Upcoming Courses

TR 9-10:15 am + Lab: M  5-7:30+ or 10:30-11:45 am + Lab: M  5-7:30 pm, Cheever

Alternatively called “pictures,” “movies,” and “films,” the feature film is a vibrant and influential cultural practice that first emerged in early 20^th century and has continued to evolve into the 21^st. Introduction to Film Studies examines feature filmmaking as simultaneously an art form and a culture industry, considering 1) the formal components that make up feature films (such as the narration, mise en scène, composition, editing, etc.) and 2) the industrial practices that shape its production and exhibition. We begin by exploring early examples of narrative film from the US and Europe to discover how stylistic innovations—such as the use of close ups to communicate a character’s emotion or the deployment of cross-cutting to allow for greater narrative complexity—became filmic conventions that still structure contemporary filmmaking.

We then consider how filmmakers use movies to comment upon important cultural concepts by examining two major methodologies in film analysis: genre studies and director studies. We will ask: what unites a group of films under the category of a genre? Or as the product of a director’s cinematic imagination? How does the gangster film invite us to think about American ethnic and racial subcultures, the twinned concepts of justice and criminality, and ideologies of the American dream? And in what way do Alfred Hitchcock’s films question midcentury American ideas about gender and class, and love and obsession? By the end of the course, students will have learned important concepts and methodologies of film studies, developed their skills in visual analysis and argumentative writing, and will be prepared to take upper-level courses in Film Studies and the English Department.

MW Noon-2 pm & 3-5 pm, Bertucci

This introductory course offers a hands-on exploration of fiction filmmaking, covering camera operation, sound, lighting, screenwriting, and editing while fostering both creative and critical skills. Through readings, screenings, workshops, and collaborative exercises, students engage with cinema’s expressive and narrative potential.

 TR Noon-1:15 pm, Riehl

Group B elective. Most of us regularly are exposed to Hollywood film yet seldom are cognizant of the complex and subtle ways its musical score interacts with the narrative form and visual imagery. As a compound genre, film is a complex of systems that affect one another on back- and foreground levels. If we are to experience the full range of a film’s dramatic power, we should be sensitive to as many of these systems as possible.

Through the study of twelve Hollywood films, this course unpacks the role of music in film by considering general aesthetic questions like (1) what is the nature of musical meaning? (2) how is music used to create associations? (3) how is music used as a cultural code? (4) how does film music relate to wider compositional trends? (5) how is music used as a means of communication beyond language? and more specific ones related to the individual features of each film. By sensitizing students to the fore- and background levels of music in film and working in small groups to create an 8-10 minute short with music, students engage with the creative process and ideally develop a deeper emotional and intellectual engagement with this complex art form.

TR 1:30-2:45 pm, White

Group C elective. Upper-level course in lighting design for the stage. Special emphasis on project-based, "hands on" learning with students implementing their own designs through analysis, research, creative sustainable, and practical applications. Laboratory hours are required. Prerequisites: THTR 203, THTR 207, THTR 208, or FMST 202

TTH Noon-1:15pm, Hughes

Group C elective. This course features a systematic approach to understanding and realizing the theatrical implications of play scripts. We will embark on structural and linguistic explorations of texts written for the theatre, along with the interpretation and meaning of those texts. Classical, modern, and contemporary texts will be included. Through readings, discussions, production critique, and creative work, we will engage with scripts as forms of both literary and performing art.

 MW 3-4:15 pm

Group B elective. Examines different approaches to understanding what is unique about the film medium as both an expressive art and a social and critical discourse, from its inception to the present.  Prerequisites: ENGL 220 or FMST 201 or any ENGL or FMST course with AILT.

TTH 10:30-11:45 am, , Stegmeir

Group C elective. Further exploration of various construction, patterning, design, research and rendering problems and the methods for solving them. Building on the techniques learned in the introductory course, students will gain a deeper understanding of the variety of methods used in problem solving, and how to know which approach is best suited to the needs of the script in question. The course will culminate in a public presentation of students’ projects. Prerequisites THTR 206. 

T 3-5:40 pm, Cheever

Scholars and critics have long explored the emergence of Film Noir in Hollywood after World War II. But there is little consensus on what film noir is: a fully realized cinematic genre, an aesthetic style, or some combination of both? Our research seminar examines films such as Huston’s The Maltese Falcon and Wilder’s Double Indemnity from the original film noir cycle to explore the concepts and aesthetics of this socially challenging set of films. We then consider the new generations of filmmakers who adopted and adapted noir style to tell stories about characters and communities that were overlooked by classical Film Noir. Directors to be studied include Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, Bill Duke, David Fincher, Kathryn Bigelow, and Jane Campion.