LSC 350: Visualizing Science and Technology
Duration: 5 weeks
Credits: 3
Visuals, ranging from graphics, photographs, videos, animations to data visualizations, are being widely used to communicate scientific concepts and information. Content aside, the visual formats, including colors, shapes, aesthetics etc., may shape our processing and understanding of the conveyed message subconsciously. This course introduces the theoretical and practical principles of visual communication pertaining to science, environment, and agriculture. Throughout the semester, students will (1) identify and analyze visual representations of interested topics, (2) understand and explain their effectiveness in terms of illustrating, informing, and persuading, (3) offer and justify recommendations for visual design practices. Students will also learn to discern unethical manipulations of visuals, such as deepfakes, distorted data graphs, and fake photos. Each week, lectures introduce a visual theory from psychology, neuroscience, vision science, communication, or information science; student-led discussions then explore intriguing and visually appealing examples from mass media, exhibits or other venues.
LSC 350 is a five-week online-asynchronous course that runs from July 5 to Aug. 7, 2022, and is taught by LSC Graduate Student Shiyu Yang. This course fulfills UW-Madison’s Humanities or Social Science requirement.
Enroll now by following this link.