MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
Welcome to the Department of Visual Studies (DVS) at the University of Toronto Mississauga! We live in a world that is overflowing with images and where visual literacy has become of crucial and critical importance. That is why we have established this new and unique Department with its interdisciplinary approach to visual studies and its stress on the importance of both history and theory. Whether looking at an artistic masterpiece, the visual culture of the shopping mall, or the latest popular cult film, we are committed to understanding the meaning and the power of images and their impact on our lives.
We are pleased to offer our undergraduate students a range of programs emphasizing the fields of art and art history (specialist, major), art history (specialist, major, minor), visual culture and communication (specialist), and cinema studies (minor). Here, you can study with faculty members who are internationally recognized for their research and scholarship, and many of them are the recipients of awards for teaching excellence. Meanwhile, our joint program with Sheridan Institute in Art and Art History is celebrating its fortieth year. DVS is also the home of the award-winning Blackwood Gallery that hosts student exhibitions as well as curated and international travelling exhibitions.
Thank you for browsing our website. We hope that you will consider our course and program offerings and that you will participate in our events!
Louis Kaplan
Professor and Chair
Department of Visual Studies
