Visual Culture Minor (VC)

The minor in Visual Culture provides students with an intensive education in visual histories and theories. Visual Culture minor students will become familiar with a range of visual forms, from the traditional fine arts to film and digital media, as well as with histories and theories of vision and visuality. Students will also learn essential skills of visual and media literacy through both close formal analysis of objects and contextualized readings that emphasize differences across history and geography. Visual Culture courses emphasize writing and critical reading of both written texts and images, including through practice-based courses taught by artists in residence, in order to help students to develop communication skills that can enhance their careers as scientists, engineers, and medical professionals. The Visual Culture minor also provides excellent preparation for those seeking careers in any field that involves extensive written, oral, and/or visual communication.

Visual Culture minors must take 72 units of Visual Culture courses. These units may include one first-year humanities course; they may also include one directed reading course (VC 90). Students wishing to do a minor in Visual Culture must declare a minor with the Visual Culture option representative. All courses to be counted toward the minor in Visual Culture must be taken for grades with the exception of: a) one directed reading course, and b) a first-year humanities course in Visual Culture when taken in the first two quarters of a first-year student’s first year. Students completing the Visual Culture minor requirements will have the phrase “minor in Visual Culture” added to their transcripts.

1. 72 units of Visual Culture courses numbered 99 or above.
2. Nine units of first-year humanities in Visual Culture (courses cross-listed Hum/VC numbered 60 or below) may be substituted for any nine of the 72 units required for the minor.
3. Nine units of VC 90 [directed reading] may be substituted for any nine of the 72 units required for the minor.
4. Nine units of Visual Culture courses numbered between 61 and 89 may be substituted for any nine of the 72 units required for the minor.

Courses used to complete the Visual Culture minor may not be used to satisfy the requirements of another option or minor. However, these courses may be used to satisfy core Institute requirements in the humanities.