Film Studies (FILM)
College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Music, Film, and Creative Enterprise (MFCE)
Brady Education Center (BEC) 112, (651) 962-5875
Anderson (E-Media); Chaudhury (ENGL); Craft-Fairchild (ENGL); Custer (ENGL); Domingo (MCL); Feng (E-Media); Finckle (MF&CE); Gregg (E-Media); Harrison (ENGL); Hepner (CLAS); Johnson (Director; MF&CE); Kachian (MF&CE); Kroll (MCL); Lawrence (ENGL); Hoolihan (MF&CE) James-Lejárcegui (MF&CE & MCL); Snapko (MF&CE); Solachau-Chamutouski (MF&CE & MCL); Winter (MF&CE)
The Film Studies major is an interdisciplinary program that provides students with a solid foundation in film history and theory, plus training in skills related to film production. By completing this major, students will be able to understand the historical development of film language (camera work, acting, and editing) including film’s pre-history and relationship to photography and theatre; identify and analyze films from the major film traditions, movements, genres (narrative, documentary, and experimental-surreal), studios and directors; understand developments in world cinema, including expression, imagery and representations of nationhood, ethnicity, race, sex, gender, sexuality, social class, cultural values, religious values, political movements, etc; articulate and apply major film theories and critical approaches; understand the political and economic context of film, including the impact of distribution and circulation on the production and reception of film; and develop skills relevant to film production, such as writing, directing, acting, design, composition and the acquisition and editing of images and sound.
Major in Film Studies
Students will complete 40 credits for the Film Studies major:
Required:
- FILM 200 Introduction to Film Studies (4 credits)
- FILM 300 World Cinema (4 credits)
- FILM 335 Film Theory and Criticism (4 credits)
- FILM 350 Contemporary Issues in Film (4 credits)
Plus eight credits in production/practice chosen from the following:
- FILM 305 Screenwriting (4 credits)
- FILM 310 Filmmaking (4 credits)
- DIMA 240 Digital Imagery and Sound (4 credits)
- DIMA 262 Audio Production (4 credits)
- DIMA 360 Videography (4 credits)
- DIMA 460 Advanced Videography (4 credits)
- DIMA 480 Capstone: Digital Media for the Common Good (4 credits)
- MUSC 205 Advanced Studio Recording (4 credits)
- MUSP 110 Digital Music Lessons (1 credit) (with focus on film music) *
- MUSP 165 Music Composition (1 credit) (with focus on music for film) *
- THTR 214 Beginning Acting (4 credits)
- THTR 218 Acting for the Camera (4 credits)
* May be taken for credit more than once.
Plus sixteen additional credits from the production/practice courses listed in the section immediately above OR the film history and analysis courses listed below, or internship, experiential learning, or independent study as approved by FILM studies director. At least five courses taken for the Film Studies major must have the FILM prefix. At least five courses taken for the Film Studies major must be numbered 300 or higher.
- CLAS 225 The Classical Hero, Epic, and Film (4 credits)
- COMM 332 Documentary in American Culture (4 credits)
- DIMA/JOUR 232 Visual Communication in Theory and Practice (4 credits)
- ENGL topics courses as appropriate and approved by FILM Studies. Examples of ENGL courses with recent or potential film studies topics:
- ENGL 395 Issues in Literature, Language, and Culture (Film) (4 credits)
- FILM 297 Topics (4 credits)
- FILM 298 Topics (4 credits)
- FREN 490 French Cinema (4 credits)
- MUSC 170 Music of Film (4 credits)
- SPAN 415 Hispanic Cinema Studies (4 credits)
Minor in Film Studies
Students will complete 20 credits for the FILM minor:
-
FILM 200 Introduction to Film Studies (4 credits)
-
FILM 300 World Cinema (4 credits)
Plus four credits in film theory/history/criticism/analysis:
-
COMM 332 Documentary in American Culture (4 credits)
-
CLAS 225 The Classical Hero, Epic, and Film (4 credits)
- DIMA/JOUR 232 Visual Communication in Theory and Practice (4 credits)
-
ENGL topics courses as appropriate and approved by FILM Studies. Examples of ENGL courses with recent or potential film studies topics:
-
ENGL 395 Issues in Literature, Language, and Culture (Film) (4 credits)
-
- FILM 297 Topics (4 credits)
- FILM 298 Topics (4 credits)
- FILM 335 Film Theory and Criticism (4 credits)
-
FILM 350 Contemporary Issues in Film (4 credits)
-
FREN 490 French Cinema (4 credits)
-
MUSC 170 Music of Film (4 credits)
-
SPAN 415 Hispanic Cinema Studies (4 credits)
- THTR 214 Beginning Acting (4 credits)
- THTR 218 Acting for the Camera (4 credits)
Plus four credits in production/practice
- FILM 305 Screenwriting (4 credits)
- FILM 310 Filmmaking (4 credits)
-
DIMA 240 Digital Imagery and Sound (4 credits)
-
DIMA 262 Audio Production (4 credits)
-
DIMA 360 Videography (4 credits)
- DIMA 460 Advanced Videography (4 credits)
- DIMA 480 Capstone: Digital Media for the Common Good (4 credits)
- MUSC 205 Advanced Studio Recording (4 credits)
- MUSP 110 Digital Music Lessons (1 credit) (with focus on film music) *
- MUSP 165 Music Composition (1 credit) (with focus on music for film) *
-
THTR 214 Beginning Acting (4 credits)
-
THTR 218 Acting for the Camera (4 credits)
* May be taken for credit more than once.
Plus four additional credits from:
- those listed above, internship, experiential learning, or independent study as approved by FILM studies director. At least two courses must be numbered 300 or higher.
Film Studies Undergraduate Courses
| Course Number | Title | Credits | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FILM 200 | Introduction to Film Studies | 4 | |
| Description of course Introduction to Film Studies : | FILM 200 introduces students to film analysis, providing the basic tools to understand, appreciate, and analyze the technical and aesthetic dimensions of film and to understand how these elements come together to create meaning. The course will focus on specific filmmaking techniques, provide a brief overview of film history, and introduce students to the concepts of genre, ideology and style. In addition to attending class sessions, students will be required to dedicate approximately two hours per week to viewing films in lab or outside of class. | ||
| FILM 225 | Women and Gender in Film | 4 | |
| Description of course Women and Gender in Film : | Women and Gender in Film explores the diverse roles women have taken in film from an intersectional perspective that includes analysis of gender along with considerations of race, class, migrant status, disability status, religious/spiritual identity, or other dimensions of diversity. Through readings, lectures and film analysis students will be able to consider how gender constructions have influenced the roles women and non-gender conforming individuals could take in film as an industry and in film as an art, focusing primarily in film production in the United States. Through a social justice lens, this course will lead students to become aware of how gender constructions are circulated, recast, and reinforced through film, which can also be a space for resistance, change and imagination of a more egalitarian future. | ||
| FILM 230 | Race in Contemporary US Film | 4 | |
| Description of course Race in Contemporary US Film : | FILM 230: In this course, we will consider the complex constructions of “race” in US film, paying special attention to the following questions: How has the category of “race” been historically constructed and represented? Whose interests have these constructions served? Why are these dominant representations often so far removed from the “real” way in which people live their lives? How are these representations connected to the ways in which we continue to think about race? How do underrepresented filmmakers resist dominant representations of race in the present, creating complex and liberating ways to rethink race? Special attention will be given to the language of filmmaking, examining how this language evolves differentially across mainstream Hollywood cinema and in films created by minority filmmakers. | ||
| FILM 243 | Individual Study | 2 OR 4 | |
| Description of course Individual Study : | No description is available. | ||
| FILM 250 | Introduction to Italian Cinema | 4 | |
| Description of course Introduction to Italian Cinema : | Following World War II, Italian directors like Roberto Rossellini and Vittorio De Sica introduced the world to neorealism, an aesthetic movement that changed the art of cinema forever. But what is neorealism, and what are the complex historical factors that allowed this movement to thrive? What economic factors contributed to directors like Federico Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni breaking away from neorealism in the 1960s in favor of postmodern existentialism and the hermetic environment of Cinecittà? What do spaghetti westerns or mainstream comedies reveal about Italian culture? And how have modern auteurs like Lina Wertmüller, Ferzan Özpetek, and Alice Rohrwacher carried these disparate threads forward into the present and future? In Introduction to Italian Cinema, you will answer these questions. Students will learn not only how to closely read and analyze films as complicated texts but also how to write critically rich papers that explore the complex historical backdrop that impacted not only directors, but films and audiences as well. Students will learn to analyze the elements of film imagery. To do so, you will watch films and discuss them. You will read film theory and history. You will immerse yourself in “la dolce vita.” | ||
| FILM 295 | Topics | 2 | |
| Description of course Topics : | The subject matter of these courses will vary from year to year, but will not duplicate existing courses. Descriptions of these courses are available in the Searchable Class Schedule on Murphy Online, View Searchable Class Schedule | ||
| FILM 296 | Topics | 2 | |
| Description of course Topics : | The subject matter of these courses will vary from year to year, but will not duplicate existing courses. Descriptions of these courses are available in the Searchable Class Schedule on Murphy Online, View Searchable Class Schedule | ||
| FILM 297 | Topics | 4 | |
| Description of course Topics : | The subject matter of these courses will vary from year to year, but will not duplicate existing courses. Descriptions of these courses are available in the Searchable Class Schedule on Murphy Online, View Searchable Class Schedule | ||
| FILM 298 | Topics | 4 | |
| Description of course Topics : | The subject matter of these courses will vary from year to year, but will not duplicate existing courses. Descriptions of these courses are available in the Searchable Class Schedule on Murphy Online, View Searchable Class Schedule | ||
| FILM 300 | World Cinema | 4 | |
| Description of course World Cinema : | In this course, students will view, discuss, and read and write about feature-length films from Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, and possibly India and/or the Middle East. Following critical viewing of films both in and outside of class, students will engage in critical reflection, discussion, and analytical writing as a way of practicing the art of film analysis. This course asks students to think critically about the ways in which cinema engages the world as a form of entertainment, as art, as historical document, and as an instrument of social change. The course fulfills the Human Diversity requirement of the core curriculum at UST by addressing issues of race, ethnicity, gender, and geopolitical status. It scrutinizes the ways in which institutionalized and structural power and privilege are reflected in the subject matter, creation, and audience reception of film. | ||
| FILM 305 | Screenwriting | 4 | |
| Description of course Screenwriting : | The purpose of this course is to learn how to write effective narrative screenplays, with an emphasis on the creation of short scripts. In order to explore and identify basic dramatic principles of story, character, and structure, we will analyze numerous short scripts and films made from them. We will look at how the dramatic principles of short scripts have been expanded and turned into feature screenplays by exploring the work of various successful contemporary writers and filmmakers. Once we establish the basics of effective screenplays, students will apply these concepts to the development of their own original short scripts. By the end of the semester, students will have written several complete short scripts that are ready to be shot on their own, produced as part of a St. Thomas filmmaking course, or that could be developed further into feature length screenplays. This course counts as a production/practice course for students pursuing the Film Studies major or minor and as an elective course for English majors and minors. Finally, this course also satisfies a WAC Writing in the Discipline requirement. Please note that this course does not count towards the core literature and writing requirement. | ||
| FILM 310 | Filmmaking | 4 | |
| Description of course Filmmaking : | This course is designed to introduce students to the filmmaking process, from script to screen. We will concentrate our attention on two main elements - understanding the technical concerns of narrative filmmaking (the apparatuses, learning camera functions and techniques, and using editing software), AND developing students' artistic voice through storytelling and film analysis. The course aims to strengthen students' ability to conceive and flesh out ideas that will lead to compelling, authentic, personally meaningful short films and give them the critical foundation of film study and production tools to execute their ideas. Students will begin to develop their own artistic vision and style through filmmaking. | ||
| FILM 320 | Memory and Trauma in Film | 4 | |
| Description of course Memory and Trauma in Film : | This course is concerned with cultural representations of memory and trauma in film. Whose memories are sought, believed and commemorated through the cultural sphere of the feature-length film? What problems do traumatic events present for those attempting to commemorate or represent them in film? Is trauma a useful cross-cultural concept? We will begin with an overview of the concept of trauma in psychoanalysis, film studies, and popular culture. Next, students will be introduced to theories of memory, including the study of memory in national and transnational contexts. Students will also be introduced to concepts of testimony and witnessing, and their relation to memory. We will study the cultural representation of trauma and memory in feature-length films with a particular focus on the Holocaust and the Stolen Generations, with some attention to other sites of conflict. Texts for study will include readings that contextualize trauma, memory, and representation and feature-length documentary and narrative films. Prerequisites: Sophomore standing, or permission of instructor | ||
| FILM 335 | Film Theory and Criticism | 4 | |
| Description of course Film Theory and Criticism : | This course trains students in the use of a wide range of film theory and criticism as tools for interpreting film and media as texts, as narrative, as works of art, as historical artifacts, as political expression, as semiotic systems, as mediums of identity and social change, and more. Building on knowledge and skills learned in FILM 200 Introduction to Film, students will learn a range of compelling critical methods for the analysis of film and media, including many of the following: auteur theory; psychoanalysis; feminism, gender and masculinity studies; Marxism; cultural studies; queer theory; audience reception and star studies; postcolonialism; genre analysis; and race and ethnicity, among others. Film Theory and Criticism will help situate you as informed, critically engaged viewers of global film and media texts and practices. Each area of film criticism will be accompanied by a screening of a film or films that elucidate main points of the area of film theory that is the focus for that week. Through the combination of canonical theoretical approaches and more contemporary angles developed since the 1970s, this course will provide you with skills necessary to interpret films as collaborative art works, as technical artifacts, as sociocultural and ideological productions, and as products of a globalized media world. Prerequisite: Film 200 or instructor permission. | ||
| FILM 350 | Contemporary Issues in Film | 4 | |
| Description of course Contemporary Issues in Film : | Contemporary Issues in Film surveys a topic of particular relevance for students near the culmination of their coursework in Film Studies. The course focuses on issues of diversity, creative expression, and unique perspectives in Film Studies and how these unique voices contribute to our understanding of The Common Good. Students will expand their knowledge of Film Studies and they will incorporate disciplinary tools from Film Studies and at least one other academic. discipline, which they will apply to the study of creative production in film. Students will apply knowledge from coursework in multiple disciplines, they will expand their analytical abilities by learning about new films and writing about them, and they will create a portfolio of work that is representative of their learning. Contemporary Issues that will serve as the focus of each course offering may include American Independent Cinema; Masters of Style: Great Directors; and Diverse Perspectives in Film. Prerequisites: FILM 200 or permission of instructor. | ||
| FILM 393 | Individual Study | 2 OR 4 | |
| Description of course Individual Study : | No description is available. | ||
| FILM 476 | Experiential Learning | 1 TO 4 | |
| Description of course Experiential Learning : | No description is available. | ||
| FILM 495 | Individual Study | 2 OR 4 | |
| Description of course Individual Study : | No description is available. | ||