The Major
The major in Film Studies focuses on ways of understanding film in multiple interdisciplinary and multicultural contexts. The distribution of courses for the major ensures that students have a solid foundation in the discipline. It develops a strong understanding of the history, theory, aesthetics, and criticism of cinema as a medium of artistic expression and communication. The learning objectives can be summarized according to three areas: students will (a) cultivate critical thinking skills and the ability to analyze and interpret cinema through the lens of diverse historical, theoretical, multicultural, and sociopolitical contexts; (b) explore the intersections of film with other academic disciplines and areas of inquiry, such as literature, art history, cultural studies, gender studies, and environmental studies, among others; (c) build competencies and skills in the creative and technical aspects of film production, including screenwriting, filmmaking, podcasting, videographic practice, and festival curation. In its emphasis on interdisciplinarity, taking advantage of the large pool of faculty from diverse specializations who teach courses in Film Studies, the major supports a plurality of approaches to the discipline.
Requirements
I. Core Requirements (6 courses)
1. Introductory course(choose one)
FILM-ST 190F: Film Studies: FOUNDATIONS (recommended)
FILM-ST 170/COMP-LIT 170: Introduction to Film Analysis: Cinematic Time Travel
COMM 140 Introduction to Film Studies
2. History of Cinema course (choose one)
FILM-ST 351: Classical Hollywood Cinema
FILM-ST 290V: Visionary Screens of the 1920s
FILM-ST 252/COMP-LIT 337: International History of Animation
FILM-ST 258: Latinx Hollywood: Early Cinema in Spanish
COMM 340: History of Film I
GERMAN 373: Weimar Cinema: Experimentation and Entertainment
3. Film Genres & Auteurs course (choose one)
FILM-ST 330: Film Auteurs (NB: can be taken multiple times)
FILM-ST 380: Horror Film
FILM-ST 385: Psycho Thrillers
FILM-ST 387: The Western in Transnational Cinema
FILM-ST 320/JUDAIC 320: The Comedy: Jewish Humor
FILM-ST 427/ITALIAN 427: Comedy Italian Style
FILM-ST 446/COMM 446: Film Documentary
FILM-ST 493L/COMM 493L: Experimental Film & Video
FILM-ST 550: Arthouse Cinema
COMM 444: Film Styles & Genres
COMP-LIT 350: International Film
ITALIAN 531: Fellini: Film as Veritable Lie
4. Film Theory course (choose one)
FILM-ST 470: Film Theory
FILM-ST 440: Women’s Global Cinema
FILM-ST 490M: Cinema & Mind
5. Junior Year Writing
FILM-ST 375: Film Writing and Criticism New Media
6. Integrative Experience(choose one)
FILM-ST 494N: New York on Film
FILM-ST 494P: Practices of Film Studies
II. Choose one Concentration
Concentration 1: Film History, Theory, and Criticism (choose three courses)
FILM-ST 382: Film at the End of the World
FILM-ST 383/COMP-LIT 383: Avant-Garde Film
FILM-ST 386: Cinema of Dreams
FILM-ST 425/COMP-LIT 425: Greek Tragedy on Screen & Stage
FILM-ST 550: Arthouse Cinema
COMM 342: History of Film II
COMP-LIT 382: Cinema & Psyche
FILM-ST 493L/COMM 493L: Experimental Film & Video
COMM 494BI: Countercultural Films
ANTHRO 306: Visual Anthropology
ENGLISH 339: Film and Literature
2: International Cinemas: World and Global (choose three courses)
FILM-ST 284/FRENCH 284: The Undead Souths: Southern Gothic and Francophone Mythologies in Film & Television
FILM-ST 304/GERMAN 304: German Cinema: From Berlin to Hollywood
FILM-ST 350/ITALIAN 350: Italian Film
FILM-ST 353/FRENCH 353: African Film
FILM-ST 373/GERMAN 373: Weimar Cinema
FILM-ST 384/SPAN 384: Iberian Cinemas
FILM-ST 408/PORTU 408: Brazil in Film and Fiction
COMM 345: Contemporary World Cinema
COMP-LIT 350: International Film
COMP-LIT 391W: Polish Film
FRENCH 350: French Film
FRENCH 351: Contemporary French Cinema
ITALIAN 429: The Neorealist Window
JAPANESE 391T: Tokyo through Literature and Film
PORTUGUESE 345: Cinema of the Lusophone World
SPAN 383: Latin American Cinemas
Concentration 3: Film Production (choose three courses)
FILM -ST 231/ COMM 231: Film & TV Production Concepts
FILM-ST 310: Visiting Filmmaker Series
FILM-ST 311: Film Production: How the Craft Works
FILM-ST 312: Making Short Films
FILM-ST 313: Screenwriting: Story Telling for Film & Video Media
FILM-ST 411:16mm Filmmaking & Technology
FILM-ST 412: Advanced 16mm Filmmaking
FILM-ST 416: Untold Screenwriting
FILM-ST 417: Short Documentary Filmmaking
FILM-ST 461: Film Podcasting
FILM-ST 462: Video Essay in Film Criticism
FILM-ST 490FE: Video Editing and Film Montage
FILM-ST 562: Videographic Essay
ART 274: Animation Fundamentals
ART 375: Moving Image
ART 390STB: Stop Motion Animation
JOURNAL 339: Video Content Creation
JOURNAL 444: Short-form Documentary
CMPSCI 390CG: Intro to Computer Graphics and Animation
COMM 331: Program Process in Television
COMM 346: Intro to Studio Directing
COMM 347: Studio Operations and Production Design
COMM 441: Intermediate Digital Filmmaking
COMM 445: Screenwriting
COMM 447: Advanced Documentary Production
COMM 490F: Super 8mm Film Art Production
COMM 593D: Advanced Screenwriting
THEATER 342: Acting
THEATER 361: Lighting Design
III. Electives (choose five courses)
FILM-ST 398 practicum: Internship
FILM-ST 398 R Undergraduate Research Assistantship
FILM-ST 398 T Undergraduate Teaching Assistantship
(Up to 6 internship/teaching assistantship/research assistantship credits can be counted towards elective credits (6 credits= 2 elective courses))
FILM-ST 384: Alien Encounters
FILM-ST 313: Storytelling for TV & Streaming Scripts
FILM-ST 360/COMM 360: Music, Culture, and the Moving Image
FILM-ST 391SF/COMP-LIT 391SF: International Sci-Fi Cinema
FILM-ST 391W/COMP-LIT 391W: Dream, History, and Identity in Polish Film
FILM-ST 429/ITALIAN 429: A Window on the World: Neorealism and Beyond
FILM-ST 431 /ITALIAN 431: F. Fellini: The Liar
FILM-ST 532 / ITALIAN 532: Pasolini at 100
FILM-ST 344/JUDAIC 344: Film and Society in Israel
FILM-ST 354/JUDAIC 354: Adaptation: The Jewish Experience from Text to Film
FILM-ST 357/JUDAIC 357: Israeli Television, Global Reach
FILM-ST 377/JUDAIC 377: Popular Culture in Israel and Palestine
FILM-ST 571: Strange Engagements: Figural Realism in Film and Literature
FILM-ST 572: Cinemas of Confluence and Alliance
AFROAM 591C: Digital Video Production and Research in the Black Community
ART 384: Computer Animation II
ART 385: Media and Motion Graphics
JOURNAL 333: Introduction to Visual Storytelling
JOURNAL 433: Photojournalism
THEATER 362: Costume Design Studio
THEATER 365: Technical Direction
THEATER 345: Directing
WGSS 391: Rape and Representation
Additional policies:
Students must earn a C or better in all courses taken toward the major.
Students who are double-majoring are allowed to double-dip with 2 courses.
The introductory course should be taken before other film courses.