The Media and Arts major captures the breadth of both media as a communications process and art as creative and documentary expressions. By exploring the history of media and arts as well as emerging technologies and cultures, students in this major will gain a depth of understanding that is broadly applicable to future life choices. Media studies might include communications studies, journalism, science, technology and society at the local, as well as national and global levels. Arts studies might address visual art in film, photography, and sound; music; theater; and literature. The intersection of media and arts will provide both a well-rounded foundation as well as the opportunity to immerse oneself in a particular field of study or practice.Understanding of media and the arts is foundational to the concept of interdisciplinarity that is the basis for a liberal arts education at Duke Kunshan University. On the one hand, exposure to the arts provides for the complete student: a well-rounded individual who is able to see the world in both its breadth and depth, thus creatively seeking, discovering and implementing solutions to global problems. In particular, the documentary arts intersect history with creativity; the understanding of cultural tradition with the artistic imagination. On the other hand, media literacy is not a luxury. In this interconnected world, it is a necessity. Students in this major will gain a more complete understanding of the evolution of media, broadly defined, and how the media and media systems of today interact with the institutions, individuals and ideas in society.The Media and Arts major has two tracks: 1) Art History and 2) Creative Practice. The Art History track provides a mixture of humanities and social science approaches to understanding media and arts, creating a foundation for work in the field or further graduate-level study. The Creative Practice track will focus on providing opportunities for students to create the media and arts that interest them, with a strong academic foundation.
