School of Cinematic Arts
Institute for Multimedia Literacy
Director: Holly Willis
Overview
The Institute for Multimedia Literacy offers undergraduate students an opportunity to approach their chosen major field(s) of study through the critical application of multimedia scholarship and expression in the networked world. Students can pursue either a minor in digital studies or the Honors in Multimedia Scholarship program. IML courses are open to students from all departments and schools. No prior experience with multimedia is required, but students should be willing to engage with new media technologies, ways of thinking and modes of expression.
Honors in Multimedia Scholarship
Program Overview
A century of mass media and the advent of digital communication have transformed the way ideas are expressed and understood across the university. 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. The Honors in Multimedia Scholarship program offers students an opportunity to learn new approaches to the production of knowledge through the critical application of multimedia.
The program includes a systematic introduction to the history, theory and practice of multimedia scholarship within a range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary contexts. Students develop and refine their abilities to conduct research and publish work in formats appropriate to their field of study: video, audio, image, Web or some integration of these forms. The program is open to students from all disciplines.
In the Honors in Multimedia Scholarship program, students are expected to integrate theory into the practice of multimedia scholarship; for this reason, courses include discussion of historical and theoretical material, instruction in basic research practices, as well as opportunities to develop skills in multimedia authorship, collaboration, leadership and creative thinking.
Students earn Honors in Multimedia Scholarship by completing a minimum of 16 units of required course work culminating in a capstone thesis seminar during their final year.
To maintain small classes and allow for extensive discussion and project development, the Honors in Multimedia Scholarship program requires students to be highly motivated; there is extensive reading, writing and multimedia authoring. The required courses are not available for pass/no pass registration.
Information about courses and other program offerings can be obtained from the student adviser at the Institute for Multimedia Literacy office. Email iml@cinema.usc.edu.
| COURSE REQUIREMENTS | UNITS | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 units (minimum) from the following: | ||
| IML 104 | Introduction to Digital Studies | 2 |
| IML 140 | Workshop in Multimedia Authoring | 2, max 4 |
| IML 201 | The Languages of Digital Media | 4 |
| All of the following: | ||
| IML 346 | Methods in Digital Research | 2 |
| IML 440 | Thesis Project I | 4 |
| IML 444 | Thesis Project II | 4 |
| 2 units (minimum) from the following: | ||
| IML 140* | Workshop in Multimedia Authoring | 2, max 4 |
| IML 295L | Race, Class and Gender in Digital Culture | 4 |
| IML 340 | The Praxis of New Media: Digital Argument | 2, max 4 |
| IML 400 | Creative Coding for the Web | 4 |
| IML 420 | New Media for Social Change | 4, max 8 |
| IML 422 | Information Visualization | 4 |
| IML 466 | Digital Studies Symposium | 4 |
| Total units (minimum) | 16 | |
Minor in Digital Studies
The minor in Digital Studies explores the rich potential of digital media for critical analysis and creative discovery. Learning the exciting and dynamic potential of a broad array of tools and technologies, students create innovative projects, from photo essays to Web-based documentaries, from interactive videos to sophisticated Websites, and from typography in motion to 3-D visualizations. Elective courses explore media for social change, the ethics of virtual worlds, transmedia expression and more, allowing students to use media in pursuit of their own interests and to enhance their major.
All digital studies courses combine theory and practice in lab-based seminars featuring hands-on tutorials to support students in producing sophisticated media-rich work. Participants in this minor gain powerful skills useful in future endeavors within or beyond academia, where the ability to work effectively with media is a crucial job skill.
Course Requirements
A total of 22 units is required to complete the minor: 4 units of core lower-division IML course work, 14 units of upper-division IML course work and 4 units of upper-division elective course work. All minor courses must be taken for a letter grade.
| Course Requirements | Units | |
|---|---|---|
| IML 104 | Introduction to Digital Studies (2), and | |
| IML 140 | Workshop in Multimedia Authoring (2), or | |
| IML 201 | The Languages of Digital Media (4) | 4 |
| IML 310 | Professionalism for Media Arts | 2 |
| 12 units (minimum) from the following*: | ||
| IML 309 | Integrative Design for Mobile Devices | 4 |
| IML 340 | The Praxis of New Media: Digital Argument | 2, max 4 |
| IML 346 | Methods in Digital Research | 2 |
| IML 388 | Computational Thinking and Design | 4 |
| IML 400 | Creative Coding for the Web | 4 |
| IML 404 | Tactical Media | 4 |
| IML 420 | New Media for Social Change | 4, max 8 |
| IML 422 | Information Visualization | 4 |
| IML 450 | Critical Play and Documentary Games | 4 |
| IML 466 | Digital Studies Symposium | 4 |
| 4 units (minimum) from the following: | ||
| AHIS 429 | Studies in Art, Science, and Technology | 4 |
| ANTH 476 | Ethnographic Film Theory From an Historical Perspective | 4 |
| ARCH 432 | People, Places and Culture: Architecture of the Public Realm | 4 |
| COMM 306 | The Communication Revolution, Entertainment and the Arts | 4 |
| COMM 310 | Media and Society | 4 |
| COMM 339 | Communication Technology and Culture | 4 |
| COMM 411* | Communication Criticism | 4 |
| COMM 412 | Communication and Social Movements | 4 |
| COMM 422 | Legal Issues and New Media | 4 |
| COMM 440 | Music as Communication | 4 |
| COMM 450 | Visual Culture and Communication | 4 |
| COMM 455 | Advertising and Society | 4 |
| COMM 456* | Entertainment, Marketing and Culture | 4 |
| COMM 458* | Race and Ethnicity in Entertainment and the Arts | 4 |
| COMM 465 | Gender in Media Industries and Products | 4 |
| CTAN 330 | Animation Fundamentals | 2 |
| CTAN 432 | The World of Visual Effects | 2 |
| CTAN 448 | Introduction to Film Graphics — Animation | 4 |
| CTCS 400 | Non-Fiction Film and Television | 4 |
| CTCS 411 | Film, Television and Cultural Studies | 4 |
| CTCS 412 | Gender, Sexuality and Media | 4 |
| CTCS 478 | Culture, Technology and Communications | 4 |
| CTCS 482 | Transmedia Entertainment | 4 |
| CTIN 101 | Fundamentals of Procedural Media | 2 |
| CTIN 190 | Introduction to Interactive Entertainment | 4 |
| CTIN 462 | Critical Theory and Analysis of Games | 4 |
| CTIN 483 | Introduction to Game Development | 4 |
| CTIN 488 | Game Design Workshop | 4 |
| CTPR 327 | Motion Picture Camera | 3 |
| CTPR 335 | Motion Picture Editing | 3 |
| CTPR 385 | Colloquium: Motion Picture Production Techniques | 4 |
| ENGL 392 | Visual and Popular Culture | 4 |
| FADN 332ab | Typography | 2-2 |
| FAIN 315 | Internet Studio: Online Experimentation and Expression | 4 |
| IOM 443 | The Business of Interactive Digital Media | 4 |
| IR 444 | Issues and Theories in Global Society | 4 |
| ITP 300x | Database Web Development | 3 |
| ITP 301x* | Interactive Web Development | 4 |
| ITP 404x* | Modern Technologies of Web Development | 3 |
| ITP 411x | Multimedia and Video Production | 3 |
| JOUR 330 | Photojournalism | 4 |
| JOUR 381 | Entertainment, Business and Media in Today’s Society | 4 |
| JOUR 405* | Non-Fiction Television | 4 |
| JOUR 420* | Advanced Photojournalism | 4 |
| JOUR 422 | Visual Journalism | 4 |
| MUSC 465 | Music, Television and American Culture | 4 |
| PAS 371 | Art in the Public Realm: Contemporary Issues | 4 |
| PHIL 446 | Aesthetics and the Film | 4 |
| REL 341 | Technology, Culture and Ethics | 4 |
| SOCI 365 | Visual Sociology of the City and Its Residents | 4 |
| THTR 403 | The Performing Arts | 4 |
| THTR 406 | Theatre on the Edge | 4 |