E-mail: admin@filmstudies.ucsb.edu
Website: www.filmstudies.ucsb.edu
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Department Chair: contact department
Contents:
Allison Anders, B.A., UC Los Angeles, Professor, independent filmmaker
Peter Bloom, Ph.D, UC Los Angeles, Assistant Professor (francophone cinema)
Edward Branigan, Ph.D., J.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison, Professor (film theory, aesthetics, narrative, point-of-view, analysis)
Nathan Kwame Braun, M.F.A., New York University, Lecturer (digital production)
Anna Brusutti, Laurea, University of Padua, Italy, Lecturer (Italian cinema)
Jung-Bong Choi, Ph.D, University of Iowa, Acting Assistant Professor (Asian cinema and digital media)
Dana Driskel, M.F.A., University of Southern California, Studio Professor (film production, animation)
Anna Everett, Ph.D., University of Southern California, Professor (film and television history and theory, black film, digital media technologies)
Richard Hebdige, M.A., Center for Contemporary Cultural Studies, University of Birmingham, U.K., Professor (film, cultural, and media studies)
Nancy Kawalek, B.S., Northwestern University, Studio Professor; Director, Professional Artist Lab (creating and performing for stage and screen)
Lisa Parks, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison, Associate Professor (global media and broadcast history, cultural studies)
Constance Penley, Ph.D., UC Berkeley, Professor (film history and theory, media studies, literary and rhetorical studies, cultural studies, feminist theory, science and technology studies, contemporary art)
Paul Portuges, Ph.D., UC Berkeley, Lecturer (screenwriting)
Bhaskar Sarkar, Ph.D., University of Southern California, Associate Professor (globalization and culture, post-colonial media theory, Indian cinema, Chinese cinema, social trauma and film)
Cristina Venegas, Ph.D, University of Southern California, Assistant Professor, (Latin American and Latino media, international cinema, and digital media technologies)
Janet Walker, Ph.D., UC Los Angeles, Professor (documentary, historiography, women and film)
Charles Wolfe, Ph.D., Columbia University, Professor (international film history, American film and cultural history, comedy, documentary, film and media archives)
Naomi Greene, Ph.D., New York University, Professor Emerita (French and Italian film)
Alexander Sesonske, Ph.D., UC Los Angeles, Professor Emeritus (silent comedy, Russian cinema, Jean Renoir)
Jacqueline Bobo, Ph.D. (Women's Studies)
Kip Fulbeck, M.F.A. (Art)
Suzanne Jill Levine, Ph.D. (Spanish and Portuguese)
Laurence A. Rickels, Ph.D. (Germanic, Slavic, and Semitic Studies)
Colin Gardner, Ph.D. (Art)
Celine Shimizu, Ph.D. (Asian American Studies)
With a strong base in the liberal arts, the film studies major is designed to prepare students for careers in the media industry and media education, as well as archival preservation and research, entertainment law, publishing, journalism, media, and technologies.
Additional language courses are recommended for students interested in spending their junior or senior year with the Education Abroad Program. Students may consider studies in Spain, France, Australia, Costa Rica, and Chile.
Beyond the core requirements of the film studies major, the student may develop an individual program centered around special interests and goals. Students who wish to know more about the film studies major are invited to talk with an advisor in the film studies office.
Students with a bachelor's degree in film studies who are interested in pursuing a California Teaching Credential should contact the credential advisor in the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education as soon as possible.
Several universitywide fellowships, awards, and prizes are available to the undergraduate film major: the President's Undergraduate Fellowship, the May Company Fellowship, UCSB Foundation Honors Awards, and Genesis Research Awards provide grants for students working on projects with anticipated expenses in excess of $300.
Students are also eligible for department-sponsored awards. The Paul N. and Elinor T. Lazarus Endowed Scholarship in Film Studies is awarded annually to a film studies major of exceptional enthusiasm, dedication, and accomplishment, and demonstrated talent and promise in film or television writing covering one year's registration fees. The Alexander Sesonke Prize is given annually for the best scholarly essays on film history, criticism, or theory, with prizes up to $1,000. The Dorothy and Sherrill C. Corwin Awards are given annually for best screenplay short film in awards up to $1,300. The David F. Siegel Award is made annually to a film studies major who has demonstrated drive, tenacity, and courage in the face of adversity, in the amount of $1000. The Dorothy and Sherrill C. Corwin Screenwriting Award for Best Short Screenplay is given annually, with prizes up to $500.
Graduation with Distinction in Film Studies (The Senior Honors Program)
The honors program in film studies provides the opportunity for qualified majors to undertake advanced film research or creative written work. Through successful completion in the honors program, a student will achieve the degree award of Distinction in the Major.
Majors who have completed two quarters of the junior year with a minimum grade-point average of 3.30 will be invited by the Department of Film Studies to apply for admission to the honors program. The application includes: (1) a 500-word prospectus, outlining the nature and scope of the project and the plan for carrying it out; (2) a statement of sponsorship from the faculty member who will supervise and evaluate the project. Applications are due no later than the tenth week of classes for admission to the program in the following quarter.
The project is a research or critical essay of not fewer than 40 pages or a completed, feature-length screenplay, accompanied by a critical self-assessment of the project. The program is comprised of two related courses (4 units each) to be taken in two quarters of the senior year. These must be taken consecutively. The first course is Independent Studies (Film Studies 199), which must be taken for a letter grade and will not count as a film studies elective. During the quarter the student, guided by the sponsoring faculty member, completes the required research and submits for formal evaluation a draft of the essay or creative work. The second course is a senior honors seminar (Film Studies 196) during which the student completes the honors project.
Students can acquire valuable experience during their study at UCSB. They may find work with Instructional Resources, a campus service department where film and video equipment is used daily. Also, students are often able to intern at local commercial or cable television stations, production companies, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival,
Cinemedia Festival, and the county film commission office. Summer internship opportunities in the Los Angeles area are plentiful. Academic credit of 2 units is normally granted for intern work. Undergraduate research assistantships with faculty are also available.
The film studies journal, Focus Media Journal, an annual publication by and for undergraduate film students, publishes exceptional work including student writing on film, interviews with filmmakers, and book reviews.
Camera Obscura: Feminism, Culture, and Media Studies, the only English-language publication devoted to the study of women and representation in the visual media and arts, is considered to be a foremost journal of film and cultural theory and offers editorial internship opportunities. Based in the Department of Film Studies, the journal is edited by Constance Penley (UCSB), Patricia White (Swarthmore), Phillip Brian Harper (NYU), Lynne Joyrich (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), Sasha Torres (Johns Hopkins), and Sharon Willis (University of Rochester).
The department also houses Screening Noir, the publication of the African and African-American caucus of the Society for Cinema Studies under the editorship of Anna Everett (UCSB) and the American Film Institute Film Reader Series under the editorship of Edward Branigan and Charles Wolfe.
Career Opportunities. The motion picture industry is divided into three major segments: production, distribution, and exhibition, with career opportunities in each area. In addition to the commercial film industry, there are several related areas of employment to consider: home entertainment (TV and interactive media), commercials, industrial films, trailers, and mixed media. Nonprofit and educational media are yet other career paths.
Preparation for the major. Required: Film Studies 46 and 96. One literature course chosen from Asian American Studies 5; Black Studies 38A-B; Comparative Literature 35; Drama 60; English 21, 25, 35, 50; French 50AX-BX-CX, 70Z; Italian 21Y; German 31, 41. One history or culture course chosen from Asian American Studies 1, 2, 3, 4; Black Studies 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 60A-B; Chicano Studies 1A-B-C; German 49; History 2C, 4C, 7, 8, 17B, 17C, 46, 49B, 80, 84, 87; Philosophy 1, 3, 4, 6, 12, 20C; Religious Studies 1, 7, 9, 15, 40, 80C. One visual or performing arts course chosen from Art Studio 1A-B, 7A; Art History 6C-F-G, 45MC; Black Studies 14, 45; Dance 35, 36, 45; Music 15, 17.
Upper-division major. Required: Forty-seven upper-division units including (1) Film Studies 101A-B and 101C or 101T (each course is worth 5 units); one production course chosen from Film Studies 104, 105,107; 192A and 192B; and (2) 20 additional upper-division units chosen from the following, with at least 4 units each from A, B, and C.
Seminars in Theory and Analysis: Film Studies 187AA-ZZ (may be repeated), 189AA-ZZ (may be repeated), 190AA-ZZ (may be repeated), 191, 193, 194 (may be repeated).
National/Transnational Approaches: Black Studies 171; Chinese 141, Film Studies 120, 121, 122AA-ZZ, 123, 124, 126, 127, 132, 133, 134, 136, 137, 139, 178Z; French 178X, 178Y, 190X; German 136, 180Z; Italian 180Z; Japanese 159; Slavic 119, 167C; Spanish 126, 127.
Social Issues: Black Studies 161, 162, 170, 172; Chicano Studies 143, 147, 185; Film Studies 125A-B, 140, 161, 163, 165, 166, 175, 183; French 191X; Women's Studies 141, 142, 143, 144, 150; Religious Studies 113.
Other Electives: Directors-Film Studies 154, 155AA-ZZ. Genre-Film Studies 107, 128, 130, 142, 143, 144, 145, 147, 150AA-ZZ, 169, 170, 175, 180; French 138X, 178Z; German 183. Screenwriting-Film Studies 113AU, 188A-B-C. Other-Film Studies 113AA-ZZ, 148AA-ZZ, 149, 151A-AA-ZZ, 184, French 138X, 178Z; Theory-French 178Y.
Offerings in Film Studies Grouped by Subject Matter:
I. Film Production
II. History
III. Television, Video, and Digital Media
IV. National Cinemas
V. Directors
VI. Documentary/Social Reality
VII. Genre
VIII. Analysis and Criticism
IX. Theory
X. Advanced and Individual Studies
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The graduate curriculum in film studies is composed of two parts: a set of seven core courses together with supplemental/elective courses designed to make the program strongly disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and international.
Admission
In addition to departmental requirements for graduate admission, applicants must fulfill university requirements described in the chapter "Graduate Education at UCSB." The deadline for postmarked applications is December 1.
To be considered for admission to the film and media studies M.A./Ph.D. graduate program, a student must show a strong aptitude for scholarly work and demonstrate intellectual maturity. Students who are admitted will be required to attain a basic level of competence in the discipline in conjunction with their specific program of study. Many of the students admitted to the program will have achieved such a base level of competence by having completed an undergraduate major in film and media studies or taken film and media studies courses while majoring in a closely related humanities, arts, or social science discipline (such as literature, dramatic arts, philosophy, history, or women's studies) with an emphasis on critical thinking and writing.
Admission to the program is based on five criteria: (1) a writing sample that demonstrates a high level of ability to write theory, criticism, or historical narrative; (2) a statement of purpose describing reasons for wishing to earn a Ph.D. in film and media studies; (3) three letters of recommendation; (4) GRE scores; and (5) two sets of official transcripts. In addition, departmental policy mandates that international students whose native language is not English will be required to obtain a minimum score of 600 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) prior to admission. An exception to the TOEFL requirement will be considered for those students who have earned an undergraduate or graduate degree at an institution whose primary language of instruction is English.
Degree Requirements
Although the department does not admit students who seek only an M.A. degree, this degree must be successfully completed before moving on to the Ph.D. program. The normative time for the M.A. is two years. Students who lack a background in the discipline may be required to complete one or more additional upper-division undergraduate courses in film and media studies prior to conferral of the M.A.
In the first two years, the student must complete seven graduate core curriculum courses and five graduate elective courses for a total of twelve courses (out of the eighteen required for the Ph.D.)
By the end of the second year, the student must pass an oral M.A. exam administered by the student's M.A. committee based on two research papers written and revised by the student during the first two years of the program. Students who complete the M.A. graduate work and pass the oral exam with sufficient distinction will be invited to continue working toward the Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy-Film Studies
Degree Requirements
Students entering from another institution or with an M.A. or M.F.A. in another discipline may be required to complete all or part of the M.A. requirements of the Department of Film Studies M.A. requirements prior to the end of the first year of the Ph.D. program.
The student must, sometime between the second and third years, investigate and possibly visit potential locations for off-campus research. In the third year, the student must complete six graduate courses, some or all of which will contribute to the development of the student's emerging research program. By the end of the third year, each student will have taken and passed a total of eighteen courses. (With the approval of the department's director of graduate studies, in the first three years up to five elective courses may be taken in other departments.)
By the end of spring quarter of the third year, the student must form a dissertation committee, and select a dissertation topic and three areas of specialization relating to the dissertation topic developed in consultation with the committee. At this time the student should also have passed an examination or completed course work as approved by the department that establishes reading knowledge in at least one foreign language.
By the end of the fall quarter of the fourth year, the student must pass a written exam administered by the dissertation committee covering the three areas of specialization and pass an oral defense of a written prospectus. The student will then file for advancement to candidacy. During the remainder of the fourth year the student will be encouraged to study at a research site abroad or in the U.S. for a period of between three and six months. In the fifth, sixth, and, if necessary, the seventh year, the student will complete the writing of the dissertation based on original research and then successfully defend it orally before the dissertation committee at a forum open to the public.
Core Courses. The core courses will focus on fundamental areas of competence in history, theory, analysis, and cultural studies. A single course providing hands-on experience in film or video production also will be required (FS 210). The core consists of the following seven courses: Film Studies 210, Media Production; 220, Textual Analysis; 230, The Philosophy of History; 231, Media Historiographies; 240, Film Theory; 241, Television and New Media Theory; and 250, Cultural Theory.
In lieu of a single research and methods course, the core curriculum distributes methodological training across a series of courses involved with concrete research topics in order to offer a working sense of how one approaches a media object of study from a variety of perspectives. The six critical studies core courses are designed for in-depth study at the graduate level and are entirely separate from undergraduate course offerings. Instruction in media production (Film Studies 210) will be taught as an extension of the existing production courses offered by the department.
A list of film courses with descriptions will be posted outside the film studies office before the beginning of each new quarter, as close to the start of registration as possible. Students are urged to consult this list before registering.
46. Introduction to Cinema
(4) Staff
Recommended preparation: Concurrent enrollment in Film Studies 46MS is highly recommended for film majors.
An introduction to the study of film as an aesthetic and social phenomenon, and to various methods of critical analysis. (F,W,S)
46MS. Major Seminar
(2) Staff
Prerequisite: concurrent enrollment in Film Studies 46.
Designed for film studies majors and students contemplating a major or concentration in film. An intensive introduction to the study of film and to various methods of critical analysis.
54. Hollywood: Anatomy of an Industry
(2) Staff
May be repeated for credit to a maximum of 6 units.
In-depth analysis of the changing cinema world developed in intimate dialogues with major Hollywood players. Focus may be on areas such as directing, producing, screenwriting, acting, etc.
62. Professional Artists Laboratory: Actors and Directors in Focus
(2) Kawalek
May be repeated for credit to a maximum of 6 units.
Dynamic dialogues, demonstrations and instruction offered by accomplished Hollywood actors and directors. Course offers unique insight into the artistic and business aspects of these professions. Of interest to anyone considering a career on screen, stage, and/or behind the scenes.
70. Media/Culture/Society
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: film studies majors only.
Provides students with the analytical tools required for a critical understanding of the interrelationship between media, culture, and society in America. Special attention is given to how social structures shape media and how media products in return affect our cultural practices and patterns.
95. Internships in Film/Television
(2) Chair
Prerequisite: film studies majors only.
An opportunity for training, career sampling, and contacts in the film or television industry. Required are approximately 100 hours of work a quarter, a final five-page report, and a supervisor's letter of verification.
96. Advanced Film Analysis
(5) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46.
A study of the basic formal dimensions of cinema: narration, causality, space, time, and sound.
99. Independent Studies
(1-4) Staff
Prerequisites: consent of instructor and department.
Students must have a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade-point average. May be repeated for credit to a maximum of 8 units. Students are limited 5 units per quarter and 30 units total in all 98/99/198/199/199AA-ZZ courses combined. No unit credit allowed toward the major.
Selected research under the direction of a faculty member.
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100. Video Technique for Fieldwork and Research
(4) Staff
Prerequisites: a proposal for a small-scale video research project and consent of instructor.
An introduction to documentary video technique for research in the social sciences. Students learn pre-production, camera work, sound, and editing, through workshops and exercises, while executing individual projects.
101A. History of Cinema: The Silent Film
(5) Staff
Prerequisites: Film Studies 46; open to film studies majors only.
International film history from the camera obscura to the close of the silent era in the late 1920's. Historical accounts of film as an aesthetic form, a social force, an economic institution, and a technology will be considered. (F)
101B. History of Cinema: The Development of Sound Film
(5) Staff
Prerequisites: Film Studies 46; open to film majors only.
International film history from the advent of talkies through the late 1950s. Historical accounts of film as an aesthetic form, a social force, an economic institution, and a technology are considered. (W)
101C. History of Cinema: New Waves and Beyond
(5) Staff
Prerequisites: Film Studies 46; open to film studies majors only.
International film history since 1959. Historical accounts of film as an aesthetic form, a social force, an economic institution, and a technology is considered. (S)
101T. History of Television
(5) Staff
Prerequisites: Film Studies 46; open to film studies majors only.
Surveys the history of television from 1945 to the present. Analysis of this fifty year old important cultural institution, helping students to understand the interconnected relationships between programming, industry, audiences, social contexts, and technology.
102. Acting and Directing Workshop
(4) Staff
Prerequisites: Film Studies 46; consent of instructor; open to upper-division film majors only.
Designed as an introduction to the fundamentals and interaction of acting and directing in the creative process of producing a film or video. Every student will write, perform in, direct, and record on video a short work.
103. Project Development for the Short Film
(4) Driskel
Prerequisites: Film Studies 46; and, Film Studies 104 or 106A-B; and consent of instructor.
A workshop approach to the development of a short film project. Course covers writing, budget, preparation, and preproduction, with particular attention to final distribution needs.
104. Film Technology
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46; open to film majors only.
An introduction to the technology, equipment, and materials of filmmaking from Edison to computer graphics. Special attention to the historical breakthroughs that have influenced cinematic trends and directions.
105. Video Production
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46; open to film majors only.
Introduction to video production, with attention to fundamental concepts and techniques of shooting, sound recording, lighting, and editing basic to filmmaking in general.
106A-B. 16mm Crew Production
(4-4) Driskel
Prerequisites: Film Studies 46; and, Film Studies 102 or 104 or 107; and consent of instructor.
Instruction in the basic techniques of 16mm filmmaking via the production of crew projects over two consecutive quarters.
A. Preproduction through principal photography. (F)
B. Postproduction through composite print. (W)
107. Animation
(4) Driskel
Prerequisites: Film Studies 46; open to film majors only.
A look at the techniques and history of animation with emphasis on the major styles and methods of production, including cel, direct, photo, three-dimensional, and computer. Close examination of significant films combined with production of a 16mm class project.
107S. Contemporary Animation
(4) Driskel
Prerequisite: Film Studies 107.
Covers the basics of both film and computer animation from a theoretical point of view. Field trips will be taken.
108. 16mm Production
(4) Staff
Prerequisites: Film Studies 46; and, Film Studies 104 or 107; consent of instructor; open to film studies majors only.
A workshop approach to the production of individual short 16mm film projects. Each student produces a double system, non-dialogue project for public screening at the end of the quarter. Admission to this course is determined by creative portfolio.
109AA-ZZ Special Topics in Film Production
(4) Staff
Prerequisites: Film Studies 46 and consent of instructor.
May be repeated for credit provided letter designations are different.
Focus on one or more aspects of film production, such as music, writing, directing, design, acting, independent filmmaking, cinematography, producing. Topics will vary.
111A. The Business of Movies: The Hollywood Studio System
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46.
Not open for credit to students who have completed Film Studies 111.
A seminar covering all phases of the contemporary film industry, including development, production, distribution, exhibition, and international and ancillary rights.
111B. The Business of Movies: The Independents
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46.
Examines the creative marketing and distribution strategies of the Independents, from the role of film festivals and beyond. Topics include financing, production, exposure, and limited screen space.
112. Lighting for the Moving Image
(4) Staff
Prerequisites: Film Studies 104; and consent of instructor.
A workshop/seminar approach to explorations in how lighting affects the moving image, from theater to film to the computer.
113AA-ZZ. Special Topics in Film Studies
(4) Staff
Prerequisites: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing.
May be repeated for credit to a maximum of 12 units, but only 8 units count toward major.
Onetime course taught by lecturers or guest professors on a special area of interest to film studies. Specific course titles and topics to be announced by the Film Studies Department.
114A-B. Creating and Performing for Stage and Screen
(4-4) Kawalek
Prerequisites: Film Studies 46; consent of instructor; open to upper-division film majors only; concurrent enrollment in Film Studies 114AL (for 114A); concurrent enrollment in Film Studies 114BL (for 114B).
Captures the experience of a professional company of actors. Students rehearse and perform work created from various sources (novels, diaries, interviews). Performance oriented, with special emphasis on acting, story, and adaptation.
114AL-BL. Performance Workshop
(2-2) Kawalek
Prerequisites: Film Studies 46; consent of instructor; open to upper-division film majors only; concurrent enrollment in Film Studies 114A (for 114AL); concurrent enrollment in Film Studies 114B (for 114BL).
Acting workshop enhancing materials created in Film Studies 114A-B.
115. Sound Production
(4) Staff
Prerequisites: Film Studies 104 or 105; and consent of instructor.
A workshop approach to explorations of sound recording, editing, and mixing in project production.
116. Editing
(4) Staff
Prerequisites: Film Studies 104 or 105; and consent of instructor.
A workshop exploration of the methodologies for post-production.
117. Three Camera Television Production
(4) Staff
Prerequisites: Film Studies 105; consent of instructor.
A television group production workshop. Students work as crew to produce a multi-camera project. Project is picked through student submissions.
118. Sponsored Campus Production
(4) Staff
Prerequisites: Film Studies 105; consent of instructor.
May be repeated for credit to a maximum of 12 units.
An interface with campus
"clients" who provide the budget and goals for crew projects.
119. Film Festivals
(4) Staff
Prerequisites: Film Studies 46; open to film studies majors only.
Course to be held during a film festival, students attend screenings, lectures, and Q&A sessions. Writing assignments include: reviews, journals, and expository prose. Prepatory and debriefing meetings and discussion sessions are also part of the course requirements.
120. Japanese Cinema
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
Same course as Japanese 159.
An introductory scrutiny of major Japanese directors: Mizoguchi, Ozu, Oshima, and Kurosawa. Close attention to their film composition, choices of subject and character, their ideas of the cinematic, and the relationship of cinema to Japanese culture and society.
121. Chinese Cinema
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing.
An introduction to major Chinese directors from the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Hong Kong. Film composition, choices of subject and character, ideas of the cinematic, and relationship of cinema to Chinese culture and society.
122AA-ZZ. Topics in National Cinemas
(4) Staff
Prerequisites: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing.
May be repeated for credit provided the letter designations are different, but only 12 units may be applied toward the major.
This course will examine selected national cinemas (e.g., French, Italian, German, Chinese, Spanish, Japanese) in terms of major periods, themes, and formal parameters, and in relation to both national and international cultural histories.
124. Indian Cinema
(4) Sarkar
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing.
Examines the idea of national culture and the cinema of India in terms of major periods, themes, formal parameters, and institutions in relation to both national and international cultural histories.
124V. Modern Indian Visual
(4) Chattopadhyay, Sarkar
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing.
Same course as Art History 136V.
Introduction of twentieth-century visual culture in India, including painting, architecture, film, television, and graphic arts. Focuses on the themes of nationalism, modernity, and globalization, and the role of the
"popular" in Indian visual culture.
125B. Documentary Film
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing.
The history of documentary film, as an aesthetic form and a social force, from World War II to the present.
126. Cuban Cinema
(4) Venegas
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing.
Examines the cinema of Cuba in terms of major periods, themes, and formal parameters in relation to both national and international cultural histories.
127. Latin American Cinema
(4) Venegas
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing.
Study of the central issues in the history of Latin American cinema from early developments to the present with an emphasis on the role of political cultures, aesthetics and nationalism in its development. This course may also be offered as a focus on one specific national film culture.
127M. Mexican Film and Television
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing.
Course explores the historical and political development of film and television in Mexico and interrogates the ways in which discourses of nationalism inform culture and media policy in relation to a local/global dialectic.
128A. Silent Film Comedy
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing.
Not open for credit to students who have completed Film Studies 128.
The study of silent film comedy forms and themes, encompassing the work of Mack Sennett, Mabel Normand, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and other contemporaries, within the context of American culture in the 1910s and 1920s.
128B. Sound Film Comedy
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing.
Not open for credit to students who have completed Film Studies 130.
An analysis of the comic tradition in American cinema since the coming of sound, emphasizing comic-dramatic patterns, sources, performance style, and historical/social contents.
134. French and Francophone Cinemas
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing.
Same course as French 178DX.
Addresses the interaction between the institutions of French and francophone culture through cinema. The shifting terms of French identity and France among French-speaking communities are examined through national, regional, and immigrant discourses. In English.
136. British Cinema
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing.
Course will consider a selection of films representing the evolution of British cinema during the past half century.
139. Contemporary Korean Cinema
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing.
Same course as Korean 139.
Explores range of contemporary South Korean films. Different genres and major directors are studied against the backdrop of the nation's dramatic socio-political changes, with particular emphasis on such issues as youth culture, violence, gender, subjection, and nationhood.
142. The War Film
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing.
A study of films depicting and/or discussing warfare from World War I to Vietnam. Special emphasis on the relationship between the periods in which the films were made and the manner in which the wars were depicted.
144. The Horror Film
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing.
Same course as German 183.
Study of the horror film genre and the reasons for its popularity, including new interest in psychoanalysis and reaction to modern mass society and consumerism. Covers issues of sacrifice, simulated catastrophic loss, and other themes of catharsis.
148AA-ZZ. Special Topics in Film Aesthetics
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing.
May be repeated for credit provided letter designations are different, but only 12 units may be applied toward the major.
Exploration, in detail, of a single aspect of the film experience in relation to aesthetic and analytical issues. Topics may include the sound track, camera movement, mise-en-scene, color, music, widescreen, acting, narrative, time, art design, editing.
150AA-ZZ. Topics in Film Genre
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing.
Course may be repeated an unlimited number of times, provided the letter designations are different. However, only 12 units may count toward the major.
A study in depth of one or two film genres, including historical, theoretical, and social issues. Topics will vary.
151AA-ZZ. American Film: The Decades
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing.
Course may be repeated for credit to a maximum of 12 units provided the letter designations are different, but only 8 units may be counted toward the major.
A survey of major American film directors and genres, through the decades, within the context of social concerns.
155AA-ZZ. Directors
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46.
Course may be repeated an unlimited number of times, provided the letter designations are different; 8 units may be counted toward the film studies major.
A study in depth of the films of one or two filmmakers of international stature and significance.
161. Third World Cinema
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing.
Same course as Black Studies 161.
This course studies representative films from Africa, Asia, and Latin America from the 1950s to the present. Explores the socio-cultural and aesthetic dimensions of these cinemas (which have emerged as the
"other" of Hollywood and European cinema).
163. Women and Film: Feminist Perspectives
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing.
Survey of the major debates on questions of women and representation in contemporary film criticism. Topics to be covered include the representation of sexuality and the family in the Hollywood cinema; feminism and the avant-garde.
165. Film and Social Reality
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing.
An inquiry into the interrelationships between film and history and/or film and ideology. The course examines how cinema reflects and/or influences the attitudes of a society.
166. Media/Culture/Society
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46.
Provides students with the analytical tools required for a critical understanding of the interrelationship between media, culture, and society in America. Special attention is given to how social structures shape media and how media products in return affect our cultural practices and patterns.
169. Film Noir
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing.
Study of the conventional themes, structures, and visual motifs of the detective film. American films of the forties and fifties and contemporary American and European works will be considered.
183. Films of the Natural and Human Environment
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
Same course as Environmental Studies 183.
Recommended preparation: Environmental Studies 1 or 2 or 3, and Film Studies 46.
Presents a series of popular films and professional documentaries representing a range of trends, images, issues associated with the natural and human environments. Visual images and critical thinking skills are combined to enhance understanding of environmental issues presented by the media.
184. Film Music
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing.
Examines the musical score as an integral structural element of cinema. Topics include the model of "silent" cinema; the theoretical basis of sound and image synchronicity; the narrative functions of film music; and contemporary development of the film score.
187AA-ZZ. Topics in Film Analysis
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing; and consent of instructor.
May be repeated for credit to a maximum of 12 units provided letter designations are different, but only 8 units may be applied toward the major.
A seminar for advanced students examining in-depth a particular problem or issue in the analysis of film and its consequences for a history, theory, or aesthetics of film.
188A. Basic Screenwriting
(4) Staff
Prerequisites: upper-division standing; consent of instructor.
Students are required to submit a writing sample.
A study of the creativity and the technique of screenwriting for the conventional narrative film and for TV. Students will be required to complete writing exercises, a treatment, and master scenes of a full-length project.
188B. Advanced Screenwriting
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 188A.
May be repeated for credit to a maximum of 8 units.
A course intended for students who have successfully completed Film Studies 188A and have a full-length screenplay in process which they want to complete.
188C. Writing Short Films
(4) Staff
Prerequisites: upper-division standing; consent of instructor.
Students are required to submit a writing sample.
An introduction to screenwriting, emphasizing the fundamentals of short film and t.v.: setup, climax and resolution,
"character-driven" story and plot, the role of conflict, principles of action, exposition, and premise. Students are required to write two short films.
188SS. Story Structures
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing.
Introduction to story structure for beginning screenwriters. Study and practice of models from classical, Renaissance, and contemporary dramatic structural theory as well as alternative structural paradigms as practiced by European, American independents, experimental, Asian, African, and avant garde screenwriters.
188TV. Writing for Television
(4) Staff
Prerequisites: consent of instructor, a writing sample, and upper-division standing.
Students are required to submit a writing sample.
Introduction to fundamentals of writing for television including: the situation comedy, the hour-long drama, the MOW, the miniseries, and children's programming. Investigation of the practical and creative tools necessary for navigating successful television scripts.
189AA-ZZ. Topics in Contemporary Film Theory
(4) Staff
Prerequisites: Film Studies 146 and 192A and consent of instructor.
May be repeated for credit to a maximum of 12 units provided letter designations are different, but only 8 units may be applied toward the major.
Topics vary each year and may include such problems as the relation of film to structuralism, semiotics, metaphor/metonymy, point of view, and the writings of Burch, Barthes, Metz, Heath, Bordwell, Willemen, Wollen.
190AA-ZZ. Studies in Film and the Other Arts
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46 or upper-division standing; and consent of instructor.
May be repeated for credit to a maximum of 12 units provided letter designations are different, but only 8 units may be applied toward the major.
An analysis of film in relation to literary and plastic arts such as photography, architecture, and the novel. Topics will vary.
192A. Classical Film Theory
(4) Staff
Prerequisites: Film Studies 146; and upper-division standing.
Not open for credit to students who have completed Film Studies 192.
An introduction to classical film theory through a close analysis of selected writings of such theorists as Munsterberg, Arnhein, Eisenstein, Bazin, Mitry, Metz, Burch, Baudry, and Heath.
192B. Contemporary Film and Media Theory
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Film Studies 46.
A survey of the contribution of contemporary critical theory to the study of film and media. Special emphasis on cultural studies approaches to understanding film as popular culture.
195I. Internship in Film/Television
(2) Staff
Prerequsites: upper-division standing; consent of department. Open to film studies majors only.
Students must have a minimum 3.0 grade point average for the preceding three quarters.
An opportunity for training, career sampling, and contacts in the film or television industry. Required are approximately 100 hours of work a quarter, a final five-page report, and a supervisor's letter of verification.
196. Senior Honors Seminar
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: admission to senior honors program (see requirements under Film Studies Honors Program).
A one-quarter directed study, to be conducted as outlined in the description of the Senior Honors Program. Honors candidates will write a senior thesis on a topic approved by film studies faculty.
199. Independent Studies
(1-4) Staff
Prerequisites: upper-division standing; completion of two upper-division courses in film studies; consent of instructor and department.
Students must have a minimum 3.0 grade-point average for the preceding three quarters and are limited to 5 units per quarter and 30 units total in all 98/99/198/199/199AA-ZZ courses combined.
Selected research under the direction of a faculty member.
199RA. Independent Research Assistance in Film Studies
(1-5) Staff
Prerequisites: upper-division standing; completion of two upper-division courses in film studies; consent of instructor and department.
Students must have a minimum 3.0 grade-point average for the preceding three quarters and are limited to 5 units per quarter and 30 units total in all 98/99/198/199/199AA-ZZ courses combined.
Coursework shall consist of faculty supervised research assistance.
200. Theories of Popular Culture
(4) Penley
Contemporary approaches to the study of popular culture. Key terms are
"agency,"""hegemony,"""containment," and""resistance." Key topics will include intellectuals in popular culture and the current state of "cultural war" in the United States.
202. Film and Historiography
(4) Staff
Intensive study in the reading and writing of historiography. Close examination of critical texts from different periods accompanied by screening of relevant films; further emphasis given to analyzing critical papers written for the seminar.
203. Post-Colonial Cinema
(4) Staff
Study of the structures of domination in a "Post-Colonial World." The presentation of colonies overcoming their multi-dimensional subjection, articulation of their history against the grain of western accounts, and how they form their own resurgence.
210. Media Production
(4) Staff
Graduate-level instruction in film or video pre-production, production, and post-production, undertaken in conjunction with an existing core undergraduate course: Film Technology (FLMST 104), Video Technology (FLMST 105), or Animation (FLMST 107).
213. Autobiographical Screenwriting
(4) Anders
Explores the creative process in autobiographical screenplay construction through writing exercises as well as film viewing. Seeks innovative means of character and story development including but not limited to internet personas and autobiographical tourism.
220. Textual Analysis
(4) Staff
Explores various models for the close analysis of film and media texts and the critical frameworks these models explicitly or implicitly employ.
222AA-ZZ. Special Topics in Film Analysis
(4) Staff
Close examination of an element of film style such as sound, color, or camera movement and its impact on interpretation.
223. Black Film Criticism
(4) Staff
Explores the social, cultural, aesthetic, and economic contexts of black critical writing on film over the past century. Studies the black critique of racial representation in Hollywood and other cinemas, the black independent cinemas, and issues of black spectatorship.
224. Genre Analysis
(4) Staff
Genre criticism illuminates the artistic and popular appeal of film and explores the relation of aesthetics to ideology. Analyzes genre criticism through the lens of genre theory, reexamining conventional approaches to the nature and history of formulaic films.
225. Film and Media Authorship
(4) Staff
Examines theories of authorship in film and television, and how these ideas are redefined and questioned in a poststructuralist and postmodernist paradigm as well as with the evolution of interactive technologies.
226. National Cinemas
(4) Staff
Close analysis of the leading concepts behind theories of nation, nationalism, and national cinema within a specific cultural context and how these concepts are redefined within a post-colonial and post-national context.
230. The Philosophy of History
(4) Wolfe
Studies works and concepts in the philosophy of history that have informed the researching and writing of film and media history. Also considers the ways in which film and media texts have extended debates about and concepts of historiographic practice.
231. Media Historiographies
(4) Staff
Comparative analysis of various historical accounts of cinema, television, and digital media that have shaped the field of film and media studies. Emphasis on issues and debates that have dominated efforts to write rigorous, methodologically explicit histories of different media.
232AA-ZZ. Special Topics in Film and Media History
(4) Staff
Close examination of a topic in film and/or media history.
233. Histories of Film Style
(4) Staff
Examines different explanatory models for patterns of historical continuity, influence, and change in film style. Also includes comparative study of influential models for the history of style in other art forms, such as painting, photography, architecture, music, and literature.
234. History, Memory and Media
(4) Staff
Explores how visual and acoustic media have influenced the writing of public histories and the formation of collective memories, and the possibilities and limitations of representing historical events in both fiction and nonfiction audiovisual forms.
235. (Auto)biographical Documentary
(4) Walker
Studies modes of documentary filmmaking in the context of literary and cinematic self-representation including the relationship between personal and collective history in identity construction.
236. Historicizing New Media: From Plato's Cave and the Kinetograph to Wireless Communication
(4) Staff
Looks at issues of media production and consumption along an historical continuum including changing patterns of media literacy, types of apparatuses, ideologies, ethics, and aesthetics.
240. Film Theory
(4) Staff
Examines the history and rhetoric of thinking about the ontology, epistemology, ideology, and aesthetics of film.
241. Television and New Media Theory
(4) Staff
Explores important theoretical writings concerning electronic and digital media. Course readings define the unique properties of these mediums, consider their ontological status, and discuss how they differ from one another and other cultural forms.
242AA-ZZ. Special Topics in Film and Media Theory
(4) Staff
Close examination of a topic in film and/or media theory.
243AA-ZZ. Special Topics in Critical Thinkers
(4) Staff
Explores in depth the work of one particular thinker relevant to the field of media and cultural studies, for example, Freud, Barthes, Benjamin, and others.
244. The Rhetoric of Film Theories
(4) Branigan
Examines the forms of languages and conventions of reasoning that sustain major film theories.
245. Narrative Theory and Memory
(4) Staff
Theories of narrative and their relationship to the human mind, traumatic experience, and the evocation of emotion.
246. Television Theory
(4) Parks
Examines important theoretical works in Television Studies. Considers television in relation to theories of mass culture, and explores how television mediates the public and private spheres, participates in the formation of national cultures, and addresses citizens/consumers/viewers.
247. Feminism and Media Theory
(4) Staff
An intellectual history of feminist film and television theory from the 1970s to the present. Course readings are discussed in relation to gender representations in various screenings. Areas covered include psychoanalysis, structuralism, poststructuralism, queer theory, and cultural studies.
248. Digital Media Theory and Practices
(4) Staff
Studies the emerging theoretical paradigms and creative practices of new media technologies including the Internet, computer games, CD-ROM, DVD, and wireless communication devices. Also examines how technologies mediate, perpetuate, and challenge social, cultural, political, and economic institutions and humanistic values.
249. Postcolonial Media Theory
(4) Sarkar
Studies colonial ideologies and representations, and postcolonial challenges and negotiations, with emphasis on concepts such as imperialism, Eurocentrism, Orientalism, Third Cinema, hybridity, voice and identity. Interrogates the institutions, frameworks and processes involved in the production of knowledge.
250. Cultural Theory
(4) Hebdige
Analyzes film, television and digital media via a cultural studies paradigm. Students read key works by scholars from the Birmingham School, consider cultural studies as an approach to interdisciplinary research, and study models that have emerged in various national contexts.
251. Theory and Practice of Popular Culture
(4) Penley
Surveys contemporary approaches to the story of popular culture. Readings include theorists who have critically engaged the Frankfurt School, who have written before and beyond the Birmingham School, or who have taken a comparative international perspective.
252AA-ZZ. Special Topics in Cultural Studies
(4) Staff
Close examination of a topic in cultural studies.
253. Psychoanalysis and Cultural Studies
(4) Staff
Even though Freud was an early modern theorist of popular culture and everyday life, the emergent field of cultural studies has paid little attention to the insights of psychoanalysis. What could cultural studies learn from psychoanalysis and vice versa?
254. The Inhuman and Posthuman in Digital Culture
(4) Staff
Examines the rhetorics and aesthetics of digital media technologies, especially as they construct new epistemologies and ontologies of representing/mediating the human condition, paying particular attention to claims that new digital technologies have transformed the liberal Enlightenment subject into the posthuman.
255. Gaming Culture
(4) Everett
The computer games industry rivals film and television for audience discretionary income. This course focuses on computer game theories, genres, aesthetics, industrial histories and practices, and representational discourses.
256. Latin American Popular Culture and Media
(4) Venegas
Explores Latin American cultural studies in relation to production of specific Latin American and Latino/a media within a transnational context. Incorporates various media products, including telenovas, U.S. Spanish language television, popular and art films, popular music, web art, and websites.
260. Film and Ethnography
(4) Staff
Brings the techniques of film analysis to bear on the films, videos, and writings of leading visual anthropologists, such as Tim Asch, Jean Rouch, Jorge Preloran, and Dennis O'Rourke.
262AA-ZZ. Special Topics in Film and/or Media Globalization
(4) Staff
Close examination of a topic in the globalization of film and/or media.
263. Cultural Translation
(4) Staff
Defines and examines the problematic "translation" as the circulation of cultural texts beyond borders and boundaries (temporal, linguistic, institutional, communal, national, regional, and disciplinary).
264. Media Geographies
(4) Bloom
Examines connections between shifting definitions of time/space and media technologies such as television, satellites, computers, and nanotechnologies. Draws from anthropology, geography, art history, and global studies to explore media technology's impact upon the formation of world systems and knowledge structures.
265. Race and Gender in Cyberculture
(4) Staff
Interrogates theories and representations of disembodiment in cyberculture. Especially interested in utopic and dystopic visions of gender-bending and colorblindness via the consensual hallucination of cyberspace. Does becoming posthuman mean that we have also become post-racist and post-sexist?
266. Political Economy of Global Media
(4) Staff
Examines media institutions and networks of exchange, focusing on their transformation, shifting power relations, and emerging geopolitical imaginations.
267. Media Law and Regulation
(4) Staff
Explores institutions and practices related to governmental regulation of media and addresses historical shifts in policymaking. Topics include intellectual property law, first amendment law, censorship issues, media ownership and trade regulations, and fair use doctrine.
268. Paradigm of Globalization
(4) Choi
Examines various theories of globalization: underdevelopment, world system, postcolonialism, cultural imperialism, etc. and interrogates how our daily lives are mediated by transnational flows of capital, information, technology, people, image, and cultural practices beyond national confines.
501. Teaching Assistant Practicum
(4) Staff
May be repeated for credit.
Designed to accommodate graduate students who serve as teaching assistants. Includes analyses of texts and materials, discussion section teaching techniques, formulation of topics and questions for papers and examinations, and grading papers and examinations under instructor supervision.
596AA-ZZ. Directed Reading and Research
(1-6) Staff
Prerequisite: graduate standing and consent of instructor.
Individual tutorial.
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