Ontario College of Art & Design

Course Calendar

COURSE DESCRIPTION

VISC 3B38
Advertising and the Art of Persuasion
0.50 Credit(s)
Academic Course
Prerequisite: 7.5 credits, including 1.0 credit of second-year liberal studies (including 0.5 VISC credit).
This course traces the evolution of advertising as a form of communication and professional practice from its origins in the 1800s to its modern and contemporary iterations. Through an examination of historical case-studies from both North American and international contexts, and critical analyses drawn from various perspectives (including semiotics, discourse analysis, communication and media theory), this course explores advertising as a cultural field both reflecting and contributing to broader social, political and economic developments. Among other topics, we may consider connections between advertising, industrialization and technological developments, the rise of the mass media, propaganda and political activism, colonialism and globalization, and gender politics.
Anti-requisite: Students who previously took ACAD 3B38 may not take this course for further credit.
Notes: Priority Registration for Advertising majors.


Course was last updated February 4, 2010 - 4:43 PM