Welcome to Cornish College of the Arts

This course provides instruction and practice in effective communication and a foundation in college-level academic writing. The course will emphasize the significance of audience and purpose, genre and context, syntax and grammar, as well as the study of various forms of writing, to achieve effective communication. The course is writing intensive and includes revision. HS 111 meets 3 credits of the College Writing Requirement and creates a foundation for future study by assisting students with the development of college-level skills, particularly in reading, writing, research, critical thinking, and communication.

The second in a sequence with HS 111. Writing and Analysis II provides instruction and practice in effective communication and a foundation in college-level academic writing and research. The course emphasizes reading, analyzing, and writing texts that engage scholarly and creative conversation. Students are introduced to the values and practices of academic and artistic research, and focus on skill-building and flexibility across audiences and genres. It includes collaboration with the Writing Center and Library instruction in locating and evaluating sources. This course meets 3 credits of the College Writing Requirement and creates a foundation for future study by assisting students with the development of college-level skills, particularly in reading, writing, research, critical thinking, and communication.

Creative Writing: Short Fiction
Liz Burnham

This course is an exploration of the art and craft of creative writing, with a focus on short fiction. By reading and writing short stories, students will sharpen their critical eyes as readers and hone their skills as writers. They will examine elements of craft including narrative structure, point of view, setting, and character, and consider how writers create stories of strong emotional impact. Working as a learning community, the class will support, criticize, and brainstorm about one another’s projects through the process of generating ideas, drafting, revising, and polishing, while engaging in critical reflection about the art of fiction.

Anatomy and Physiology
Dr Jack deLap

Satisfies General Education Biological and Physical Sciences (B) requirement. Introduction to Human Anatomy and Physiology is designed to provide students with a basic understanding of the structure and physiology of the human body. Body systems are studied with an emphasis on the interrelationships between structure and function at the gross and microscopic levels of organization. Topics include: integumentary system; skeletal system; muscular system; nervous system and special senses; blood and the cardiovascular system; immune system; respiratory system; digestive system and metabolism; urinary system and fluid and electrolyte balance, endocrine system, reproductive system. Unifying themes include: homeostasis (health and disease), structure-function relationships, communication and energy use, and perceptions of society.

Contemporary American  Literature
Angel Garduno

What does it mean to be an American? In this course, students will explore individual and group identity in contemporary American literature, reading fiction by African American, Asian American, LatinX, and Native American writers. With a focus on close reading and literary analysis, the course will examine narrative strategies and consider the themes of belonging and difference that animate these great works.

Performance Art: Theory and History
Guillaume Tourniaire

This course is based on lectures and readings in the history and theory of performance art. The objective of the course is to acquaint the student with the historical record of production and theory so they will be informed of the fundamental principles that both produce and evaluate performance art. An additional goal is that students will be conversant in contemporary issues and intellectual foundations currently developing in performance art theory. During the last three weeks of the course, students will present brief performances. Content and reading list vary by term.

Art of Living
Raymond Maxwell

Most humans struggle with four basic questions: Is existence meaningful, absurd, or both?; How should I live my life? And does it even matter how I live my life?; Do I need other people? If so, why? And how do others fit into my life?; and What does death mean, if anything? In this course we will begin to explore these basic questions and look at some of the ways others have answered them.

Wildlife in film
Dr Jack de Lap

Humanity’s need to explore, comprehend and represent wild animals is evident in art, music, literature, and not least of all, cinema. The wildlife/nature documentary has been proliferating of late, spawning numerous feature length films and countless hours of video content for public, network and cable television. How do we assess their scientific credibility? What is the political agenda behind a given wildlife documentary, and how likely is this medium to affect the filmmaker’s desired outcome? Is there a narrative boundary, or limit to ‘creative license’, when depicting environmental ‘reality’? This course will draw on a range of wildlife films and associated readings (film criticism, wildlife & ecological science, environmental politics, the creative/editing process) to provide a framework for investigating the value of this genre to inform, conserve and inspire.

Psychology of Artistic Self
Dannielle Whiley

As the world around us becomes more connected through technology and at the same time more diverse, we often find ourselves reflecting on what means to simply “be” in a pluralistic society. This course will examine how we develop as individuals and artists in today’s global and diverse society. Through a survey of developmental theories will examine cognitive, moral and racial identity development and how art intersects and influences developmental stages. Through in-class discussions, reflection papers, and a final project this class will contemplate how one as an artist and an individual develops and contributes to the various communities s/he lives in and moves through.

Liminality
Dr Lauren Basson

Liminality refers to an in-between state, a time when we are no longer who we were and on the threshold of who we will become. Beginning with the contributions of anthropologist Victor Turner, this course will explore multiple manifestations of liminality through the lenses of literature and social science. We will consider rites of passage, including coming of age ceremonies and initiation into new statuses such as patient, soldier and student. We will examine the intersections between liminality and cross-cultural experiences, including immigration. We will delve into the concept of communitas, the tight bonds that often form among people undergoing a liminal experience together. We will probe the relationship between liminality and marginalized identities such as that of the artist. Through writing, reading and discussion, we will develop new insights into this important concept and how it might be applied.