms of visual culture actively as a form of social, political and personal expression, and as a catalyst for rethinking the traditions of art history itself.
This minor program is primarily based in theoretical studies; students who are primarily interested in art making and production should pursue the Art and Visual Culture Studio Minor .
As both makers and consumers of visual culture, students will learn about practices of looking and processes through which viewers create meaning. The minor focuses on analog and digital media forms with aesthetic components ranging from traditional fine arts, digital and print media, as well as advertising, architecture, and design. Students will be introduced to methods of analyzing images, networks of production and distribution, and processes of representation and cultural identification that shape the contemporary visual cultural field.
Requirements
The Art and Visual Culture Studies Minor consists of twenty-one (21) units of credit. Courses used to satisfy requirements of the minor may also be used to fulfill General Education requirements. Up to nine (9) units of transfer credit can be used toward the minor. At least twelve (12) units of coursework submitted for the minor must be completed at CSUSM. All courses submitted for the minor must be completed with a grade of C (2.0) or better. Art, Media, and Design majors (AVC and DAMA) cannot pursue this minor.