PDF version of this chapterHonors in Multimedia Scholarship
EGG 200
(213) 743-4421
Fax: (213) 749-4236
Email: iml@annenberg.edu
www.iml.annenberg.edu
Director: Stephanie Barish
Program Overview
Honors in Multimedia Scholarship offers qualified undergraduate students an opportunity to approach their discipline(s) of study through the critical application of multimedia expression and scholarship. The program is based on the premise that a century of mass communication and the advent of digital communication have transformed the way ideas are expressed and understood across society. As a result, the notion of literacy, which has traditionally referred to the reading and writing of printed materials, has fundamentally expanded to include new forms of expression.Over the four-year course of the students' undergraduate experience, the program will gradually expose them to the history, theory and practice of multimedia scholarship within a range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary contexts, developing and refining their abilities to research, author and publish work in methods appropriate and specific to their field of study.
The Honors in Multimedia Scholarship student experience will be characterized by smaller classes taught by leading faculty members and enriched by a robust program of lecture series, visiting scholars, symposia and conferences. All qualified students are encouraged to apply no matter what grade level. Upon admission, each student will pioneer his or her own trajectory through the program in consultation with an advisor, undertaking an elevated level of intellectual engagement with subject matter and critical and theoretical approaches.
Each course within the sequence is designed to develop student facility with the theory and practice of critical multimedia scholarship and provide opportunities to develop skills in authorship, group learning, collaboration, leadership and creative thinking. Honors students will progressively develop these abilities, complementing their disciplinary knowledge and traditional scholarly writing with the capability to create effective arguments using interactivity, audiovisual integration, non-linear narratives, the visualization of information and screen language appropriate to their majors and minors.
Year 1: Foundational study of the contexts, concepts and competencies of multimedia literacy, embodied in the languages of new media.
Year 2: Beginning integration of multimedia approaches within chosen disciplines and within the general education liberal arts structure.
Year 3: Development of proficiency with multimedia as a scholarly tool within a student's own discipline or cognate fields of study.
Year 4: Demonstration of mastery with advanced, individualized, interdisciplinary research and scholarly discipline-based multimedia authorship.
Upon successfully completing IML 101, students will fulfill the other requirements through IML-specific courses in the general education program and courses in their major, minor or cognate field of study. Students complete the honors with a culminating capstone course.
To maintain small classes and allow for extensive discussion and project development, the Honors in Multimedia Scholarship program requires an individual application process for each student. Students must be highly motivated which should be reflected in their personal statement, cumulative SAT scores of 1400 or above and an A- high school GPA. The program is rigorous and requires extensive reading, writing and multimedia authoring. Honors in Multimedia Scholarship (IML) courses are not available for pass/no pass registration.
Information about courses for the Honors in Multimedia Scholarship and other program offerings can be obtained from advisors in the Institute for Multimedia Literacy offices.
| Course Requirements | units | |
|---|---|---|
| IML 101 | Honors in Multimedia Scholarship: The Languages of New Media I | 4 |
| General education course | 4 | |
| General Education Category I course offered exclusively for Honors in Multimedia Scholarship students. (Indicated in the Schedule of Classes each semester.) | ||
| 300/400 level course | 4 | |
| Upper-division course in major, minor or cognate field of study that incorporates or supports multimedia expression of the subject matter. (Indicated in Schedule of Classes or by prior agreement with professor.) | ||
| IML 440 | Honors in Multimedia Scholarship: Multimedia Honors Thesis Project I | 4 |
| IML 444 | Honors in Multimedia Scholarship: Multimedia Honors Thesis Project II | 4 |
| 20 | ||
| Electives | Units | |
|---|---|---|
| IML 104 | Honors in Multimedia Scholarship: The Languages of New Media II | 2 |
| IML 346 | Honors in Multimedia Scholarship: Methods in Scholarly Multimedia | 2 |