This Core program is designed to meet the needs of students who want to study media literacy, and the impact of media on the construction of identities, especially gender identity. The main learning objectives of the program will be: (1) students will gain media literacy through applying critical and analytical reasoning skills and reflection, and (2) students will be able to evaluate and critique the images, information and ideas they receive in contemporary media, popular psychology, video games and the Internet.

Gender and Media will explore the effects of media images on the construction of identities, especially gender and how much of our sense of self is contrasted and compared to popular media images. Students will complete two sets of workshops. In “Media and Identity Development” we will explore the complex relationships among media images, cultural values, and development of identities and self-images and examine various psychological learning theories. Through weekly awareness exercises and workshops, students will deconstruct some habits which hinder them in becoming an authentic self. Students are required to take the risk of examining themselves and expressing their cumulative learning through their own creative and analytical work. In “Critical Media Production” we will learn basic multi-camera video production skills (including camerawork, sound recording, directing and editing) and create short projects that will support the development of a critical relationship to the mainstream media.

Throughout the quarter we will be conducting a mediawatch research project. Small teams will develop critical viewing and deconstruction methodologies in order to study how gender roles operate in a single media genre (these might include children’s cartoons, the soap opera, music video, video games, talk shows, etc.). Final presentations will reflect our deepened understanding of both gender constructions and the contemporary mass media environment. Students should expect to commit significant time to reading, writing and discussing academically challenging material throughout the program, including during production workshops.

The legacy of the Greek and Italian cultures in the Western world—from the Minoan world to that of the Italian Renaissance—continues to hold considerable sway over contemporary cultures. The great writings and powerful visual arts that were produced in Greece and Italy established standards of excellence which succeeding generations have both struggled against and paid homage to up to the present day. In this program, we will study the texts and monuments of the two most dynamic and seminal cultures in European history: Classical Greece and Renaissance Italy. We will read writings from the periods we study (such as Homer’s Odyssey , Aeschylus’ Oresteia , and Vasari’s Lives of the Artists ) as well as contemporary offerings (such as Mary Renault’s The King Must Die and Louis De Bernieres’ Corelli’s Mandolin ). Throughout the program we will learn about modern rediscoveries and re-interpretations of all of these periods and places, including our own, which will culminate in a journey to Greece and Italy.

Fall quarter (“Naissance”), we will investigate the rise of the Greek polis , or city-state, from the ashes of the Bronze Age Aegean civilizations and that of the Etruscans in what is now Tuscany. In addition to reading primary source materials, we will study the architecture, sculpture and painted pottery that was produced. To further our understanding, we will also study the ancient Greek language and the basics of drawing.

Winter quarter (“Renaissance”), our focus will be on the Roman appropriation of Greek art and thought and the later Florentine rediscovery and interpretation of the Classical past. We’ll study how 15th-century Italians used the ideas they found in classical literature and learning as the basis for revolutions both in artistic practices and the conception of humanity. We will continue our study of ancient Greek and also learn the basics of photography.

During the Spring (“Odyssey”), we will travel to Greece and Italy for an eight-week period, visiting, studying and holding seminars in sites and cities that are synonymous with the classical world and the Renaissance. We will start in Crete, visiting the Palace of Knossos and other important places on the island. Next, we will travel to mainland Greece where we will visit numerous places, including Athens, Corinth, Olympia and Delphi. The last four weeks will be spent in Florence, where we will make side-trips both to nearby Etruscan sites and to the cities of Venice and Rome.