Cinema Studies (2022 - 2024)
Tier I: Core Courses
Tier I courses are for cinema studies majors only and should be taken in the sequence indicated.
Introduction to Cinema Studies
CINE-UT 10 First semester of study. Expressive Cultures: Film (CORE-UA 750) is an approved substitute. Offered every fall. 4 points.
Designed to introduce basic methods and concepts of cinema studies. The first goal is to help students develop a range of analytical skills in the study of film. By semester’s end, they are fluent in the basic vocabulary of film form, understand social questions raised by dominant modes of cinematic representation, and grasp the mechanics of structuring a written argument about a film's meaning. The second goal is to familiarize students with major critical approaches in the field (narrative theory, feminism, cultural studies, and genre). Readings and screenings provide an introduction to critical issues associated with particular modes of film production/criticism (documentary, narrative, and the avant-garde).
Film History: Silent Cinema
CINE-UT 15 Second or fourth semester of study. Offered every spring. 4 points.
Examines how the history of cinema has been studied and written by taking the period of silent film as its case study. Explores the historical and cultural contexts that governed the emergence of film as art and mass culture. Investigates the different approaches to narrative filmmaking that developed internationally in the silent period. Screenings include early cinema, works of Hollywood drama and comedy, Russian film and Soviet montage cinema, Weimar cinema, and silent black cinema.
Film Theory
CINE-UT 16 Third semester of study. Offered every fall. 4 points.
Closely examines a variety of theoretical writings concerned with aesthetic, social, and psychological aspects of the medium. Students study the writing of classical theorists such as Eisenstein, Bazin, and Kracauer, as well as such contemporary thinkers as Metz, Mulvey, and Baudrillard. Questions addressed range from the nature of cinematic representation and its relationship to other forms of cultural expression to the way in which cinema shapes our conception of racial and gender identity.
Television: History and Culture
CINE-UT 21 Second or fourth semester of study. Offered every spring. 4 points.
Examines the background, context, and history of radio, television, video, and sound. Topics include politics and economics of media institutions, audiences and reception, cultural and broadcast policy, and aesthetic modes and movements.
Advanced Seminar
CINE-UT 7XX Prerequisite: Film Theory (CINE-UT 16). Offered every fall and spring. 4 points.
Small enrollments allow for in-depth study of a specific topic (varies by semester) and encourage students to produce original research.
Tier II
See the Department of Cinema Studies website or department for a current list and descriptions of Tier II courses. Topics change each semester.
Tier III
Tier III classes are two-semester sequences in two vital areas of historical film scholarship: American and international cinema. The fall semester covers the origins of both areas to 1960; the spring semester will evaluate 1960 to the present in both areas. These classes are open to all students across the University. Tier III classes are intended to give all students a well-rounded education in the history of American and world cinema.
American Cinema: Origins to 1960
CINE-UT 50 Offered in the fall. 4 points.
American Cinema: 1960 to Present
CINE-UT 51 Offered in the spring. 4 points.
International Cinema: Origins to 1960
CINE-UT 55 Offered in the fall. 4 points.
International Cinema: 1960 to Present
CINE-UT 56 Offered in the spring. 4 points.
See the Department of Cinema Studies website or department for current descriptions of Tier III courses.
Tier IV
Tier IV courses are small theory and practice courses in script analysis/writing, film criticism, and forms of filmmaking. They are open only to Cinema Studies B.A. students.
Script Analysis
CINE-UT 146 Dancyger. 4 points.
Plot and character development, dialogue, foreground, background, and story. Using feature films, we highlight these script elements rather than the integrated experience of the script, performance, directing, and editing elements of the film. Assignments include two script analyses.
Film Criticism
CINE-UT 600 4 points.
Demystifies the professional/intellectual possibilities of film criticism in the contemporary media landscape by presenting historical contexts. Explores the expansive possibilities of criticism with relation to global film culture, the role of the Internet and technology, distinctions between academic and popular criticism, and the impact of criticism on the film industry itself. Consideration of major figures including Bazin, Ebert, Haskell, Farber, Kael, Sarris, Sontag, Tyler, and others. Major critics will visit the course to provide additional context. Students write weekly reviews, pitch essay ideas, file on deadline, and complete a final research paper.
Independent Study and Internship
Students may take a maximum of 8 points of combined CINE-UT independent study and/or internship.
Independent Study
CINE-UT 900 through CINE-UT 905 Prerequisite: written permission of a faculty adviser. 1 to 4 points per term.
Internship
CINE-UT 950, 952 Prerequisite: Sophomore standing and 3.0 GPA. Must submit a learning contract in order to register. Graded pass/fail. 1 to 4 points per term, depending on time commitment.
Cross-listed Courses
The Department of Cinema Studies frequently cross-lists courses with other CAS departments, such as French literature, thought, and culture; Hellenic studies; and Italian studies.
Graduate Courses Open to Undergraduates
Certain 1000-level graduate courses in cinema studies are open to qualified and advanced cinema studies majors with permission. An undergraduate must have completed the first four core requirements (in Tier I) to be considered an advanced student.