Mar 28, 2024  
2016-2017 HillBook (Class of 2020) 
    
2016-2017 HillBook (Class of 2020) [ARCHIVED HILL BOOK]

Course Descriptions


 

Theatre Arts

  
  • VPT 302 - Directing

    Three Credits
    Alternate Years: Spring 2018, 2020

    Analysis and interpretation of play scripts; creating visual imagery; basic blocking techniques; coaching of actors; and the process of producing a play from auditions through performance.

    Prerequisite(s): VPT 110 , VPT 182 , VPT 203 , or   or consent of the Instructor.
  
  • VPT 306 - Introduction to Playwriting

    Three Credits
    Fall Semester

    Participants will be putting pen to paper with weekly writing assignments covering the basic concepts of playwriting; characterization, dialogue and plot development. This will be an active participation class with students sharing and talking about their own and each other’s work in class as they develop their scenes and one act dramas.

    Course may be applied to the English major or minor or Creative Writing minor.
  
  • VPT 310 - Transformation: Designing for the Stage

    Three Credits
    Not Offered 2016-2017

    The theatre combines storytelling with visual and oral representation. In theatrical design, message and medium are guided by a script. Explore how both costume and set designers use angles, colors and textures to convert the written word into visual images.

    No previous art training necessary.
    May apply this course to the Studio Arts program.
  
  • VPT 315 - Make-up for the Stage

    Three Credits
    Not Offered 2016-2017

    This course introduces students to the basic concept of make-up design as an illusionary technique in the performing arts. A combination of character study, painting, lighting and 3-D design will be emphasized.

    May apply this course to the Studio Arts program.
  
  • VPT 320 - Dramaturgy

    Three Credits
    Not Offered 2016-2017

    A dramaturg is someone who knows his/her way around a rehearsal room and a library. This course will be a practicum of the skills of a dramaturg; touching on production dramaturgy, literary management, and educational dramaturgy. Some of the things practiced will include a discovery of how seasons are constructed, how playwrights can be assisted in new play development, what kind of research is useful for directors and actors in preparing a production, and what kind of information to give audiences and how best to convey it.

    Course may be applied to the English Major or Minor.
  
  • VPT 324 - Medieval Theatre: Staging the Divine

    Three Credits
    Not Offered 2016-2017

    Similar to ancient Greece, medieval drama originated spontaneously in ceremonial acts of worship. The Catholic Church which had originally declared its hostility to the theatre, eventually became its advocate and sponsor. The study of the plays and their theatrical presentation helps to illuminate medieval life and faith, and how theatre served as rite, education and entertainment.

    Fulfills the Catholic Intellectual Traditions requirement.
  
  • VPT 331 - Topics in Theatre Arts I

    Three Credits
    Fall and Spring Semesters

    Students are given the opportunity for further study in selected areas of design and technical production for the stage. Topics will vary.

     

    May be repeated four times as long as topics differ.

  
  • VPT 332 - Topics in Theatre Arts II

    Three Credits
    Fall and Spring Semesters

    Students explore different subjects in dramatic literature and theatre history along with further studies in performance, directing, dramaturgy, and playwriting. Topics will vary.

    May be repeated four times as long as topics differ.
  
  • VPT 405 - Theatre Practicum

    Three Credits
    Fall and Spring Semesters

    Allows students who have shown significant interest and expertise to take on creative and managerial responsibilities in the areas of performance, directing, dramaturgy, design, playwriting, and technical aspects of production.

    Prerequisite(s): Permission of the Program Director.
  
  • VPT 475 - Internship in Theatre Arts

    Three Credits or more
    Fall and Spring Semesters

    Opportunity for the qualified student to work in a professional theatre environment. Interested students contact Program Director.

    Must complete the “U.S. Internship Request for Approval” process found under the myPlans tab in myHill to register for this Internship.
  
  • VPT 496 - Independent Research

    Three Credits
    Fall and Spring Semesters

    Opportunity for upper-level students to do an advanced research project or investigation in a field of special interest not covered by a normally-scheduled course. The student and a full-time faculty member familiar with the student’s area of interest agree on a plan of study and research and on evaluation methods. Before registering, the student must obtain the signatures of the faculty director and the Program Director.


Writing

  
  • WRI 041 - Writing Practicum

    One Credit
    Fall and Spring Semesters

    A practical introduction to all aspects writing process, including brainstorming, outlining, drafting, organizing, constructing and supporting a thesis, critiquing, revising, editing, and proofreading. This workshop, designed for the new college writer, will sharpen skills and build confidence for the many writing tasks lie ahead

    This course may be taken twice.
  
  • WRI 110 - Writing in New Media (First-Year Seminar)

    Four Credits
    Not Offered 2015-2016

    Let’s face it, writing in the 21st century is accomplished online. This course explores reading and writing across social media and other web spaces through genre study, cultural analysis, and real-world practice. Through posts, tweets, blogs, emails, and texts students will hone valuable skills necessary in the twenty-first century workplace and in everyday life.

    Prerequisite(s): Open to First-Year Students only.
    Fulfills the First-Year Seminar Requirement.
    This course provides enhanced writing support.
    Course may be applied to the American Studies program.

     

  
  • WRI 111 - The Supernatural in Contemporary Popular Culture (First-Year Seminar)

    Four Credits
    Fall Semesters

    We live in a world haunted by the fantastic. Vampires, werewolves, witches, fairies, ghosts, and even caped crusaders invade our everyday lives through entertainment media and advertising. This course will look at how these familiar creatures evolved and what they can teach us about history, culture, and ourselves.

    Prerequisite(s): Open to First-Year Students only.
    Fulfills the First-Year Seminar Requirement.
    This course provides enhanced writing support.
    Course may be applied to the American Studies program.
  
  • WRI 113 - Has Science Disproved God? (First-Year Seminar)

    Four Credits
    Not Offered 2015-2016

    The motion of the earth, evolution, the Big Bang, the multi-verse, naturalistic moral theories, and other scientific ideas have challenged traditional beliefs about God. Through discussion, exploration, and in-depth analyses of writings on science, students will explore the relationship between science and culture, especially religion.

    Prerequisite(s): Open to First-Year Student only.
    Fulfills the First-Year Seminar and the Natural Scientific Inquiry Requirements.
    This course provides enhanced writing support.
  
  • WRI 114 - Writing Nature: The Climate Change Controversy (First-Year Seminar)

    Four Credits
    Not Offered 2015-2016

    Climate change is as much an idea that can be studied through culture as it is a physical phenomenon that can be observed and quantified. Thus, rather than beginning with technological or scientific questions about how to solve climate change, this course will ask: why do we disagree about climate change?

     

    Prerequisite(s): Open to First-Year Student only.
    Fulfills the First-Year Seminar and the Cornerstone Natural Scientific Inquiry Requirements.
    This course provides enhanced writing support.

  
  • WRI 131 - Topics in Writing

    Three Credits
    Offered Periodically

    Provides students with a themed introduction to expository writing.  Designed for students who wish to practice and develop the essential skills of writing, critical reading, and textual analysis at the college level. Instructors provide extensive feedback on assignments, helping students to gain more confidence with grammar, sentence structure, and the writing process as a whole.

    Typically offered as a 2-week Summer course.
  
  • WRI 141 - Introduction to College Writing (First-Year Seminar)

    Four Credits
    Fall and Spring Semesters

    This workshop-based course is designed for students who wish to practice and develop the essential skills of writing, critical reading, and textual analysis at the college level. Instructors provide extensive feedback on assignments, helping students to gain more confidence with grammar, sentence structure, and the writing process as a whole.

    Prerequisite(s): Open to First-Year Students only.
    Fulfills the First-Year Seminar Requirement.
    This course provides enhanced writing support.
  
  • WRI 142 - American Popular Culture (First-Year Seminar)

    Four Credits
    Fall Semester

    This seminar is an introduction to academic writing for English Language Learners. Addressing a variety of American popular culture themes students will learn how to analyze and interpret a wide variety of cultural texts while practicing college-level discussion, essay writing, critical reading, and textual analysis. This course will emphasize the writing process, academic argument, grammar, and mechanics. Students will receive extensive feedback on their writing from the instructor and from peers.

    Fulfills the First-Year Seminar requirement.
    This course provides enhanced writing support.
  
  • WRI 147 - Poetry Lab on Metaphor

    Three Credits
    Fall Semester

    An examination of the nature of metaphor in language and the function of metaphor in creative writing, especially students’ own work. Analysis of the precise nature of the difference between metaphor and analogy, metaphor and sign, metaphor and symbol. Exploration of how poets – and writers in general – contextualize and materialize metaphor, focusing on metaphor as a vehicle of discovery in the work of Atwood, Dickinson, Shakespeare, and Garcia-Lorca.

  
  • WRI 241 - The Art of the Essay (First-Year Seminar)

    Four Credits
    Fall and Spring Semesters

    In this workshop-based course students will sharpen their writing skills in a rigorous yet supportive workshop setting; explore the flexibility and versatility of the essay form in a variety of rhetorical contexts; and prepare a final portfolio of revised writing that demonstrates mastery of the essay form.

    Prerequisite(s): Open to First-Year Students only.
    Fulfills the First-Year Seminar Requirement.
    This course provides enhanced writing support.
  
  • WRI 246 - Reading and Writing Diverse Lives (First-Year Seminar)

    Four Credits
    Fall Semesters

    An exploration of the autobiographical essay as a form of cultural critique.  A critical analysis of how writers use their life experiences to examine the challenges inherent in the cultural diversity of American democracy.  In addition to reading and analyzing autobiographical essays, this course will serve as an introduction to the craft of life writing.

    Prerequisite(s): Open to First-Year Students only.
     
    Fulfills the First-Year Seminar Requirement.
    This course provides enhanced writing support.
  
  • WRI 251 - Who Wins? Writing about Sports Rivalries

    Three Credits
    Summer

    Red Sox or Yankees? This course explores sports rivalries in American literature and popular culture, probing social, ethical, and political aspects while sharpening students’ skills in writing, textual analysis, and public presentation. Emphasis will be placed on the position of sports rivalries within a wider cultural context, critical inquiry, and the writing process.

    Course may be applied to the American Studies and Sports, Science & Society programs.
  
  • WRI 261 - Violence and Peace in God’s Name

    Three Credits
    Spring Semester

    An inquiry into how religious texts can be exploited to cultivate war or nurture peace. Through the multiple lenses of literature, history, and theology, the course examines the Catholic philosophical concept of a “just war,” as it has been theorized from Aquinas and Augustine, and its influence on modern theologians and philosophers of war, pacifism, and socio-political justice.

    Fulfills the Catholic Intellectual Traditions requirement.
  
  • WRI 299 - Topics in Writing (First-Year Seminar)

    Four credits
    Offered Periodically

    Provides students with an opportunity to explore an engaging topic or question in a small-class format emphasizing writing, discussion, critical thinking, and academic inquiry.

    Fulfills the First-Year Seminar requirement.
  
  • WRI 369 - Tutoring Writing: Theory & Practice

    Three Credits
    Fall Semester

    In this course, students will prepare to become peer tutors in the Writing Center. They will develop tutoring skills by analyzing theoretical and research articles from professional journals, by applying the theory and research results to their own writing in process and the writing of other students, and by observing and participating in the Writing Center one hour a week.

    Prerequisite(s): Faculty recommendation or permission of the instructor.
  
  • WRI 371 - Topics in Writing: Writing-in-the-Disciplines

    Four credits
    Offered Periodically

    Provides students with an advanced writing-intensive experience focused on individual disciplines and professional writing within particular fields.  Students explore the rhetorical, genre conventions, and ways of knowing relevant field, topic, or question featured in the course.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of a First-Year Seminar.
    Fulfills the Writing-in-the-Disciplines requirement.
  
  • WRI 399 - Professional Writing (WID)

    Four Credits
    Spring Semester

    This course provides students with a practical foundation for professional writing and communication in business and technical fields, such as engineering, accounting, finance, government, and computer science and covers written, oral and electronic communication in a wide variety of genres: letters, memos, texts, PowerPoint presentations, speeches, posters, investigative journalism, collaborative reports, proposals, and social media.  Frequent short assignment, labs, and a final project related to a chosen discipline are required.

    Prerequisite(s): Must have fulfilled the First-Year Seminar Requirement.
    Fulfills the Writing-in-the-Disciplines Requirement.
     
  
  • WRI 401 - Writing-in-the-Disciplines Supplement

    One Credit
    Fall Semesters

    Through co-enrollment with a discipline-based course bearing at least 3 credits, the Writing-in-the-Disciplines (WID) Supplement course allows instructors to modify a non-WID course to fulfill the Cornerstone WID requirement. Each course modified with the WID Supplement requires a minimum of 20 pages of writing, for which students have the opportunity to revise with feedback from instructors and peers.

    Prerequisite(s):  

    Writing Program Director approval required.
    Fulfills the Writing-in-the-Disciplines requirement.

  
  • WRI 441 - Topics in Rhetorical Criticism (WID)

    Four Credits
    Spring Semester

    This course will focus on enhancing students’ abilities to critically analyze and respond to public messages found in political speaking, public advocacy, popular culture, and visual and new media narratives that appear throughout the digital world. Students will learn and apply effective writing techniques throughout the term and explore both on-line and traditional prose styles.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of the First-Year-Seminar requirement.
    Fulfills the Writing-in-the-Disciplines requirement. (This is a particularly good option for students in American Studies, Catholic Studies, Cinema Studies, Creative Writing, Environmental Studies, Environmental Science, and Journalism.)

    May not receive credit for both WRI 441 and

     .

 

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