Communication Arts

The Communication Arts Department offers a major in communication arts with emphases in Media Studies or Writing, and a third track in Film Studies completed off-campus. The communication arts major engages culture-shaping media from the perspectives of a Christian worldview. Our major develops theoretical foundations for understanding and evaluating communication as well as skills for communicating artfully. We focus on the relationship between culture and communication; process, creator-audience connection, motivation, content-form connection, and power are all central concerns. While emphasizing both critique & creativity, the faculty works to:

• Equip students intellectually and creatively to resist uncritical conformity to popular communication trends
  
• Nurture students to be agents of transformation through skillful, intentional participation with popular media.

COURSE OF STUDY
Theory and practice make up the foundations courses for the communication arts major. You'll have the opportunity to join conversations about the nature of communication throughout history. By studying theory, ethics, and critical approaches, we explore how communication and art are essential to what it means to be wholly human, in God's image. Courses in the practice part of the program provide a controlled environment where you can experiment with the "how" of this discipline, in speech, writing, and visual communication. In its application section, the curriculum emphasizes two broad communication forms:

Media Studies
Focuses on image-oriented media, particularly film, video, broadcast, the internet and other mass media.

Writing
Concentrates in writing including journalism and advertising/PR, or in creative writing areas such as scriptwriting and creative non-fiction. Requires a 4-credit internship to be completed sometime in the junior or senior year.

In addition, students have the option of applying to participate in the Film Studies track. A limited number of Gordon students are selected each year to participate in the Los Angeles Film Studies Center, a semester-long program based in California.

INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
The communication arts major supports a progressive internship program for these reasons:

• The best hands-on experience is gained by interacting with professionals in the field
• Ethical issues are more vividly appreciated in the context of real-life situations
• Issues of character such as conscience and commitment taught in the liberal arts curriculum are translated to the professional world.

Internships are available in a variety of settings including:

• Boston-area newspapers, radio and cable television
• Advertising and public relations
• Local film and video production companies

LEADERSHIP, CLUBS AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
You will have the opportunity to take on leadership roles in related extracurricular activities including editorial positions with the Tartan, the school newspaper; the Hypernikon, the Gordon yearbook; and the Idiom, a student literary magazine; mission group involvement, mentoring and student government. A number of department-based organizations including Gordon chapters of both the National Communication Association's student club and the national communications honor society are active on campus. In addition, the Gordon Film Society hosts film screenings and off-campus events throughout the year and produces an annual student and alumni film exhibition on campus.

THE GLOBAL EXPERIENCE
Time to pack your bags and books… You can choose among many semester, year, short-term or summer abroad programs around the globe through the Global Education Office (GEO). Tuition for the programs is the same as a regular semester or year on campus. Check out some of the opportunities popular with communications majors.

• Gordon in Boston
• LA Film Studies
• American Studies in Washington D.C.
• Latin American Studies Program

WHERE GRADS GO
Read brief biographies on Gordon Alum who graduated with a Communication Arts degree.
Read more... Grad Profiles

CONTACT INFORMATION
Department of Communication Arts
Gordon College
255 Grapevine Road
Wenham, MA 01984
USA

p: 978.927.2300 x4819
e: nathan.baxtergordon.edu