Visualizing Science & Technology

LSC 350

Visualizing Science & Technology explains the visual communication reasons underlying media design and how media messages work or fail. From perception to photojournalism, semiotics and media design, color theory, stereotypes and information processing. Each week students are introduced to visual or mass communication theories and then bring media examples to discuss the next session. Final presentations allow students to discuss visual theories to a topic they choose. NOTE: this is designated a "Z course," so it fulfills either social science or humanities requirement.

Course Objectives:
• to examine the principles of visual theory in media depictions of science and technology, health communication, strategic marketing, agriculture, animal and dairy science, genetics, environmental and wildlife ecology.  
• to think critically about visual communication across the media, from newspapers and magazines to video, information graphics and the web. 
• to understand the editing process underlying verbal-visual media messages.
• to support a class dialogue of diverse opinions and “ways of knowing”
across the media, the humanities and the social sciences.