Spring 2017 Course Catalog FILM & MEDIA STUDIES Spring 2017 Preliminary Course List (Updated 1/5/17)
Film and media studies
Spring 2017 Course Catalog FILM & MEDIA STUDIES Spring 2017 Preliminary Course List (updated 1/5/17)
Required Courses
Core Course: FMS 21/ILVS 52. Global History of Cinema (requirement for FMS majors) Core Course: FMS 23/Sociology 40. Media and Society FMS 199. FMS Senior Project (requirement for FMS majors taking two-semester Senior Thesis/ Project capstone)
Elective Courses
THEORY FMS 40. Media Theory FMS 94-05/EXP 53 Documentary: History, Theory and New Directions ILVS 70. Intro to Visual Studies
PRACTICE Drama 15. Makeup Design and Application EXP 51. Advanced Documentary Practice EXP 150. The Future of Magazines (This is a five week, half-credit course that runs from March 28 through April 25, 2017. ) FMS 31. Film/Media Production II (formerly Filmmaking 2) FMS 33/Drama 77. Screenwriting I FMS 39/Dance 77. Dance on Camera FMS 41/English 7. Creative Writing/Journalism FMS 42/English 11. Intermediate Journalism FMS 94-02/CSHD 143-08. Creating Children’s Media FMS 94-04/EXP 58. Special Topics: Social Marketing FMS 134/Drama 178. Screenwriting II FMS 136/Drama 158. Directing for Film FMS 138. Advanced Filmmaking (By consent only. Contact [email protected]) Studio Art: Selected courses at the SMFA in Video/Film, Computer Graphics, Photography, etc. (requires approval of FMS Director)
NON-U.S. FMS 76/Arabic 57. Arab and Middle Eastern Cinemas FMS 77/Italian 75. Italian Film FMS 78/Japanese 80. Japanese Film FMS 83/Drama 51. Latino Theater and Film FMS 84/JS 142/ILVS 103. Jewish Experience on Film FMS 175/Arabic 155. Visualizing Colonialism FMS 194-01/Spanish 192 A. Literature and Film of Post-Civil War Spain Spring 2017 Complete FMS Course List
FMS 94-01/German 92-01/192-01. Special Topics: Kafka and Film FMS 194-02/Japanese 191-01. Special Topics: The World of Hayao Miyazaki French 92. Love and War in French Cinema
UPPER LEVEL ENV 150. Environment, Communication and Culture FMS 84/JS 142/ILVS 103. Jewish Experience on Film FMS 134/Drama 178. Screenwriting II FMS 136/Drama 158. Directing for Film FMS 138. Advanced Filmmaking (By consent only. Contact [email protected], x73384.) FMS 161/Sociology 185. Seminar in Mass Media Studies: Digital Hate FMS 163/Political Science 104. New Media, New Politics FMS 175/Arabic 155. Visualizing Colonialism FMS 177/Religion 100. Religion and Film FMS 186. How Films Think FMS 194-01/Spanish 192 A. Literature and Film of Post-Civil War Spain FMS 194-02/Japanese 191-01. Special Topics: The World of Hayao Miyazaki FMS 194-03/Music 0197-03. Dark Places: Sound and Music in SciFi and Noir FMS 194-04/Psychology 196-03. Media and Early Childhood Development FMS 194-05/EXP 102. Advanced Digital Media (By consent only. Contact [email protected], x73384.) Music 0193-01. 1960s Spies in Music and Media Political Science 118-05. How Campaigns, Communications, and Organizing Can Impact Our World
ADDITIONAL ELECTIVES Dance 92-06. Special Topics: Dance and the Hollywood Musical ENG 84-01. Black Comedy FMS 52/Child Development 167. Children and Mass Media FMS 94-03/EXP 56. From 'Why Not' to Wi-Fi: a History of American Broadcasting FMS 99. Internship (By consent only. Contact [email protected], x72007.) FMS 195. Directed Study (By consent only. Contact [email protected] or [email protected]) Music 151/FMS 176. Video Game Music VISC 1006 (SMFA). Histories of Film/Part Two—1955 to present VISC 2022 (SMFA). Neo-Noir and Its Contexts VISC 2025 (SMFA). History and Aesthetics in Hitchcock VISC 2028 (SMFA). Theorizing Film and Gender
FMS Spring 2017 Course Descriptions
FMS 21 Global History of Cinema Malcolm Turvey MW 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. (screening) W 6 to 10 p.m. or F 9 to 1 p.m. (Cross-listed w/ ILVS 52) History of cinema beginning with the emergence of the technologies for making and exhibiting films around 1894 and the major genres of early cinema (1895-1904); the development of "classical" narrative film in the US in the 1900s and 1910s; the creation of alternatives to classical cinematic storytelling in the 1920s in France, Germany, the Soviet Union and elsewhere; the rise of documentary and experimental film; and the coming of synchronized sound in the late 1920s. European responses to the increasing political turmoil in the lead-up to WWII in the 1930s; Japanese popular traditions of filmmaking, the impact of WWII on film history; the emergence of Italian Neo-Realism and "modernist" art cinema in the late 1940s and 1950s; the New Waves of the late 1950s; and political modernist, post-colonial, feminist and other radical forms of filmmaking that arose in response to the political crises of the 1960s. Survey of world cinema since the 1970s, focusing on the changes that have occurred in mainstream Hollywood filmmaking and the work of filmmakers in Hong Kong and other non-western countries. (Required for majors. This course counts toward the Arts distribution requirement.)
FMS 23 Media and Society Sarah Sobieraj TUTH 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. (Cross-listed w/ SOC 40) Social and economic organization of the mass media of communication. Effects on content. Themes of mass culture. Social composition of the audience. Effects of the media on the audience. Topics such as television, films, the press, books, magazines, and advertising. (This course counts toward the Social Sciences distribution requirement.)
FMS 31 Film and Media Production II (formally Filmmaking 2) Don Schechter TH 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. TU 10:30 to 1 p.m. Howard Woolf TH 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. M 6 to 8:30 p.m. Collaborative work to develop skills in producing, casting, directing, cinematography, and finishing by making their own short features. Prerequisite: FMS 30 or permission of the instructor. (This course counts toward the Arts distribution requirement.)
FMS 33 Screenwriting I Khary Jones TU 6 to 9 p.m. (Cross-listed w/ DR 77) An introduction to the craft of screenwriting with an emphasis on story, structure, character development, dialogue, visuals, genre, and the language of film. Films and produced screenplays will be analyzed to illustrate the aforementioned topics. Students will workshop their materials weekly and are expected to provide insightful analysis of their classmates' work. By the end of the course, students will be required to complete the first act of a feature-length screenplay and an outline of Acts II and III. (This course counts toward the Arts distribution requirement.)
FMS 39 Dance on Camera Jaclyn Waguespack TU/TH 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. (Cross-listed w/DNC 77) Inter-disciplinary course designed for any dancer, artist or student interested in film & video production with dance or movement as a medium. Participants will take dance and movement concepts outside of studio walls and into the community through site-specific collaborative video projects. Through storyboarding, shooting, editing, and choreographing/directing, students will learn basic video production techniques and advanced camera work in this hands-on course. Development of movement ideas as well as non-linear editing skills will be explored. Work culminates in end of semester public screen- ing and online video sharing. Open to all. No dance or film/video experience necessary.
FMS 40 Media Theory Todd Holden TU 6:30 to 9 p.m. Examination of traditional mass media theories and exploration of the extent to which they apply to newer digital and social communication platforms and research. Consideration of social reality theories including agenda setting and para-social interaction, functional theories including theories about media violence, cultivation and the diffusion of innovation, and theories about mass media and mass culture. Use of theory to understand research and as well as media practice.
FMS 41 Creative Writing/Journalism Neil Miller M/W 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. M/W 4:30 to 5:45 p.m. (Cross-listed with ENG 07) A course open to all interested students who want practice and instruction in journalism in a workshop situation. Open to all who have completed the College Writing Requirement. Each section is limited to fifteen students. Pre-requisites: Completion of the College Writing Requirement.
FMS 42 Intermediate Journalism Nan Levinson TU/TH 3 to 4:15 p.m. (Cross-listed w/ ENG 11) Intensive practice and critical guidance in journalistic writing. Emphasis on weekly papers and on class discussion of student work, but with some reading and study of classical rhetoric. Opportunities to write papers on subjects in fields of personal and academic interest. Pre-requisites: Completion of the College Writing Requirement
FMS 52 Children and Mass Media Julie Dobrow F 9 to 11:30 a.m. (Cross-listed w/ CDHS 167) Why educators, broadcasters, advertisers, and politicians consider children a special audience of the mass media. Examination of children's media content (television, video, computers, film, and print) and the effects of media on children and adolescents. Regulations that govern children's media use, including V-chip, ratings systems, and Internet access. Student projects on media literacy and other topics. (This course counts toward the Arts distribution requirement.)
FMS 76 Arab and Middle Eastern Cinemas Somy Kim TU 4:30 to 7 p.m. (Cross-listed w/ARB57/ILVS 87). An overview of the social role of cinema in the Arab world and the broader Middle East focusing on a historical perspective on the development and expansion of cinema in these parts of the world, as well as several thematic windows through which the relationship of cinema to these societies is examined. In English.
FMS 77 Italian Film Isabella Perricone TU 1:30 to 4 p.m. SU 5:15 to 7:45 p.m. (Cross-listed w/ ITA 75) An excursion through the works of actresses who have made the history of Italian cinema from World War II to the 1980's. The construction of divas and antidivas will be explored in films by directors such as Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Federico Fellini. Lectures, readings, and class discussions will enable students to spot different directorial and acting styles. Oral presentations, two short papers (3-4 pages), and one final paper (8-10 pages). Films shown with English subtitles. Informed, engaged class participation a must. (This course counts toward the Arts distribution requirement.)
FMS 78 Japanese Film Jennifer Cullen TU/W 4:30 to 5:45 p.m. SU 5 to 7 p.m. (Cross-listed w/ JPN 80) Survey of important Japanese films, including internationally renowned works by the "masters," Mizoguchi, Ozu, and Kurosawa; the '60s avant-garde cinema of Oshima and Shinoda; and some innovative works by contemporary filmmakers such as Itami and Morita. Understanding Japanese cinema in relation to Western cultural hegemony. Taught in English. (This course counts toward the Arts distribution requirement.)
FMS 83 Latino Theater and Film Noe Montez M/W 4:30 to 5:45 p.m. (Cross-listed w/ DR 51) An introduction to Latino theatre, film, and performance as a potent creative and political force in the United States. Representative works by Latino playwrights, performance artists, and filmmakers will be discussed in light of issues such as labor and immigration, gender and sexuality, generation gaps in Latino culture, hybridized identities, interculturalism, and the United States' relationship with Latin American nations. May be taken at the 100 level with consent. (This course counts toward the Arts and Humanities distribution requirements.)
FMS 84 Jewish Experience on Film Joel Rosenberg TH 4:30 to 5:45 p.m. TU 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. (Cross-listed w/ JS 142, REL 142, WL 142 and ILVS 103) Selected classic and contemporary films dealing with aspects of Jewish experience in America, Europe, and Israel, combined with reading on the cultural, historical, and philosophical problems illuminated by each film. One weekly session will be devoted to screenings, the other to discussion of the films and readings. (This course counts toward the Arts and Humanities distribution requirements.)
FMS 94-01 Special Topics: Kafka and Film Michael Powers MW 4:30 to 5:45 a.m. (Cross-listed with GER 92-01/ILVS 92-01) An avid moviegoer in cinema’s early days, modernist writer Franz Kafka expressed a profound ambivalence towards film throughout his life. Nonetheless, many aspects of cinema—its mechanical reality, the distortions of space and time that film allows, and the distracted, fast-moving gaze that it engenders—share deep affinities with Kafka’s own writing. Because Kafka’s texts often turn to the question of what writing means and the difficulties inherent in artistic and writerly media, they are ideal for a comparison to film. In this course, we will read some of Kafka’s most famous works alongside viewings of filmic adaptations and other films that implicitly or explicitly evoke the Kafkaesque. Through this comparison, we will explore the imagistic and cinematic qualities of Kafka’s literary texts as well as other key aspects that distinguish Kafka’s work. FMS 94-02 Special Topics: Creating Children’s Media Julie Dobrow W 1:20 to 4:20 p.m. (Cross-listed w CSHD 143-08) What goes into writing a script for a children's television show? How do you pitch a great children's book as a movie? How do you write ad copy for kids? How can you propose an educational app that someone will want to develop? This course will combine learning how children’s educational media products are developed with formative and summative research with a practice-based workshop approach to applying educational learning theory and principles in creative ways. We’ll examine award-winning children’s media, hear from people who created it and craft our own. We’ll take a workshop approach in developing scripts for children’s TV shows, learning what goes into pitching a book for film and building proposals for interactive media products. The course will include a field trip to WGBH to participate in a hackathon to help develop some new ideas.
FMS 94-03 History of American Broadcasting Anthony Rudel M 6 to 8:30 p.m. (Cross-listed w/ EXP 56) A mere century ago, the word 'broadcasting' was a farming term for the method casting seed widely. Today, no one associates 'broadcasting' with agriculture. This course will explore the amazing evolution of American electronic media, from its embryonic beginnings in the garages of a few thousand enthusiasts to its current state as a multi-trillion dollar industry that connects people in ways that could not have been imagined just three decades ago. Beginning with radio—the first mass medium and the one that lay the foundation upon which all subsequent media was built—this course will trace the growth of electronic media and will explore how programming (content) changed and adapted with each new technology. Of equal importance, media is at once an influencer of society and a reflector of it, and so we will examine the ways in which broadcast, and in turn the internet, has dealt with and radically affected cornerstones of society, including music, religion, sports, and politics.
FMS 94-04 Social Marketing Gail Bambrick M 6 to 8:30 p.m. (Cross-listed w/ EXP 58) Do we sell ideas the same way we hawk iPads? Are identical emotional strings pulling us to choose a president as to purchase an Impreza over a Prius? Are memes really the genes of our moral, social and cultural constructs? In our media saturated environment, the same tactics that create consumer lust, can also make us care about and invest in social causes, belief systems and political ideologies. We will explore why this is so through the theories that underlie the art of mass persuasion. But we will also learn by work- ing for six local non-profit organizations. Students will form teams that will each operate as a real-world marketing consultant to its non-profit "client." They will analyze their clients' communications and marketing goals and produce a customized marketing communications plan that includes both strategies and tactics such as logos, web pages, print materials, digital media, or event and out- reach concepts. Guest speakers from the industry will add their perspective.
FMS 94-05 Documentary: History, Theory and New Directions Natalie Minik W 6 to 8:30 p.m. (Cross-listed with EXP 53) Documentaries, at their best, enhance our under- standing of the world beyond ourselves. This course will look at the theories at work behind documentary practice and help students gain an understanding of documentary history. By looking at documentary media, students will grasp how advancements in technology, the arts, and culture have come together to tell the stories of our world.
FMS 99 FMS Internship Leslie Goldberg By arrangement Your internship will teach you about the world of communications through hands-on experience in broadcasting, film production, print journalism, public relations, marketing communications, advertising, publishing, web and multimedia, social media, and other fields. This course involves 3 short papers, regular meetings with the instructor, weekly reflections, and 150 work hours in an office under the guidance of media professionals, not in a remote or virtual setting. Open to all students. All internships are graded P/F.
FMS 134 Screenwriting II Khary Jones TU 1:20 to 4:20 p.m. (Cross-listed with DR 178) This advanced screenwriting course will focus on completing Acts II and III of a feature-length screenplay in a workshop setting. The following screenwriting steps will be examined and discussed: character development, story, plot, structure, dialogue, visuals, setups and payoffs, and genre. Films and published screenplays will also be analyzed. Recommendations: Screenwriting I or permission of instructor.
FMS 136 Directing for Film Jennifer Burton TU 1:20 to 4:20 p.m. (Cross-listed w/ DR 158) Advanced exploration of the art of the film director from both a critical and artistic perspective. Through focused study of films and writings by diverse narrative film directors, students will develop deeper understanding of how directors use film techniques to shape a story. Through practice-based exercises and workshops with industry professionals, students will hone directing techniques, including how to work with actors and ways to use the camera, movement, design, lighting, editing, and other film elements for effective storytelling. Prerequisite: Intro to Filmmaking or Intro to Film Studies. FMS 138 Advanced Filmmaking Howard Woolf By arrangement Based on a directed study model, this course is for students who can demonstrate -- through coursework or personal experience -- that they are ready to go to the next level in their training as filmmakers. Students who initially qualify will present a business plan for their project and, if accepted, will receive credit, access to production and editing equipment, and a supervised context within which to work. Students will watch a negotiated number of source films, keep a Producer's Log, and write a final assessment, taking into account both the process they went through to produce their film and their reaction to the film once it is done.
FMS 161 Seminar in Mass Media Studies: Digital Hate Sarah Soberaj TH 4:30 to 7 p.m. (Cross-listed w/ SOC 185) Exploration of contemporary perspectives and critical issues in mass media studies. Specific topics covered will vary each semester but may include media organization; audience reception; news reporting; gender and race in media; history of mass media; and studies on film, television, music, print, radio, and new technologies. Emphasis on group discussion and student participation. Recommendations: Junior standing, SOC 40, and permission of instructor.
FMS 163 Seminar: New Media, New Politics Jeffrey Berry M 9 to 11:30 a.m. (Cross-listed w/ PS 104). Research seminar on three media sectors: cable television, talk radio, and social media. Analysis of the economic foundations of each sector, advertising, audience demographics, and strategy. Student teams conduct an original empirical study of the media.
FMS 175 Visualizing Colonialism Kamran Rastegar TU/TH 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. (Cross-listed w/ CST 10 and ILVS 101). An overview of the intersection between visual culture and the conditions of colonialism and postcoloniality. Readings and viewings on representations of the non-Western world in colonial-era painting and photography, leading to an examination of the history of colonial cinema, and to later postcolonial visualizations of the colonial period. The development of cinemas of anti colonial resistance, and persisting effects of colonialism and empire in contemporary global visual cultures, including contemporary arts and new media. Materials drawn from a variety of regional contexts, with special emphasis on the Arab world. Secondary readings drawn from anti-colonial theorists and postcolonial studies. In English. FMS 176 Video Game Music Bill O’Hara W 1:30 to 4 p.m. (Cross-listed with MUS 162) An introduction to the growing academic field of ludomusicology (“ludo” from ludus, for “game”), including both the study of music in games, and the study of game-like or playful elements in music. Through case studies of individual games and readings in musicology and media studies, surveys how the musical styles of video game soundtracks have evolved in response to changing technologies (from early analog synthesis, to FM and responsive MIDI, to modern orchestral soundtracks); how game music relates to other musical genres; how game designers have used interactive music and sound to create new kinds of play experiences (from Mario Paint to Guitar Hero and Just Dance); and how popular culture continues to process and re- purpose video game aesthetics (via tribute bands and orchestral concerts, and in various forms on platforms like Twitch and YouTube). Designed to be interdisciplinary in nature, mixing musical analysis, theory, social and cultural context, and science and technology studies. Students will have the choice between writing a final essay, or creating a game-related media piece, such as a video or audio project, a video game score, or even an actual game.
FMS-177 Religion And Film Elizabeth Lemons TU/TH 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. (Cross-listed w/ REL100) Analysis of religion and religious issues through their portrayal in contemporary film. Focus on approaches to film taken by scholars of religion, including mythological, theological and cultural studies, with consideration of film theory. Genres include drama, comedy, animation and science fiction.
FMS 186 How Films Think Lee Edelman M/W 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. (Cross-listed w/ ENG 186 and ILVS 186) Advanced seminar exploring the languages of cinematic representation. Attention to visual logic and the relation between techniques of cinematic rhetoric (montage, the long take, shot/reverse shot) and the effect of cinematic thought. Close study of films by directors such as Welles, Scorsese, Coppola, Tarantino, and Lynch; additional attention to recent work in film studies and cinema theory. Recommendations: ENG 1, 2 REQUIRED or Fulfillment of College Writing Requirement. Recommended that the student already have taken either ENG 20,21,22, or 23.
FMS 194-01 Special Topics: Literature and Film of Post-Civil War Spain Kathleen Pollakowski TU/TH 3 to 4:15 p.m. (Cross-listed w/ SPN 192-01) Courses on various topics in Spanish peninsular or Latin American literature or civilization. Topics may include Don Juan; Latin American women writers; testimonial literature of Latin America; and others. Please see departmental website for specific details. Recommendations: SPN 31 or 34, and 32 or 35, or permission of instructor. (Conducted in Spanish.)
FMS 194-02 Special Topics: The World of Hayao Miyazaki Susan Napier TU/TH 3 to 4:15 p.m. (Cross-listed w/ JPN 191-01)This course explores in depth the works of Hayao Miyazaki, considered by many to be the greatest living animator in the world today. Starting with his first hit television series Future Boy Conan we will go chronologically through his major films ending with his most recent available work, Ponyo. Along the way we will examine such recurring themes and issues as the role of trauma, apocalypse and the Spring 2017 child’s point of view, as well as his animation techniques, use of imagery and music. We will also look at several Western films (Wall-e, Where the Wild Things Are and Avatar) for comparative purposes. The film recitation will meet Mondays 6 t0 8 p.m. This course satisfies an IR requirement. Please see their website for more details.
FMS 194-03 Special Topics: Dark Places: Sound and Music in SciFi and Noir Alessandra Campana TU 4:30 to 7 p.m. (Cross-listed w/ MUS 197-03) Study and research in a seminar involving one or more of the following: music history, composition, ethnomusicology, music theory. Please see departmental website for specific details. Recommendations: Prerequisites depend upon topic and level of instruction.
FMS 194-04 Special Topics: Media and Early Childhood Development Paul Muentener TU 1:30 to 4 p.m. (Cross-listed w/ PSY 196-03) Although there is a general belief that parents should limit children's exposure to television and other screen media, these media platforms are increasingly integrated into daily life, making such limitation difficult. In this course, we will explore the influence of screen media (e.g., television, tablets, phones, online video streaming) on early childhood development. The overall goal of the course will be to better understand how exposure to screen media may positively or negatively impact development. We will explore these issues from a variety of perspectives throughout the semester, drawing our readings primarily from research on the cognitive, social, and clinical implications of screen media use from infancy through early childhood.
FMS 194-05 Advanced Digital Media (Cross-listed with EXP 102) Based on a directed study model, this course provides the means by which students who are able to demonstrate an appropriate degree of competence can continue their training in the multimedia arts. (By consent only. Contact [email protected], x73384.)
FMS 195 Directed Study Julie Dobrow/Malcolm Turvey By arrangement Independent work on research or creative topic in film or media studies.
FMS 199 Film and Media Studies Honors Julie Dobrow/Jennifer Burton By arrangement Second course in the two credit/course FMS capstone option, preceded by FMS 198 Senior Colloquium. See FMS website for more detailed information and requirements.
Note: The following are SMFA courses held at the SMFA campus in Boston
VISC 1006 (SMFA) Histories of Film/Part Two—1955 to present Tina Wasserman TU 2 to 5 p.m. The two Histories of Film courses are sequential, single semester courses that may be taken separately, but are created as a year-long inquiry into the art of cinema. Constructed as a foundational course we will examine the development of cinema from its inception in the late nineteenth century through to the present. Using a broad historical, theoretical and critical framework, this course will introduce the student to the study of cinematic representation in a roughly chronological manner by focusing on the first half of its development in the fall and the second half of its development in the spring. By investigating the aesthetic, formal and stylistic devices of film as well as its narrative codes and structures we will consider the evolution of its rich and complex language. The two courses will focus on such noteworthy film movements as the early International Avant-Garde, German Expressionism, Soviet filmmaking of the 1920s, the classical studio Hollywood film, postwar cinemas in France and Japan, the American Avant-Garde, International New Wave Cinemas of the 1960s, post- classical American Cinema, World Cinema, and contemporary independent and experimental film and video practices and more. This course will also introduce the student to several foundational ideas and methodologies in the study of cinema including theories of modernity and postmodernity, feminist film theory, queer theory, intertextuality, postcolonialism, trauma studies and more. The presentation of films will be paired with noteworthy essays that engage a variety of methodologies and readings of the films while positioning them within critical, interpretive and historic contexts.
VISC 2022 (SMFA) Neo-Noir and Its Contexts Tina Wasserman TU 6 to 9 p.m. This course will introduce the student to a group of historic American films produced between 1941 and 1958 that are often identified as "film noir." We compare this historic group of films with later incarnations of film noir, examining how this original historic body of work profoundly influenced a wide range of neo-noir practices. We will contextualize these films through broad historical, aesthetic and critical frameworks and analyze a range of common underlying themes and preoccupations including: the creation of a dark and brooding pessimism; the representation of the noir woman as a "femme fatale;" modernity, postmodernity, urbanism, postwar paranoia and anxiety, the existential impulse of noir, issues of race, gender and more. The work of such directors as Billy Wilder, Jules Dassin, Roman Polanski, Ridley Scott, David Lynch, Bill Duke, Rian Johnson, Christopher Nolan, Chan-wook Park, the Coen Brothers and more will be considered.
VISC 2025 (SMFA) History and Aesthetics in Hitchcock Tina Wasserman W 2 to 5 p.m. This course will provide the student with an overview of the cinematic work of Alfred Hitchcock. Using critical, psychoanalytic and feminist film theory we will investigate the various historic, aesthetic, thematic and formal concerns thread- ed throughout his film work. In our study we will examine his skillful narrative coding of the suspense thriller using point-of-view/spectator identification techniques, his powerful but often disturbing representation of women, the patterns of looking and voyeurism inscribed in his work and much more.
VISC 2028 (SMFA) Theorizing Film and Gender Hilary Binda TH 9 to 12 p.m. (Additional weekly screening) Theorizing Film and Gender is a course that uses film and contemporary visual art to access and enliven philosophical debates about gender and race in what has become known as the field of critical theory. This is not a course in the history or sociology of women. Rather, this is a course that explores the way gender and sexuality has operated both in the service of a liberatory politics and in the service of oppressive ideologies. To develop a richer analysis of gender and sexuality in our own moment, we will explore multiple theoretical contexts that, since the onset of modernism, have framed ideas about sexuality, race, and the very concept of the human. We will ultimately ask how these lines of thought in what we might call deconstructive psychoanalysis complicate and enrich a feminist, queer, gender-queer, and trans analysis of visual culture. To answer this question, we will read films by, among others, Asgar Farhadi, Jennie Livingston, Pedro Almadovar, Charlie Kaufman, Kimberly Pierce, and Michael Haneke in conjunction with readings. We will end by considering ways that critical theory might ground a politics, and we will do so by taking war as our test case and considering the impact of war and survival on our ideas about sex and identity.
FMS Major Requirements
The Film and Media Studies major requires the completion of 12 courses: THREE required core courses SEVEN or EIGHT elective courses ONE- or TWO-course capstone
Required Core Courses (THREE courses) The three required core courses impart analytical skills, historical background, and theoretical underpinnings, providing a coherent knowledge base and consistent language among FMS students. The three required core courses are: FMS20 Art of the Moving Image FMS21 Global History of Cinema FMS22 Media Literacy OR SOC40/FMS23 Media and Society
We strongly encourage students to take these courses early in their program of study.
Elective Courses Students must take either seven or eight elective courses (depending on whether they take a one- or two-course capstone) from the list of FMS-approved courses. The majority of electives taken must have FMS numbers (four if seven electives are taken; five if eight electives are taken). Of these: One must be a theory course One must be an introductory film or media practice course One must be a non-U.S. film or media course One must be an upper level course or seminar
Capstone Requirement (one or two courses) FMS majors are required to complete a one- or two-credit/semester capstone in the senior year. Only a two-credit capstone qualifies a student to receive honors in FMS.
One -Credit/Semester Capstone Options FMS majors may fulfill the capstone requirement through one of the following one credit/semester options:
A Directed Study (FMS 195) in which a student undertakes an independent scholarly or creative project under the supervision of a faculty member
An upper level course in which a student completes a scholarly paper of at least 15 pages (this is in addition to the FMS upper- level elective requirement)
Teach a course on a film or media topic through the Experimental College’s Perspectives program (EXP 0090) FMS majors pursuing the one credit/semester capstone must also take an eighth elective.
Two Credit/Semester Capstone Options FMS majors may fulfill the capstone requirement through a two-credit/ semester Senior Honors Thesis or Senior Project, which allows students to do in-depth, self-directed work as scholars and/or artists.
Register for the FMS Senior Colloquium (FMS 29) during first semester of senior year, which assists majors in developing and preparing the thesis/project.
Register for the FMS Senior Honors Thesis/Senior Project (FMS 191) during the second semester of senior year, which assists students in completing the thesis/project under the guidance of a faculty committee of at least two members, and which concludes with a defense of the completed thesis/project. Only FMS majors who have been on the Dean’s List at least twice and have a GPA of at least 3.4 are eligible to do a Senior Honor Thesis. All FMS majors are eligible to do a Senior Project. FMS Minor Requirements
FMS Minor Requirements The Film and Media Studies minor requires the completion of six courses:
ONE required core course — FMS20 Art of the Moving Image
ONE film/media practice course
FOUR elective courses
Anderson Cooper (above right) was the featured guest for FMS’ 2016 Edward R. Murrow Forum on Issues in Journalism—April 2016
FMS Affiliated Faculty
Gail Bambrick, Lecturer, Film and Media Studies media culture; social marketing; public relations and communication; marketing theory, history, and practice
Nancy Bauer, Professor, Philosophy philosophy and film, feminism
Amahl Bishara, Associate Professor, Anthropology journalism, media and social movements, documentary
Jennifer Burton, Professor of the Practice, Drama and Dance film production: producing, directing; film studies: fairy tales and film, women and film
Alessandra Campana, Associate Professor, Music interfaces of sound and vision in theatre, film and video
Jay Cantor, Professor, English screenwriting
Julie Dobrow, Senior Lecturer, Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development children and media, ethnicity/gender and media, adolescents and media use
Lee C. Edelman, Professor, English cinema and cultural studies (including psychoanalysis, queer theory, and ideological critique)
Nina Gerassi-Navarro, Associate Professor, Romance Languages Latin American film and literature
Charles Shiro Inouye, Professor, International Literary and Cultural Studies Japanese literature and visual culture
Vida T. Johnson, Professor, International Literary and Cultural Studies Russian film
Khary Jones, Lecturer, Drama and Dance film production: screenwriting, editing
Elizabeth B. Lemons, Senior Lecturer, Religion religion and film
Ning Ma, Assistant Professor, International Literary and Cultural Studies Chinese film
Scarlet Marquette, Lecturer, International Literary and Cultural Studies film theory
Jeremy Melius, Assistant Professor, Art and Art History photography, visual studies, critical theory and aesthetics, theories of the moving image, histories of sexuality
FMS Affiliated Faculty
Noe Montez, Assistant Professor, Drama and Dance US Latina/o film and Latin American film
Susan Napier, Professor, International Literary and Cultural Studies Japanese film, animation
Monica White Ndounou, Associate Professor, Drama and Dance African-American film and theater
Kamran Rastegar, Associate Professor, International Literary and Cultural Studies film studies, film theory, cinema and cultural memory, colonial and postcolonial cinema, Iranian cinema, cinemas of the Arab world
Christiane Zehl Romero, Professor, International Literary and Cultural Studies German film: the Weimar period including theoreticians like Kracauer and Bálazs, Leni Riefenstahl, literature and film, the influence of film on modernist literature, New German cinema, film and politics
Joel Rosenberg, Associate Professor, German Russian Asian Languages and Literatures world cinema, Judaic studies
Don Schechter, Part-time Professor of the Practice, Film and Media Studies film and television production
Claire Schub, Lecturer, Romance Languages French film
Laurence Senelick, Professor, Drama and Dance silent cinema, gay and lesbian film, comedy, world cinema
Sarah Sobieraj, Associate Professor, Sociology mass media (especially political media), political sociology, civil society and the public sphere, sociology of culture, social movements, and gender
Jacob Stewart-Halevy, Assistant Professor, Art and Art History media theory, video, and digital media
Malcolm Turvey, Professor, Art and Art History/Film and Media Studies modernist and avant-garde film, comedy, horror, French film, film theory, film and philosophy
Stephen White, Professor, Philosophy aesthetics, film theory, experimental film production
Howard S. Woolf, Professor of the Practice, Ex College film production
Xueping Zhong, Professor, International Literary and Cultural Studies Chinese cinemas (Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan)
Film and media studies
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