Twenty-first century culture is filled with visual images. Students encounter a daily barrage of imagery via social media, computer games, movies, television, and advertising – all created to capture their gaze and generate clicks, engagement, likes, and shares, yet they often lack visual literacy.

Three Neumann University faculty members believe that a contemporary definition of literacy must encompass not only verbal literacy, but visual literacy as well. 

They have launched a Film Studies minor to help students develop the visual literacy skills that are necessary to participate in the civic community and workforce of a society in which the visual image is vital to communication.

Bill Hamilton (English), Kerry Hustwit (Communication and Digital Media), and Jim Kain (Liberal Arts) collaborated for more than two years to develop the minor in which students will choose from a wide range of theory, genre, production, and special-topics courses.

“Visuals, television screens and film are the primary ways in which we all experience the world, and yet it’s secondary in the academic curriculum,” says Kain. “We haven’t provided guidance or instruction about how to interpret this visual language through which artists and documentarians are speaking to us.”

Hustwit agrees. “Images have the power to influence us and affect us emotionally, yet students are not educated about how to analyze images through an ethical lens.”

There’s even a civic component to visual literacy. To interpret edited and manipulated images, sometimes presented in political advertising, Hustwit believes that students need to understand the complexities of sound and video editing software.

The 18-credit minor offers two concentrations: Film Analysis (mainly English courses) and Film Production (mainly Communication and Digital Media courses).

Courses include Scriptwriting for Theater and Media, Advanced Video Production and Editing, Diversity in Film and Drama, and Documentary Production.

The goals of the program are to help students understand the basic techniques and elements of film, develop the critical thinking skills necessary to analyze film, comprehend the relationships between film and other art forms, and broaden their multi-cultural perspective with exposure to film from around the world.

Hustwit believes that the logical progression of the minor is to offer programs to the community through the Knightflix film club, which she organized and advises.

Student enthusiasm for this club is so high that the group asked Hustwit to continue to meet during the summer (yes, you read that correctly). The club has met every two weeks since spring classes ended.

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