Cinema Studies Minor Program Requirements

The interdisciplinary minor in Cinema Studies consists of seven courses, completed with a grade of C or better, and with a minimum of three courses at the 300 level or above. The courses must be distributed as follows:

ImageThree required courses, Introduction to Film I and Introduction to Film II, 01:175:201 and 202 (01:175:210 may be substituted for either 01:175:201 or 202), and Senior Seminar in Cinema Studies, 01:175:425 (01:175:420 may be substituted for 01:175:425).

ImageFour elective courses, chosen from the list below, or among other courses approved in advance by the program director. A flyer listing qualifying elective courses is circulated during each pre-registration period.

Students pursuing a minor in Cinema Studies must select five courses for the minor that are outside their major. Exception: English majors who pursue a Cinema Studies minor may include more than two 01:354 courses in their minor program, but only two of those may be counted toward the major. Only one production/filmmaking course may be counted towards the minor. Cinema Studies minors are encouraged to complete several other courses in film history, analysis or theory before enrolling in a filmmaking course.

Please note that Cinema Studies courses generally include an additional mandatory weekly meeting time for screenings, or require students to view films outside of class at an on-campus facility such as the Douglass Library Media Services.

MINOR WORKSHEET

 

Required Courses:

01:175:201 Introduction to Film I (3) Film study, with emphasis on basic concepts of film analysis (narrative, editing, mise-en-scène, sound) and the historical development of cinema as an institution.

01:175:202 Introduction to Film II (3) Film study, with emphasis on commercial cinema as an institution (genres, directors, stars) and on non-narrative types of film (documentary, experimental).

01:175:425 Senior Seminar in Cinema Studies (3) One or more topics selected for their relevance to the interdisciplinary study of film. Emphasis on advanced problems and issues together with methodology and theory. Extended research paper required on a topic chosen in consultation with the instructor.
Prerequisite: Permission of program director.

As indicated above, the following course may be substituted for Introduction to Film I OR Introduction to Film II (01:175:201 or 202):

01:175:210 Close Readings of Cinema (3) Formal analyses of six or seven individual films; emphasis on visual track, sound track, and scenario-narrative construction.

As indicated above, the following course may be substituted for the Senior Seminar in Cinema Studies (01:175:425)

01:175:420 Seminar: Film Theory (3) Major developments in film theory from the silent era to the present; writings on film by Eisenstein, Kracauer, Bazin, Metz, Barthes, and others; practice in different methods to analyze films.



Approved Cinema Studies Elective Courses for the Minor (as of June 2019)

  • 01:013:337: Film & Literature in South Asia (3)
  • 01:013:365: Bollywood (3)
  • 01:175:210: Close Readings of Cinema (3)
  • 01:175:265/01:050:265: American Experimental Film & Video (3)
  • 01:175:266/01:050:266: Cult Films in American Culture (3)
  • 01:175:267/01:050:267: American Film Directors (3)
  • 01:175:268/01:050:268: David Lynch & the American Film Avant-Garde (3)
  • 01:175:315, 316: American Cinema I, II (3,3)
  • 01:175:320, 321: World Cinema I, II (3,3) [321: Core: CC, Ahp]
  • 01:175:350, 351: Major Filmmakers I, II (3,3)
  • 01:175:370: Film Genres (3)
  • 01:175:373: The Documentary (3)
  • 01:175:377: Topics in World Cinema (3)
  • 01:175:477: Advanced Topics in World Cinema (3)
  • 01:175:420: Seminar: Film Theory (3) [Core: WCR]
  • 01:351:303: Creative Writing: Screenwriting for Film (3)
  • 01:351:308: Experimental Filmmaking (3; PLEASE NOTE that this course number also used for Playwriting; it only counts when topic is Filmmaking)
  • 01:351:309: Creative Writing: Digital Composition (3)
  • 01:354:205: Cinema Today (4) [Core: CC, AHp]
  • 01:354:250: Films of Alfred Hitchcock (4) [Core: AHp]
  • 01:354:270: American Screen Comedy (4) [Core: AHp]
  • 01:354:301: Digital Cinema (4)
  • 01:354:308: The Craft of Screenwriting (3)
  • 01:354:312: Cinema and the Arts (3)
  • 01:354:318: Films from Here: The Cinema of New York and New Jersey (4)
  • 01:354:330, 331: Critical Methodology in Film (3,3)
  • 01:354:335: Film Sound (4)
  • 01:354:355: Films of John Ford (4)
  • 01:354:356: Films of Jean Renoir and Fritz Lang (4)
  • 01:354:360: Film Noir (4)
  • 01:354:371: Film Melodrama (4)
  • 01:354:374: Science Fiction Film (4)
  • 01:354:375: Film and Society (3)
  • 01:354:385: Theories of Women and Film (3)
  • 01:354:391, 392: Special Topics in Film Studies (3,3)
  • 01:354:410: Seminar in Film Studies (4) [Core: WCR]
  • 01:420:305: The French Film in English (3)
  • 01:420:306/01:175:306: Modern French Cinema (3) [Core: AHp]
  • 01:420:307, 308: The French Film in French (3,3)
  • 01:420:371, 372: Topics in French Cinema (3,3)
  • 01:420:471, 472: Advanced Topics in French Cinema (3,3)
  • 01:470:349: Contemporary German Cinema (3)
  • 01:470:360: Classics of German Cinema (3)
  • 01:560:320: Mafia Movies: Approaches to Genre in Italian and American Film (3)
  • 01:560:345: Classics of Italian Cinema (3) [Core: AHo or AHp]
  • 01:560:346: Contemporary Italian Cinema (3)
  • 01:940:345: Spanish Film-English (3)
  • 01:940:346: Spanish Film (3) [in Spanish]
  • 01:940:347: Latin American Cinema-English (3)
  • 01:940:348: Latin American Cinema (3) [in Spanish]