Film Studies Minor Courses
Film Studies Minor Courses, Spring 2025
Required Courses:
Film 2759G, History of Cinema
Robin Murray
ONLINE
Course Description: Film 2759G will offer a comprehensive yet selective overview of the history of cinema, integrating the basic tools for analyzing film as art. It will examine how the uses of camera, editing, lighting, sound, and acting contribute to the construction of meaning for various audiences, as well as consider how meaning is filtered through various cultural contexts. WI. This course fulfills the Cultural Diversity and Fine Arts requirements for General Education.
CMN 3530 – Film Communication
Andrew Gregory Britton
TR 2:00-3:15pm Buzzard 2439
Course Description: Film as the expression of the performers, producers, directors, writers, and technicians. Critical discussion of film theory, history, and criticism
ENG 4904-Studies in Film
Marjorie Worthington
Monday: 3:00-5:00pm Coleman 1255
Wednesday: 3:00-4:15pm Coleman 3160
Course Description: A conspiracy theory is a belief that certain world events are caused by shadowy, secret, yet powerful groups. Such theories have been around for centuries, but significant elections, worldwide viral outbreaks, and the ability of social media to spread information quickly have combined to cause a veritable explosion of conspiracy theories. For decades, the conspiracy theory has been a popular topic in film, often depicting a hero with exclusive knowledge in a battle for truth against powerful yet hidden forces. This course will explore the many different ways conspiracy theories have been depicted in fictional, historical and documentary films. We will look at how these films have changed over the years and how they reflect the cultures from which they emerge. Films under consideration may include: Don’t Worry Darling, Sorry to Bother You, The DaVinci Code, and JFK as well as some classic versions of the genre like The Manchurian Candidate, Futureworld, The Conversation and The Stepford Wives.
Elective Courses:
AFR 3300 – African Cinema
James Ochwa-Echel
M 4:00-6:30pm Blair Hall 3103
Course Descriptions: This is a course which encounters and interprets traditions of Africa through its cinema.
CMN 2500.001 – Production I
Joshua Grube
MW 8:00-9:40am Buzzard 2436
Course Description: This production-centered course teaches the foundational elements of visual storytelling through video, television, and film. These foundational elements include narrative construction, visual composition, genre aesthetics, visual brand development, characterization, and non-linear editing in order to communicate a unified message through video, audio, and graphics.
CMN 2500.002 – Production I
Andrew Gregory Britton
TR 3:30-5:10pm Buzzard 2436
Course Description: This production-centered course teaches the foundational elements of visual storytelling through video, television, and film. These foundational elements include narrative construction, visual composition, genre aesthetics, visual brand development, characterization, and non-linear editing in order to communicate a unified message through video, audio, and graphics.
CMN 3050 – Production II
Jonathan Mattson
TR 8:00-9:40am Buzzard 2434
Course Description: This intermediate course extends upon the skills and concepts of television, video, and film production as introduced in Production I. Students refine their visual storytelling abilities through a series of creative, persuasive, and reality-based production projects with a special emphasis on visual composition, directing, audio, characterization, and refinement in post-production. MW 7:45-9:50am
CMN 3530 – Film Communication
Andrew Gregory Britton
TR 2:00-3:15pm Buzzard 2439
Course Description: Film as the expression of the performers, producers, directors, writers, and technicians. Critical discussion of film theory, history, and criticism. WI
CMN 4540 – Production IV
Andrew Gregory Britton
TR 8:00-9:40am Buzzard 2436
Course Description: This workshop-based production class focuses on the creation of a single long-form project from inception to distribution. These long-form projects refine both technical and creative skills and can include formats such as television show pilots, featurettes, and webisode anthologies. Additionally, students create all promotional materials for their productions and a portfolio.
ENG 2000 – Introduction to Creative Writing
Michael McClelland
MWF 2:00-2:50pm Coleman 3160
Course Description: This course will introduce students to reading for craft and writing creatively across poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and dramatic genres. Students will participate in workshops of their creative work and read writing in each genre.
ENG 3064 – Intermediate Dramatic Writing
Christopher Wixson
TR 9:30-10:45am Coleman 3170
Course Description: Intermediate practice and instruction in dramatic writing. Though the course will review the basic elements common to all dramatic writing, it will allow students to concentrate on the media of their choice: radio, theatre, TV, or film.
WGS 4310 Queer Theories: Queer Theory goes to the MoviesJeannie LudlowT 2:00-4:30 pmdescription: In 1990, lesbian feminist film and literature scholar Teresa de Lauretis coined the phrase Queer Theory to describe a developing way to understand the interrelationships of gender and sexuality, particularly as they work together to shape our understanding of lived experiences. Queer theory, then, has been interested in film from the very beginning. In this course, we will read queer theory analyses of films and watch those films, in order to get a clear sense of what queer theory can bring to interpretation. Films watched will range from documentaries (like The Celluloid Closet or Paris Is Burning) to fiction (like The Children's Hour or Pink Flamingos or But I'm a Cheerleader). The writing for this course will include a movie screening journal, short summaries of assigned readings, two film reviews, and a final project that can be creative and/or analytical.
