Overview

Administratively housed in the Department of Art and Art History, the Graduate Program in Visual and Cultural Studies (VCS) offers an interdisciplinary doctoral degree drawing on coursework and faculty expertise in several University of Rochester humanities departments.

Because the primary faculty work in art and art history, film studies, modern languages and cultures, and anthropology, students are able to relate literary and cultural theory to visual culture, and to investigate the connections between cultural productions, critical theory, and society. Students may also take courses in areas like history, English, music, and philosophy.

For general information about graduate studies at the University of Rochester, see the Graduate Studies Bulletin.

VCS Graduate Conference

The VCS graduate conference is organized periodically by students in the program. The conference brings together graduate students from a variety of fields, such as film studies, museum studies, art history, and cultural anthropology, in accordance with the interdisciplinary approach of the program.

Participants come from institutions in the United States, Canada, and abroad, which provides an opportunity for intellectual exchange and contact with scholars from diverse academic and cultural backgrounds. Recent topics have included Interrogating SubculturesSubjects of Culture, and Environments and the Ecological Self.

InVisible Culture: An Electronic Journal for Visual Culture

The purpose of InVisible Culture, a peer-reviewed online journal, is to provide a forum for critical approaches to the production and analysis of cultural objects. The journal features essays and art projects that address contemporary issues within visual studies.

In an effort to encourage lively discussions and debates, the publication entertains a wide spectrum of methodological and disciplinary approaches (including postcolonial, feminist, Marxist, psychoanalytic, queer theories, and more) being applied to the study of visual culture.

The journal is edited by VCS graduate students and includes essays by scholars (students and faculty) from the US and abroad.