Visual and Environmental Studies

The principal educational goal of the department of Visual and Environmental Studies is to provide students in a liberal arts college with an opportunity to gain an understanding of visual quality and expression through both study and practice. The aim is to achieve an understanding of the structure and meaning of the visual arts and culture through practical and theoretical explorations of media such as drawing, film, painting, performance, photography, printmaking, sculpture, sound, video and writing. In addition to offering a regular concentration in these areas, the department also offers students the opportunity to explore VES as a secondary field. Specifically, the secondary field offerings reflect the department's diversity by providing students with four distinct areas of focus. In each area a total of six courses are required; however, each area has its own set of requirements and students may choose only one area when filing for a secondary field.

REQUIREMENTS
6 half-courses

Environmental Studies

Environmental Studies designates multi-disciplinary analysis of two- and three-dimensional spatial contexts altered or created by people. Examples range from the very large scale (theaters of warfare, rural regions, continental coastal zones) to mid-scale (cities, suburbs, resort islands, wheat ranches) to small-scale (neighborhoods, parks, yards, film sets) to micro media, and virtual reality, including the non-manifest imagination.

1. Students choosing this secondary field option should ordinarily enroll first in VES 107.
2. Possible courses include VES 107, 160, 166 and 167; VES 182, 184, and 185; ENG-SCI 6 and 103.
3. In addition, courses taken at the GSD as well as other relevant courses taken at the college may be acceptable.
4. Please consult Professor John Stilgoe (617-495-1949) for other possible courses to fulfill a secondary field in environmental studies.

Film/Video

Visual and Environmental Studies offers a secondary field in film/video production. Courses in film, video and animation may be arranged in any combination to maximize each student's interests. This field is imagined to be of particular value as a complement to disciplines that include the study of culture-such as anthropology or area studies-where the moving image can be used as a tool for observation and research.

1. Four VES courses in film or video making.
2. Two courses in the history or theory of the moving image.

Film Studies

Visual and Environmental Studies offers a secondary field in film studies for students wishing to explore the history and aesthetics of moving image media in conjunction with other disciplines in the arts and humanities.

1. Literature and Arts B-11: The Art of Film. (Please note: Only one Core class may count toward a secondary field and the Core. Literature and Arts B-11 is a required course for a film studies secondary field.)
2. VES 71: Silent Cinema or VES 72: Sound Cinema.
3. One course in film theory.
4. Three additional courses in film studies chosen from an approved list.

Courses in film theory and other approved film studies courses may be obtained from the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Film Studies and on the Film Studies web site: www.fas.harvard.edu/~filmstud/.

Studio

1. Four studio courses (of the student's choosing) in drawing, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and video/installation art. Studio courses in film making and video can also count.
2. Two lectures or seminars in art history or theory, ordinarily offered by the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies. Art history or theory courses offered in the Department of History of Art and Architecture may also be counted.

OTHER INFORMATION

1. Limited Enrollment Courses: Courses in the studio arts and film/video production are, of necessity, small and intensive, and priority is given to concentrators. Additionally, some courses in environmental studies also have an enrollment limit. Students wishing to pursue any of these areas as a secondary field are welcome to apply to limited-enrollment classes but will not be given preferential access to them.
2. Pass/Fail: All secondary field courses must be taken for a letter grade with the exception of a Freshman Seminar given by a VES faculty member. There is no minimum grade for counting courses for the secondary field.
3. Summer School/Study Abroad: Harvard Summer School and study abroad courses taught by department faculty may count towards the secondary field. Students may petition the department to count, at most, one related study abroad or summer school course taught by non-department faculty by submitting a Course Requirement Substitution Form, available in the department office or on the department's website www.ves.fas.harvard.edu. Approval occurs after the course is completed and the syllabus and work are reviewed by the Director of Undergraduate Studies. It is therefore advisable to check with the Director of Undergraduate Studies before making plans.
4. Up to one related cross-listed course may count toward the secondary field.
5. Students can see sample secondary field courses of study on the VES department website: www.ves.fas.harvard.edu.

ADVISING RESOURCES AND EXPECTATIONS

In addition to informational meetings at the start of each term, to which all students are invited, advising is done by regular faculty as well as the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Robb Moss (robbmoss@fas.harvard.edu); Manager of Academic Programs; and for those students focusing on Film Studies, Director of Undergraduate Studies for Film Studies, Professor JD Connor (jdconnor@fas.harvard.edu).

Students are not required to notify the department if they are doing a secondary field; however, to be added to the department's mailing list, to receive information about courses and events in the department, and to receive information about special advising hours, students should attend one of the information sessions or inform the program using the secondary fields web tool.