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This major focuses on how the fields of art and media operate within culture and how they transform it. Study formal, aesthetic and socio-cultural ways of understanding literature, visual art, film, music and other media.
An Arts, Media and Culture degree prepares students for a range of careers including publishing, the arts, media, museum work, public relations and public history. It is also appropriate for students pursuing broad cultural literacy, as well as for those planning to continue their education in advanced study in performing and visual arts or the humanities.
AMC students in the classroom, on an excursion, and in the theater arts studio
In this major you will:
- Cultivate insight unique to human beings and will be able to identify and explain interrelations among texts of apparently disparate discourses: literature, film and visual arts.
- Acquire the interpretive skills necessary to analyze individual texts of various kinds - literary, film, art, televisual, musical - closely and critically. Students will be not just literate but visually or audiovisually literate.
- Understand the importance of history and culture as they shape and are in turn shaped by arts and media.
- Gain practical experience in the creative processes of one of the arts or media studied in the major.
- Be able to express the knowledge and experience described in the items listed above in clear, concise and persuasive writing.
AMC faculty and students on a study abroad trip in Rome, Italy
Arts, Media, and Culture Degree Requirements
For Arts, Media, and Culture, you need to complete 60 credits, which must include a minimum of 30 credits of upper-division courses. Students choose one track to pursue.
Overall, 45 credits upper-division and 45 credits of IAS courses are required to meet degree requirements. You must earn a total of 180 quarter credits, or 225 quarter credits for a double degree, in order to earn a bachelor of arts degree in your chosen major.
All students are required to take TLIT 220 or TFILM 220.
Arts, Media, and Culture has five themed tracks. You can choose the track that best suits your educational and career goals. Each track has its own requirements and can be found on the appropriate checklist below.
For questions about the Arts, Media, and Culture major, contact an academic advisor.
TRACK I: LITERATURE
- 5 credits, Foundation (TLIT 220 or TFILM 220)
- 10 credits, History (List A: one survey class from the survey options and one additional history class apart from the survey options)
- 5 credits, Culture (List B)
- 5 credits, Interpretation (List C for Literature)
- 5 credits Practice/Studio (List D)
- 25 credits in Literature (List E)
- 5 credits from List F or List G (Film/Media or Visual and Performing Arts)
TRACK II: FILM AND MEDIA
- 5 credits, Foundation (TLIT 220 or TFILM 220)
- 10 credits, History (List A: one survey class from the survey options and one additional history class apart from the survey options)
- 5 credits, Culture (List B)
- 5 credits, Interpretation (List C for Film/Media)
- 5 credits, Practice/Studio (List D)
- 25 credits in Film and Media (List F)
- 5 credits in Literature or Visual and Performing Arts (List E or List G)
TRACK III: VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS
- 5 credits, Foundation (TLIT 220 or TFILM 220)
- 10 credits, History (List A: one survey class from the survey options and one additional history class apart from the survey options)
- 5 credits, Culture (List B)
- 5 credits, Interpretation (List C for Visual and Performing Arts)
- 15 credits, Practice/Studio (List D)
- 15 credits in Visual and Performing Arts (List G)
- 5 credits in Literature or Film and Media (List E or List F)
TRACK IV: COMPARATIVE ARTS
- 5 credits, Foundation (TLIT 220 or TFILM 220)
- 10 credits, History (List A: one survey class from the survey options and one additional history class apart from the survey options)
- 5 credits, Culture (List B)
- 10 credits, Interpretation (one class from two of the following: List C for Literature, List C for Film/Media, or List C for Visual and Performing Arts)
- 5 credits, Practice/Studio (List D)
- 25 credits in Literature; Film and Media; or Visual and Performing Arts (List E-G, with at least 5 credits from each list)
TRACK V: AMERICAN CULTURES
- 5 credits, Foundation (TFILM 220 or TLIT 220)
- 10 credits, History: one class from List A in AMC; and one of the following: THIST 220, 221, 320, 340, 349, or TLAX 333
- 25 credits, Culture (List B): take 25 credits from List B, which would be 5 courses that you have not taken for the sake of another requirement elsewhere in the major.
- 5 credits, Interpretation:One of these: TAMST 120, 210, 220, or 250
- 5 credits, Practice/Studio (List D)
- 10 credits, Complete any 10 credits from Lists E, F, or G in AMC.
Students in all tracks must take 10 credits from List A, 5 of which must be from the Survey options and 5 of which must be from Additional History options.
Survey options: choose 5 credits from this list
- THIST 150 World History I: Prehistory-1500
- THIST 151 World History II: 1500-Present
- THIST 200 American History I, 1607-1877
- THIST 201 American History II 1877-present
Additional History options: choose 5 credits from this list
- THIST 220 African American History 1619-1865
- THIST 221 African-American History 1865-1945
- THIST 222 African-American History 1945-Present
- THIST 260 World Empires
- THIST 341 African-American History
- THIST 365 Europe in the Twentieth Century
- THIST 375 British Empire
- THIST 462 History of Vietnam
- THIST 463 Premodern Japan
- THIST 464 Modern China
- THIST 465 Modern Japan
- THIST 466 Modern Korea
- THIST 474 Imperial China
- THIST 475 Twentieth-Century Britain
- THIST 479 Modern European Culture
- THIST 487 Technology in the Modern World
- THIST 495 The Metropolis
- TLAX 333 US Latino Histories
- TWOMN 345 Women and Work in the United States
Courses in this list set the study of arts and media in broad cultural or social contexts. Students in all tracks are required to take 5 credits.
- TAMST 101 American Art, Place & Space
- TAMST 120 Mythic America
- TAMST 210 American Cultures and Perspectives: Class, Ethnicity, Gender and Race
- TAMST 220 Introduction to Popular Culture
- TAMST 250 Science Fiction in American Culture
- TAMST 260 Introduction to Queer Studies
- TAMST 350 American Food Studies
- TAMST 410 Studies in U.S. Popular Culture
- TAMST 420 Drugs and U.S. Culture
- TAMST 430 Queer Performances
- TAMST 450 Monstrous Imagination
- TANTH 354 History of the Concept of Culture
- TEGL 112 Introduction to Indigenous Studies
- TEGL 201 Introduction to Indigenous Philosophy
- TEGL 310 Intersectional Feminisms
- TEGL 340 Intersections: Race, Gender, and Sexuality in a Global Perspective
- TEGL 380 Gender and Sexuality across culture and historical contexts
- TEGL 419 African-American Culture and Consciousness
- THIST 356 History of Christianity
- THIST 365 Europe in the Twentieth Century
- THIST 470 The Material World: Art and Artifacts
- THIST 478 Revolution, Industrialization and Modernity in European Culture (1780-1900)
- THIST 479 Modern European Culture
- TLAX 225 Latinx/a/o Cultural Expressions
- TLAX 238 Latinos in the United States (formerly THISP 238)
- TLAX 380 Latinx Sexualities
- TLAX 400 Afro-Hispanic Culture
- TLAX 462 Women in Latin America (formerly THISP 462)
- TPHIL 350 Contemporary Search for Meaning
- TPHIL 355 The Modern Mind
- TPHIL 358 History of Philosophy: Medieval and Modern
- TPHIL 360 History of Philosophy: Modern and Contemporary
- TPHIL 361 Ethics and Society
- TPHIL 362 The Beautiful and the Good: Philosophy’s Quest for Value
- TPHIL 367 Utopias
- TPHIL 451 The Enlightenment
- TPHIL 466 Philosophy of the Future
- TPOLS 251 Cultural Studies
- TRELIG 210 Modern Theories of Religion (formerly TRELIG 305)
- TRELIG 350 Philosophy, Religion, and the Environment
- TRELIG 365 Hinduism and Buddhism
- TRELIG 366 Islam
- TWOMN 251 Popular Culture and Gender
- TWOMN 345 Women and Work in the United States
- TWRT 340 Asian American Rhetorics, Literacies, and Activism
Interpretation for Track I: Literature (List C):
This list includes courses that provide language and concepts for the critical study of texts and objects. Courses taken in this list cannot be double-counted to satisfy other requirements.
- TLIT 101 Understanding Literature (formerly TLIT 200)
- TLIT 210 Studies in American Literature
- TLIT 220 Literature and the Arts
- TLIT 230 Multi-Ethnic American Literature
- TLIT 237 Introduction to Literature and Environment
- TLIT 240 Studies in English Literature
- TLIT 251 Ancient Literature of Western Civilization
- TLIT 252 Medieval Literature of Western Civilization
- TLIT 253 Modern Literature of Western Civilization
Interpretation for Track II: Film & Media (List C)
This list includes courses that provide language and concepts for the critical study of texts and objects. Courses taken in this list cannot be double-counted to satisfy other requirements.
- TCOM 347 Television Criticism and Application
- TFILM 201 Film Studies (Formerly TFILM 272)
Interpretation for Track III: Visual and Performing Arts (List C)
This list includes courses that provide language and concepts for the critical study of texts and objects. Courses taken in this list cannot be double-counted to satisfy other requirements.
- TARTS 151 Fundamentals of Acting
- TARTS 200 Studio Foundation I: Contemporary Art Strategies
- TLIT 220 Literature and the Arts
- TFILM 220 Film and the Arts
Interpretation for Track IV: Comparative Arts (List C)
- Any two of the Lists C for Track I, II, or III, each from a different list.
- TARTS 151 Fundamentals of Acting
- TARTS 200 Studio Foundation I: Contemporary Art Strategies
- TARTS 203 Body Image and Art
- TARTS 240 Landscape in Contemporary Art
- TARTS 252 Introduction to Stage Directing
- TARTS 266 The Artist as Visionary
- TARTS 280 3-D Art & Contemporary Approaches to Sculpture
- TARTS 320 Improvisational Theater and Performance in Everyday Life
- TARTS 336 Glass Arts
- TARTS 367 Ideas Through Objects: A Conceptual Approach to Art
- TARTS 368 Human Figure in Contemporary Art
- TARTS 386 Contemporary Art and Studio Drawing
- TARTS 390 Site Specificity in Art
- TARTS 391 Reconstructing Self in Art
- TARTS 393 Urban Walking as Creative Practice
- TARTS 395 Community Arts Practice
- TARTS 402 Eco-Art: Art in Response to Environmental Crisis
- TARTS 404 Art in a Time of War
- TARTS 405 Cultural Identity and Art
- TARTS 406 Labor, Globalization and Art
- TARTS 407 Art and the Public
- TARTS 410 Community and Public Arts
- TCOM 348 Nonfiction Writing for Television **
- TCOM 349 News Writing **
- TCOM 351 Video Production
- TCOM 470 Documentary Production and Critique
- TCOM 471 Advanced Video Production **
- TCOM 486 Feature Writing for Print & Media **
- TFILM 350 Screenwriting **
- TFILM 450 Advanced Screenwriting: Writing the Feature
- TWRT 200 Introduction to Creative Writing **
- TWRT 270 Introduction to Writing Poetry ** (formerly TWRT 370)
- TWRT 280 Introduction to Creative Writing: Fiction ** (formerly TWRT 380)
- TWRT 287 Writing Creative Non-Fiction ** (formerly TWRT 387)
- TWRT 330 Written and Visual Rhetoric
- TWRT 333 Writing Through Comics **
- TWRT 360 Playwriting **
- TWRT 372 Writing Eco-Poetry **
- TWRT 382 Writing Popular Fiction **
- TWRT 384 Writing Historical Fiction ** (formerly TWRT 482)
- TWRT 388 Writing for Social Change ** (formerly TWRT 431)
- TWRT 470 Advanced Poetry Writing **
- TWRT 480 Advanced Fiction Writing **
(** denotes course counted as creative writing)
- TLAX 267 Introduction to Chicano/a Literature (formerly THISP 267)
- TLAX 277 Latin American Literature (formerly THISP 277)
- TLAX 355 Migration and Transnational Family in Latino Literature and Film (formerly THISP 355)
- TLAX 476 Latin American Women Writers (formerly THISP 476)
- TLIT 101 Understanding Literature (formerly TLIT 200)
- TLIT 210 Studies in American Literature
- TLIT 220 Literature and the Arts
- TLIT 230 Multi-Ethnic American Literature
- TLIT 237 Introduction to Literature and Environment
- TLIT 240 Studies in English Literature
- TLIT 251 Ancient Literature of Western Civilization
- TLIT 252 Medieval Literature of Western Civilization
- TLIT 253 Modern Literature of Western Civilization
- TLIT 305 American Literary Movements, Genres, and Historical Periods
- TLIT 306 Studies in Selected American Writers
- TLIT 311 Themes in American Literature
- TLIT 313 American Poetry
- TLIT 320 African American Literature from Slavery to the Present
- TLIT 324 African American Women's Literature
- TLIT 332 Asian American Literature
- TLIT 335 Middle Eastern American Literature
- TLIT 343 Shakespeare
- TLIT 351 Ancient Greek Tragedy (formerly TLIT 453)
- TLIT 352 Medieval Quests (formerly TLIT 455)
- TLIT 371 The World Stage
- TLIT 388 Cross Cultural Studies in Contemporary Women's Literature
- TLIT 390 Varieties of Literary Criticism
- TLIT 391 Science Fiction Literature
- TLIT 406 Children's and Young Adult Literature
- TLIT 425 Literature of the Harlem Renaissance
- TLIT 431 Contemporary Native American Women's Literature
- TLIT 432 American Indian Literature
- TLIT 433 Native American Literature and Federal Indian Law
- TLIT 458 Modern Novel
- TLIT 476 American Women's Literature: 19th & 20th Century Texts
- TSPAN 351 Introduction to Hispanic Literary Studies (in Spanish)
- TAMST 410 Studies in U.S. Popular Culture (formerly TCULTR 410)
- TAMST 450 Monstrous Imagination (formerly TCULTR 450)
- TCOM 201 Media and Society
- TCOM 221 Artificial Intelligence: Media, Culture, and Power
- TCOM 230 Globalization and Media
- TCOM 247 Television Studies
- TCOM 250 Media Activism
- TCOM 254 Communication History (formerly TCOM 354)
- TCOM 257 Ethical Issues in Mass Communications
- TCOM 258 Children and Television
- TCOM 310 Contemporary Environmental Issues and the Media
- TCOM 340 Global TV: Format, Genre, and Reception
- TCOM 343 Global Music Video
- TCOM 347 Television Criticism and Application
- TCOM 380 Political Economy of the Media (formerly TCOM 480)
- TCOM 430 Global Networks, Local Identities
- TCOM 440 Advertising and Consumer Culture
- TCOM 444 Gender, Ethnicity, Class and the Media
- TCOM 454 Communications Law
- TCOM 461 Media and Identity in Asia
- TCOM 470 Documentary Production & Critique
- TCOM 480 Critical Media Industry Studies
- TCOM 481 Communication Regulations & Policy
- TEGL 271 American Indians in Film
- TFILM 201 Introduction to Film Studies (Formerly TFILM 272)
- TFILM 220 Film and the Art
- TFILM 350 Screenwriting
- TFILM 377 Spanish Film (formerly THISP 377)
- TFILM 380 Hollywood Cinema I: Classical Hollywood Cinema 1930-1959 (formerly TFILM 280)
- TFILM 381 Hollywood Cinema II: Post-Classical Hollywood Cinema 1960-2000 (formerly TFILM 281)
- TFILM 386 Silent Cinema
- TFILM 387 World Film 1927-1959
- TFILM 388 World Film 1960-2000
- TFILM 434 Disability in Film (effective spring 2018)
- TFILM 436 Feminist Perspectives in Film and Literature
- TFILM 438 Gender, Sexuality and Film
- TFILM 444 Crime Narratives and Society
- TFILM 483 Film Directors
- TFILM 485 Media Genres
- TFILM 489 Screendance
- TFILM 499 Special Topics in Film
- TLAX 250 Latinos/as in the Media
- TLAX 376 Latin American Film (formerly THISP 376)
- TLAX 441 Mexican Cinema and Society (formerly THISP 441)
- TPOLS 350 Politics and Film in the Middle East
- TARTS 150 Introduction to Theatre
- TARTS 160 Introduction to Musical Theatre
- TARTS 225 Musical History of Tacoma
- TARTS 251 Intermediate Acting: Scene Study
- TARTS 281 Art and Culture in India
- TARTS 282 Art and Culture in China
- TARTS 283 Art and Culture in Japan
- TARTS 284 Art and Culture in the Pacific
- TARTS 311 History of Rock ‘n’ Roll
- TARTS 315 Music and Crisis
- TARTS 335 History of Photography
- TARTS 360 Women Artists from the Renaissance to the Present
- TARTS 364 Feminist Drama
- TARTS 371 Theatre History: Ancient Drama
- TARTS 372 Theatre History: World Drama through French Neoclassicism
- TARTS 373 Theatre History: Modern Drama
- TARTS 386 Contemporary Art and Studio Drawing
- TARTS 480 Contemporary Arts & Society (1945-Present)
- TFILM 489 Screendance
- THIST 333 Early American Music, Art, Literature and Theater
- THIST 377 Art of the Americas
- THIST 378 American Architecture (formerly THIST 226)
- THIST 379 Modern Architecture
- THIST 430 Introduction to Public History
- THIST 470 The Material World: Art and Artifacts
- THIST 478 Revolution, Industrialization and Modernity in European Art (1780-1900)
- THIST 479 Modern European Culture
- TLAX 465 Latin American Visual Arts (formerly THISP 465)
Maria-Tania Bandes B. Weingarden
Ellen Bayer
Vaughn Bell
Nicole Blair
Jewel Block
Tyler Budge
Ed Chamberlain
David Coon
Joanne Clarke Dillman
Kim Davenport
Pamela Krayenbuhl
Michael Kula
Alex Miller
Danica Miller
Andrea Modarres
Jennifer Myers Baran
Ariana Camacho Ochoa
Yixuan Pan
Emmett “Joe” Sharkey