General Education Courses

Course Description: The RIT Orchestra performs three major concerts a year of standard orchestral repertoire from the 16th century to the present. In addition, students from the RIT Orchestra have the opportunity to play in a variety of chamber music ensembles. Auditions will be held to assess proper placement. Contact instructor for more information.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: The RIT Orchestra performs three major concerts a year of standard orchestral repertoire from the 16th century to the present. In addition, students from the RIT Orchestra have the opportunity to play in a variety of chamber music ensembles. Auditions will be held to assess proper placement. Contact instructor for more information.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: The RIT Concert Band is an experiential-learning course in which students learn music theory and historical context by learning several works from the Concert Band literature including standard wind band literature, contemporary compositions, marches, and orchestral transcriptions. The ensemble prepares to perform three major concerts a year and participates in departmental performances. Participation in learning and performing such music gives students an experiential appreciation and understanding of the role of music in modern society. Auditions will be held to assess proper placement. Contact instructor for more information.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: The RIT Concert Band is an experiential-learning course in which students learn music theory and historical context by learning several works from the Concert Band literature including standard wind band literature, contemporary compositions, marches, and orchestral transcriptions. The ensemble prepares to perform three major concerts a year and participates in departmental performances. Participation in learning and performing such music gives students an experiential appreciation and understanding of the role of music in modern society. Auditions will be held to assess proper placement. Contact instructor for more information.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: The RIT West African Percussion Ensemble is a hands-on course, in which students explore the dynamic percussive traditions of Guinea. The ensemble combines the djembe hand drum with a trio of drums played with sticks, known as dunun, sangban, and kenkeni. The multi-part relationships established by this trio of drums provide a rhythmic foundation for the ensemble, enabling djembe players to develop technique in executing both accompaniment and solo parts. Enrollment is open to all interested students, faculty, and staff, regardless of musical proficiency. Developing cooperation and teamwork is a necessary outcome of participation in this ensemble.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: The RIT West African Percussion Ensemble is a hands-on course, in which students explore the dynamic percussive traditions of Guinea. The ensemble combines the djembe hand drum with a trio of drums played with sticks, known as dunun, sangban, and kenkeni. The multi-part relationships established by this trio of drums provide a rhythmic foundation for the ensemble, enabling djembe players to develop technique in executing both accompaniment and solo parts. Enrollment is open to all interested students, faculty, and staff, regardless of musical proficiency. Developing cooperation and teamwork is a necessary outcome of participation in this ensemble.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: Preparing for and performing concerts of jazz repertoire offers students the opportunity to broaden their knowledge of and appreciation for music, and its role in society, through the careful analysis of musical forms and ideas, and the comparison of exemplary works from a variety of times, places and social/cultural necessities. The RIT Jazz Ensemble performs three major concerts a year of standard repertoire from the early 20th century to the present. Students from the RIT Jazz Ensemble also have the opportunity to play in a variety of informal performances both on and off campus. Auditions will be held to assess proper placement. Contact instructor for more information.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: Preparing for and performing concerts of jazz repertoire offers students the opportunity to broaden their knowledge of and appreciation for music, and its role in society, through the careful analysis of musical forms and ideas, and the comparison of exemplary works from a variety of times, places and social/cultural necessities. The RIT Jazz Ensemble performs three major concerts a year of standard repertoire from the early 20th century to the present. Students from the RIT Jazz Ensemble also have the opportunity to play in a variety of informal performances both on and off campus. Auditions will be held to assess proper placement. Contact instructor for more information.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: Preparing for and performing concerts of orchestral repertoire offers students the opportunity to broaden their knowledge of and appreciation for music, and its role in society, through the careful analysis of musical forms and ideas, and the comparison of exemplary works from a variety of times, places and social/cultural necessities. The RIT Chamber Orchestra is a select group of advanced players It performs concerts and engages in other activities, in particular the exploration of performing practices and stylistic considerations apropos to 17th, 18th, and 20th century music. In particular, the RIT Chamber Orchestra revives works from the 18th and early 19th centuries that have not been performed in modern times. Participation is by invitation of the music director, or by audition. Contact instructor for more information.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: Preparing for and performing concerts of orchestral repertoire offers students the opportunity to broaden their knowledge of and appreciation for music, and its role in society, through the careful analysis of musical forms and ideas, and the comparison of exemplary works from a variety of times, places and social/cultural necessities. The RIT Chamber Orchestra is a select group of advanced players It performs concerts and engages in other activities, in particular the exploration of performing practices and stylistic considerations apropos to 17th, 18th, and 20th century music. In particular, the RIT Chamber Orchestra revives works from the 18th and early 19th centuries that have not been performed in modern times. Participation is by invitation of the music director, or by audition. Contact instructor for more information.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: Survey of the rise of romanticism from Beethoven to Strauss in the context of the development of 19th century musical styles in general. Topics of exploration include national trends in 19th century music, the rise of the general public as arbiters of musical taste, philosophical influences, and performance considerations.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: Survey of the rise of romanticism from Beethoven to Strauss in the context of the development of 19th century musical styles in general. Topics of exploration include national trends in 19th century music, the rise of the general public as arbiters of musical taste, philosophical influences, and performance considerations.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: Survey of the cultivated traditions of music in the 20th and 21st centuries, particularly in the U.S., taking into account its political, social, and historical frameworks.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: Survey of the cultivated traditions of music in the 20th and 21st centuries, particularly in the U.S., taking into account its political, social, and historical frameworks.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: This course will survey the development of American jazz music, highlighting representative composers and performers and significant works. Particular attention will be drawn to the multi-racial influences on the creation of jazz music and its relationship to American culture as a whole.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: This course will survey the development of American jazz music, highlighting representative composers and performers and significant works. Particular attention will be drawn to the multi-racial influences on the creation of jazz music and its relationship to American culture as a whole.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: This course is a survey of African American music through an examination of the major forms of music-making and dance developed among African Americans in the United States from the early 17th century to the present. A brief introduction to West African cultural characteristics, especially music and dance, as well as discussions of the African diaspora in the New World, will serve as background for this survey.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: This course is a survey of African American music through an examination of the major forms of music-making and dance developed among African Americans in the United States from the early 17th century to the present. A brief introduction to West African cultural characteristics, especially music and dance, as well as discussions of the African diaspora in the New World, will serve as background for this survey.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: This course is designed to explore the variety of ways music has served as commentary on and/or symbolic representation of social circumstances and events in America and throughout the world, historically and in the present. Students will research, listen to, analyze, and discuss music representing a variety of genres, styles, and cultures, ranging from various forms of European and American folk, popular, and concert music to selected non-western music. Topics will include race, gender, sexuality, economics, class, war, and politics, among others.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: This course is designed to explore the variety of ways music has served as commentary on and/or symbolic representation of social circumstances and events in America and throughout the world, historically and in the present. Students will research, listen to, analyze, and discuss music representing a variety of genres, styles, and cultures, ranging from various forms of European and American folk, popular, and concert music to selected non-western music. Topics will include race, gender, sexuality, economics, class, war, and politics, among others.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: This course will survey the development of the American popular song and its composers and performers, taking into account the political, social, and historical perspectives reflected in this commercial part of our vernacular music tradition.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: This course will survey the development of the American popular song and its composers and performers, taking into account the political, social, and historical perspectives reflected in this commercial part of our vernacular music tradition.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: The development of music in the Western art tradition had a mutually influential relationship with the changes in construction and manufacturing of musical instruments. Recent research into the various and special sounds of instruments from different historical periods has been pivotal in new approaches to performance over the past quarter century (Historically Informed Performance). This course explores the historical development of musical instruments commonly used in performing Western art music, including various technologies influencing manufacturing techniques and construction, performing techniques, historical audience expectations of musical sound, and comparative performance practices.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: The development of music in the Western art tradition had a mutually influential relationship with the changes in construction and manufacturing of musical instruments. Recent research into the various and special sounds of instruments from different historical periods has been pivotal in new approaches to performance over the past quarter century (Historically Informed Performance). This course explores the historical development of musical instruments commonly used in performing Western art music, including various technologies influencing manufacturing techniques and construction, performing techniques, historical audience expectations of musical sound, and comparative performance practices.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: This course examines visual storytelling as an art form in video games. The study of visual storytelling in historic and contemporary art raises questions of social, cultural and political contexts as well as their impact on player experience. Through reading and analysis of art and video games, students will be exposed to different design techniques that visually express social concepts through mechanics, content and aesthetics. The course offers hands on experience with game engine software to create artistic game prototypes that incorporate theoretical approaches to cultural context. Topics may include the relationship of cultural context and environmental storytelling, the critical interpretation and application of visual techniques in fine art, the critical analysis of cultural and artistic themes in video games, creating meaningful worlds through visual and aural design, identity and representation in character design, and the impact of cultural context on the design of interactive and emergent narratives Students will use these concepts to create innovative game prototypes as meaningful cultural and artistic experiences.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: This course examines visual storytelling as an art form in video games. The study of visual storytelling in historic and contemporary art raises questions of social, cultural and political contexts as well as their impact on player experience. Through reading and analysis of art and video games, students will be exposed to different design techniques that visually express social concepts through mechanics, content and aesthetics. The course offers hands on experience with game engine software to create artistic game prototypes that incorporate theoretical approaches to cultural context. Topics may include the relationship of cultural context and environmental storytelling, the critical interpretation and application of visual techniques in fine art, the critical analysis of cultural and artistic themes in video games, creating meaningful worlds through visual and aural design, identity and representation in character design, and the impact of cultural context on the design of interactive and emergent narratives Students will use these concepts to create innovative game prototypes as meaningful cultural and artistic experiences.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: This is a project based course which explores the intersection of interactive design and museum education. Interactive museum programs have the potential to engage museum visitors by encouraging creative exploration, independent interpretation, and deeper understanding. Students will learn how to make the study of material culture more interesting and approachable by creating interactive projects for both the museum and the internet. Students will learn to incorporate educational outcomes into engaging learning experiences for museums.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: This is a project based course which explores the intersection of interactive design and museum education. Interactive museum programs have the potential to engage museum visitors by encouraging creative exploration, independent interpretation, and deeper understanding. Students will learn how to make the study of material culture more interesting and approachable by creating interactive projects for both the museum and the internet. Students will learn to incorporate educational outcomes into engaging learning experiences for museums.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: This course presents an overview of the legal and ethical issues that govern the institutions and personnel involved in collecting cultural resources. Collecting institutions are governed by national, state, and local laws that define how facilities and collections are used and this course will consider them, as well as the larger social and historical context out of which they developed. The course will consider the evolution of the museum as a public institution and how the legal system increasingly defined minimum standards for maintaining collections, the facilities in which they are housed, and guaranteeing public access; in addition legal standards for the collection will be studied, including definitions of ownership, what this means in terms of intellectual property rights, copyright, reproduction (traditional and electronic), and deaccessioning/disposal. These will be studied within the context of the society within which the institution functions. The course will also study the development of national and international ethical standards and will examine the codes of behavior that govern the personal and professional conduct of museum professionals and the practices that comprise conflicts of interest. Ethical standards for collecting institutions will also be considered, particularly those that address the responsibilities to a collection, the ethics of acquisition, the question of illicit or stolen material, the issues of human remains and objects of sacred significance, and repatriation. Attention will be paid to the changes in society that made these issues critical for collecting institutions.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: This course presents an overview of the legal and ethical issues that govern the institutions and personnel involved in collecting cultural resources. Collecting institutions are governed by national, state, and local laws that define how facilities and collections are used and this course will consider them, as well as the larger social and historical context out of which they developed. The course will consider the evolution of the museum as a public institution and how the legal system increasingly defined minimum standards for maintaining collections, the facilities in which they are housed, and guaranteeing public access; in addition legal standards for the collection will be studied, including definitions of ownership, what this means in terms of intellectual property rights, copyright, reproduction (traditional and electronic), and deaccessioning/disposal. These will be studied within the context of the society within which the institution functions. The course will also study the development of national and international ethical standards and will examine the codes of behavior that govern the personal and professional conduct of museum professionals and the practices that comprise conflicts of interest. Ethical standards for collecting institutions will also be considered, particularly those that address the responsibilities to a collection, the ethics of acquisition, the question of illicit or stolen material, the issues of human remains and objects of sacred significance, and repatriation. Attention will be paid to the changes in society that made these issues critical for collecting institutions.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: A survey of the style and meaning in American paintings from the colonial limners, through the 19th and 20th centuries, to contemporary artists. It centers on what distinguishes painting of the colonies and of the United States from the European counterpart.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: A survey of the style and meaning in American paintings from the colonial limners, through the 19th and 20th centuries, to contemporary artists. It centers on what distinguishes painting of the colonies and of the United States from the European counterpart.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: This course provides an overview of African-American art, presented in three periods: from slavery through Reconstruction, from the Harlem Renaissance to the end of the 1930's, and modern and postmodern movements following World War II. There will be comparisons with representations of African Americans in film, music, and literature as we move through these periods. We will be sensitive to the development of artists' aesthetic language and the evolution of social and political points of view expressed in artists' work. We will examine the role of institutions in promoting African American art.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: This course provides an overview of African-American art, presented in three periods: from slavery through Reconstruction, from the Harlem Renaissance to the end of the 1930's, and modern and postmodern movements following World War II. There will be comparisons with representations of African Americans in film, music, and literature as we move through these periods. We will be sensitive to the development of artists' aesthetic language and the evolution of social and political points of view expressed in artists' work. We will examine the role of institutions in promoting African American art.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: This course examines the history and aesthetics of the motion picture in the United States between the 1890s and the early 1960s; emphasis will be placed on the analysis of both the work of major American filmmakers and the development of major American film genres during the Classical Hollywood Studio period. Among the filmmakers to be studied are Griffith, Chaplin, Hawks, Ford, Capra, Welles, Curtiz, Wilder, Donen, Sirk, Ray, Hitchcock, and Kubrick. Genres to be covered include the melodrama, silent comedy, screwball comedy, western, thriller, film noir, newspaper film, and the gangster film. The films will be studied within the context of contemporary cultural and political events, and will be discussed from several viewpoints, including aesthetic, technical, social, and economic. The ways in which gender and class are constructed through the movies will also be a major focus of study.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: This course examines the history and aesthetics of the motion picture in the United States between the 1890s and the early 1960s; emphasis will be placed on the analysis of both the work of major American filmmakers and the development of major American film genres during the Classical Hollywood Studio period. Among the filmmakers to be studied are Griffith, Chaplin, Hawks, Ford, Capra, Welles, Curtiz, Wilder, Donen, Sirk, Ray, Hitchcock, and Kubrick. Genres to be covered include the melodrama, silent comedy, screwball comedy, western, thriller, film noir, newspaper film, and the gangster film. The films will be studied within the context of contemporary cultural and political events, and will be discussed from several viewpoints, including aesthetic, technical, social, and economic. The ways in which gender and class are constructed through the movies will also be a major focus of study.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: This course examines the role of women in the visual arts as both images makers and subject matter in order to see how gender plays a role in the conceptualization of creativity and art. Among the topics to be discussed are: the construction of femininity and gender in the patriarchy; art as an ideological practice; women, art, and society; art history, art education, and art evaluation; women artists and their contemporaries.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: This course examines the role of women in the visual arts as both images makers and subject matter in order to see how gender plays a role in the conceptualization of creativity and art. Among the topics to be discussed are: the construction of femininity and gender in the patriarchy; art as an ideological practice; women, art, and society; art history, art education, and art evaluation; women artists and their contemporaries.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: In this course we examine the public remembering and memorialization of historic events that leads to memorials and monuments in the fields of architecture, sculpture, and film. We begin by examining the nature of memory, and specifically of collective memory, and its relationship to historical events and its subsequent transformation in the process of memorialization. We then look at examples of the sculptural monument, a traditional form of memorial, and the evolution of its vocabulary in the second half of the 20th century. We also examine the memorial work undertaken by those museums whose primary function is to engage in remembering historical events, a recent phenomenon in the field of museum building. We screen films and examine how documentaries and dramatizations engage the spectator by remembering history differently, The course culminates by examining the debates surrounding the remembering of 9/11 and of more recent traumatic events.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: In this course we examine the public remembering and memorialization of historic events that leads to memorials and monuments in the fields of architecture, sculpture, and film. We begin by examining the nature of memory, and specifically of collective memory, and its relationship to historical events and its subsequent transformation in the process of memorialization. We then look at examples of the sculptural monument, a traditional form of memorial, and the evolution of its vocabulary in the second half of the 20th century. We also examine the memorial work undertaken by those museums whose primary function is to engage in remembering historical events, a recent phenomenon in the field of museum building. We screen films and examine how documentaries and dramatizations engage the spectator by remembering history differently, The course culminates by examining the debates surrounding the remembering of 9/11 and of more recent traumatic events.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: A survey outlining the development of art in India and Southeast Asia, examining the philosophical circumstances and religious traditions (to include Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, and Islamic) that distinguish eastern artistic traditions. There is opportunity for each student to pursue special interest in depth.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: A survey outlining the development of art in India and Southeast Asia, examining the philosophical circumstances and religious traditions (to include Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, and Islamic) that distinguish eastern artistic traditions. There is opportunity for each student to pursue special interest in depth.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: A survey outlining the development of art in China, Korea and Japan, examining the philosophical circumstances and religious traditions (to include Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism) that distinguish eastern artistic traditions. There is opportunity for each student to pursue special interest in depth.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: A survey outlining the development of art in China, Korea and Japan, examining the philosophical circumstances and religious traditions (to include Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism) that distinguish eastern artistic traditions. There is opportunity for each student to pursue special interest in depth.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: A survey of artistic traditions (to include architecture, decorative arts [metalware, ceramics, glass, wood], art of the book and painting) from the 7th century until the Mongol conquests in the 13th century in countries from Asia, Africa, and Europe that were influenced by the religion of Islam. There will be opportunity for each student to pursue special interests in depth.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: A survey of artistic traditions (to include architecture, decorative arts [metalware, ceramics, glass, wood], art of the book and painting) from the 7th century until the Mongol conquests in the 13th century in countries from Asia, Africa, and Europe that were influenced by the religion of Islam. There will be opportunity for each student to pursue special interests in depth.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: A survey of artistic traditions (to include architecture, decorative arts [metals, ceramics, glass, wood], art of the book and painting) from the Mongol conquests in the 13th century until the European imperialistic presence in the later 18th century in countries from Asia, Africa, and Europe that were influenced by the religion of Islam. There will be opportunity for each student to pursue special interests in depth.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: A survey of artistic traditions (to include architecture, decorative arts [metals, ceramics, glass, wood], art of the book and painting) from the Mongol conquests in the 13th century until the European imperialistic presence in the later 18th century in countries from Asia, Africa, and Europe that were influenced by the religion of Islam. There will be opportunity for each student to pursue special interests in depth.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: This course is designed for the student who has a knowledge of basic music theory and an understanding of four-part diatonic composition. In addition to the continuing study of melodic construction and development, thematic development in two-part counterpoint, four-part harmony, chromatic materials and modulation, and analysis of form and style, emphases will be placed on the development of individual music skills.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.

Course Description: This course is designed for the student who has a knowledge of basic music theory and an understanding of four-part diatonic composition. In addition to the continuing study of melodic construction and development, thematic development in two-part counterpoint, four-part harmony, chromatic materials and modulation, and analysis of form and style, emphases will be placed on the development of individual music skills.

For prerequisites, availability, other details and to register, go to http://sis.rit.edu/.