COMM 175
Criticism and Public Arts
Description: (Formerly numbered Communication Studies 175.) Lecture, four hours; discussion, one hour (when scheduled). Introduction to methods and problems of criticism in public arts. Study of several types of critical methods: formalistic, analogue, pragmatic, and aesthetic criticism. Topics include definition of art and criticism, aesthetic media, genre and resources of film, television, theater, and public discourse, varieties of critical method, problems of critical judgment. Letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2017 - I'm a south campus major and I took this class for easy upper division units. That being said, this class is interesting and it's super refreshing to listen to lectures given by someone who genuinely cares about educating young people (let's be honest, most math and science professors couldn't care less if undergraduates left their classes learning nothing valuable in the long run). If you're like me, you have no idea what "criticism and public arts" means, so here you go: this class focuses on concepts such as analyzing artworks based on form vs content (ie. how do you evaluate a technically brilliant work of art with a terrible message like the glorification of Nazi Germany?), taking a stand against the status quo, and critically evaluating the world we live in based on our conscience instead of what we have been led to believe our whole lives. You will read 2 books and watch 5 films (2 in class), and apply the concepts illustrated in these decades-old works to the society we live in today. There are two 6-7 page papers and a final quiz. The papers are easy to write as long as you have attended class and paid attention. The final quiz is a GIFT because you only have to answer 5/7 of the questions. If you get all 5 right your grade gets bumped up by 1/3, and if you get 4 right, your grade stays the same. Pretty good deal. My TA, Shey, was really great and assigned a "creative assignment" (you can literally do anything you want to present your understanding of topics covered in class) that also bumps you up 1/3 of a grade as long as you complete it. The downside to this class is that lectures are really long (3 hours, and this quarter it was from 5-8pm!), so it can be hard to stay focused the whole time even though it is interesting. He does give breaks halfway through which are helpful. Overall, I definitely recommend this class.
Fall 2017 - I'm a south campus major and I took this class for easy upper division units. That being said, this class is interesting and it's super refreshing to listen to lectures given by someone who genuinely cares about educating young people (let's be honest, most math and science professors couldn't care less if undergraduates left their classes learning nothing valuable in the long run). If you're like me, you have no idea what "criticism and public arts" means, so here you go: this class focuses on concepts such as analyzing artworks based on form vs content (ie. how do you evaluate a technically brilliant work of art with a terrible message like the glorification of Nazi Germany?), taking a stand against the status quo, and critically evaluating the world we live in based on our conscience instead of what we have been led to believe our whole lives. You will read 2 books and watch 5 films (2 in class), and apply the concepts illustrated in these decades-old works to the society we live in today. There are two 6-7 page papers and a final quiz. The papers are easy to write as long as you have attended class and paid attention. The final quiz is a GIFT because you only have to answer 5/7 of the questions. If you get all 5 right your grade gets bumped up by 1/3, and if you get 4 right, your grade stays the same. Pretty good deal. My TA, Shey, was really great and assigned a "creative assignment" (you can literally do anything you want to present your understanding of topics covered in class) that also bumps you up 1/3 of a grade as long as you complete it. The downside to this class is that lectures are really long (3 hours, and this quarter it was from 5-8pm!), so it can be hard to stay focused the whole time even though it is interesting. He does give breaks halfway through which are helpful. Overall, I definitely recommend this class.
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