This course will deal with critical understandings of visual culture, narrative, and the melding of written and visual languages in contemporary graphic texts. We will begin with a study of visual culture, and some of the key issues, ideas, and questions that underlie thinking about visuality: its spaces and places; the politics of representation; theories of the spectator/audience; modes of reproduction and circulation of texts in the era of digitization and globalization. We will then consider theories of narratology, as they are particularly useful to a study of the graphic medium. For the final weeks of the semester, we will move to a consideration of some of the rich and varied criticism from within the field.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $260.00

Major Requirement | MFA Illustration

In his 1909 An Essay in Aesthetics, Roger Fry talks about the moral purpose of art-to offer viewers the opportunity to experience emotion with objectivity. Rather than actually witnessing a terrible accident in a train station, in a film we are able to experience the event and its associated emotions without the urgency of response required if it were truly happening before us. We are able to feel and to observe ourselves feeling. While Fry was focusing on the experience of visual art, his description of purpose is precisely applicable to the writing of narrative fiction. The ultimate goal of storytelling is to share an experience or another world with a reader, and the focal point of that experience is the conjuring of emotion. This course will focus on the development of understanding and facility in the creation of emotion in fiction. We will address the basic structures of plot and conflict and move directly to the creation of work that will be presented in workshop. The discussion will focus on the writer's intent: their goals for the emotional and narrative experience for the reader.

Major Requirement | MFA Illustration

As a culmination of the MFA program, this intensive studio challenges students to design and craft a significant, topically-focused body of work. Although students may choose creative formats and media according to their own interests, they must publish thesis work produced in class. Publication through digital platforms (podcasts, websites, apps, etc.) will be coordinated with analog forms when possible and appropriate to the project. Together with the research and writing produced in ILLUS 606G Paradigms and Contexts: Publishing the Thesis and Beyond, a comprehensive body of work and a written thesis document will be produced.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $100.00 - $1,500.00

Major Requirement | MFA Illustration

This seminar supports the work of the Thesis Studio IV by providing a formal class setting in which to create written reflections on one's evolving studio thesis work as well as-more broadly-writings on illustration practice. Sessions will center on discussion of assigned readings as well as written responses to classmates' essays. These exercises will scaffold a more expansive documentation of their Studio Thesis Project, and to serve as a forum for discussion of critical writing about contemporary illustration practice that will support an essay to be contributed to the groups final publication.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $0.00 - $150.00

Major Requirement | MFA Illustration

Topics in Exhibition and Narrative Environments II follows upon INTAR-2102 and continues the exploration of the principles of exhibition from curatorial matters, experience design, narrative creation, graphic design, new media, user participation, installation, site specificity, production, etc. Topics II will conclude with the selection of a potential Thesis subject.

Major Requirement | MDes Interior Studies Exhibition and Narrative Environments

This course provides students with an opportunity to study how distinct building systems are constructed to form a comprehensive whole. Through case studies, students will examine approaches to integrating a variety of systems, such as structural, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, acoustic, and communication systems. This course will focus on how interior architecture interfaces with existing buildings; the case studies will be of recent works that have altered existing building. Students will be required to use the shop and computers to execute their individual and group assignments.

Major Requirement | MDes Interior Studies Adaptive Reuse

This seminar is intended as a reinforcement of and preparation for the self-choice Design Thesis taking place the following Spring. The seminar will assist the student in becoming more aware of factors which determine a successful outcome for a design intervention within an existing building. As the first part of the three-part thesis sequence, the course serves as the building block for INTAR-2397 and the student's approved Design Thesis Feasibility Report.

Open to Graduate Interior Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MDes Interior Studies Adaptive Reuse

This class introduces the student to an overview of codes and its implementation through construction details as related to the study of adaptive reuse. It will provide in depth focus on pertinent parts of local and national building codes that address issues affecting interior architecture such as egress, materials, planning, and accessibility. The student will be asked through quizzes as well as short design projects to implement these rules and regulations and to demonstrate a familiarity with the codes.

Major Requirement | MDes Interior Studies

Required for students in the MDes degree program. Under the supervision of their thesis advisor, students are responsible for the preparation and completion of a fully articulated design proposal of their own choice, as described by their Design Thesis Feasibility Report, submitted at the end of the Fall semester's Design Thesis Preparation class.

Open to Graduate Interior Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MDes Interior Studies

Required for students in the MDes degree program. Under the supervision of their thesis advisor, students are responsible for the preparation and completion of a fully articulated design proposal of their own choice, as described by their Design Thesis Feasibility Report, submitted at the end of the Fall semester's Design Thesis Preparation class.

Open to Graduate Interior Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MDes Interior Studies

Required for students in the MDes degree program. Under the supervision of their thesis advisor, students are responsible for the preparation and completion of a fully articulated design proposal of their own choice, as described by their Design Thesis Feasibility Report, submitted at the end of the Fall semester's Design Thesis Preparation class.

Open to Graduate Interior Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MDes Interior Studies

Required for students in the MDes degree program. Under the supervision of their thesis advisor, students are responsible for the preparation and completion of a fully articulated design proposal of their own choice, as described by their Design Thesis Feasibility Report, submitted at the end of the Fall semester's Design Thesis Preparation class.

Open to Graduate Interior Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MDes Interior Studies

This 6-credit Thesis Studio centers around the Sustainability Lab, an initiative between LDAR and INTAR departments to explore creative material approaches to sustainability. Looking specifically at materials common to the New England region, this hands-on research studio asks students to question current attitudes towards exploitative land uses and material cultures and push the boundaries of material use and techniques in professional architecture and landscape architecture design practices. Students enrolled in this course are required to register for the co-requisite seminar INTAR/LDAR 503G - Sustainability Lab: Material Tectonics + Fabrication.

The Sustainability Lab Thesis studio builds on the work developed in the Fall semester and the progress students have made in articulating a material inquiry for their thesis direction and a theoretical and methodological framework for their research. In this course, each student will continue the development of their design research project in discussion with their primary faculty advisor and secondary and tertiary advisor.

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Landscape Architecture and Interior Architecture Graduate Students.

Elective

This 3-credit elective centers around the Sustainability Lab, an initiative between LDAR and INTAR departments to explore creative material approaches to sustainability. Looking specifically at materials common to New England, this skill-building seminar will explore one selected material each year and expose students to different techniques and methods of researching and working with the region's intrinsic materials. Students enrolled in this course are required to register for the co-requisite studio INTAR/LDAR 502G - Sustainability Lab: Thesis Studio.

In tandem with the co-requisite studio, students will collaborate with expert designers, fabricators, and engineers to refine the assemblies of their material inquiries. The course will cover advanced fabrication methods for scaled and 1:1 fabrication and interdisciplinary collaboration during the construction phases of design. Students will develop their Sustainability Lab Thesis Studio material inquiry through a concise technical and visual design package and a full-scale material assembly.

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Landscape Architecture and Interior Architecture Graduate Students.

Elective

In the second sequence of Graduate Studio, first-year graduates continue to take risks and think independently; identify and gain insight into their creative influences; and successfully direct and shape their ideas. Class exercises are given with clear, open-ended themes. Course content focuses on clarity of intention, artistic authorship, the presentation and framing of ones work, and an awareness of the contemporary context. Faculty and students consider individual approaches for the execution of work, from the initial concept to the finished piece. In an effort to arrive at original, personally authentic work, it is essential that students are open to discussion and willing to investigate (and question) the motivating forces of their work.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | MFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing

Graduate J+M Thesis is a 9-credit course that meets twice a week with two different instructors. Each instructor evaluates students focusing on both studio thesis work and the theoretical concerns of the Graduate Jewelry 2 seminar. Graduate students select two advisors, for their thesis committee with J+M faculty to provide additional insight and support into their thesis work, as well as to foster other professional contacts. The final thesis requirements are a written thesis document, curriculum vitae, artist statement, artist book and professional portfolio. The resulting body of thesis work is featured in the Graduate Thesis Exhibition at the Convention Center in May. It is expected the Graduate J+M Thesis investigates unexplored territory, reveals personal idiosyncrasies and demonstrates a high level of artistic authorship and sophistication.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | MFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing

Spring seminar focuses on research, writing, and presentation as essential skills for both studio and professional practices. Emphasis is placed on the students' ability to locate, examine, and discuss their work within contemporary and historical contexts. Jewelry, along with objects of our discipline, will be considered through a variety of theoretical frameworks and cross-cultural and historical perspectives. Research, and the language that evidences it, is the foundation of this seminar. Various modes of writing are employed to mine, develop, and articulate ideas, and to further refine this information into artist statements, grant proposals, and presentations. Reflective writing will be practiced throughout the term in order to make sense of past work, clarify current work, and to formulate questions and ideas for work in the future. The term builds towards and culminates with a formal artist presentation. This is an opportunity to carefully consider and craft the language and the photographic representation that supports your work. The goal is to bring all of these things into alignment and to explore the symbiotic and poetic relationships between them.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | MFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing

The fall seminar concentrates on critical reading as an opportunity to locate, examine, and discuss your work within a broader field of inquiry. The additional objectives are to increase critical thinking, hone reading and writing skills, expand vocabulary, and build presentation skills. Woven into all of this is the understanding that research can be a valuable, if not essential, component of making - each informing and enriching the other. The focus of the spring seminar shifts to writing and presentation as an integral part of both studio and professional practice. Each spring brings a new team of guest instructors who introduce various modes of writing as a means to mine, develop and articulate ideas in a concise and authentic manner, and, to further hone that information into artist statements, written theses, and public presentations. Throughout the term writing will be the vehicle in which to move between private and public realms. This journey will begin with 'automatic writings' and culminate with your public artist presentations.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | MFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing

In Graduate Jewelry 2, first-year graduates hone in on recognized personal areas of interest specific to jewelry from the Fall semester. Students are encouraged to embrace new studio habits in order for individualized working methodologies to become apparent. Faculty, work with students, to foster the strengths of their natural proclivities and problem-solve areas of personal sabotage. Critical to the success of this course, it is essential that first year students demonstrate a high level of self-direction, curiosity, and drive reflected through their bench work and independent research. Course content continues to focus around jewelry's power and potential as a platform and catalyst for dialogue.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Jewelry + Metalsmithing Students.

Major Requirement | MFA Jewelry + Metalsmithing

The first course of the History + Theory track will offer an introduction to a select range of ideas, practices and systems of landscape. The seminar will begin with discussions on theory and history, their types and uses, and examine the different, and often conflicting, definitions of landscape that have emerged from within and without the field of landscape architecture. As we explore the relationship between nature and culture, we will consider the relationship of history and theory to the contexts in which they are generated, while at the same time examining their relationship to praxis. While focusing on issues that are core to a critical understanding of the discipline, this course will also begin to expand the study of landscapes beyond historical Western-centric cannons, with an explicit attempt to decolonize the ways in which we know and practice in landscape architecture. 
 
The course will examine readings taken from diverse sources that have informed landscape architecture – philosophy, geography, architecture, art history, ecology – as well as sources that have emerged from practitioners of the comparatively young discipline. The readings are grouped by themes that relate and distinguish landscape architecture from its allied fields and reflect the discourse that has influenced the character and objectives of the discipline today. 

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Landscape Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MLA-I Landscape Architecture