FILM STUDIES CURRICULUM
Tailored to you
We offer a range of film studies and production courses so you can create a path that fits you. You can choose a program that emphasizes theory, one that emphasizes production, or one that finds a balance. You can make Film Studies what you want.
Simple and Flexible
The major in Film Studies consists of 11 courses, three of which are electives so you can individualize your experience in our major. The minor in Film Studies consists of six courses spread across our curriculum.
We offer a range of film studies and production courses so you can create a path that fits you. You can choose a program that emphasizes theory, one that emphasizes production, or one that finds a balance. You can make Film Studies what you want.
Simple and Flexible
The major in Film Studies consists of 11 courses, three of which are electives so you can individualize your experience in our major. The minor in Film Studies consists of six courses spread across our curriculum.
FILM STUDIES REQUIREMENTS
MAJOR IN FILM STUDIES (11 courses)
FLM 101 INTRO TO FILM STUDIES: HOW TO READ A FILM FLM 202 STUDIES IN FILM CULTURE Two courses in alternative cinemas Two courses in filmmaking and writing for film Two courses in theory and criticism Three "elective" courses from above categories (More on the requirements for the major in Film Studies) |
MINOR IN FILM STUDIES (6 courses)
FLM 101 INTRO TO FILM STUDIES: HOW TO READ A FILM FLM 202 STUDIES IN FILM CULTURE One course in alternative cinemas One course in filmmaking and writing for film One course in theory and criticism One "elective" course from above categories (More on the requirements for the minor in Film Studies) |
COURSE CATALOG DESCRIPTIONS
FILM STUDIES/THEORY COURSE OFFERINGS
FLM 101 INTRODUCTION TO FILM STUDIES: HOW TO READ FILM
An introduction to the concepts and methodology of film study as an academic discipline, to the development of film language and narrative conventions, connections between ideology and style, and categories of film form. Examples will be chosen from aesthetically and historically significant films. FLM 202 STUDIES IN FILM CULTURE Critical studies of the cultures of moving picture production and reception. Topics include celebrity and star studies, subculture and fan studies, the political economy of moving image production, theories of spectatorship, and the cultural consequences of various moving image technologies. FLM 203 ITALIAN IN THE MIDDLE AGES & FILMS From TV series like Game of Thrones and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, to video games like Dante’s Inferno and Assassin’s Creed, popular imagination loves to engage with ideas of the Middle Ages. Medieval times and texts are sources of fantasy tropes and historical revivals, filled with images that generate serious and ironic revisitations even today. But what are the modes through which our never-ending fascination feeds on the texts, the characters, and the stories of the medieval times? What are the preferred themes that creep along the cinematic world? How does cinema help us understand the Middle Ages? This course will focus on a selection of medieval and early modern texts of Italian, European, and Mediterranean circulation—or “medievally-inspired”— that nurtured the filmic and literary imagination of the past few decades. FLM 209 INTERSECTIONAL IDENTITIES IN AMERICAN FILM An examination of American film and moving image culture, tracing the representational politics and ideological issues that arise around notions of identity. Particular emphasis on how race, class, and ethnicity intersect in a diverse range of film and media forms. FLM 225 CONFUSION CINEMA: PUZZLE FILMS Some films are easy to digest, while others are mind-boggling. The course examines the formal aesthetics of film through the lens of the puzzle film, closely exploring films that are narratively, structurally, and stylistically complex. Such films play with time, manipulate space, and twist storytelling in novel ways. FLM 226 CINEMA AND REVOLUTION An examination of how has cinema played a role in rebellion and revolution across the globe. Focusing on revolutionary and guerrilla Latin American and Black American filmmaking - including industries, aesthetics and audiences - the course explores political outsider cinemas that have worked to create radical change in the world. FLM 255 DEATH/DESIRE: HORROR IN GERMAN CINEMA The films of Weimar Germany helped raise moving pictures to the status of a major form of modern art. This course considers the visual, thematic, and political characteristics of Weimar cinema, tracing their consequences into the present day. FLM 259 GERMAN FILM NOW An examination of major trends in contemporary German filmmaking since 2000, with emphasis on representations of identity, globalization, and post-9/11 surveillance. Films by German, Swiss, and Austrian directors in their historical and cultural context, including the Berlin School (Petzold, Hochhäusler, Ade) and directors in and on the margins of mainstream filmmaking. FLM 280 THEORY OF FILM A survey of classical and contemporary film theory, mapping central preoccupations and debates in the field. The course explores the ways in which film form has philosophical, social, and political dimensions. Reading closely and critically, and placing theoretical work in historical and social context, students will discuss how various theories are connected with, productively in tension with, or even incompatible with each other. Students will also discuss what traditions these theories presume or challenge. Students will engage film texts as objects of aesthetic analysis and provocations to thought, highlighting the intimate relationship between theory and practice. Topics include theories of formalism and realism; cinema’s relationship to time; how ideologies are both upheld and challenged through film; theories of spectatorship; and the differences as well as continuities between analog and digital cinema. FLM 311 REPRESENTING GENDER An examination of the construction of gender in mainstream narrative film in the light of contemporary film theory and criticism. The course investigates representations of gender and the body, looking at commonly deemed "masculine genres" - horror and action films - and rethinking them when violence and agency are enacted by female characters. FLM 395Q QUEER AND TRANS FILM AND MEDIA The course maps the theories and practices of queer and trans* media, familiarizing students with key texts, histories, and theoretical turns. It serves as an introduction to the media practices and theoretical/critical literature that have accompanied the evolution of queer and gender variant communities and politics, as well as the developments of queer and transgender studies. The course is interdisciplinary, with attention to cinema and other media, such as television, online videos, and video games, as both art and political discourse. Students will analyze the complex relationships between visibility/representation and historical erasure, spectators and texts, identities and politics, and activism and entertainment. FLM 395W FEMINISMS IN AMERICAN POP CULTURE Critical exploration of popular film and television texts through the shifting terrain of contemporary feminist thought and representations. Academic feminist work will be combined with criticism in the popular press to uncover the interdependent relationships between the two in how they create feminisms' parameters and popular reception. FLM 395Z ANIMATION A serious, analytic approach to "cartoons," exploring the historical trajectory of the medium, the evolution of aesthetic practices, and the range of technologies utilized in early and contemporary animation. Topics will range from early studio animation and experimental work through contemporary computer animation and anime. FLM 403 URBAN SPACE IN THE CINEMA Focus on urban space as constructed on the screen and the interplay between architecture, sets, cultural memory, and film technologies. Study of films from the French cinematic tradition and examples from the American, Russian, and European cinemas. FLM 409 GRAND/INTIMATE IN FRENCH CINEMA Two French cinemas have long existed: one "big" cinema about the tumultuous political, cultural, and literary history of France, and one "small," personal cinema about a few characters and their lives. This course will examine what the differences in subject and scale mean for French film and culture. FLM 493C STUDIES IN CULT AND CAMP An exploration of the aesthetics and politics of "cult and camp" film and television, examining through fan practices and theoretical writings the intersection of high theory with low cultural products. This course investigates "trash aesthetics," philosophical approaches to "camp," and the economic and institutional practices of low budget cult filmmaking. FLM 493W AUTHORSHIP: WOMEN DIRECTORS An exploration of "film authorship" on theoretical and meta-critical levels, focusing specifically on the way gender does (or does not) impact the production (and consumption) of female-authored texts. Combining close textual analysis of women-directed films with feminist criticism, the course examines a multiplicity of intersecting identities. |
FILM PRODUCTION COURSE OFFERINGS
FLM 110 TOOLS OF MOTION PICTURE PRODUCTION
Tools of Motion Picture Production. A hands-on introduction to technologies required for film production including cameras, sound equipment, tripods, and editing software. This course is recommended to be taken by students in their first year intending to major or minor in Film Studies as it is a prerequisite for all other film production courses. FLM 210 FUNDAMENTALS OF MOTION PICTURE PRODUCTION A hands-on introduction to expression in the language of moving pictures. By designing and executing a series of short, creative production projects, students will explore how moving image techniques are used to structure meaning. Emphasis on narrative form. Topics include composition, videography, sound, continuity editing, and dramatic structure. FLM 220 DOCUMENTARY THEORY & PRODUCTION This course examines how moving pictures can be used to explore, discuss, and creatively represent reality—and the issues of “truth,” ethics, and social power that arise from these practices—from the standpoint of both producers and critical viewers. This course surveys the evolution and diversity of form and content through examination of approach, topic, and ideological representation. Students will explore these concepts through class discussion and the production of three short documentaries. FLM 238 SCREENWRITING An introduction to the possibilities, problems, and conventions of dramatic writing for the screen. Students will explore the concepts of character, story, dramatic structure, visualization and economy of dialog. Through a series of exercises students will develop an idea into a finished script for a short film. FLM 298A CINEMATOGRAPHY An introduction to the fundamentals of motion picture cinematography including cameras, lenses, lighting, and advanced grip equipment. In and out of class, students will work in teams to preform professional filmmaking exercises. FLM 298C PRODUCING THE SHORT FILM An examination of practice of film producing. The course explores the roles of the producer, the assistant director, and the second assistant director, and their duties in preparing to shoot a narrative fiction short film. Students will create budgets, schedules, call sheets, grant proposals, casting calls, and producer notebooks for a hypothetical film production. FLM 310 IDEOLOGICAL REPRESENTATION IN MOTION PICTURE PRODUCTION An intermediate motion picture production course focusing on issues of ideological representation. By designing and executing short, creative production projects, students will explore the social and political implications of visual media production. Topics include advanced technique in editing, cinematography, directing, and screenwriting. FLM 320 EXPERIMENTAL FILM: HISTORY & PRACTICE An introduction to the history of U.S. experimental film, selected major figures and movements. In addition to viewing, discussing and writing about these films, students will produce their own experimental pieces in a series of short projects using video and 16mm film. FLM 393 INDIVIDUAL STUDY IN MOTION PICTURE PRODUCTION A semester-long immersion in the production of one short narrative fiction film to be submitted to film festivals. FLM 397 SPECIAL TOPICS IN FILM PRODUCTION A study in topics selected from any area in film production. Topics vary from year-to-year and may include screenwriting, documentary, experimental or fiction filmmaking, issues in autobiography, and exploration of new media techniques. FLM 410 ADVANCED PRODUCTION WORKSHOP An advanced motion picture production course focusing on the creation of a semester-long short fiction film. Students will apply the techniques learned in previous production classes to write, produce, direct, and edit their films, which they will submit to film festivals. Students will serve as crew on their classmates' films. FLM 497/498 HONORS STUDY A year-long immersion in the production of one short film to be submitted to film festivals. |