Arts and Letters

Arts and Letters

Computing Services Center 211
541-552-6520
Edwin L. Battistella, Dean

Designated a Center of Excellence in the Fine and Performing Arts by the Oregon University System (OUS), SOU offers a variety of degree programs in the School of Arts and Letters. Students who major in these programs are encouraged to pursue interdisciplinary activities among departments. The school also includes Philosophy, Women‘s Studies, Chamber Music Concerts, the Oregon Writers Project, Shakespeare Studies, and the Schneider Museum of Art.

The School of Arts and Letters promotes such activities as theatrical productions; art exhibitions; music concerts; publication of the West Wind Review; poetry readings; and lectures within the University and the southern Oregon region. Students may become involved in a variety of practicum, work, and study abroad experiences.

Departments

Art
Communication
English and Writing
Foreign Languages and Literatures
Music
Theatre Arts

Degrees

BA and BS in Art, Communication, English and Writing, Language and Culture (with options in French, German, and Spanish), Music, and Theatre Arts
BA and BS in Arts and Letters (see Interdisciplinary Studies: Single Area Major)
BFA in Art and Theatre
MA and MS in Arts and Letters, through the American Band College (see Department of Music)

Minors

Minors are offered in Art, Art History, British Literature, Creative Writing, English Education, Film Studies, French, German, Human Communication, Journalism, Media Studies, Music, Philosophy, Photography, Public Relations, Shakespeare Studies, Spanish, Theatre Arts, U.S. Literature, Video Production, Women‘s Studies, and Writing with Professional Applications. See the appropriate departmental listings for detailed descriptions.

Facilities

The School of Arts and Letters laboratory facilities are available for practical instruction in video production, journalism, English language writing skills, and foreign language study.
The Music Building houses practice space for individual students, rehearsal rooms for ensembles, and a widely praised concert hall.
The Theatre Arts Building is equipped with staging facilities that contain two main areas for the presentation of plays.
The most recent major construction on campus is the Center for the Visual Arts (CVA), which includes seminar rooms, digital media labs, and a ceramics studio with an outdoor raku kiln yard. Advanced art students have access to private studio space, while all art students enjoy studio space for painting, drawing, film, video, performance art, photography, and printmaking. The Schneider Museum of Art (SMA) is pivotal to the promotion of the visual arts in southern Oregon.

Summer Programs

The courses, programs, and workshops offered by the School of Arts and Letters during Summer Session are designed to appeal to the interests and needs of undergraduate and graduate students. The Center for Shakespeare Studies also offers summer programs.

Arts and Letters Courses

See Course Prerequisites Policy

Lower Division Courses

AL 199 Special Studies

Credits to be arranged

AL 209 Practicum

Credits to be arranged

AL 211, 212, 213 Explorations in Arts and Letters

3 to 2 credits

Satisfies General Education requirements as an Explorations sequence in Arts and Letters. Approved for General Education (Explorations).

AL 215 Introduction to Cultural Studies

4 credits

Examines the experience of inhabiting a mass, commodified culture. Introduces students to key concepts from the emerging field of cultural studies, placing contemporary trends in popular culture within a larger historical framework. Addresses how specific disciplines apply ideas from cultural studies, such as an English course that focuses on contemporary responses to issues raised in classic narratives, or a communication course that examines representations of gender in advertisements. Approved for General Education (Explorations).

AL 216 Introduction to Cultural Studies

4 credits

Upper Division Courses

AL 301 History and Theories of Cultural Studies

4 credits

Explores the historical context of cultural studies and its major theoretical perspectives. In addition to critical readings from the different areas of cultural studies, students will apply these theories to independent projects that focus on the production of meaning in their world. Prerequisite: Completion of all lower division General Education requirements. Approved for General Education (Synthesis).

AL 347 Inquiry and Imagination

4 credits

Uses a multidisciplinary approach to a specific culture. Systematically investigates the means and goals of a cultures inquiry and the directions and achievements of its imagination. Surveys the development of classical Greek art and science in the context of historical events and philosophical trends. Emphasizes the consequences of employing archaeological, art historical, and classicist approaches to the subject matter. Prerequisite: Completion of all lower division General Education requirements. Approved for General Education (Synthesis).

AL 348 Inquiry and Imagination

4 credits

Uses a multidisciplinary approach to a specific culture. Systematically investigates the means and goals of a cultures inquiry, as well as the directions and achievements of its imagination. Surveys the historical, artistic, and scientific influences that led to the peculiar achievements of the fifteenth century Italian Renaissance. Also examines those achievements in later contexts. Prerequisite: Completion of all lower division General Education requirements. Approved for General Education (Synthesis).

AL 399 Special Studies

Credits to be arranged

AL 401/501 Research

Credits to be arranged

AL 403/503 Thesis

Credits to be arranged

AL 405/505 Reading and Conference

Credits to be arranged

AL 407/507 Seminar

Credits to be arranged

AL 408/508 Workshop

Credits to be arranged

AL 409/509 Practicum

Credits to be arranged

AL 510 Selected Topics in Arts and Letters

Credits to be arranged