Liberal Arts and Sciences Courses

“Visual Culture 1: Gateways to Art and Culture” will address the history of visual communication and the changes that visual culture has undergone up until the 18th century across geographical boundaries, while providing students with the tools to understand the visual culture of the present. The class will address formal analysis, the study and history of materials, techniques, and genres. Students will also learn the semiotic language of visual culture and the socio-cultural contexts framing the history of art, past and present.

This course will help students understand how visual objects reflect the cultural context in which they were originally produced and consumed, and how the meaning assigned to them changes over time. This will create bridges for the students to connect to the present visual culture while understanding that images are fluid signs which help create and maintain cultural, social, and political discourse.

How does the world influence you, and how do you influence the world? In this class, you will discover narratives and other texts that reveal the complexity of your identity. You will apply that understanding to a broader exploration of the necessity of empathy in navigating difference in today’s global society. You’ll be invited to turn your awareness into advocacy by posing a research question about a topic that captures your interest and fuels your curiosity. By the end of the semester, you will have completed a personal narrative, learned how to critically analyze diverse texts, and developed research techniques that will be valuable during your academic career and beyond. You will continue to hone these skills in a specialized Thought Lab II course of your choosing during your second semester.

Planned as a continuation of Visual Culture 1, Visual Culture 2: Unpacking Art, Power & Modernity offers a transparent chronology to continue but deepen an investigation of art, design and world perspectives from roughly 1800 to 1960.

These are years loosely associated with “modernisms.” It explores Western and non-Western, dominant, and marginalized histories during this proposed 160-year time frame, broadening and reinforcing first-year students’ historical awareness, while de-centering dominant canons.

Visual Culture 2 uses multi-cultural artifacts, readings, seminar-like discussions and experiential collaborations to explore and critically analyze key works and key themes like colonialism, structural racism, xenophobia, industrialization, technology, capitalism and consumerism from multiple perspectives.

By the end of the semester, students should have the necessary critical tools to become empathic citizen-artists who can engage an equitable, transglobal, diasporic, technically creative and environmentally demanding present and future.

Where do your curiosities in the world lead you? How can you transform general interest in a subject into specific knowledge that can fuel a creative practice? Building on concepts from Thought Lab I, Thought Lab II will allow you to take a deep dive into a themed seminar of your choosing. Seminar themes may range from environmental and social justice to narrative to technology. These courses will invite you to explore a special topic through a variety of media to deepen your understanding of key events that have shaped its history. By the end of the semester, you will complete assignments which may include an exploratory essay or a research paper, and ultimately, a creative translation of course themes.

These courses introduce students to special topics in the liberal arts and sciences that can inspire them to explore new intellectual and creative pathways as they investigate human experiences locally and globally. LIBS 214 courses deepen these investigations by incorporating soft skills development like critical thinking, research, writing, and, in many cases, art and design project development into the classroom experience.

Creative Action is an integrated learning program that introduces students to compelling social and environmental issues within their community through a series of core courses.Students are introduced to the goals of the program in their sophomore year by their Liberal Studies faculty who partner with local and international community organizations to identify and solve real-world environmental problems and social issues.

In project-based courses, students will develop their research, leadership, and collaboration skills in a multidisciplinary team of classmates. Art and design fields are increasingly being called upon to address nontraditional, complex projects and issues. The Liberal Arts and Sciences Creative Action classes help students develop their soft skills which are in high demand in the creative job market.

Some of the elective offerings include:

True Stories: This course improves writing, self-expression, communication, and collaborative skills by introducing students to interviewing techniques and writing skills that will be useful in their professional practice. Small interdisciplinary student groups conduct interviews at the Wende Museum or the Culver City Senior Center. The research focuses on learning about an elder's life experiences and the associated historical period and location in which they lived. As they collect the information, students are guided through a process in which they work individually and collectively to create an original book that explores the Elder's personal identity, family history, and various compelling intergenerational issues. The illustrated book is based on transcriptions of the interviews, students' research, observations, and revelations concerning the seniors' life experiences. The course culminates in presentations of each subject's life story and the associated student artwork at the Wende Museum.

Shelter Me: This course supports the development of research techniques, collaboration, critical analysis, creative thinking, articulate expression, and information literacy. The Site Partner for this course is SELAH, a coalition of neighborhood organizers who recognize unhoused individuals as fellow members of our community worthy of the same dignity, respect, and representation afforded to any housed person. It's a sad fact that both nationally and locally, we are seeing dramatic increases in the number of people living on the streets. The demographics of homelessness have changed; people experiencing homelessness are not only getting younger, but they are more likely to work at full-time jobs. Research indicates that one in three people who are homeless have college degrees. Many are families with children. Some are elderly who have aged into homelessness. Still others have fallen on hard times and can't afford the high housing prices. It is vital to gain a historical perspective of the current conditions that lead to homelessness - by understanding the past and present, we can hopefully visualize a better future.

Food and Urban Gardening: Food justice is defined by three principles:

1. Access to fresh, healthy, locally grown, and culturally appropriate food
2. Living wages and fair working conditions for all food system workers
3. Community control over food systems, through community-based agriculture, cooperatives, faith-based initiatives, etc (Los Angeles Community Garden Council).

Moreover, food justice as a theoretical concept, recognizes that "food choice" is impacted by intersecting factors such as race, class, and gender at all levels: production, distribution and consumption. A food justice framework allows one to see the ways inadequate access to nutritious and whole food options leads to chronic ailments that could be prevented if people had affordable and nutritious options available in their neighborhoods. The majority of people who suffer from illnesses related to poor nutritional diets are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and those who are more likely to go hungry are women and children. These issues are not isolated; they are explainable through a historic review of ways land and food have been weaponized against BIPOC through the American legal system. Moreover, corporate control of food along with real estate practices have contributed to the development of food deserts, which further impact BIPOC women and children the right to access affordable and healthy food options.

Despite historic oppression, and neighborhood divestment, people are empowered to take action and address food injustice. One way organizers and neighborhood residents address the immediate need to access food is through the development of and/or participation in community gardens. There, people not only have opportunities to learn how to grow their own vegetables, but they also meet folks of different races, cultures and experiences and with whom they learn to trade veggies, share nutritional information, swap recipes and share other resources needed. In this way, community gardens build vibrant social capital that benefit its members, but which can also influence nearby communities as they seek to address injustices in their neighborhoods.

This class will therefore explore food justice through partnership with Holy Nativity Community Garden in Westchester, a neighborhood in Los Angeles. Holy Nativity Community Garden has been helping to address food injustice since 2008. Through meetings with the garden manager/master gardener, students will learn about the reasons why the garden was started, the community it serves and other ways they contribute to food justice in the city. Students will use ethnographic fieldwork techniques (e.g., observation and mapping) to understand ways the places where we live fundamentally impact our health. Fieldwork practices will be complimented by collaborative games and a group project that will challenge students to develop socially responsible, culturally relevant and sustainable responses to food injustice in their communities.

Required for all undergraduate majors.

Each major's dedicated history gives students a comprehensive understanding of the processes, technology, societal events, and creative icons shaping their field's evolution. If your major is not listed here, you are required to take your dedicated history in your junior year.

Required for the following majors: Graphic Design, Illustration, Animation, Game and Entertainment, Environmental Design, Fashion Design, Product Design, and Toy Design.

Provides a critical and contextualized chronological survey of graphic design, illustration, and advertising and how these disciplines responded to and affected political, cultural, and social changes.

Required forGraphic Design and Illustration majors.

When did art become design? Product design influences and is influenced by culture and technological developments. From the Dark Satanic Mills and the Spinning Jenny to advanced 3D printers and the advent of AI, how have technology and manufacturing processes influenced and driven product design and what were the global societal and cultural consequences of these? Objects and products do not exist in a vacuum and thus must be seen through various lenses and themes such as the continual search for utopia and social reforms, the economic and psychological implications of man vs. machine, material exploration for functional and aesthetic potential, human inspiration from the natural world and our impact on the environment. This course examines how technology shaped today’s design thinking and its potential impact on transforming the future of designed objects and the world as we know it.

Required for Product Design majors.

This Contemporary Art for Fine Artists course is a survey of key fine art objects, practices and issues from the late 1950s to the present. Taking key historical events as its structure, the class uses contemporary art movements and counter movements to investigate mechanisms of form, taste, value, class, gender and exclusion, as these are demonstrated and challenged by artists in the US and globally. Included is a consideration of postmodern theory and fine art creation as systems capable of both perpetuating and effectively challenging normalized and marginalized identities.

Required for Fine Arts majors.

The "Art History of Animation" course provides a comprehensive survey of the history of animation from its earliest beginnings to the present day. The course explores the development of animation techniques, styles, and themes, and their relationship to cultural and social contexts. Students will gain a thorough understanding of the artistry and creative processes that underlie animated productions and develop an appreciation for the role of animation in shaping popular culture.

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Identify the key historical milestones in the development of animation as an art form, and the social and cultural contexts in which they occurred.
• Analyze the visual language and stylistic techniques used in animated productions, including the use of color, line, and shape.
• Evaluate the role of animation in shaping cultural values and attitudes towards race, gender, and identity.
• Discuss the cultural and artistic significance of major animated films and series, and their impact on popular culture.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the creative processes involved in animation, including storyboarding, character design, and animation production.

This course provides an overview of the history of video games, tracing their evolution from their early beginnings to the present day. Through a combination of lectures, readings, discussions, and hands-on experiences, students will explore the social, cultural, and technological factors that have shaped the development of video games.

Topics covered in the course include:

The Origins of Video Games: The course will begin with an overview of the early history of video games, including the development of the first electronic games, such as Spacewar!, and the emergence of arcade games in the 1970s.

Iconic Games: The course will examine some of the most iconic and influential video games in history, such as Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., and Doom. Students will analyze the gameplay mechanics, cultural impact, and historical significance of these games.

Landmark Companies: The course will also explore the companies that have played a significant role in the development of video games, such as Atari, Nintendo, and Sony. Students will learn about the business strategies, marketing tactics, and technological innovations that enabled these companies to succeed in the industry.

Innovative Technology and Hardware: The course will delve into the technological advancements that have driven the evolution of video games, such as the introduction of 3D graphics, motion controls, and virtual reality. Students will also examine the hardware platforms that have enabled video games to become increasingly sophisticated and immersive.

By the end of the course, students will have gained a comprehensive understanding of the history of video games and the cultural impact they have had on society. They will be able to analyze and critically evaluate video games as a form of media, and understand the challenges and opportunities facing the video game industry today.

A survey of costume from prehistory to the 21st century. A study of historical and social forces in understanding costume history, how costume influences today’s fashions, how trends repeat themselves, and how the past functions as an aid in forecasting future fashion trends.

Required for Fashion Design majors

Study fibers, yarns, knit construction and acquire a practical understanding of how each affects the appearance and performance of the textile product. Knit swatches using a variety of stitches, combining yarns of varying gauges. Other topics include dyeing, printing, and finishes as processes that affect the aesthetic appeal of the finished product, and as functional finishes which enhance performance. The impact of these processes and issues of sustainability are examined as they relate to the cultivation and production of fibers. Learn to make fabric choices based on an understanding of the woven structure and knowledge of individual fabric properties. Required textbook: Fabric for Fashion: The Swatch Book, Second Edition, by Clive Hallett & Amanda Johnston.

Required for Fashion Design majors.

Lab Fee: $30 Required for Fashion Design Majors.

Available to non-majors with approval from the Chair

Toy Design offers a social science course that is specific to their curriculum. All other majors choose one course from a variety offerings.

A comprehensive overview of child development from birth to adolescence, including developmental stages, critical periods, effects of early stimulation, environmental enrichment, and how to apply this information when designing children’s toys, books, games, products, and entertainment. Special attention is given to toy design issues of aesthetics, safety, age-relevance, socio-cultural parameters, marketability, and characteristics of successful toys.

Course learning outcomes:

By the end of this course students will have an introduction to the principles, theories, and practices of developmental psychology as they relate particularly to the periods of infancy, childhood, and adolescence. They will demonstrate the ability to apply these principles in the design process for toys and games. Specifically, they will:

• Demonstrate that they can think about toys from a developmental perspective.
• Learn to see the activity of play as central to developing healthy individuals.
• Will demonstrate that they can creatively apply the results of developmental psychology to

design, creation, and critique of toys.

• Understand qualitative and quantitative tenets and tools of consumer research as they relate

to play and toy design.

• Be able to identify concepts of play such as play patterns and storytelling to name a few and how they impact toy design and development in positive ways for children.

Required for Toy Design majors.

Today we understand play as a child’s universal language and right. But was it always this way? This synchronous online course explores historical global perspectives on toys, trends, and play, providing valuable context for the emerging toy designer. You will develop a cultural awareness of the evolution of the toy industry reflected by past and current societal changes. Active research, videos, readings, and discussions inform personal narrative writing along with engaging, creative group projects. Class projects will be relevant and enhance the experience of studio toy design classes. By the semester’s end, you will have completed quality research on your favorite childhood toy and designed an instructional game focusing on a chosen era, genre, or region related to the history of toys.

Required for Toy Design majors.

Math and Science in Action in the Liberal Arts and Sciences means our faculty design elective courses with artists and designers in mind. Courses in math, cognition, ergonomics, programming, and more provide students with essential skills and an opportunity to be introduced to new ways to expand their thinking, explore concepts associated with their fields, and prepare to flourish in future industries.

Although MATH 136 is required, a variety of math courses can satisfy the requirement.
MATH 137 can also be used to satisfy the requirement.

Required for the following majors: Animation, Illustration, Graphic Design, Fashion Design, Fine Arts, Product Design, and Toy Design.

This Mathematics course is designed for non-Math majors, covering most mathematical concepts needed for everyday life. Emphasis is on the application of those concepts and their connection to other disciplines to help students learn how math affects the world around them. Topics include critical thinking skills, inductive and deductive reasoning, problem-solving techniques, number theory, sequences, the Fibonacci sequence, conversions to and from the metric system, geometry, topology, consumer mathematics including personal loans, simple and compounded interest, mortgages, annuities, sinking funds, and retirement investments, and finally some topics in probability and statistics. Real-life applications are used for each topic. The textbook, most assignments, and many interactive learning materials, such as instructional videos and animations, are accessible via the Pearson MyMathLab.

The Business Model Generation Canvas is a tool used by innovators and entrepreneurs around the world in different stages of the business life cycle: planning, raising capital, evaluation, restructuring, testing innovative ideas, mergers and acquisitions, and development. Students will study the nine building blocks of a business, analyze financial statements, and discuss their mathematical components. This is a project-based course where students will apply the principles they learn to create their own business model or analyze a start-up venture and present their assessment.

Required for Entrepreneurship minors.

Programming is the medium in which our digital world lives, from smartphone apps to IoT and AI. Our world depends on how we program and the job market requires basic programming knowledge. This course aims to teach the fundamentals of programming skills to students with no prior coding experience. Students will be able to recognize HTML, CSS, and an Object Oriented Programming language to help them identify how these languages intertwine with the world of digital art, website design, AI (code prompting), animation, and a multitude of other use cases.

This course will discuss machine learning using Python and the Scikit-learn libraries. Students will implement ML algorithms using Python and understand how regression, clustering, and classification algorithms work behind the scenes. Then the course will cover deep learning and reinforcement learning using Python and TensorFlow with applications in computer vision and generative AI. This class will not teach how to write prompts for AI-based chatbots, instead will help students write their code and run it to perform intelligent tasks. Students will use Google Colab and GitHub for their projects. We will close the course with a discussion on ethical AI.

This course will discuss machine learning using Python and the Scikit-learn libraries. Students will implement ML algorithms using Python and understand how regression, clustering, and classification algorithms work behind the scenes. Then the course will cover deep learning and reinforcement learning using Python and TensorFlow with applications in computer vision and generative AI. This class will not teach how to write prompts for AI-based chatbots, rather will help students write their own code and run it to perform intelligent tasks. Students will use Google Colab and GitHub for their projects. We will close the course with a discussion on ethical AI.

This course is intended to empower the students with key skills they need to handle their personal and business finances. Students will be introduced to personal finance and business math concepts through interactive activities, instructional videos, multiple examples, case studies, lectures, and applied problems that resemble real-life situations. Topics include business statistics, payroll, taxes, insurance, financial statements, simple interest, compound interest, consumer credit, mortgages, and investments. All class materials, including the textbook and assignments, will be delivered digitally on MyMathLab by Pearson, providing an excellent learning interface and allowing students to complete assignments at their own pace and get immediate feedback on their performance. Throughout the semester, students will also review some relevant math concepts from high school, such as whole numbers, decimals, fractions, equations, and percents– these will be incorporated into their weekly homework assignments. The class is designed to meet students where they are with their math skills and help them advance to the successful completion of this business mathematics course.

Trigonometry has been called the Mathematics of the Heavens and The Earth since its earliest applications were in astronomy and geography: to study the motion of the stars and to navigate the Earth. Using trigonometry, we can calculate the height of a tree, our distance from a faraway planet, the location of a ship in the ocean or a jet in the sky. After a severe malfunction, Apollo 13 made it safely to Earth thanks to the navigation skills of the crew. Hint: it took some trigonometric computations of angles to achieve it! The trigonometric functions can help artists and designers calculate distances from angles and angles from known lengths in large-scale drawing, art installations, game design, and architecture.

This course introduces students to the foundations of trigonometry and its fun applications in real-world problems. Topics include angles, trigonometric functions and their graphs, trigonometric identities, the unit circle, laws of sines and cosines, complex numbers, polar coordinates, and parametric equations. Applications range from calculating the location of any two objects and distances between them to creating maps, finding the amplitude and frequency of sound and light waves, and computing the speed of the propeller of a wind generator. The textbook, most assignments, and many interactive learning materials such as instructional videos and animations are accessible via the Pearson MyMathLab.

The course enables students to develop problem-thinking and critical thinking skills in the context of interesting real-world examples using trigonometry.

Required for Environmental Design majors.

This course is your gateway to the realm of game development, focusing on the programming and scripting aspects using the powerful Unreal Engine. Dive into the fundamentals of game programming, exploring programming languages, logic, and syntax. Learn to write scripts that control gameplay mechanics, implement AI, and create interactive elements.

Through hands-on exercises, you’ll gain practical experience and master debugging techniques to ensure smooth game performance. In the second part of the course, we’ll delve deeper into the Unreal Engine and its scripting language, Blueprint.

Unlock the potential of Blueprint’s node-based system to create visually stunning and highly interactive games. Discover event-driven programming and object-oriented design to craft complex behaviors. Through engaging projects, you’ll design game mechanics, create user interfaces, and integrate audio-visual effects.

By the end, you’ll have a solid foundation in programming and scripting for games using the Unreal Engine. Unleash your creativity into Programming/Scripting for Games, empowering you to bring your game ideas to life!

Required for all Game and Entertainment Design majors.

Like our Math requirement offerings, our Natural Science courses are designed with artists and designers in mind. Both our natural and social science courses provide students with essential skills and an opportunity to be introduced to new ways to expand their thinking, explore concepts associated with their fields, and prepare to flourish in future industries.

Required for the following majors: Illustration, Graphic Design, Animation, Game and Entertainment, Fine Arts, Toy, Product, and Fashion Design majors and Sustainability minors take required natural science classes rather than a natural science elective.

This course will start with a survey of how smart textiles are utilized today in personalized healthcare, sports, wellness, and security by exploring a range of art, design, and scientific projects using smart materials. This will serve as a foundation of knowledge to build from and inspire students to create their own smart textile prototypes. Further, the course will introduce key theoretical elements of each discipline related to smart textiles, such as material and textile science, electronics, and artificial intelligence. This field is evolving fast, with teams of multi-disciplinary scientists worldwide constantly proposing innovative materials and improved textile-based and AI-enabled electronics. Some reading materials will be assigned from recent peer-reviewed articles to expose students to advanced technologies that have not been commercialized yet but have the potential to revolutionize multiple industries in the near future.

We are sliding into environmental disaster. Climate change poses increasing risks to our lives.

Otis students come from all over the world, fluent in many languages. We need you to visually communicate that we are on the cusp of eco catastrophe, and climate disaster must be avoided. While class is conducted in English, student research may be conducted in any language, and information adapted and transmitted culturally and appropriately.

Topics: How we make and grow things, move around, keep warm and cool, achieve zero greenhouse emissions, expand solar and wind energy, create new technologies, and adjust to change.

Signature Assignment: Completed in close collaboration with Math Information Graphics. For this project, under the supervision of both instructors, students will locate credible, science-backed data sources online and design infographics that represent their findings visually to raise awareness and promote responsible decisions.

In this course, we examine human intelligence and the neural processes that shape its function. How do you use your sensory processing to orient yourself in the world? How did language evolve and what function does a metaphor serve? We take a closer look at emergence of memory and predictive mechanisms in the brain as we look towards optimizing creativity and flow states. We finish off with examining imagination and its impact on human technological inventions especially in the field of computer vision. This course effectively considers the neuroscience of the human mind and how it shapes contemporary design and art processes. The students will be introduced to the course concepts through a mixture of readings, guest speakers, videos, lectures, and discussions. The assignments will consist of written critical assignments and presentations of design ideas inspired by the course.

This course explores the latest developments in the textiles and design industries and the use and manufacture of new materials. The focus is on creating, exploring, experimenting, and making. New textiles and materials are being developed all the time. Through lecture and in-class material exploration, students will learn about the advances in bio-grown materials such as mycelium, bio-synthetics, reutilizing waste materials, and redefining the approach to waste. The course will integrate the principles of sustainable development into learning as students research, innovate, and create samples of new experimental objects and materials. A complete term Process Book will be required with research, notes, sketches, photographs, and material samples students create.

With the current shift toward more sustainable forms of art and design, contemporary artists and designers are uniquely challenged by issues unfamiliar to artists in previous eras. Sustainable design is concerned with the processes and outcomes needed to respond to the growing consciousness surrounding various impacts of art and design on the world's ecological systems and humankind. Through predominantly science-based methods, students will study approaches to sustainability including, but not limited to climate change, biodiversity, biomimicry, cradle to cradle, and life cycle analysis. Content will emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of sustainable design and how it is defined, measured, and tracked by looking at concepts like design for use, dematerialization, substitution, localization and reuse.

Note: At least a 1/3 of instruction (5-8 weeks) is delivered online rather than via face-to-face contact. The virtual course contact will occur asynchronously (not at the same time).

Required for Sustainability Minors.

The class will be a seminar course with lectures, homework assignments and exams. The students will obtain a basic understanding of structural engineering and develop some of the skills necessary to describe the structural systems of their creations. Students are introduced to basic concepts of structural loads, vectors (forces & moments), equilibrium in 2-D and 3-D, and strength of materials (stress and deformation). The course focuses on understanding these fundamental concepts as they relate to art and design with emphasis on the form making opportunities of expressing structural engineering and construction. Various structural elements will be examined for their role in resisting different types of loads and forces including analysis of simple (determinate) beams, trusses, columns, cables, arches, walls, frames and design of beams. Sustainability will be consistently discussed throughout the course with awareness of the environmental impacts of construction in the lectures, assignments and assigned reading. The lectures and reading assignments will include examples of extraordinary engineers and amazing structures including many examples from the instructor’s portfolio of work.

The signature and team assignments will require the students to develop structural design techniques through collaboratively exploring unconventional structural systems, architecturally exposed structures, and the structural support of sculptures. The course assignments will explore engineering creativity, design thinking, controlled tectonic expression, embodied mind and making. Engineered form generation with sketches and model making will emphasize design and learning about structural behavior through physical contact (touch) with design trajectories that arise through these form-making physical interactions. Concept creation skills will be emphasized through analysis of precedents, scheme generation, sketching and physical model making. Students will learn about how to develop structural design concepts, team collaboration, and how to make good structural design decisions using criteria to evaluate their schemes (conceptual design, engineering performance, environmental impacts, cost effectiveness & buildability). The students will learn together on the project assignments with pin-ups, class discussions and desk crits.

Required for Toy Design majors.

This course introduces Product Design students to human-centered design principles that explore physical, sensory, and emotional responses to consumer products. Through a combination of lectures and hands-on practice, students will assess a range of products for mechanical function and stylistic impact, focusing on enhancing user interaction and experience. Students will engage with statistical data tables and human factors terminology (no mathematical calculations required) to understand the diversity of the human body—its sensory capabilities, physical measurements, and dynamic movement—when designing usable and appealing products. Assignments will feature real-world manufacturing constraints, particularly within light assembly environments. Additionally, students will analyze regulatory compliance and product safety protocols as essential components of responsible and ethical design.

Required for Product Design majors.

Study fibers, yarns, knit construction and acquire a practical understanding of how each affects the appearance and performance of the textile product. Knit swatches using a variety of stitches, combining yarns of varying gauges. Other topics include dyeing, printing, and finishes as processes that affect the aesthetic appeal of the finished product, and as functional finishes which enhance performance. The impact of these processes and issues of sustainability are examined as they relate to the cultivation and production of fibers. Learn to make fabric choices based on an understanding of the woven structure and knowledge of individual fabric properties. Required textbook: Fabric for Fashion: The Swatch Book, Second Edition, by Clive Hallett & Amanda Johnston.

Lab Fee: $30 Required for Fashion Design Majors.
Available to non-majors as approved by the Chair.

Required for Fashion Design majors.

Social Science courses at Otis College encourage students to argue for humanity as they explore the human condition from various perspectives. Through critical thinking and intellectual rigor, students learn to ask challenging questions about our society and the world, past, present, and future. Exploring complex topics is central to our educational goals because critical thinking, research, writing, oral presentations, and working collaboratively help students build their creative practice. Liberal Arts and Sciences courses encourage students to think about how they can use their passion, art, and design skills to address the needs of our global community now and in the future. The skills developed in social science and other course offerings prepare students to become lifelong learners capable of applying their skill set to new professional opportunities and the unknown societal challenges ahead.

Required for the following majors: Animation, Illustration, Graphic Design, Fashion Design, Fine Arts, and Product Design.

Toy Design majors take a required social science class rather than a social science elective.

Some of the elective offerings include:

Vampire Lit and Lore:The vampire is deeply embedded in numerous mythologies, legends and folk beliefs and popular culture products. In this course, we will explore how the image of the vampire has changed through the ages and cross-culturally, delving into social movements that have inspired a penchant for the undead. We will discuss modern vampires who take blood, read Anne Rice, have beliefs about their non-human abilities or go clubbing clad in pvc. We will explore how and why the vampire has captured our cultural imagination through the ages and embodied the seemingly ever-present societal need for an outsider figure.

Civil Rights Then and Now:"Jubilee: A Journey through Civil Rights History"
This course provides a comprehensive exploration of the ongoing struggle for civil rights, spanning from colonial times to the present. Through an interdisciplinary approach, students will delve into the rich history of resistance, creative disruption, and the relentless pursuit of basic human rights within the African American experience.

Course Structure:The course is structured around weekly themes, each focusing on a specific historical period or concept. Utilizing readings, screenings, discussions, and creative projects, students will critically engage with the material, fostering a deep understanding of the evolution of civil rights.

Artists & Environmental Justice:Do artists have a role to play in discussions of climate change, toxic waste in BIPOC communities, and police violence against Black Americans? You bet they do! In fact, artists have historically been on the forefront of change-making actions, and we explore these activist stances through the lens of critical environmental justice studies.

This course provides foundational ideas that a) inform an understanding of the interconnections between environmental and social causes, but also b) inspire action. It is important for students to a) learn how to inform themselves and b) develop confidence to take action in support of human and more-than-human rights, equity for all, and earth care. This course aims to empower everyone in class to take action for change whether that be individual daily actions or public art practice and installations. In turn, this class seeks to inform, but also to give students practical tools for application.

The class is divided into three parts; the first 4 weeks students learn about the environmental justice movement in the United States, who the leaders of the movement have been, and what issues were championed. Next, students are placed in groups so they can select a case study to research and report on to the class. Lastly, students apply what they have learned to the development of an artistic intervention they can do to address an environmental justice concern in their own communities. An informed artist is a liberated artist with the power to take action for change whether big or small.

Sustainability minor elective.

Modality: OLAY

*OLAY - This course provides 100% of instruction online. Some online classes may also include 1 - 2 weeks of an on-campus meeting. Students will work independently for a predetermined set of time to complete coursework by the due date. The virtual course contact will occur asynchronously (not at the same time)

 

Juniors and Seniors are required to complete two upper division Liberal Studies electives, one in each of the respective years. Like in the sophomore level Creative Action courses, Liberal Studies electives are designed to encourage intellectual advancement and professional development through focused research and project-based courses that develop critical thinking, leadership, and collaboration skills in a multidisciplinary educational environment. Today's art and design fields require advanced analysis, application, and professional presentation as highly desired professional skills.

Some of the elective offerings include:

Narrative Design in Games: How do you craft a compelling story that adapts to player choices and enhances gameplay? How can we use narrative to support gamification in alternate digital spaces? This course explores the fundamentals of narrative design, focusing on how to structure stories, develop characters, and create responsive dialogue systems. Students will examine the role of AI in narrative design, including tools for generating dynamic dialogue and branching storylines. By examining narrative from the gaming perspective, students have an opportunity to discover how these concepts can support gamification in other areas like brand engagement and experiential marketing. Through a series of mini-projects, students will practice integrating narrative elements into gameplay, culminating in a signature project that showcases their ability to design an immersive narrative experience enhanced by AI.

Contemporary Chinese Cinema:One of the most vibrant and important national cinemas to emerge in recent decades is that of Mainland China. Mired in propaganda for the first three decades after the Communist Revolution (1949), Chinese cinema found its voice with the Fifth Generation, which emerged in the 1980s. These talented and ambitious filmmakers were graduates of the Beijing Film Academy, shut down during the disruptive Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), and they were eager to tell stories about the modern Chinese experience while experimenting with cinema language. The films they made --- such as "Yellow Earth," "Raise the Red Lantern," and "Blue Kite" --- were sometimes banned at home for political reasons, but fortunately, they were able to find audiences abroad through international film festivals.

Today, Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou are recognized worldwide, and a younger generation has stepped forward to capture China in transition. This course will start with examples from the silent era (1930s) and the Maoist era (early 1950s through 70s), then quickly move into the films that became international sensations. Also covered will be the more recent films of Jia Zhangke (“Ash is Purest White”) and Cathy Yan (“Dead Pigs,” “Birds of Prey”). This online course will present material through lectures, assigned readings, and viewings of films through the Nest. Most importantly, we will have class discussions about the films, their ideas and how ideas are presented. Students will gain an overview of the development of contemporary cinema in post-WWII China, while exploring connections between cinema culture and its socio-economic and political background.

Human Nature:Western culture's relationship with nature is one of exploitation, conquest, industry, and waste, but it's also empowerment, mythology, conservation, and wonder. In Human Nature, LIBS 314, students examine their own relationship with the natural world.

How do fiction, film, science, industry, religion, politics, and advertising shape our connection to our environment and our selves? By studying fiction from indigenous and environmentalist authors as well as cross-genre film about nonhuman species, we will see how stories shape our relationship with nature.

From the sustainability and environmental justice movements, we will identify our particular concerns about the planet and make strides to recover our birthright: moving from estrangement with the natural world to integration, from despair to hope, from apathy to care. Or, if we already have a practice of climate resilience--we will fine tune our mission.

We will compose narratives and analysis that demonstrate an understanding of how storytelling, language, and the visual realm inform our many roles in this altering ecology.

Finally, we will reflect on a plan for future engagement with the natural world, be it protective measures through civic engagement, integration through professional practice, or simply more time spent outdoors.

Senior Liberal Studies Capstone

A required senior- level course where students identify and critically reflect on a theme that intersects with their own studio practice, discipline and/or identity and their work in Liberal Studies. The capstone is the signature course and culminating expression of the Liberal Arts program.

Required for all undergraduate majors.
A minimum grade of “C" (2.0) or better is required to pass this course.
Note that Creative Writing, Art History, Cultural Studies, Sustainability minors and Fine Arts majors take specific capstones. Please see department for courses