Mission Statement and Values

Mission

The program for the study of Screen Arts (SCRN) integrates the study of the history, theory, and practice of film and media arts. Since 1995, the program's mission has been to integrate curricula drawn from across disciplines in theories, histories, and practices. Today, SCRN continues this mission into the future. With curricula, faculty, and students from across disciplines, the Program is now entering its 29th year of providing a complete approach to the study of film and media arts.

SCRN offers a variety of subjects for students, including history of cinema, national and international cinemas, film genres, film and media theory, video art, screenwriting, media in popular culture, the rhetoric and aesthetics of visual communication, and digital video production. Many full film programs institutionalize practice in pre-professional degree programs. Liberal arts programs in film and media arts, on the other hand, usually lack practical components. SCRN combines the best of these programs, adapting digital video practice as a complement to its sophisticated curricula in history, theory, and culture.

Values

In uniting the practice of filmmaking with the scholarly study of its history, aesthetics, and culture, SCRN has taken the lead in developing curricula and facilities to enhance visual and media literacy. Students are prepared to take their place as leaders in a field specifically targeted for economic, social, and cultural development in this state--the Film and Media Arts/Screen Arts industries. Adhering to its overall mission and values, the Program works to follow and support the goals of the University in its strategic pursuit of undergraduate learning through and research in all facets of the film, video, and digital media worlds. The Program thus mirrors LSU's role as a Research Intensive institution, providing education that emphasizes a complete undergraduate experience so as to teach the unique facets and demands of this complex art form and industry.