Interdisciplinary Studies Minors under Consideration

With leadership from faculty members in the College of Liberal Arts, there are two interdisciplinary minors under consideration for approval – Cinema and Neuroscience.

Cinema Minor

The Cinema minor is at the heart of a growing international, interdisciplinary interest in media studies.  A minor in Cinema will give students the critical vocabulary and perspective with which to analyze motion pictures within larger artistic, cultural, historical, political, linguistic, and global contexts, as well as provide a greater understanding of and hands-on experience with cinema production, including screenwriting, acting, directing, producing, cinematography, and editing.  Because of the variety of cinema content, analysis, technology, and distribution a Cinema minor would complement almost any major.

Faculty members from art, English, history, modern languages, religious studies, Southern studies, and theatre arts are part of the effort to create the Cinema minor.  As currently proposed, students would take some courses in cinema production and some courses in cinema studies.  If approved, the minor might be available for Fall 2011.  For more information, contact Alan Arrivée, Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts and Director of Cinema at arrivee@olemiss.edu or 915-5816.

Neuroscience Minor

Faculty members from biology, chemistry, communicative disorders, exercise science, pharmacy, and psychology are working on an interdisciplinary minor in Neuroscience.  This minor will provide students with an understanding of the neural underpinnings of behavior and the treatment of psychological and neurological disorders caused by disruption of normal brain activity.  Students will be encouraged to take basic and advanced courses in pure and applied neuroscience from several departments.  Students from many different majors will find the scope of courses addressing brain and behavior enlightening and practical for their future careers. They will come to understand that neuroscience spans levels from the molecular to the psychological in both humans and other animals and learn how to apply theory to experimental or observational studies.   

For more information, contact Lainy Day, Assistant Professor of Biology and Director of Neuroscience at lainyday@olemiss.edu or 915-5444.